[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 211 (Thursday, November 2, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75307-75308]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-24188]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[OMB Control Number 1010-NEW; Docket ID: BOEM-2023-0004]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Piloting an Approach to 
Community-Informed Characterization of Communities With Environmental 
Justice Concerns

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) proposes this new information 
collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

DATES: Comments must be received by BOEM no later than January 2, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on this ICR by mail to the BOEM 
Information Collection Clearance Officer, Anna Atkinson, Bureau of 
Ocean Energy Management, 45600 Woodland Road, Sterling, Virginia 20166; 
or by email to [email protected]. Please reference OMB Control 
Number 1010-NEW in the subject line of your comments. You may also view 
and comment on the ICR and its related documents by searching the 
docket number BOEM-2023-0004 at http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anna Atkinson by email at 
[email protected], or by telephone at 703-787-1025. Individuals in 
the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a 
speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access 
telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside of the United 
States should use the relay services offered within their country to 
make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, BOEM provides the general public and other Federal 
agencies with an opportunity to comment on new, proposed, revised, and 
continuing collections of information. This helps BOEM assess the 
impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the 
public's reporting burden. It also helps the public understand BOEM's 
information collection requirements and provide the requested data in 
the desired format.
    BOEM is soliciting comments on the proposed ICR described below. 
BOEM is especially interested in public comments addressing the 
following issues: (1) is the collection necessary to the proper 
functions of BOEM; (2) what can BOEM do to ensure that this information 
is processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the burden estimate 
accurate; (4) how might BOEM enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 
of the information to be collected; and (5) how might BOEM minimize the 
burden of this collection on the respondents, including minimizing the 
burden through the use of information technology?
    Comments submitted in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. BOEM will include or summarize each comment in its ICR 
to OMB for approval of this information collection. You should be aware 
that your entire comment--including your address, phone number, email 
address, or other personally identifiable information included in your 
comment--may be made publicly available at any time. Even if BOEM 
withholds your information in the context of this ICR, your comment is 
subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). If your comment is 
requested under the FOIA, your information will only be withheld if 
BOEM determines that one of the FOIA exemptions to disclosure applies. 
Such a determination will be made in accordance with the Department's 
FOIA regulations and applicable law.
    In order for BOEM to consider withholding from disclosure your 
personally identifiable information, you must identify, in a cover 
letter, any information contained in your comment that, if released, 
would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of your privacy. You 
must also briefly describe any possible harmful consequences of the 
disclosure of information, such as embarrassment, injury, or other 
harm. Note that BOEM will make available for public inspection, in 
their entirety, all comments submitted by organizations and businesses, 
or by individuals identifying themselves as representatives of 
organizations or businesses.
    BOEM protects proprietary information in accordance with FOIA and 
the Department's implementing regulations. Items of a sensitive nature 
are not intended to be collected.
    Title of Collection: ``Piloting an Approach to Community-Informed 
Characterization of Communities with Environmental Justice Concerns.''
    Abstract: Various Federal statutes, including the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), require BOEM to examine the social and 
economic impacts of BOEM-authorized activities at the community level. 
Additionally, Federal policy and guidance state that agencies should 
meaningfully engage communities with environmental justice (EJ) 
concerns in their decision making. (Executive Orders 12898, 13985, and 
14008).
    BOEM plans to pilot an approach to community-informed 
characterization of communities with EJ concerns potentially impacted 
by BOEM-authorized activities by selecting nine communities to 
participate in the study. The goal of this initiative is to improve 
BOEM's decision making through more detailed environmental analyses 
that include information on the communities with EJ concerns that may 
be affected by BOEM-authorized activities. Sections within NEPA 
documents currently discuss potential EJ impacts in a general sense. To 
improve its analyses, BOEM proposes to obtain information about 
specific potential impacts, unique contextual considerations, and the 
potential for detailed mitigation measures designed based on the 
affected community.
    Baseline information to support community characterization is 
available but could be better applied in analyses

[[Page 75308]]

to identify local contexts and reflect local input. BOEM plans to 
prepare community characterization summaries using information obtained 
from members of selected communities with EJ concerns to pilot such an 
approach. Community characterizations would summarize a community's 
history, demographics, economic conditions, coastal and marine resource 
use, coastal land use, identification of key leaders and organizations, 
and other baseline conditions and trends. With these summaries readily 
accessible, BOEM analysts will continue improving their understanding 
of the selected affected communities with EJ concerns and the potential 
impacts from BOEM-approved activities.
    As appropriate, these summaries may be included in the relevant 
environmental analyses that inform BOEM's decisions. Furthermore, 
conducting community-informed research could advance earlier community 
awareness of BOEM activities and increase trust. Gaining first-hand 
information will help ``ground-truth'' some of the existing information 
that would be collated into the selected community characterization 
summaries.
    BOEM plans to use various methods, such as interviews and focus 
groups, to collect information from members of approximately three 
communities with EJ concerns in each of the three chosen study areas. 
BOEM seeks comments on, and suggestions of, appropriate information 
collection methods and study areas.
    BOEM proposes to collect information on topics such as those listed 
below in order to inform community characterization summaries 
highlighting vulnerabilities, themes, issues, or concerns of each 
selected community. Each community summary would include relevant 
history, demographics, economics, coastal and marine resource use, 
coastal land use including existing facilities, outreach approaches 
that are locally appropriate for that specific community with EJ 
concerns, identification of key community leaders and organizations, 
and other baseline conditions that will enable BOEM analysts to better 
incorporate specific community interests into environmental reviews and 
the decision-making process. BOEM is also seeking comments on whether 
other topics should be included in the selected community 
characterization summaries.
    OMB Control Number: 1010-NEW.
    Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: New.
    Respondents/Affected Public: 9-15 Selected Communities (including 
community leaders, key informants, and community organizations).
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 135-225 community 
responses.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 540-900 hours.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
    Total Estimated Annual Non-Hour Burden Cost: None.
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid 
OMB control number.
    The authority for this action is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

Karen Thundiyil,
Chief, Office of Regulations, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2023-24188 Filed 11-1-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4340-98-P