[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 243 (Monday, December 19, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 91946-91948]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-30353]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[17XM1917XD/MMLL100000/MD1EV0000.AAX00]


Proposed Information Collection: Beachgoer and Vessel Surveys

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Interior.

ACTION: 60-day notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Bureau of 
Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will ask the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) to approve a collection of information to support ocean 
observation planning and management on public lands and waters. The 
respondents will be recreationists visiting public and private Gulf 
Coast beaches, and coastal and offshore vessel (boat) operators in the 
Gulf of Mexico region. The BOEM invites public comments on this 
proposed collection. A Federal agency 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: Please submit comments on the proposed information collection by 
February 17, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by mail, fax, or electronic mail.
    Mail: Information Collection Clearance Officer, Anna Atkinson, U.S. 
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, 45600 
Woodland Road, Sterling, VA 20166.
    Fax: to Anna Atkinson at 703-787-1209.
    Electronic mail: [email protected].
    Please indicate ``Attn: 1010-XXXX'' regardless of the form of your 
comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Rex Caffey, Louisiana State 
University, Center for Natural Resource Economics & Policy, Baton 
Rouge, LA 70803; email: [email protected]; or phone: 225-578-
2393.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OMB regulations at 5 CFR part 1320, which 
implement provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501-
3521, require that interested members of the public and affected 
agencies be given an opportunity to comment on information collection 
and recordkeeping activities (see 5 CFR 1320.8 (d) and 1320.12(a)). 
This notice identifies an information collection that the BOEM plans to 
submit to OMB for approval. The Paperwork Reduction Act provides that 
an agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless 
it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Until OMB approves a 
collection of information, you are not obligated to respond.

I. Abstract

    BOEM manages the exploration and development of oil, natural gas 
and other minerals and renewable energy alternatives on the nation's 
Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Section 1346 of the Outer Continental 
Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) mandates the conduct of environmental and 
socioeconomic studies needed for the assessment and management of 
environmental impacts on the human, marine, and coastal environments 
which may be affected by oil and gas, renewable energy, or other 
mineral development. Section 1345 of OCSLA authorizes the use of 
cooperative agreements with affected States to meet the requirements of 
OCSLA, which may include, but not be limited to, the sharing of 
information, the joint utilization of available expertise, the 
facilitating of permitting procedures, joint planning and review, and 
the formation of joint surveillance and monitoring arrangements to 
carry out applicable Federal and State laws, regulations, and 
stipulations relevant to the OCS operations both onshore and offshore.
    This data collection effort is necessary in order to monetarily 
value benefits of coastal and oceanic data collected in the U.S. Gulf 
of Mexico, as part of the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System 
(GCOOS). Information on the economic value of regional ocean 
observations is critical for sustained public and private support for 
the GCOOS, especially as the costs of operation and maintenance for 
ocean monitoring systems are questioned in Federal, State, and private 
budgetary processes.
    The data collection effort is part of a cooperative agreement 
between the Environmental Studies Program (ESP) of the BOEM and the 
Louisiana Coastal Marine Institute (CMI) at Louisiana State University 
(LSU). The objective of the ESP is to support research in topics that 
serve the public interest of safe and environmentally sound energy 
production and meet the goals of the BOEM.
    The GCOOS is a regional ocean observing system consisting of 
Federal, State, and local infrastructure. The system provides a wide 
array of science-based data to both public and private sector decision 
makers tasked with the management of human-built infrastructure, 
centers of population, and environmental and natural resources in the 
southeastern United States. As a component of the U.S. Integrated Ocean 
Observing System (IOOS), the overall goal of GCOOS is to provide the 
science-based biological, chemical, and physical data, along with the 
appropriate analytic tools, that are needed by society to address 
important short- and long-term management problems associated with 
marine industrial operations (marine transportation, oil and gas 
exploration and production), coastal hazards (offshore obstructions, 
pollutant spill tracking, conditions for offshore operations), public 
health and safety (forecasting harmful algal bloom movement, search and 
rescue), healthy ecosystems, and water quality. The information 
provided through GCOOS supports the policy mandates and objectives of a 
number of Federal agencies, including the BOEM, National Marine 
Fisheries Service, Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. 
Geological Survey.
    The information collection will be led by researchers at Louisiana 
State University and Mississippi State University, who will conduct two 
surveys to assess the impact of an improved and expanded GCOOS. The 
surveys will gauge public perceptions of coastal and ocean-related data 
and information products and how improvements to these could impact 
future recreation, boating, and weather-related preparation/evacuation 
choices. This information collection request covers two proposed 
surveys, which collect necessary data from residents of Texas, 
Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. This information is not 
otherwise available.

[[Page 91947]]

    We will use the information from these surveys to gauge public 
perceptions of coastal and oceanic data collected in the U.S. Gulf of 
Mexico, as part of the GCOOS, and to estimate how improvements and 
expansions of the GCOOS could affect future recreation, boating, and 
hurricane preparation/evacuation choices.
    A Beachgoers Survey will be utilized to gauge preferences for, and 
valuation of, GCOOS-derived information to inform coastal access via 
land. A Vessel Survey will gauge the associated preferences and values 
of GCOOS information for informing decision-making for coastal and 
marine boating.
    The data collection for the Beachgoers Survey will be conducted 
using an internet-based survey, administered to members of the GfK 
Custom Research Knowledge Panel. No personally identifiable information 
will be collected. The survey will cover beachgoers, and is divided 
into three parts. The first part is an introduction wherein the purpose 
of the survey is discussed, highlighting the cooperating agencies, 
institutions and organizations, the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
and a privacy statement. Respondents will be screened for those who 
have made a trip to a Gulf beach in the last 12 months. Another 
question will inquire about one's beach activities, which is used to 
help categorize beach use.
    The second part of the survey introduces the beach conditions 
monitoring system and Web site currently available for select beaches 
in Florida, and asks questions about which beach conditions are most 
important to respondents when visiting or planning a visit to a beach. 
It then proposes a hypothetical program that would expand the beach 
conditions monitoring Web site to a larger set of beaches across all 
five Gulf Coast states. Following the introduction of the hypothetical 
program, respondents will be asked whether they would be willing to 
support the proposed expanded program if it were to cost a randomly-
assigned amount of money per household to provide it, using standard 
contingent-valuation methods. The third section closes with a series of 
demographic and general awareness questions.
    Data collection for the Vessel Survey will be conducted using both 
postal and Internet surveying, depending on respondent preference. This 
survey will cover a representative sample of registered vessel owners 
in the five Gulf Coast states. The first part will introduce the 
purpose of the survey, highlighting the cooperating agencies, 
institutions and organizations, the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
and a privacy statement. Basic information on the respondent's coastal 
and marine boating history in the last 12 months will then be 
requested. These questions will address necessary information related 
to the primary vessel utilized and associated type and duration of 
activities (e.g. fishing, sailing, research, etc.).
    The second part of the survey gauges respondent use of specific 
types of ocean monitoring information (current observations and 
forecasted conditions), and their preference for general categories of 
GCOOS-based information. A follow-up question proposes a hypothetical 
program that would expand the GCOOS infrastructure by 40%. Following 
the introduction of the hypothetical program, respondents will be asked 
whether they would be willing to support the proposed expanded program 
if it were to cost a randomly-assigned amount of money per household to 
provide it, using standard contingent-valuation methods. The third 
section of this survey closes with some basic demographics from the 
participants. No personally identifiable information will be collected.

II. Data

    The following information pertains to this request:
    Title: GCOOS Beachgoers and Vessel Surveys.
    OMB Control Number: This is a new collection; 1010-XXXX.
    Description of Respondents: General-population beachgoers and 
coastal-marine vessel owners/operators in the five Gulf Coast states.
    Respondent Obligation: Voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: These would be one-time collections, which 
would take place over a 1-2 month collection period.
    Estimated Annual Responses: 1,100 completed Beachgoers Survey 
responses, 4,138 non-response and dropout Beachgoers Survey responses; 
1,066 completed Vessel Survey responses, 4,014 non-response and dropout 
Vessel Survey responses; total of 10,318 estimated responses.
    Estimated Annual Burden Hours: We estimate the estimated burden of 
response to be 15 minutes for completed surveys and 3 minutes for non-
response/dropout responses, for a total of 950 estimated annual burden 
hours.
    Estimated Annual Non-Hour Costs: There is no non-hour cost burden 
associated with this collection.
    The estimated burdens are itemized in the following table:

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                                                                                     Time per       Total hours
                        Type of response                             Number of       response     (Col. B x Col.
                                                                     responses       (minutes)     C/60 minutes)
A.                                                                            B.              C.              D.
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Beachgoer Survey: Complete respondents..........................            1100              15             275
Beachgoer Survey: Non-respondents and drop-outs.................            4138               3             207
Vessel Survey: Complete respondents.............................            1066              15             267
Vessel Survey: Non-respondents and drop-outs....................            4014               3             201
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................           10318  ..............             950
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III. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (1) The practical utility of the 
information being gathered; (2) the accuracy of the agency's burden 
estimates; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the 
information collection; and (4) ways to minimize the information 
collection burden on respondents, such as use of automated means of 
collection of the information.
    Agencies must also estimate the non-hour cost burdens to 
respondents or recordkeepers resulting from the collection of 
information. Therefore, if you have costs to generate, maintain, and 
disclose this information, you should comment and provide your total 
capital and startup costs or annual cost components or annual 
operation, maintenance, and purchase of service components. You should 
describe the methods you use to estimate major cost

[[Page 91948]]

factors, including system and technology acquisition, expected useful 
life of capital equipment, discount rate(s), and the period over which 
you incur costs. Capital and startup costs include, among other items, 
computers and software you purchase to prepare for collecting 
information, monitoring, and record storage facilities. You should not 
include estimates for equipment or services purchased: (a) Before 
October 1, 1995; (b) to comply with requirements not associated with 
the information collection; (c) for reasons other than to provide 
information or keep records for the Government; or (d) as part of 
customary and usual business or private practices. We will summarize 
written responses to this notice and address them in our submission for 
OMB approval. Please note that the comments submitted 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. As a result of 
your comments, we will make any necessary adjustments to the burden in 
our submission to OMB.
    Public Disclosure Statement: OMB regulations at 5 CFR part 1320, 
which implement provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 
3501-3521, require that interested members of the public and affected 
agencies be given an opportunity to comment on information collection 
and recordkeeping activities (see 5 CFR 1320.8 (d) and 1320.12(a)). 
This notice identifies an information collection that the BOEM plans to 
submit to OMB for approval. The Paperwork Reduction Act provides that 
an agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless 
it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Until OMB approves a 
collection of information, you are not obligated to respond.
    Public Availability of Comments: 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: December 9, 2016.
Deanna Meyer-Pietruszka,
Chief, Office of Policy, Regulation, and Analysis.
[FR Doc. 2016-30353 Filed 12-16-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P