[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 209 (Wednesday, October 28, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68309-68310]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-23821]



[[Page 68309]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Sea Grant Program Application Requirements for Grants, for Sea 
Grant Fellowships, Including the Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy 
Fellowships, and for Designation as a Sea Grant College or Sea Grant 
Institution

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

ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information 
collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information 
collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The 
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment 
preceding submission of the collection to OMB.

DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed 
information collection must be received on or before December 28, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to 
Adrienne Thomas, NOAA PRA Officer, at [email protected]. Please 
reference OMB Control Number 0648-0362 in the subject line of your 
comments. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise 
sensitive or protected information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed 
to Doug Bell, National Sea Grant Office, (301-734-1080), and 
oar.sg.info[email protected]">oar.sg.info[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    This request is for the extension, with minor proposed revisions, 
of a currently approved information collection.
    The objectives of the National Sea Grant College Program, as stated 
in the Sea Grant legislation (33 U.S.C. 1121 et seq.) are to increase 
the understanding, assessments, development, utilization, and 
conservation of the Nation's ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources. 
It accomplishes these objectives by conducting research, education, and 
outreach programs. Grant monies are available for funding activities 
that help obtain the objectives of the Sea Grant Program. Both single 
and multi-project grants are awarded, with the latter representing 
approximately 80 percent of the total grant program. In addition to 
other standard grant application requirements, three forms are required 
with the grants. The Sea Grant Control Form (NOAA Form 90-1) is used to 
identify the organizations and personnel who would be involved in the 
grant and briefly summarize the proposed activities under the grant. 
The Project Record Form (NOAA Form 90-2), which collects summary data 
on projects, helps the National Sea Grant Office (NSGO) evaluate the 
proposals during its funding decisions. The Sea Grant Budget Form (NOAA 
Form 90-4) provides information similar to, but more detailed than, 
standardized budget forms SF-424A or SF-424C, and allows the NSGO to 
determine whether or not the breakdown cost of multi-project grant 
awards is reasonable. Collectively, the data supplied in these 
documents form the basis for many of NSGO's responses to the 
Administration, the Congress, other agencies, and to the public about 
the scope of Sea Grant activities.
    The National Sea Grant College Program Act (33 U.S.C. 1126) also 
provides for the designation of a public or private institution of 
higher education, institute, laboratory, or State or local agency as a 
Sea Grant college or Sea Grant institute. Applications are required for 
designation of Sea Grant Colleges and Sea Grant Institutes, although no 
forms are required. The data the collection provides helps the National 
Sea Grant Office determine the suitability of the applicant for meeting 
the standards and conditions for being a Sea Grant College as set forth 
in 33 U.S.C. 1126 and 15 CFR 918.5.
    The NSGO proposes two primary revisions to this information 
collection. The NOAA Form 90-2 is collected using an Excel spreadsheet 
(>98% of use cases). The NSGO intends to migrate the Excel spreadsheet 
to an online webform that is hosted on Sea Grant's Planning, 
Implementation and Evaluation Resource (PIER) database. The online 
webform would provide an additional and alternative method of 
information collection, but not eliminate the option for an Excel-based 
collection. The webform may require slight modifications on the form 
structure and existing data formats (such as ``Classifications'' or 
``Partners''). These modifications may be driven by software 
requirements, but are mostly sought to improve information management 
and the user interface. Public comments from previous extensions of 
this information collection have requested linkage of the NOAA Form 90-
2 to the PIER database. This modification would enable synchronization 
of existing PIER data, so that time of user entry and data quality 
control is minimized. The second proposed revision utilizes existing 
components of the NOAA Form 90-2. The NSGO is proposing to collect more 
resolved information that will allow Sea Grant to classify the level of 
effort by topic (i.e., ``Classification'') for a subset of funded 
activities. This collection may modify the existing NOAA Form 90-2, but 
may also exist as a new form, if that method of collection is 
determined to be more effective and efficient. This collection would 
improve NSGO's responses to the Administration, the Congress, other 
agencies, and to the public about the scope of Sea Grant activities.

II. Method of Collection

    Responses are made in a variety of formats, including forms and 
narrative submissions, via mail, fax or email. The Sea Grant Project 
Record Form (NOAA Form 90-2) and Sea Grant Budget Form (NOAA Form 90-4) 
must be submitted in electronic format through grants.gov if the grant 
applicant has the means to do so. The proposed modification would also 
enable the NOAA Form 90-2 to be submitted via electronic format.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0648-0362.
    Form Number(s): NOAA Forms 90-1, 90-2, and 90-4.
    Type of Review: Regular submission (extension and revision of a 
currently approved information collection).
    Affected Public: Academic and not-for-profit institutions; 
individuals or households; business or other for-profit organizations; 
State, Local, or Tribal government.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 680.
    Estimated Time per Response: 30 minutes for a Sea Grant Control 
form; 20 minutes for a Project Record Form; 15 minutes for a Sea Grant 
Budget form; and 20 hours for an application for designation as a Sea 
Grant college or Sea Grant institute.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1091.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $170 for record keeping and 
mailed submissions.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to Obtain or Retain Benefits.

[[Page 68310]]

    Legal Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1121 et seq.

IV. Request for Comments

    We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department/Bureau 
to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is 
necessary for the proper functions of the Department, including whether 
the information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy 
of our estimate of the time and cost burden for this proposed 
collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
used; (c) Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and (d) Minimize the reporting burden 
on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms 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 may 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.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2020-23821 Filed 10-27-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-KA-P