[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 7 (Wednesday, January 11, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1561-1562]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-00400]


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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; Paperwork Submissions Under the Coastal Zone Management Act 
Federal Consistency Requirements

    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 September 15, 2022 (87 FR 56635), during a 60-day 
comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public 
comments.
    Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Commerce.
    Title: Paperwork Submissions Under the Coastal Zone Management Act 
Federal Consistency Requirements.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0411.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular submission (extension of an existing 
information collection).
    Number of Respondents: 2,334.
    Average Hours per Response: Applications/certifications and state 
preparation of objection or concurrence letters, 8 hours each; state 
requests for review of unlisted activities, 4 hours; public notices, 1 
hour; interstate listing notices, 30 hours; mediation, 2 hours; appeals 
to the Secretary of Commerce, 210 hours.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 35,779.
    Needs and Uses: This is a request to extend a currently approved 
information collection made by the Office for Coastal Management within 
the National Ocean Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration pursuant to the requirements of Section 307 of the 
Coastal Zone Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1456) and its implementing 
regulations at 15 CFR part 930. Information collected pursuant to these 
requirements is used by states to determine the consistency of proposed

[[Page 1562]]

federal actions with the enforceable policies of State coastal 
management programs (CMPs), and by NOAA when deciding appeals to State 
objections in the exercise of the review authority that the CZMA 
provides.
    The Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) creates a State-federal 
partnership to improve the management of the nation's coastal zone 
through the development of federally approved State CMPs. The CZMA 
provides two incentives for States to develop federally approved CMPs: 
(1) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has 
appropriated monies to grant to States to develop and implement State 
CMPs that meet statutory and regulatory criteria; and (2) the CZMA 
requires federal agencies, non-federal licensees, and State and local 
government recipients of federal assistance to conduct their activities 
in a manner ``consistent'' with the enforceable policies of NOAA-
approved CMPs. The latter incentive, referred to as the ``federal 
consistency'' provision, is found at 16 U.S.C. 1456. NOAA's regulations 
at 15 CFR part 930 implement NOAA's responsibilities to provide 
procedures for the consistency provision, the procedures available for 
an appeal of a State's objection to a consistency certification as 
provided for in 16 U.S.C. 1456(c)(3)(A) and (B) and 1456(d), and 
changes in the appeal process created by Congressional amendments in 
1990, 1996 and 2005, and found at 16 U.S.C. 1465.
    Paperwork and information collection routinely occurs by State CMPs 
pursuant to the CZMA federal consistency review requirements. Federal 
agencies proposing an action that may have reasonably foreseeable 
effects to coastal uses or resources must provide a consistency 
determination to affected states. The information requirements for 
consistency determinations are specified at 15 CFR 930.39. Non-federal 
applicants for federal licenses, permits and other forms of 
authorization that are listed by state CMPs as subject to review, must 
submit a statement certifying the consistency of the proposed activity 
to state CMPs pursuant to 15 CFR 930.57 accompanied by the necessary 
data and information specified at 15 CFR 930.58. Necessary data and 
information includes a copy of the application for the Federal license 
or permit; all material relevant to the State CMP provided to the 
Federal agency in support of the license or permit request; a detailed 
description of the proposed activity, its associated facilities and 
coastal effects; information specifically identified in the State CMP; 
and an evaluation that includes findings relating to the coastal 
effects of the proposal and its associated facilities to the relevant 
enforceable policies of the State CMP. For State and local agency 
applicants for federal financial assistance, the application shall be 
forwarded to the State CMP through the intergovernmental review process 
established pursuant to E.O. 12372, or submitted directly to the State 
CMP if the federal financial assistance is listed in the State CMP as 
subject to review. See 15 CFR 930.94.
    Information is provided to NOAA only when there is a State 
objection to a proposed federal license or permit, or federal financial 
assistance; when informal mediation is sought by a Federal agency or 
State; or when an applicant for a federal license or permit, or federal 
financial assistance appeals to the Secretary of Commerce for an 
override to a State CMP objection to the issuance of the authorization, 
or award of assistance. Last, in 1990, Congress required State CMPs to 
provide for public participation in their permitting processes, 
consistency determinations and similar decisions. See 16 U.S.C. 
1455(d)(14). How the public participation requirement is met is 
determined by each state with NOAA approval of the participation 
process.
    These submissions are intended to provide a reasonable, efficient, 
and predictable means of complying with CZMA requirements. The 
information will be used by coastal states with federally-approved 
Coastal Zone Management Programs to determine if Federal agency 
activities, Federal license or permit activities, and Federal 
assistance activities that affect a state's coastal zone are consistent 
with the state's coastal management program.
    Information developed for and during state reviews will also be 
collected and considered by NOAA for appeals filed by non-federal 
applicants seeking an override of state CZMA objections to federal 
license or permit activities or Federal assistance activities.
    There have been no changes to the information collection 
requirements, their applicability or the methods of collection since 
the previous Paperwork Reduction Act extension.
    Affected Public: Federal and state agencies, federal license and 
permit applicants, lessees under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, 
applicants for federal financial assistance to state and local 
governments.
    Frequency: With the state review process under the CZMA being part 
of the federal decision-making process for proposed federal actions, 
the reviews have the same frequency as other regulatory compliance 
reviews.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain services or 
benefits.
    Legal Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1456, 15 CFR part 930.
    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 0648-0411.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2023-00400 Filed 1-10-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-P