[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 216 (Thursday, November 7, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60106-60107]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-24300]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-HQ-MB-2019-N124; FF09M21200-190-FXMB1231099BPP0; OMB Control 
Number 1018-0167]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Eagle Take Permits and 
Fees

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we, 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service, we), are proposing to 
reinstate a previously approved information collection with revisions.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
January 6, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the information collection request by 
mail to the Service Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service, MS: JAO/1N PRB/PERMA, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls 
Church, VA 22041-3803 (mail); or by email to [email protected]. Please 
reference OMB Control Number 1018-0167 in the subject line of your 
comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information 
about this ICR, contact Madonna L. Baucum, Service Information 
Collection Clearance Officer, by email at [email protected], or by 
telephone at (703) 358-2503.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, we provide the general public and other Federal agencies 
with an opportunity to comment on new, proposed, revised, and 
continuing collections of information. This helps us assess the impact 
of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's 
reporting burden. It also helps the public understand our information 
collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired 
format.
    We are soliciting comments on the proposed information collection 
request (ICR) that is described below. We are especially interested in 
public comment addressing the following issues: (1) Is the collection 
necessary to the proper functions of the Service; (2) will this 
information be processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the 
estimate of burden accurate; (4) how might the Service enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and 
(5) how might the Service minimize the burden of this collection on the 
respondents, including through the use of information technology.
    Comments that you submit 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 ICR. 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.

[[Page 60107]]

    Abstract: Information collection requirements associated with the 
Federal fish and wildlife permit applications and reports for both 
migratory birds and eagles are currently approved under a single OMB 
control number, 1018-0022, ``Federal Fish and Wildlife Permit 
Applications and Reports--Migratory Birds and Eagles; 50 CFR 10, 13, 
21, 22.'' With this submission to OMB, we are proposing to reinstate 
OMB Control Number 1018-0167, ``Eagle Take Permits and Fees, 50 CFR 
22,'' in order transfer the eagle requirements back in to a separate 
information collection. This transfer will facilitate easier management 
of the information collection requirements associated with eagles. We 
are not proposing any changes to the currently approved eagle 
requirements. This request will simply transfer the information 
collection requirements associated with eagles back in to their 
original collection under OMB Control Number 1018-0167.
    The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (Eagle Act; 16 U.S.C. 668-
668d) prohibits take of bald eagles and golden eagles except pursuant 
to Federal regulations. The Eagle Act regulations at title 50, part 22 
of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) define the ``take'' of an 
eagle to include the following broad range of actions: To ``pursue, 
shoot, shoot at, poison, wound, kill, capture, trap, collect, destroy, 
molest, or disturb.'' The Eagle Act allows the Secretary of the 
Interior to authorize certain otherwise prohibited activities through 
regulations.
    All Service permit applications associated with eagles are in the 
3-200 and 3-202 series of forms, each tailored to a specific activity 
based on the requirements for specific types of permits. For this 
reinstatement, we combined Forms 3-200-10c and 3-200-10d into one form 
(3-200-10c) to reduce the number of application forms and help 
streamline the application process. Since both forms dealt with 
possession for education purposes, and asked virtually the same 
questions of the applicant, there was no need to have separate forms. 
We collect standard identifier information for all permits. The 
information that we collect on applications and reports is the minimum 
necessary for us to determine if the applicant meets/continues to meet 
issuance requirements for the particular activity.
    In addition to reinstating this information collection, the Service 
will request OMB approval to automate certain eagle permit forms. The 
Service's new ``ePermits'' initiative is an automated permit 
application system that will allow the agency to move towards a 
streamlined permitting process to reduce public burden. Public burden 
reduction is a priority for the Service; the Assistant Secretary for 
Fish, Wildlife, and Parks; and senior leadership at the Department of 
the Interior. The intent of the ePermits initiative is to fully 
automate the permitting process to improve the customer experience and 
to reduce time burden on respondents. This new system will enhance the 
user experience by allowing users to enter data from any device that 
has internet access, including personal computers, tablets, and 
smartphones. It will also link the permit applicant to the Pay.gov 
system for payment of the associated permit application fee.
    We anticipate including the following Service forms in the ePermits 
initiative: FWS Forms 3-200-14, 3-200-15a, 3-200-15b, 3-200-16, 3-200-
18, 3-200-69, 3-200-72, 3-200-77, 3-200-78, 3-200-82, and 3-202-11 
through 3-202-16.
    Title of Collection: Eagle Take Permits and Fees, 50 CFR 22.
    OMB Control Number: 1018-0167.
    Form Number: FWS Forms 3-200-14, 3-200-15a, 3-200-15b, 3-200-16, 3-
200-18, 3-200-71, 3-200-72, 3-200-77, 3-200-78, 3-200-82, 3-202-11 
through 3-202-16, and 3-2480.
    Type of Review: Reinstatement of a previously approved information 
collection with revisions.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals and businesses. We expect 
the majority of applicants seeking long-term permits will be in the 
energy production and electrical distribution business.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 11,273.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 11,520.
    Estimated Completion Time per Response: Varies from 15 minutes to 
650 hours, depending on activity.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 258,996.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasion for applications; annually or 
on occasion for reports.
    Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: $1,725,500 (primarily 
associated with application processing fees).
    An 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.
    The authority for this action is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

    Dated: November 4, 2019.
Madonna L. Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-24300 Filed 11-6-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P