[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 17 (Wednesday, January 27, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4411-4412]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-1686]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

United States Geological Survey


Agency Information Collection Activities: Department of the 
Interior Regional Climate Science Centers

AGENCY: United States Geological Survey (USGS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We (the U.S. Geological Survey) have sent an Information 
Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review and approval. The ICR which is summarized below describes 
the nature of this collection, the estimate burden, and cost. We 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.

DATES: You must submit comments on or before February 26, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments and suggestions on this information 
collection to the Desk Officer for the Department of the Interior at 
OMB-OIRA at (202) 395-5806 (fax) or [email protected] (e-mail). 
Please provide 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, NCCWSC in the 
subject line.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nadine Hartke at U.S. Geological 
Survey, MS 300 National Center, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA 
20192 (mail); 703-648-4607 (telephone); or [email protected] (e-mail). 
You can also go to reginfo.gov if you are interested in retrieving a 
copy of this ICR.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The USGS NCCWSC will offer financial support through a cooperative 
agreement to organizations that maintain the physical facility, 
professional science researchers and super-computing capacity to host 
one of these regional centers. The purpose of this Program Announcement 
is to identify organizations that are willing to host a Regional 
Center, and to determine if their science and partnership capabilities 
are sufficient to serve as a Host organization. Host organizations must 
be able to contribute climate science capabilities that complement and 
enhance USGS and DOI scientific and computational capacity, and those 
of other science partners. Information from this collection will be 
used to evaluate proposals submitted for consideration by the NCCWSC.

II. Data

    OMB Control Number: 1028-NEW. This is a new collection.
    Title: Department of the Interior Regional Climate Science Centers.
    Type of Request: New.
    Respondent Obligation: Required to obtain benefits.
    Frequency of Collection: Annually, or upon release of Program 
Announcement.
    Estimated Annual Number of and Description of Respondents: An 
estimated 80 institutions of higher education and other non-profit 
organizations may respond.
    Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 80.
    Estimated Completion Time per Response: 20 hours.
    Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 1,600 hours.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: We 
estimate the public reporting will average 20 hours per response. This 
includes time to develop a technical proposal, perform internal 
proposal reviews, secure support letters, and submit the proposal 
through Grants.gov.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost:'' 
There are no ``non-hour cost'' burdens associated with this collection 
of information.

III. Request for Comments

    On November 19, 2009, we published a Federal Register notice (74 FR 
59989) soliciting comments announcing that we would submit this ICR to 
OMB for approval. We solicited comments for a period of 60 days, ending 
on January 19, 2010. We received one comment concerning that Federal 
Register notice and we responded to the following comment in a timely 
manner.
    Comment: Fort Collins--where deer diseases started. Your site is 
hardly a favorable site for sound science since Fort Collins is where 
they diseased deer. Many state agencies and colleges are poor choices 
for this kind of site since they have hired people with preordained 
minds and closed minds. They practice junk science. I would nominate 
the NJ Div Fish & Game Division of NJDEP and Rutgers Agribusiness 
division, both of which seem to have hired biased individuals who don't 
even practice scientific principles or methods. In my opinion, these 
divisions seem to hire people with their minds made up who blacklist 
those who have conflicting views. It is not an open place or site where 
methods and processes can be discussed. You need to be careful in 
aligning yourself with the state agencies that ``manage'' wildlife. 
They all seem to be stocked by card carrying members of the gun clubs 
who believe in guns and killing. That kind of closed mind is certainly 
not environmental in the least. You need to be very careful that you 
are getting the best science for this kind of project. If you can't get 
the best science, you might as well not spend the taxpayer dollars 
because the taxpayers are already paying for a lot of inaccurate, 
unfactual junk science.
    Response: Hello, and thank you for your comment on Federal Register 
document, FR Doc. E9-27780. This response acknowledges our receipt of 
your comment. We would like to assure you that the USGS mission and 
goal is to provide the best unbiased science that we can. This is the 
reason we are

[[Page 4412]]

soliciting proposals in this case. Responding to national priorities 
and global trends is our highest priority and requires science that not 
only builds on our existing strengths and partnerships but also demands 
the innovation made possible by integrating the full breadth and depth 
of our capabilities with other strong science partners which includes 
other government agencies, academic institutions, non-government 
organizations and private industries. The USGS chooses to go forward at 
this time because the science issues that will be addressed will 
represent major challenges for our Nation's natural resources. We would 
like to assure you, that as with all our efforts, we will be fair and 
unbiased in selecting the future sites and ever mindful concerning the 
advancement of our scientific integrity. We are thankful for your 
response and concern in this matter.
    As the commenter did not address this specific information 
collection, we have not made any changes as a result of the comment.
    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 on 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 publically 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: January 20, 2010.
Susan D. Haseltine,
Associate Director for Biology, U.S. Geological Survey.
[FR Doc. 2010-1686 Filed 1-26-10; 8:45 am]
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