[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 248 (Tuesday, December 27, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 80908-80909]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-33095]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army

[Docket ID USA-2007-0014]


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development 
Center/Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC/CERL), DoD.

ACTION: Notice.

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    In compliance with Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers--ERDC/CERL announces a 
proposed new public information collection and seeks public comment on 
the provisions thereof. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the 
proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper 
performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the 
information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the 
agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; 
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
information collection on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.

DATES: Consideration will be given to all comments received by February 
27, 2012.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number and 
title, by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Federal Docket Management System Office, 1160 
Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301-1160.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency 
name, docket number and title for this Federal Register document. The 
general policy for comments and other submissions from members of the 
public is to make these submissions available for public viewing on the 
Internet at http://www.regulations.gov as they are received without 
change, including any personal identifiers or contact information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on this 
proposed information collection or to obtain a copy of the proposal and 
associated collection instruments, please write to: Larry Pater, Ph.D., 
P.E., Program/Project Manager, Noise R&D, U.S. Army Engineer Research 
and Development Center (ERDC), Construction Engineering Research 
Laboratory (CERL), 2902 Farber Drive, Champaign, IL 61821.
    Title and OMB Number: Assessing Human Response to Military Impulse 
Noise; OMB Control Number 0710--0015.
    Needs and Uses: The information collection requirement is necessary 
to obtain information on the relationship between community annoyance 
and complaints, related to impulsive noise from military installations. 
The information will provide the necessary tools and guidance for 
military installations to effectively balance the need for training 
operations at military installations with public safety and welfare. 
Participation by respondents is strictly voluntary, and the surveys are 
intended solely (or primarily) to ensure that facilities can adequately 
respond to any concerns the public may have.
    Affected Public: Individuals and households.

[[Page 80909]]

Annual Burden Hours

    Year 1 (2007): 37.5 hours.
    Year 2 (2008): 1,575 hours.
    Year 3 (2009): 700 hours.
    Year 4 (2010): 1,287.5 hours.
    Year 5 (2011): 412.5 hours.
    Total Number of Burden Hours for 5 Years: 4,012.5 hours.

Number of Respondents

    Year 1 (2007): 75.
    Year 2 (2008): 1,575.
    Year 3 (2009): 575.
    Year 4 (2010): 725.
    Year 5 (2011): 25.
    Total Number of Respondents for 5 Years: 2,975.

Responses per Respondent

Year 1

     1 response for 50 Qualitative Personal Interview 
respondents in three locations (30 minutes per interview equaling 25 
hours).
     1 response for 25 baseline interviews for the respondents 
participating in the In-situ study at location 1 (30 minutes 
per interview equaling 12.5 hours).
    Total Responses for Year 1: 75.

Year 2

     16,750 (estimated) responses for 25 In-situ survey 
participants (670 responses per person) at location 1 (3 
minutes per response equaling 837.5 hours).
     1,225 responses for 1,050 General Community Survey (cross-
sectional sample) respondents (30 minutes per survey equaling 612.5 
hours).
    [cir] 2 responses for 175 panel survey respondents at Site 
1.
    [cir] 1 response for 525 cross-sectional survey respondents at Site 
1.
    [cir] 1 response for 175 panel survey respondents at Site 
2.
    [cir] 1 response for 175 cross-sectional survey respondents at Site 
2.
     1 response for 500 complaint survey respondents (15 
minutes per survey = 125 hours).
    Total Responses for Year 2: 18,475.

Year 3

     8,250 (estimated) responses for 25 In-situ survey 
respondents (330 responses per person) at location 1 (3 
minutes per response equaling 412.5 hours).
     1 response for 25 post measurement interviews for In-situ 
study participants at location 1 (30 minutes per interview 
equaling 12.5 hours).
     1 response for 25 baseline interviews for the respondents 
participating in the In-situ study at location 2 (30 minutes 
per interview equaling 12.5 hours).
     1 response for 525 General Community Survey respondents at 
Site 2 (30 minutes per survey equaling 262.5 hours).
    [cir] 1 response for 175 panel survey respondents.
    [cir] 1 response for 350 cross-sectional survey respondents.
    Total Responses for Year 3: 8,825.

Year 4

     16,750 (estimated) responses for 25 In-situ survey 
respondents (670 responses per person) at location 2 (3 
minutes per response equaling 837.5 hours).
     1 response for 25 post measurement interviews In-situ 
participants at location 2 (30 minutes per interview equaling 
12.5 hours).
     875 responses for General Community Survey at Site 
3 (30 minutes per survey equaling 437.5 hours).
    [cir] 2 responses for 175 panel survey respondents at Site 
3.
    [cir] 1 response for 525 cross-sectional survey respondents at Site 
3.
    Total Respones for Year 4: 17,650.

Year 5

     8,250 (estimated) responses for 25 In-situ survey 
participants at Location 2 (330 responses per person) at 
location 2 (3 minutes per response equaling 412.5 hours).
    Total Responses for Year 5: 8,250.
    Total Number of Responses for 5 Years: 53,275.

Average Burden per Response

    Qualitative Personal Interview: 30 minutes.
    Baseline Interview: 30 minutes.
    Post Measurement Interview: 30 minutes.
    In-situ Survey: 3 minutes.
    General Community Survey: 30 minutes.
    Complaint Survey: 15 minutes.

Frequency of Responses

    Qualitative Personal Interview: One time per installation.
    Baseline Interview: One time per installation.
    Post Measurement Interview: One time per installation.
    In-situ Survey: On occasion for 12 months.

General Community Survey

    Panel Sample: Two times per installation.
    Cross-sectional sample: One time per installation.
    Complaint Survey: One time per installation.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Summary of Information Collection

    Respondents are individuals living in the vicinity of selected 
military installations who regularly experience impulsive noise from 
explosions and heavy weapons blasts. Information collection includes 
several different surveys:
    1. A qualitative personal interview to explore respondents 
experiences, understanding, and terminology to refine the survey 
questions (to be conducted at 2 installations).
    2. An In-situ study where respondents are asked to respond to a 
brief set of 5-6 questions on a PDA whenever they experience an 
impulsive noise event (to be conducted at 2 installations).
    3. A baseline interview for respondents participating in the In-
situ study (to be conducted at 2 installations).
    4. A post measurement interview for respondents participating in 
the In-situ study (to be conducted at 2 installations).
    5. A general community survey to gather responses to questions 
about the impact of impulsive noise events from a large representative 
sample of community residents (to be conducted at 3 installations).
    6. A complaint survey that gathers data on response to a specific 
noise event for which one or more complaints are received by the 
military installation. For each recorded noise complaint, a sample of 
10 households in the immediate vicinity of the complainant, as well as 
the complainant will be surveyed (to be conducted at 1 installation).
    The study will involve communities surrounding 3 different military 
installations to ensure the results and dose-response models can be 
generalized and applied to other U.S. military installations.
    Participation by respondents is strictly voluntary, and the surveys 
are intended solely (or primarily) to ensure that facilities can 
adequately respond to any concerns the public may have.

    Dated: December 21, 2011.
Aaron Siegel,
OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. 2011-33095 Filed 12-23-11; 8:45 am]
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