[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 167 (Friday, August 28, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52331-52332]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-21353]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

 Geological Survey

[GX15RB00CMFCA00]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments

AGENCY: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of a new information collection: Use of Landsat 
satellite imagery in water resource management in the Western United 
States.

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SUMMARY: We (the U.S. Geological Survey) will ask the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the information collection (IC) 
described below. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 
1995, and as part of our continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and 
respondent burden, we invite the general public and other Federal 
agencies to take this opportunity to comment on this IC.

DATES: To ensure that your comments are considered, we must receive 
them on or before October 27, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this information collection to 
the Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Geological Survey, 
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive MS 807, Reston, VA 20192 (mail); (703) 648-
7197 (fax); or [email protected] (email). Please reference 
`Information Collection 1028--NEW, Landsat satellite imagery use in 
Western United States water resource management' in all correspondence.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Larisa Serbina, Economist, at (970) 
222-9073 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract

    Water resources in the Western United States (U.S.) are scarce and 
recent droughts have only exacerbated disputes over water usage. As 
such, managing water resources effectively and efficiently is important 
for both private and public sector water users. However, monitoring 
water use comprehensively can be difficult using only on-the-ground 
techniques, due to the labor and time required for such efforts. Recent 
case studies initiated by the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Land 
Remote Sensing (LRS) Program have indicated that Landsat satellite 
imagery plays an important role in Western U.S. water resource 
management. Landsat satellites are the only satellites to continuously 
collect the thermal imagery needed to measure evapotranspiration and 
provide it to the public at no cost. Evapotranspiration derived from 
thermal imagery can be used to objectively assess present and past 
water use on the landscape. For example, thermal data from Landsat 
satellites has been used in court cases to help settle water disputes. 
Landsat satellites also provide a range of other imagery which are used 
in water resource management. For example, the imagery can be used to 
identify different types of vegetation, such as agricultural crop 
types. There are unique considerations users must address in using 
Landsat imagery in water resources applications. The newest Landsat 
satellite, Landsat 8, launched in 2013, has two thermal spectral bands 
whereas the Landsat 7 satellite has one band. Thermal imagery from both 
Landsats 7 and 8 is also collected at a lower spatial resolution (60 
meters and 100 meters, respectively) than the multispectral imagery 
collected by these satellites, though it is resampled to the same 30-
meter resolution as the rest of the imagery.
    While the handful of completed case studies have indicated the 
importance of Landsat imagery in water resource management, a broader 
picture of the use of the imagery by water resources users is not 
available. This makes it difficult for LRS to meet the needs of these 
users both now and in the future.
    Given the consistency in water rights and the general scarcity of 
water in the Western U.S. as compared to the rest of the nation, we are 
proposing a survey that will focus specifically on the users who apply 
Landsat imagery in water resources in this region. Questions will be 
asked to determine the extent and type of use of Landsat imagery in 
water resource management projects, the preferred characteristics 
(e.g., spatial

[[Page 52332]]

resolution, frequency of image collection) of Landsat imagery for use 
in water resource management, and the benefits and challenges of using 
Landsat imagery in water resource management. The results will be 
aggregated to provide a more holistic assessment of the use of Landsat 
in water resource management in the Western U.S., including 
characterizations of use by sector (i.e., private, government, 
academic, non-profit) and geographic region (i.e., ecoregions, states). 
The overall goal of the survey is to provide a more complete 
understanding of Landsat use in water resource management in the 
Western U.S. in order to assist LRS in meeting the needs of these 
users. The survey will be conducted entirely online. As no 
comprehensive list of water resources managers, researchers, and 
professionals who use Landsat is available, a list of email addresses 
will be compiled through a robust online search followed by snowball 
sampling during survey administration. To protect the confidentiality 
and privacy of survey respondents, email addresses will not be 
associated with the data collected on the survey and all analyses will 
be conducted and reported on in aggregate. All files containing email 
addresses will be password-protected and encrypted, housed on secure 
USGS servers, and only accessible to the research team. No PII will be 
collected on the survey itself.

II. Data

    OMB Control Number: 1028--NEW.
    Title: Use of Landsat satellite imagery in water resource 
management in the Western United States.
    Type of Request: New information collection.
    Affected Public: Private sector, state government, local 
government, non-governmental organizations.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: One time.
    Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 1,000.
    Estimated Total Number of Annual Responses: 1,000.
    Estimated Time per Response: 10 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 167 hours.
    Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' Burden: 
None.
    Public Disclosure Statement: The PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) 
provides that an agency may not conduct or sponsor and you are not 
required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a 
currently valid OMB control number and current expiration date.

III. Request for Comments

    We are soliciting comments as to: (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) how to minimize the burden 
on the respondents, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Please note that the comments submitted in response to this notice 
are a matter of public record. Before including your personal mailing 
address, phone number, email address, or other personally identifiable 
information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire 
comment, including your personally identifiable information, may be 
made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your 
comment to withhold your personally identifiable information from 
public view, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

David Hamilton,
Fort Collins Science Center Director.
[FR Doc. 2015-21353 Filed 8-27-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4311-AM-P