[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 183 (Wednesday, September 23, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48586-48587]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-22832]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service

[Docket No. MMS-2009-OMM-0003]


MMS Information Collection Activity: 1010-NEW, Alaska Subsistence 
Study, Notice of a New Collection; Submitted for Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) Review; Comment Request

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of a new information collection (1010-NEW).

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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), we 
are notifying the public that we have submitted to OMB an information 
collection request for approval of the paperwork requirements in the 
study being conducted in Alaska, Alaska Subsistence Study. This notice 
also provides the public a second opportunity to comment on the 
paperwork burden of these regulatory requirements.

DATE: Submit written comments by October 22, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments by either fax (202) 395-5806 or e-mail 
([email protected]) directly to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for the Department of 
the Interior (1010-NEW). Please also submit a copy of your comments to 
MMS by any of the means below.
     Electronically: go to http://www.regulations.gov. Under 
the tab More Search Options, click Advanced Docket Search, then select 
Minerals Management Service from the agency drop-down menu, then click 
submit. In the Docket ID column, select MMS-2009-OMM-0003 to submit 
public comments and to view supporting and related materials. 
Information on using Regulations.gov, including instructions for 
accessing documents, submitting comments, and viewing the docket after 
the close of the comment period, is available through the site's User 
Tips link. The MMS will post all comments.
     Mail or hand-carry comments to the Department of the 
Interior; Minerals Management Service; Attention: Cheryl Blundon; 381 
Elden Street, MS-4024; Herndon, Virginia 20170-4817. Please reference 
Information Collection 1010-NEW in your subject line and include your 
name and address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cheryl Blundon, Regulations and 
Standards Branch, (703) 787-1607. You may also contact Cheryl Blundon 
to obtain a copy, at no cost, of the study that requires the subject 
collection of information.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Alaska Subsistence Study.
    OMB Control Number: 1010-NEW.
    Abstract: The United States Congress, through the 1953 Outer 
Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act (OCSLA) [Pub. L. 95-372, Section 20] 
and its subsequent amendments, requires the Secretary of the Department 
of the Interior to monitor and assess the impacts of resource 
development activities in Federal waters on human, marine, and coastal 
environments. The OCSLA amendments authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to conduct studies in areas or regions of sales to ascertain 
the ``environmental impacts on the human, marine, and coastal 
environments of the outer Continental Shelf and the coastal areas which 
may be affected by oil and gas or other mineral development'' (43 
U.S.C. 1346).
    The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 
4321-4347) requires that all Federal Agencies use a systematic, 
interdisciplinary approach to ensure the integrated use of the natural 
and social sciences in any planning and decision making that may have 
an effect on the human environment. The Council on Environmental 
Quality's Regulations for Implementing Procedural Provisions of NEPA 
(40 CFR 1500-1508) state that the ``human environment'' is to be 
``interpreted comprehensively'' to include ``the natural and physical 
environment and the relationship of people with that environment'' (40 
CFR 1508.14). An action's ``aesthetic, historic, cultural, economic, 
social or health'' effects must be assessed, ``whether direct, 
indirect, or cumulative'' (40 CFR 1508.8).
    The U.S. Department of the Interior/Minerals Management Service 
(DOI/MMS) is the Federal administrative agency created both to conduct 
OCS lease sales and to monitor and mitigate adverse impacts that might 
be associated with offshore resource development. Within the MMS, the 
Environmental Studies Program functions to implement and manage the 
responsibilities of research. This study will facilitate the meeting of 
DOI/MMS information needs on subsistence food harvest and sharing 
activities in coastal Alaska areas.
    Planning areas in Alaska can include up to and more than 50,000 
square miles--a large geographic area with diverse, abundant, and 
environmentally sensitive resources. Within these areas, DOI's Proposed 
OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program considers that there will be an oil and 
gas lease sale in the future. The proposed sale area or adjacent areas 
support major productive commercial and subsistence fisheries, provide 
habitat to numerous marine mammals, and are significant migration and 
staging areas for internationally important waterfowl. Numerous 
communities in the State of Alaska rely heavily on subsistence or 
commercial fisheries.
    This information collection request involves a study that will 
assess the vulnerabilities of several coastal communities in Alaska, 
during various times, to the potential effects of offshore oil and gas 
development on subsistence food harvest and sharing activities. It will 
investigate the resilience of local sharing networks that structure 
contemporary subsistence-cash economies using research methods that 
involve residents of these communities most proximate to future sale 
area(s).
    Potential respondents number approximately 128 from the total 
number of households. Given the small number of households, all will be 
interviewed. The frequency of responses submitted will be a one-time 
event for each study and responses are voluntary. The respondent will 
be asked questions by the interviewee who will also record responses. 
This study will be conducted in a face-to-face setting. The 
questionnaires will be administered under the guidelines of 45 CFR 46. 
The introduction that will be covered with each participant stresses 
that participation is voluntary and anonymity will be maintained. No 
names will appear on the study form, no photographs will be taken of 
any informant, and no videotaping will be conducted. Minor children and 
prisoners will not be interviewed. Procedures designed to protect the 
confidentiality of the information provided will include the use of 
coded selection and identification numbers to protect the identities of 
respondents.
    The MMS will use the information collected to gain knowledge about 
local social systems that will help shape development leasing 
strategies and serve as an interim baseline for impact monitoring to 
compare against future research in these areas. This study being 
conducted was requested by the Environmental Assessment section of the 
Alaska region specifically for use in future Environmental Impact 
Statements and Environmental Assessments. Without this data, MMS will 
not have sufficient information to make informed leasing and 
development decisions for these areas.
    Frequency: Voluntary, one-time event, per study.

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    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: Approximately 128 
respondents from all persons in the Native Alaskan household/community.
    Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour Burden: The MMS 
estimates the total annual burden hours to be 192 (128 respondents x 
1.5 hours per questionnaire = 192 total burden hours).
    Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Non-Hour Cost Burden: We have 
identified no paperwork non-hour cost burdens associated with the 
collection of information.
    Public Disclosure Statement: The PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) 
provides that an agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of 
information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. 
Until OMB approves a collection of information, you are not obligated 
to respond.
    Comments: Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et 
seq.) requires each agency ``* * * to provide notice * * * and 
otherwise consult with members of the public and affected agencies 
concerning each proposed collection of information * * *'' Agencies 
must specifically solicit comments to: (a) Evaluate whether the 
proposed collection of information is necessary for the agency to 
perform its duties, including whether the information is useful; (b) 
evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information; (c) enhance the quality, 
usefulness, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) 
minimize the burden on the respondents, including the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
    To comply with the public consultation process, on May 1, 2009, we 
published a Federal Register notice (74 FR 20329) announcing that we 
would submit this information collection request to OMB for approval. 
The notice provided the required 60-day comment period. This notice 
also informed the public that they may comment at any time on the 
collection of information and provided the address to which they should 
send comments. We have received no comments in response to these 
efforts.
    If you wish to comment in response to this notice, you may send 
your comments to the offices listed under the ADDRESSES section of this 
notice. The OMB has up to 60 days to approve or disapprove the 
information collection but may respond after 30 days. Therefore, to 
ensure maximum consideration, OMB should receive public comments by 
October 22, 2009.
    Public Availability of Comments: Before including your address, 
phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information 
in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--
including your personal identifying information--may be made publicly 
available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold 
your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.
    MMS Information Collection Clearance Officer: Arlene Bajusz (202) 
208-7744.

    Dated: July 9, 2009.
E.P. Danenberger,
Chief, Office of Offshore Regulatory Programs.
[FR Doc. E9-22832 Filed 9-22-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P