[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 74 (Monday, April 18, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22871-22872]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-08160]


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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; Bay Watershed Education and Training Program National 
Evaluation System

    The Department of Commerce will submit the following information 
collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. We invite 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. Public comments were previously requested via the 
Federal Register on February 8, 2022 (87 FR 7157), during a 60-day 
comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public 
comments.
    Agency: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce.
    Title: Bay Watershed Education and Training Program National 
Evaluation System.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0658.
    Form Number(s): None.

[[Page 22872]]

    Type of Request: Regular submission, extension of a current 
information collection.
    Number of Respondents: 2,583.
    Average Hours per Response: Awardee-respondents will complete an 
online survey in 60 minutes and teacher-respondents will complete two 
online surveys in 30 minutes each.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,027.
    Needs and Uses: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration's (NOAA) Office of Education is sponsoring data 
collection efforts on its Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) 
program. The NOAA B-WET program is authorized under 33 U.S.C. 893a(a), 
the America COMPETES Act. The Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration is authorized to conduct, develop, support, 
promote, and coordinate formal and informal educational activities at 
all levels to enhance public awareness and understanding of ocean, 
coastal, Great Lakes, and atmospheric science and stewardship by the 
general public and other coastal stakeholders, including 
underrepresented groups in ocean and atmospheric science and policy 
careers. B-WET advances NOAA's mission by awarding education grants 
that foster an environmentally literate citizenry who have the 
knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed to protect watersheds and 
related ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems. B-WET currently 
funds projects in seven regions (California, Chesapeake Bay, Great 
Lakes, Gulf of Mexico, Hawaii, New England, and the Pacific Northwest).
    To ensure that educational activities funded by B-WET are of the 
highest quality, and maximize federal resources, B-WET has created an 
across-region, internal evaluation system to provide ongoing monitoring 
of program implementation and to identify opportunities for improved 
program outcomes. The evaluation system is maintained by B-WET staff 
with occasional assistance from an outside contractor. The evaluation 
system collects information from B-WET program-funded project 
participants.
    B-WET awardees of grants or cooperative agreements, and the 
awardees' teachers who attend professional development programs 
provided by the awardees, are asked to voluntarily complete online 
survey forms to provide data for the evaluation system. Information 
collected from awardees includes program elements such as program 
duration, format, audience, location, support and/or materials offered, 
and topics covered. Information collected from teacher professional 
development participants includes teaching methodologies, program 
satisfaction, program coverage, suggestions for improvement, and 
teaching confidence. Information collected from teachers at the end of 
the school year following their participation in a professional 
development program includes time spent teaching topics covered in the 
professional development program, types of activities used with their 
students, teachers' perceptions of student learning, and teaching 
practices utilized. One individual from each awardee organization is 
asked to complete a survey once per year of the award, and the teacher 
participants are asked to complete one survey at the end of their 
professional development program and another survey at the end of the 
following school year. Responses to the survey questions are aggregated 
and analyzed as part of ongoing evaluation efforts.
    Based on a review of annual evaluation system results, B-WET has 
made program improvements by adjusting its Federal Notice of Funding 
Opportunities and program guidelines. On-going data collection enables 
NOAA to monitor program implementation and outcomes on a regular basis 
and supports adaptive management of the program.
    Affected Public: Business and other for-profit organizations; not-
for-profit institutions; state, local or tribal government; individuals 
or households.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: 33 U.S.C. 893a(a), the America COMPETES Act.
    This information collection request may be viewed at 
www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view the Department of 
Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of 
this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. 
Find this particular information collection by selecting ``Currently 
under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search 
function and entering either the title of the collection or the OMB 
Control Number 0648-0658.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2022-08160 Filed 4-15-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-12-P