[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 214 (Friday, November 4, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76957-76958]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-26742]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5915-N-13]


60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Improving the 
Speed of Housing Recovery Program Launch After Severe Disasters

AGENCY: Office of Policy Development and Research, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: HUD is seeking approval from the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for the information collection described below. In 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, HUD is requesting comment 
from all interested parties on the proposed collection of information. 
The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment.

DATES: Comments Due Date: January 3, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this proposal. Comments should refer to the proposal by name and/or OMB 
Control Number and should be sent to: Anna P. Guido, Reports Management 
Officer, QDAM, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th 
Street SW., Room 4176, Washington, DC 20410-5000; telephone 202-402-
5534 (this is not a toll-free number) or email at [email protected] 
for a copy of the proposed forms or other available information. 
Persons with hearing or speech impairments may access this number 
through TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Relay Service at (800) 
877-8339.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anna P. Guido, Reports Management 
Officer, QDAM, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th 
Street SW., Washington, DC 20410; email Anna P. Guido at 
[email protected] or telephone 202-402-5535. This is not a toll-free 
number. Persons with hearing or speech impairments may access this 
number through TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Relay Service at 
(800) 877-8339.
    Copies of available documents submitted to OMB may be obtained from 
Ms. Guido.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice informs the public that HUD is 
seeking approval from OMB for the information collection described in 
Section A.

A. Overview of Information Collection

    Title of Information Collection: Improving the Speed of Housing 
Recovery Program Launch after Severe Disaster.
    OMB Approval Number: Pending.
    Type of Request: New.
    Form Number: No forms.
    Description of the need for the information and proposed use: Since 
1992, Congress has appropriated over $44 billion through HUD's 
Community Development Block Grant--Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program 
to support long-term recovery in communities affected by 
Presidentially-declared disasters. This has included $19.7 billion for 
recovery from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma in 2005, as well as 
$13 billion for recovery from Hurricane Sandy in 2012. These funds can 
be used for a wide variety of activities related to long-term recovery, 
including: Buyouts of homes in high-risk area; relocation or other 
compensation of affected households; rehabilitation/reconstruction of 
damaged homes; infrastructure and public improvements; demolition and 
debris removal; and economic development.
    CDBG-DR funds are appropriated to HUD and then allocated to 
affected states and local governments. At that point, the grantees will 
be eager to move quickly, to develop programs to provide support to 
individuals and organizations that need it, and to begin recovery in 
earnest. But launching a disaster recovery program can be an enormous 
challenge. Some grantees have minimal previous experience with the base 
CDBG program. Even the more experienced grantees struggle with the 
scale of the challenge--both the level of need in the community and the 
amount of funds suddenly available for deployment. And there are, of 
course, many challenges unique to disaster recovery, that grantees may 
never have had to deal with before. All of these factors, and more, 
combine to hinder the recovery of disaster-affected communities. The 
purpose of this project is to examine factors that contribute to delays 
in launching housing recovery programs in the wake of severe disasters, 
and to produce a guidebook that will help to accelerate that process.
    Conducting this research will require the research team (The Urban 
Institute, under HUD grant H-21670CA) to interview a variety of 
individuals with experience with disaster recovery, and the CDBG-DR 
program in particular.
    Respondents (i.e., affected public): This information collection 
will affect approximately 60 individuals that have been involved in the 
design and management of CDBG-DR programs, particularly those related 
to housing

[[Page 76958]]

recovery. Respondents are expected to be current or former employees of 
state and local governments that have received CDBG-DR funding, or 
current or former employees of private-sector entities that have 
supported those grantees. The study will focus on a purposive sample of 
CDBG-DR grantees, their selection based on the characteristics of the 
disaster and the grantee. This sample is expected to cover 
approximately 17 grantees: 12 grantees affected by 3 major disasters (4 
grantees per disaster) and 5 grantees affected by smaller disasters (1 
grantee per disaster). Once those grantees are selected, the research 
team will seek to interview an average of 4 individuals per major 
disaster grantee and 2 individuals per small disaster grantee (for a 
total of 58 respondents). Interview targets will include CDBG-DR 
program directors, CDBG-DR housing program managers, and other staff as 
needed. Interviews will be structured and will focus on important 
aspects of the period between the occurrence of the disaster and the 
completion of recovery activities, such as: program design decisions; 
hiring and training of staff; selection of contractors; and partnership 
with HUD and other recovery agencies. Interviews are expected to last 
an average of an hour and a half. The research team will conduct some 
interviews in person during site visits. The other interviews will be 
conducted by telephone.
    All interviews will be confidential and not attributed to 
individuals by name or association. Interview results will be coded for 
analytical purposes and used to inform the study's two key 
deliverables: A retrospective report on factors that contribute to 
rapid disaster recovery and a guidebook to help disaster-affected 
communities recover more quickly.
    The table below estimates the total burden to the public for the 
proposed information collection, assuming an hourly cost per response 
based on the GS-15 step 1 hourly wage rate.

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                                       Number of        Frequency of       Responses per    Burden hour    Annual burden    Hourly cost
      Information collection          respondents         response             annum       per response        hours       per response     Annual cost
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Interviews with Disaster Recovery               58  One time............               1             1.5              87             $50          $4,350
 staff.
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    Total.........................              58  ....................  ..............  ..............              87              50           4,350
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B. Solicitation of Public Comment

    This notice is soliciting comments from members of the public and 
affected parties concerning the collection of information described in 
Section A on the following:
    (1) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including 
whether the information will have practical utility;
    (2) The accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information;
    (3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    (4) Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including the use of appropriate automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., 
permitting electronic submission of responses. HUD encourages 
interested parties to submit comment in response to these questions.

    Authority:  Section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
44 U.S.C. Chapter 35.

    Dated: October 25, 2016.
Katherine M. O'Regan,
Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research.
[FR Doc. 2016-26742 Filed 11-3-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4210-67-P