[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 61 (Thursday, March 29, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13496-13497]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-06277]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Federal Emergency Management Agency

[Docket ID: FEMA-2018-0012; OMB No. 1660-NEW]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; National Catastrophic Resource Catalog

AGENCY: U.S. Fire Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, 
DHS.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as part of its 
continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites 
the general public to take this opportunity to comment on a new 
information collection. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995, this notice seeks comments concerning the identification and 
cataloging of fire and emergency services personnel and equipment that 
might be available to support a catastrophic national disaster 
response.

[[Page 13497]]


DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before May 29, 2018.

ADDRESSES: To avoid duplicate submissions to the docket, please use 
only one of the following means to submit comments:
    (1) Online. Submit comments at www.regulations.gov under Docket ID 
FEMA-2018-0012. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    (2) Mail. Submit written comments to Docket Manager, Office of 
Chief Counsel, DHS/FEMA, 500 C Street SW, 8NE, Washington, DC 20472-
3100.
    All submissions received must include the agency name and Docket 
ID. Regardless of the method used for submitting comments or material, 
all submissions will be posted, without change, to the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov, and will include any 
personal information you provide. Therefore, submitting this 
information makes it public. You may wish to read the Privacy Act 
notice that is available via the link in the footer of 
www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Murray, Fire Program 
Specialist, FEMA, U.S. Fire Administration, (301) 447-1588, 
[email protected]. You may contact the Information Management 
Division for copies of the proposed collection of information at email 
address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Implementation of the concepts within the 
National Response Framework (NRF) and Response Federal Interagency 
Operational Plan (FIOP) is mandatory for Federal departments and 
agencies. See 6 U.S.C. 314. According to the NRF, the U.S. Fire 
Administration (USFA), as a support agency to Emergency Support 
Function (ESF)--4, Firefighting, is responsible for coordinating the 
support for the detection and suppression of fires. To meet the 
requirements of the FIOP, the USFA, supporting the Core Capability of 
Fire Management and Suppression, will provide National Incident 
Management System (NIMS) resources (e.g., personnel and equipment) 
necessary to support wildland, rural, and urban firefighting operations 
resulting from, or occurring coincidentally with, an all-hazards 
incident requiring a coordinated national response for assistance.
    Flooding, tornadoes and hurricanes do not follow geo-political 
boundaries. The larger and more widespread the event, the greater the 
likelihood that the existing local mutual-aid systems will not meet the 
demands placed upon them. Fire and Emergency Services will need to draw 
on assistance from systems beyond their normal mutual-aid boundaries, 
executing regional, statewide and interstate mutual-aid systems. For 
example, the State Emergency Management Agency may coordinate the use 
of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC). Many Federal 
agencies who have a role in disaster response under the Robert T. 
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Public Law 93-
288, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq., depend to some extent on the 
support of skilled and equipped citizens. However, during a 
catastrophic event (such as in a New Madrid earthquake), these mutual-
aid systems will be immediately overwhelmed. Responders who support 
Fire and Emergency Services, as well as involved Federal agencies 
themselves, may be impacted to such an extent that they are not 
available to deploy.
    The goal of this information collection is to help facilitate a 
sustained response to a catastrophic event where response services are 
limited and the demand for them is overwhelmed. The information 
contained in the National Catastrophic Resource Catalog (NCRC) will 
provide a foundation to supplement existing mutual-aid systems and 
sustain a long-term response operation. The USFA staff, deployed to the 
National Response Coordination Center (NRCC) in Washington DC, will 
assess the situation and evaluate the availability of the NIMS-typed 
capabilities and credentialed personnel contained in the NCRC. The 
information will be used by NRCC personnel to coordinate the deployment 
of teams, persons and equipment to sustain the response operation.

Collection of Information

    Title: National Catastrophic Resource Catalog.
    Type of Information Collection: New information collection.
    OMB Number: OMB Collection 1660-NEW.
    FEMA Forms: FEMA Form 035-0-1, National Catastrophic Resource 
Catalog.
    Abstract: This information collection will help USFA meet the ESF-4 
firefighting resource requirements before/during a national 
catastrophic disaster response, such as an earthquake, hurricane, or 
terroristic act. USFA will pre-identify those specialized resources 
that may be available to support a disaster response. This collection 
will be solicited from the nation's fire and emergency services on a 
voluntary basis to establish a catalog/database of potential resources 
that could be mobilized to support a national catastrophic disaster 
response.
    Affected Public: Not-for-profit institutions; State, Local or 
Tribal Governments.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 3,947.
    Estimated Number of Responses: 3,947.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 439.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost: $23,728.94.
    Estimated Respondents' Operation and Maintenance Costs: $0.
    Estimated Respondents' Capital and Start-Up Costs: $0.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to the Federal Government: $85,824.49.

Comments

    Comments may be submitted as indicated in the ADDRESSES caption 
above. Comments are solicited to (a) evaluate whether the proposed data 
collection is necessary for the proper performance of the agency, 
including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) 
evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (c) enhance the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) minimize the burden 
of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including 
through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or 
other technological collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.

    Dated: March 13, 2018.
William H. Holzerland,
Senior Director for Information Management, Office of the Chief 
Administrative Officer, Mission Support, Federal Emergency Management 
Agency, Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2018-06277 Filed 3-28-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 9111-45-P