[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 247 (Thursday, December 26, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70956-70957]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27745]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Chesapeake Bay 
Watershed Environmental Literacy Indicator Tool

AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort 
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public 
and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed and/or continuing 
information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995.

DATES: To ensure consideration, written or on-line comments must be 
submitted on or before February 24, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Adrienne Thomas, PRA Officer, 
NOAA, 151 Patton Avenue, Room 159, Asheville, NC 28801 (or via the 
internet

[[Page 70957]]

at [email protected]). All comments received are part of the public 
record. Comments will generally be posted without change. All 
Personally Identifiable Information (for example, name and address) 
voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do 
not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or 
protected information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should 
be directed to Shannon Sprague, NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office, 410 Severn 
Avenue, Suite 207, Annapolis, MD 21403, 410-267-5664 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract

    The Chesapeake Bay Watershed Environmental Literacy Indicator Tool 
(ELIT) was developed to monitor public school districts' capacity and 
progress towards meeting the environmental literacy goal of the 2014 
Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement (http://www.chesapeakebay.net/documents/ChesapeakeBayWatershedAgreemenetFINAL.pdf): ``Enable every 
student in the region to graduate with the knowledge and skills to act 
responsibly to protect and restore their local watershed.'' The 
signatories of the Agreement included the mayor of the District of 
Columbia and the governors of the states of Delaware, Maryland, New 
York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. The general statutory 
authority for this program is the National Environmental Policy Act, 42 
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.
    NOAA, on behalf of the Chesapeake Bay Program, will ask the state 
education agencies for Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, West 
Virginia, and the District of Columbia to survey their local education 
agencies (LEAs) to determine: (1) LEA capacity to implement a 
comprehensive and systematic approach to environmental literacy 
education, (2) student participation in Meaningful Watershed 
Educational Experiences during the school year, (3) sustainability 
practices at schools, and (4) LEA needs for improving environmental 
literacy education programming. LEAs (generally school districts, in 
some cases charter school administration) are asked to complete the 
survey on the status of their LEA on a set of key indicators for the 
four areas listed above. One individual from each LEA is asked to 
complete this survey once every two years.
    In addition to monitoring progress on the environmental literacy 
goal of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, the information 
collected will inform several Chesapeake Bay Program partner agencies' 
work to support the school districts' environmental literacy education 
efforts.
    The results of the biennial ELIT survey will be analyzed and 
reported to the internal stakeholders of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed 
Agreement. Participating states will receive a summarized report of 
findings for the full watershed, a summary of findings for their state, 
and comparisons of results between states. These aggregated results 
will be used by the state agencies to understand progress of their 
school districts over time, and to inform decision-making about 
strategies and priorities for future work with school districts.
    The biennial reporting will also be used by the Chesapeake Bay 
Program to understand progress of school districts in the watershed, 
understand differences between jurisdictions, and guide strategy for 
providing targeted support in each state.
    State agencies and other stakeholders will also have access to the 
responses of each public school district, which they will use to 
customize outreach and support to a particular school district, based 
on their status and needs.

II. Method of Collection

    Respondents will submit their information electronically on web-
based survey forms.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0648-0753.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission (extension of a current 
information collection).
    Affected Public: State, Local, or Tribal government (local 
education agencies); Not-for-profit organizations (charter schools).
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 983.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1.5 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,106.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0 in recordkeeping/
reporting costs.

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden 
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; 
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information 
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2019-27745 Filed 12-23-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P