[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 183 (Friday, September 22, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44439-44440]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-20188]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

U.S. Geological Survey

[GX16MN00F1F1000]


Agency Information Collection; Submission to the Office of 
Management and Budget for Review and Approval; iCoast--Did the Coast 
Change?

AGENCY: United States Geological Survey (USGS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.

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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), we are notifying the public 
that we will submit to OMB a new information collection (IC) for review 
and approval. This notice provides the public an opportunity to comment 
on the paperwork burden of this collection. This collection is 
scheduled to expire on September 30, 2017.

DATES: You must submit comment on or before October 23, 2017.

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 1028-0109 iCoast--Did the 
Coast Change? Please also forward a copy of your comments and 
suggestions on this information collection to the Information 
Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Geological Survey, [email protected] (email). Please reference `OMB Information 
Collection 1028-0109 iCoast--Did the Coast Change? in all 
correspondence.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Thompson, National Climate 
Change and Wildlife Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, 12201 
Sunrise Valley Drive, Mail Stop 400, Reston, VA 20192 (mail); 703-648-
4083 (phone); or [email protected] (email). You may also find 
information about this ICR at

[[Page 44440]]

www.reginfo.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: iCoast--Did the coast change?

I. Abstract

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and its collaborators (including 
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the U.S. Army Corps 
of Engineers, and university researchers) conduct sustained 
investigations of coastal hazards associated with major hurricane 
landfall. USGS hurricane research and response activities include 
collection of storm-surge water levels, aerial photography, and laser 
altimetry (lidar) surveys of pre- and post-storm beach conditions. 
These efforts document the nature, magnitude, and variability of costal 
changes such as beach erosion, overwash deposition, island breaching, 
and destruction of infrastructure. Predictive models and assessments of 
severe storm impacts are developed and evaluated, and probabilistic 
assessments are distributed to the public, local, State, and Federal 
agencies. The assessments and observations provide information needed 
to understand, prepare for, and respond to coastal disasters. These 
ongoing analyses are authorized by 42 U.S.C. 5201 et seq., The Disaster 
Relief Act of 1974, Section 202(a).
    In support of this research, the USGS has been taking oblique 
aerial photographs of the coast before and after each major storm since 
1996 and has amassed a database of over 190,000 photographs of the Gulf 
and Atlantic Coasts. Computers cannot yet automatically analyze these 
data because classifying this photography requires understanding the 
diversity of forms that even this small set of primary features (shore, 
beach, dune, marsh, built environment) can represent. Human 
intelligence is needed, and USGS does not have the personnel or the 
capacity for this. These oblique aerial photographs are currently used 
for broad overviews of damage, and selected photo pairs have been 
shared on the Internet with the public after storms. The intense 
interest by the public in the pre- and post-storm USGS photographic 
pairs, and the increasing use of citizen science and crowdsourcing by 
Federal Government agencies suggests that a significant segment of the 
public might volunteer to serve as our ``eyes on the coast.'' The 
iCoast--Did the Coast Change? Web site (hereafter referred to as 
iCoast) posts a suite of pre- and post-storm photographs from a major 
storm, and citizen scientists can compare photographs and classify the 
changes they see with predefined tags, or by appending comments. 
Citizen scientists also identify coastal landforms, determine the storm 
impacts to coastal infrastructure and landforms, and indicate other 
changes, including response and recovery efforts. These data can be 
used by USGS scientists to ground truth and fine-tune their models of 
coastal change. These mathematical models predict the likely 
interaction between coastal features such as beaches and dunes and 
storm surge. They are based on pre-storm dune height, measured by 
lidar, and predicted wave behavior based on data from the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They are not based on ground 
truth observations. A body of citizen observations will allow for more 
accurate predictions of vulnerability. These model predictions are 
typically shared with Federal, State, and local authorities both before 
and after storms. The project will also result in greater citizen 
awareness of the probabilities for coastal change, and will be a 
resource for teachers and students pursuing science, technology, 
engineering and math (STEM).

II. Data

    OMB Control Number: 1028-0109.
    Form Number: None.
    Title: iCoast--Did the Coast Change?
    Type of Request: Renewal of existing information collection.
    Affected Public: Coastal scientists, coastal managers, marine 
science students, emergency managers, citizens/residents of coastal 
communities.
    Respondent's Obligation: Participation is voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: Occasional.
    Estimated Total Number of Annual Responses: 64,211 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 3 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 3,211 hours.
    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 and current expiration date.
    Comments: On July 6, 2017, we published a Federal Register notice 
(82 FR 31347) announcing that we would submit this ICR to OMB for 
approval and soliciting comments. The comment period closed on 
September 5, 2017. 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 we will be able to do so.

IV. Authority

    The authorities for this action are Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

Christopher Reich,
Deputy Center Director, USGS St Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science 
Center.
[FR Doc. 2017-20188 Filed 9-21-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4338-11-P