[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 219 (Monday, November 16, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58974-58975]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-27422]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Geological Survey


Agency Information Collection Activity

AGENCY: United States Geological Survey (USGS).

ACTION: Notice of a new information collection.

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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 the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) a new information collection request (ICR) 
for approval of the paperwork requirements for the National Institutes 
for Water Resources (NIWR)-USGS competitive grant program conducted in 
conjunction with the State Water Resources Research Institutes.

DATES: You must submit comments on or before December 16, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Please submit comments on this information collection 
directly to the Office of Management and Budget, Office of Information 
and Regulatory Affairs, Attention: Desk Officer for the Department of 
the Interior, via e-mail [[email protected]] or fax (202) 395-
5806; and identify your submission as 1028-NEW (NIWR). Please also 
submit a copy of your comments to Phadrea Ponds, USGS Information 
Collection Clearance Officer, 2150-C Center Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 
80525 (mail); (970) 226-9230 (fax); or [email protected] (e-mail). Please 
reference Information Collection 1028-NEW, NIWR in the subject line.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John E. Schefter, Chief Office of 
External Research, U.S. Geological Survey, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, 
MS 424, Reston, Virginia 20192 (mail) at (703) 648-6800 (Phone); or 
[email protected] (e-mail).

[[Page 58975]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The NIWR-USGS National Competitive Grant Program issues an annual 
call for proposals to support research on water problems and issues of 
a regional or interstate nature beyond those of concern only to a 
single state and which relate to specific program priorities identified 
jointly by the USGS and the state water resources research institutes 
authorized by the Water Resources Research Act of 1984, as amended (42 
U.S.C. 10301 et seq.). Any investigator at an accredited institution of 
higher learning in the United States is eligible to apply for a grant 
through a water research institute or center established under the 
provisions of the Act. Proposals involving substantial collaboration 
between the USGS and university scientists are encouraged. Proposals 
may be for projects of 1 to 3 years in duration and may request up to 
$250,000 in federal funds. Successful applicants must match each dollar 
of the federal grant with one dollar from nonfederal sources. This 
program is authorized by the Water Resources Research Act of 1984, as 
amended (42 U.S.C. 10303(g)). The membership of the National Institutes 
for Water Resources consists solely of the State Water Resources 
Research Institutes. NIWR cooperates with the USGS in the 
identification of the research priorities and the solicitation and 
review of the proposals submitted to the NIWR-USGS National Competitive 
Grant Program.

II. Data

    OMB Control Number: 1028-NEW.
    Title: NIWR-USGS National Competitive Grant Program.
    Respondent Obligation: Voluntary, necessary to obtain benefits.
    Frequency of Collection: Annually.
    Description of Respondents: Eligible applicants to this program are 
restricted to the 54 land grant universities housing the state water 
resources research institutes.
    Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 72. We expect to receive 
approximately 65 applications and award 7 grants per year.
    Annual Burden Hours: 3,984 hours. We expect to receive 
approximately 65 applications. It will take each applicant 
approximately 60 hours to complete the narrative and supporting 
documents. This includes the time for project conception and 
development, proposal writing, reviewing, and submitting the proposal 
application through Grants.gov (totaling 3,900 burden hours). We 
anticipate awarding 7 grants per year. The award recipients must submit 
a final report at the end of the project. We estimate that it will take 
approximately 12 hours to complete the requirement for that report 
(totaling 84 hours).
    Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'': We have not 
identified any ``non-hour cost'' burdens associated with this 
collection of information.

III. Request for Comments

    On October 7, 2008, we published a Federal Register notice (73 FR 
51645) announcing that we would submit this information collection to 
OMB for approval. The notice provided a 60-day comment period ending on 
December 7, 2008. We did not receive any comments in response to that 
notice.
    We again invite comments concerning this ICR on: (a) Whether the 
proposed collection of information is necessary for the agency to 
perform its duties, including whether the information is useful; (b) 
the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed 
collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, usefulness, 
and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to 
minimize the burden on the respondents, including the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology. 
Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. 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.

    Dated: November 9, 2009.
John E. Schefter,
Water Resources Research Act Program Coordinator.
[FR Doc. E9-27422 Filed 11-13-09; 8:45 am]
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