[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 205 (Monday, October 24, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73133-73134]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-25621]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

 Geological Survey

[GX16CD00B951000]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments

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

ACTION: Notice of revision of a currently approved information 
collection, (1028-0097).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We (the U.S. Geological Survey) are notifying the public that 
we have submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) the 
information collection request (ICR) described below. To comply with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) 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 ICR. This collection is scheduled to expire on October 
31, 2016.

DATES: To ensure that your comments on this ICR are considered, OMB 
must receive them on or before November 23, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Please submit written comments on this information 
collection directly to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attention: Desk Officer 
for the Department of the Interior, via email: 
([email protected]); or by fax (202) 395-5806; and identify 
your submission with `OMB Control Number

[[Page 73134]]

1028-0097 `State Water Resources Research Institute Program Annual 
Application, National Competitive Grants and Reporting'. Please also 
forward a copy of your comments and suggestions 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) 648-7195 (fax); or [email protected] (email). 
Please reference `OMB Information Collection 1028-0097: `State Water 
Resources Research Institute Program Annual Application, National 
Competitive Grants and Reporting' in all correspondence.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Earl Greene, Chief, Office of External 
Research, U.S. Geological Survey, 5522 Research Park Drive, Baltimore, 
MD 21228 (mail); 443-498-5505 (phone); [email protected] (email). You 
may also find information about this ICR at www.reginfo.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract

    The Water Resources Research Act of 1984, as amended (42 U.S.C. 
10301 et seq.), authorizes a research institute water resources or 
center in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, 
the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Federated States of Micronesia, the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Marina Islands, and American Samoa. There 
are currently 54 such institutes, one in each state, the District of 
Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. The institute 
in Guam is a regional institute serving Guam, the Federated States of 
Micronesia, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Each 
of the 54 institutes submits an annual application for an allotment 
grant, national competitive grants, and provides an annual report on 
its activities under the grant. The State Water Resources Research 
Institute Program issues an annual call for applications from the 
institutes to support plans to promote research, training, information 
dissemination, and other activities meeting the needs of the States and 
Nation. The State Water Resources Research Institute Program also 
issues a second annual call for competitive grants to focus on water 
problems and issues of a regional or interstate nature beyond those of 
concern only to a single State. The U.S. Geological Survey has been 
designated as the administrator of the provisions of the Act.

II. Data

    OMB Control Number: 1028-0097.
    Form Number: NA.
    Title: State Water Resources Research Institute Program Annual 
Application, National Competitive Grants and Reporting.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved information 
collection.
    Respondent Obligation: Necessary to obtain or retain benefits.
    Frequency of Collection: Annually.
    Description of Respondents: The state water resources research 
institutes authorized by the Water Resources Research Act of 1984, as 
amended, and listed at http://water.usgs.gov/wrri/index.php.
    Estimated Total Number of Annual Responses: We expect to receive 54 
applications and award 54 grants per year from State and local 
governments for the annual applications. We also expect to receive 65 
applications from individuals and award 4 grants per year for the 
national competitive grants.
    Estimated Time per Response: 10,160 hours. This includes 100 hours 
per government applicant to prepare and submit the annual application; 
40 hours per individual applicant to prepare and submit the national 
competitive grant application and 40 hours (total) per grantee to 
complete the annual reports.
    Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 10,160.
    Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' Burden: 
There are no ``non-hour cost'' burdens associated with this IC.
    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. Until the OMB approves a collection 
of information, you are not obliged to respond.
    Comments: On June 17, 2016, we published a Federal Register notice 
(81 CFR 39710) announcing that we would submit this ICR to OMB for 
approval and soliciting comments. The comment period closed on August 
16, 2016. We received no comments.

III. Request for Comments

    We again invite comments concerning this ICR 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) how 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 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 and the OMB 
in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from 
public review, we cannot guarantee that it will be done.

James Sayer,
Information Collections Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2016-25621 Filed 10-21-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4338-11-P