[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 188 (Wednesday, September 29, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58178-58179]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-21849]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Information Collection Renewal Submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for Approval Under the Paperwork Reduction 
Act; OMB Control Number 1018-0111; Summary Information for Ranking 
National Coastal Wetlands Grant Program Proposals, 50 CFR Part 84

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service (We) has submitted the 
collection of information listed below to OMB for approval under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. If

[[Page 58179]]

you wish to obtain copies of the proposed information collection 
requirement, the related form, or explanatory material, contact the 
Service Information Collection Clearance Officer at the address listed 
below.

DATES: You must submit comments on or before October 29, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments on this information collection renewal 
to the Desk Officer for the Department of the Interior at OMB-OIRA at 
(202) 395-6566 (fax) or [email protected] (e-mail). Please 
provide a copy of your comments to the Fish and Wildlife Service 
Information Collection Clearance Officer, 4401 N. Fairfax Dr., MS 222 
ARLSQ, Arlington, VA 22203; (703) 358-2269 (fax); or [email protected] 
(e-mail).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a copy of the information 
collection request, explanatory information, or the related form, 
contact Hope Grey by phone at (703) 358-2482, or by e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OMB regulations at 5 CFR 1320, which 
implement provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq.), require that interested members of the public and 
affected agencies have an opportunity to comment on information 
collection and recordkeeping activities (see 5 CFR 1320.8(d)). We have 
submitted a request to OMB to renew approval of the collection of 
information included on FWS Form 3-2179 (Summary Information for 
Ranking of National Coastal Wetlands Grant Program Proposals). This 
form is approved under OMB control number 1018-0111, which expires on 
September 30, 2004. We are requesting a 3-year term of approval for 
this information collection activity. OMB has up to 60 days to approve 
or disapprove this information collection but may respond after 30 
days. To ensure consideration, send your comments to OMB by the date 
listed in the DATES section near the beginning of this Notice.
    Federal agencies may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not 
required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays 
a currently valid OMB control number. On May 14, 2004, we published in 
the Federal Register (69 FR 26877) a notice announcing that we planned 
to submit a request to renew this information collection to OMB for 
approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. In that notice, we 
solicited public comments for 60 days, ending July 13, 2004. By that 
date, we received one comment, which was editorial in nature. The 
commenter expressed concern that more land needs to be conserved but 
did not comment on the merits of this information collection. As such, 
we have not made any changes to our information collection at this 
time.
    We administer the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant 
program authorized by the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and 
Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 3951-3956). We use the information collected 
on FWS Form 3-2179 to evaluate proposals under this program. The 
information collected includes summarized information on habitat, 
coastal barriers, levels of conservation, watershed management, 
threatened and/or endangered species potentially involved, benefits of 
the restoration proposed, partners, cost sharing, education/outreach 
impact, impact on wildlife-oriented recreation, and other benefits. 
Because grant applicants complete the summary information, the 
information is a thorough and accurate summary of the proposal. This 
summary information allows easy ranking of proposals in a short period 
of time.
    Title: Summary Information for Ranking National Coastal Wetlands 
Conservation Grant Program Proposals, 50 CFR 84.
    OMB Control Number: 1018-0111.
    Form Number: 3-2179.
    Frequency of Collection: Annual.
    Description of Respondents: Coastal States and territories, as 
follows:
    States bordering the Great Lakes (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, 
Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin); Most States 
bordering the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts (Alabama, Alaska, 
California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maine, 
Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New 
York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, 
Virginia, and Washington); and Territories of American Samoa, 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and 
the Virgin Islands.

(Please note that Louisiana is not included in this program because it 
has its own wetlands conservation program authorized by the Coastal 
Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act and implemented by 
the Corps of Engineers with assistance from the State of Louisiana, the 
Environmental Protection Agency, and the Departments of the Interior, 
Agriculture, and Commerce.)
    Total Annual Burden Responses: 35.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 18.

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                   Completion time per   Annual number     Annual hour
    Form name             form            of responses        burden
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3-2179..........  \1/2\ hour..........              35             17.5
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    We again invite comments on: (1) Whether or not the collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether or not the information will have 
practical utility; (2) the accuracy of our estimate of the burden of 
the collection of information; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways 
to minimize the burden of collection of information on respondents, 
including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, 
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms 
of information technology.

    Dated: September 17, 2004.
Hope Grey,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 04-21849 Filed 9-28-04; 8:45 am]
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