[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 217 (Tuesday, November 10, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69695-69697]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-28546]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-BSD-COMM-19682; PPWOBSADC0, PPMVSCS1Y.Y00000 (166)]


Proposed Information Collection; National Park Service 
Concessions

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We (National Park Service, NPS) will ask the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the information collection (IC) 
described below. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act 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. This IC is scheduled to expire 
on November 30, 2016. 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: To ensure that we are able to consider your comments on this IC, 
we must receive them by January 11, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the IC to Madonna L. Baucum, 
Information Collection Clearance Officer, National Park Service, 12201 
Sunrise Valley Drive, Room 2C114, Mail Stop 242, Reston, VA 20192 
(mail); or [email protected] (email). Please include ``1024-0029'' 
in the

[[Page 69696]]

subject line of your comments. You can view the currently approved 
collection at www.reginfo.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information 
about this IC, contact Brian P. Borda, Chief, Commercial Services 
Program, National Park Service, 1201 I Street NW., Washington, DC 20005 
(mail), (202) 513-7156 (phone), or [email protected] (email).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract

    Private businesses under contract to the National Park Service 
manage food, lodging, tours, whitewater rafting, boating, and many 
other recreational activities and amenities in more than 100 national 
parks. These services gross more than $1 billion every year and provide 
jobs for more than 25,000 people during peak season.
    The regulations at 36 CFR part 51 primarily implement title IV of 
the National Parks Omnibus Management Act of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-391), 
which provides legislative authority, policies, and requirements for 
the solicitation, award, and administration of NPS concession 
contracts. Following are the information collection requirements 
associated with soliciting, awarding, and administering NPS 
concessions. We collect the following information in narrative and form 
format:

Proposals

    The public solicitation process begins with the issuance of a 
prospectus to invite the general public to submit proposals for the 
contract. The prospectus describes the terms and conditions of the 
concession contract to be awarded, the procedures to be followed in the 
selection of the best proposal, and the information that must be 
provided. Information that we collect includes, but is not limited to:
     Description of how respondent will conduct operations to 
minimize disturbance to wildlife; protect park resources; and provide 
visitors with a high quality, safe, and enjoyable visitor experience.
     Organizational structure and history and experience with 
similar operations.
     Details on violations or infractions and how they were 
handled.
     Financial information and demonstration that the 
respondent has a credible, proven track record of meeting obligations.

Amendments

    Amendments to proposals may be submitted in accordance with 36 CFR 
51.15 and 51.32.

Appeals

    Regulations at 36 CFR 51.47 state that any person may appeal a 
determination that a concessioner is not a preferred offeror for the 
purposes of a right of preference in renewal. The appeal must specify 
the grounds for the appeal.

Request To Construct a Capital Improvement

    In accordance with 36 CFR 51.54, a request for approval to 
construct a capital improvement must include appropriate plans and 
specifications for the capital improvement. The request must also 
include an estimate of the total construction cost of the capital 
improvement.

Construction Report

    In accordance with 36 CFR 51.55, a concessioner obtaining a 
leasehold surrender interest must submit a construction report to the 
NPS. The construction report must be supported by actual invoices of 
the capital improvement's construction cost together with, if requested 
by the NPS, a written certification from a certified public accountant 
(CPA).

Application To Sell or Transfer Concession Operation

    36 CFR part 51, subpart J, provides that a concessioner must obtain 
NPS approval to assign, sell, convey, grant, contract for, or otherwise 
transfer: Any concession contract; any rights to operate under or 
manage the performance of a concession contract as a subconcessioner or 
otherwise; any controlling interest in a concessioner or concession 
contract; or any leasehold surrender interest or possessory interest 
obtained under a concession contract. The amount and type of 
information to be submitted varies with the type and complexity of the 
proposed transaction. Information includes, but is not limited to:
     Instruments proposed to implement the transaction.
     Opinion of counsel that the proposed transaction is lawful 
under all applicable Federal and State laws.
     Narrative description of the proposed transaction.
     Statement as to the existence and nature of any litigation 
relating to the proposed transaction.
     Description of the management qualifications, financial 
background, and financing and operational plans of any proposed 
transferee.
     Description of all financial aspects of the proposed 
transaction.
     Prospective financial statements (proformas).
     Schedule that allocates in detail the purchase price (or, 
in the case of a transaction other than an asset purchase, the 
valuation) of all assets assigned or encumbered. In addition, the 
applicant must provide a description of the basis for all allocations 
and ownership of all assets.

Annual Financial Statements

    We currently use NPS Forms 10-356 and 10-356A to collect annual 
financial reports. These forms are an accumulation of various financial 
statements commonly used by industry for reporting in conformance with 
generally accepted accounting principles. The information provides a 
comprehensive view of the concessioner's financial situation at the end 
of the fiscal year and the concessioner's activity over the preceding 
year. We are proposing revisions to the currently approved NPS Form 10-
356 and NPS Form 10-356A. You can view the currently approved forms at 
www.reginfo.gov. We have made minor formatting adjustments to all 
schedules. The other changes are necessary to improve the clarity of 
the forms and lessen the total time to complete the forms. There are 
many different contractual provisions in concession contracts and the 
changes may affect some concessioners more than others. In addition, we 
will simplify the submission process, which will significantly reduce 
the time required to complete and submit an Annual Financial Report.

Revisions to NPS Form 10-356

     Modifying Schedules D-PI and D-LSI and adding Schedule D-
1. These changes are necessary to accommodate accounting rule changes 
in the Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards 
Codification (ASC) Topic 853. Some concession contracts have provisions 
for possessory interest and leasehold surrender interest, and ASC Topic 
853 changes the accounting treatment of these assets.
     Deleting Schedules N and O due to the small number of 
concessioners that must complete them. These schedules will be included 
in a proposed new form, NPS Form 10-356B (see below).
     Deleting Schedule L so that all notes and supplemental 
text will be captured on Schedule F.
     Replacing high-season and low-season collection fields on 
Schedule M with annual collection fields.
     Adding ``other'' data fields on many schedules.

[[Page 69697]]

Revisions to NPS Form 10-356A

     Revising indirect operating expenses collection fields on 
Schedule B to match the indirect operating expenses collection fields 
on NPS Form 10-356 Schedule I.
     Replacing high-season and low-season collection fields on 
Schedule M with annual collection fields.
     Adding ``other'' data fields on many schedules.

NPS Form 10-356B

    We are proposing a new NPS Form 10-356B, which will include:
     Supplemental Schedules N and O (currently on NPS Form 10-
356)
     Supplemental Schedule R. This new schedule is necessary to 
accurately track utility add-ons for the small number of concessioners 
that have an approved rate add-on in their contract. Concessioners 
choose how to account for the approved rate add-on in their annual 
financial report on NPS Forms 10-356 or 10-356A according to best 
industry accounting practices. However, the currently approved forms do 
not include any schedules or collection areas that show the amount of 
revenue collected in excess of approved rates or the cost of utilities 
provided by the National Park Service to the concessioner. This 
information is necessary to ensure that visitors are only charged the 
approved rate add-on amount and to ensure that we have a comprehensive 
view of the concessioner's financial situation as it relates to the 
regulations at 36 CFR part 51.

Recordkeeping

    In accordance with 36 CFR 51.98, a concessioner (and any 
subconcessioner) must keep and make available to NPS, records for the 
term of the concession contract and for 5 years after the termination 
or expiration of the concession contract.

II. Data

    OMB Control Number: 1024-0029.
    Title: National Park Service Concessions, 36 CFR 51.
    Service Form Numbers: 10-356, 10-356A, 10-356B.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Description of Respondents: Individuals, businesses, and nonprofit 
organizations.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 500.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasion for proposals, amendments, and 
appeals; annually for financial reports; and ongoing for recordkeeping.
    Estimated Nonhour Cost Burden: $425,000.

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                                                                                    Completion
                                                                     Number of       time per      Total annual
                            Activity                                  annual         response     burden hours *
                                                                     responses        (hours)
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Proposals--large concessions....................................              30             240           7,200
Proposals--small concessions....................................              60              80           4,800
Amendments......................................................               1               1               1
Appeals.........................................................               1              .5               1
Request To Construct a Capital Improvement--large projects......              31              16             496
Request To Construct a Capital Improvement--small projects......              89               8             712
Construction Report--large projects.............................              31              56           1,736
Construction Report--small projects.............................              89              24           2,136
Application to Sell/Transfer Concession Operation...............              20              80           1,600
Annual Financial Report--NPS Form 10-356........................             150              15           2,250
Annual Financial Report--NPS Form 10-356A.......................             350               4           1,400
Annual Financial Report--NPS Form 10-356B.......................              30               2              60
Recordkeeping--large concessions................................             150             800         120,000
Recordkeeping--small concessions................................             350              50          17,500
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Totals......................................................           1,382  ..............         159,892
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* rounded

III. Comments

    We invite comments concerning this information collection on:
     Whether or not the collection of information is necessary, 
including whether or not the information will have practical utility;
     The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this 
collection of information;
     Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on respondents.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request 
to OMB to approve this IC. Before including your address, phone number, 
email 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 4, 2015.
Madonna L. Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, National Park Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-28546 Filed 11-9-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-7EH-P