[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 56 (Wednesday, March 23, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16462-16463]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-06158]


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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; Nautical Discrepancy and Data Reporting System

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

ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.

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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 May 23, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to 
Adrienne Thomas, NOAA PRA Officer, at [email protected]. Please 
reference OMB Control Number 0648-0007 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 Richard Powell, (302) 703-9041, or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    This request is for a revision and extension of a currently 
approved information collection.
    NOAA's Office of Coast Survey (Coast Survey) is the nation's 
nautical chartmaker, maintaining and updating over a thousand charts 
covering the 3.5 million square nautical miles of coastal waters in the 
U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone and the Great Lakes. The marine 
transportation system relies on charting accuracy and precision to keep 
navigation safe and coastal communities protected from environmental 
disasters at sea.
    Coast Survey also writes and publishes the United States Coast 
Pilot[supreg] (Coast Pilot), a series of ten nautical books that 
supplement nautical charts with essential marine information that 
cannot be shown graphically on the charts and are not readily available 
elsewhere. Subjects include, but are not limited to, channel 
descriptions, anchorages, bridge and cable clearances, tides and tidal 
currents, prominent features, pilotage, towage, weather, ice 
conditions, wharf descriptions, dangers, routes, traffic separation 
schemes, small craft facilities and Federal Regulations applicable to 
navigation.
    The marine environment and shorelines are constantly changing. NOAA 
makes every effort to update information portrayed in charts and 
described in the Coast Pilot. Sources of information include, but are 
not limited to: Pilot associations, shipping companies, towboat 
operators, state marine authorities, city marine authorities, local 
port authorities, marine operators, hydrographic research vessels, 
naval vessels, Coast Guard cutters, merchant vessels, fishing vessels, 
pleasure boats, U.S. Power Squadron Units, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary 
Units, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
    The purpose of NOAA's Nautical Discrepancy and Data Reporting 
System is to offer formal, standardized instruments for recommending 
changes, corrections, and updates to nautical charts and the Coast 
Pilot, and to monitor and document the accepted changes. Coast Survey 
solicits information through the Aimed Stakeholder Interaction and 
Survey Tool (ASSIST) (https://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/customer-service/assist/).
    This collection also includes a Citizen Science component, which 
allows boating groups or individuals to submit reports to update the 
charts. The Citizen Science component to the collection benefits Coast 
Survey by allowing the public to ``adopt'' a product or part of a 
product and provide annual data updates that directly affect that 
product or products. Data obtained through Citizen Science reports may 
be used to update certain U.S. nautical charts and the Coast Pilot.
    The Nautical Data Branch (NDB) receives numerous potential 
construction notifications in the form of USACE-issued Public Notices, 
Permit Applications, and Permits, which could include a proposal or 
authorization to dredge and/or construct, remove, or abandon 
structures. NDB vets these Public Notices, Permit Applications, or 
Permits for the potential of a charting action and registers them into 
a database. To facilitate the ability of NDB to learn the status of 
USACE-permitted projects and to obtain as-built and/or survey data 
associated with the completion of these projects, Coast Survey is 
proposing to add three Project Status Report Forms to the collection. 
The solicitation forms, titled Permit/Public Notice Status Report, 
Artificial Reef/Mariculture Status Report, and Submerged Pipeline 
Status Report Form, provide a standardized method for reporting project 
statuses to the Nautical Data Branch and provide special instructions 
regarding the submission of digital as-builts and/or survey data. Upon 
receipt of the forms, NDB may register the forms, along with the USACE 
Permit and any as-built data, into the Marine Chart Division's (MCD) 
internal database in support of potential updates to the applicable 
NOAA nautical chart(s).
    These forms provide an effective way for permittees to notify MCD 
of the status of their permitted projects and help MCD garner pertinent 
data necessary for chart application. This mode of data delivery 
facilitates the ability of NDB to capture complete, more efficient, 
registration-ready source packages that require less frequent 
correspondence with the permittee prior to source registration. This 
process is instrumental in accelerating the availability of important, 
and/or possibly critical, nautical data to the cartographic production 
branches for charting action.
    The title of this collection is also being updated from Nautical 
Discrepancy Reporting System to Nautical Discrepancy and Data Reporting 
System.

II. Method of Collection

    Respondents can submit discrepancy reports electronically through 
the ASSIST website or by telephone (888-990-6622).
    Status Report Forms: Every month, NDB mails customized versions of 
the previously mentioned status report forms to a different batch of 
permittees, requesting information on the completion status of their 
permitted projects. If a permittee would like to notify the Marine 
Chart Division (MCD)

[[Page 16463]]

of the completion of their project before receiving a customized 
version of a status report form from NDB, blank status report forms can 
be acquired from the Coast Survey website, or the forms may be emailed 
by NDB to the permittee upon request.
    After completion, respondents can submit the Status Report Forms, 
and provide any associated as-built/survey data, to NDB by mail or via 
email.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0648-0007.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission [Revision and extension of a 
currently approved information collection].
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; state, local, and 
tribal government; universities; individuals or households; not for-
profit institutions, professional and other mariners, etc.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,570.
    Estimated Time per Response: 10-15 minutes depending on the report.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 797.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $388.60.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: None.

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. 2022-06158 Filed 3-22-22; 8:45 am]
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