[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 215 (Wednesday, November 6, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59767-59768]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-24223]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Information Collection: Cooperative Wildland Fire Management and 
Stafford Act Response Agreements

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA, Bureau of Land Management DOI, Fish and 
Wildlife Service DOI, National Park Service DOI, and Bureau of Indian 
Affairs DOI.

ACTION: Notice and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Forest Service is seeking comments from all interested individuals and 
organizations on the extension with no changes to the information 
collection, Cooperative Wildland Fire Management and Stafford Act 
Response Agreements.

DATES: Comments must be received in writing on or before January 6, 
2020 to be assured of consideration. Comments received after that date 
will be considered to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: Comments concerning this notice should be addressed to Tim 
Melchert, Cooperative Fire Specialist, USDA Forest Service, 1400 
Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250.
    Comments also may be submitted via facsimile to 208-387-5398 or by 
email to: [email protected].
    The public may inspect comments received at Forest Service, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 
20250 during normal business hours. Visitors are encouraged to call 
ahead to 202-205-1637 to facilitate entry to the building.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tim Melchert, Cooperative Fire 
Specialist, at USDA Forest Service, 208-387-5887. Individuals who use 
telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay 
Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 twenty-four hours a day, every day of 
the year, including holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, Forest Service will submit a request for a new information 
collection to Office of Management and Budget.
    Title: Cooperative Wildland Fire Management and Stafford Act 
Response Agreements.
    OMB Number: 0596-0242.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved information 
collection.
    Abstract: To allow the performance of specific activities in 
cooperation with Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments, 
Congress enacted authorities allowing the United States Department of 
Agriculture (USDA) and United States Department of the Interior (DOI) 
to enter into cooperative agreements with fire organizations to improve 
efficiency.
    These include:
    1. Facilitating the coordination and exchange of personnel, 
equipment, supplies, services, and funds among the parties.
    2. Sustaining Wildland Fire Management activities, such as 
prevention, preparedness, communication and education, fuels treatment 
and hazard mitigation, fire planning.
    3. Response strategies, tactics and alternatives, suppression and 
post-fire rehabilitation and restoration.
    4. Allow for the parties to respond to presidentially declared 
emergencies or disasters.
    The primary authorities allowing for the agreements are the 
Reciprocal Fire Protection Act, 42 U.S.C 1856, and the Stafford Act, 42 
U.S.C. 5121. The proposed Cooperative Wildland Fire Management and 
Stafford Act Response Agreement template will allow authorized agencies 
to streamline coordination with other Federal, State, local, and Tribal 
governments in wildland fire protection activities, and to document in 
an agreement the roles and responsibilities among the parties, ensuring 
maximum protection of resources.
    To negotiate, develop, and administer Cooperative Wildland Fire 
Management and Stafford Act Response Agreements, the USDA Forest 
Service, DOI Bureau of Land Management, DOI Fish and Wildlife Service, 
DOI National Park Service, and DOI Bureau of Indian Affairs must 
collect information from willing State, local, and Tribal governments 
from the pre-agreement to the closeout stage via telephone calls, 
emails, postal mail, and person-to-person meetings. There are multiple 
means to communicate responses, which include forms, optional forms, 
templates, electronic documents, in person, telephone, and email. The 
scope of information collected includes the project type, project 
scope, financial plan, statement of work, and cooperator's business 
information. Without the collected information, authorized Federal 
agencies would not be able to negotiate, create, develop, and 
administer cooperative agreements with stakeholders for wildland fire 
protection, approved fire severity activities, and presidentially 
declared emergencies or disasters. Authorized Federal agencies would be 
unable to develop or monitor projects, make payments, or identify 
financial and accounting errors.
    The regulations governing Federal financial assistance 
relationships are not applicable to agreement templates under this 
information collection request. The regulations in 2 CFR 200 set forth 
the general rules that are applicable to all grants and cooperative 
agreements made by the Department of Agriculture and Department of the 
Interior. Because the Federal government's use of Cooperative Wildland 
Fire Management and Stafford Act Response Agreements entered into under 
cited Federal statutes are not financial assistance for the benefit of 
the recipient, but instead are entered into for the mutual benefit of 
the Federal government and the non-Federal cooperators, the assistance 
regulations in 2 CFR 200, as adopted and supplemented by the Department 
of

[[Page 59768]]

Agriculture and Department of Interior, are not applicable to such 
agreements.
    This is a new information collection request. The Cooperative 
Wildland Fire Management and Stafford Act Response Agreement template 
can be viewed at www.fs.fed.us/managing-land/fire/master-agreement-
template.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: 4 to 24 hours annually per respondent.
    Type of Respondents: State, local, and Tribal governments.
    Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 320.
    Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 1 to 4.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 47,040 hours.
    Comment is invited on: (1) Whether this collection of information 
is necessary for the stated purposes and the proper performance of the 
functions of the Agency, including whether the information will have 
practical or scientific utility; (2) the accuracy of the Agency's 
estimate of the burden of the collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (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 
respondents, including the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or 
other technological collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    All comments received in response to this notice, including names 
and addresses when provided, will be a matter of public record. 
Comments will be summarized and included in the submission request 
toward Office of Management and Budget approval.

    Dated: October 18, 2019.
John Phipps,
Deputy Chief, State and Private Forestry.
[FR Doc. 2019-24223 Filed 11-5-19; 8:45 am]
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