[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 23 (Friday, February 2, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7377-7378]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-02141]


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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; Assessing Public Preferences and Values To Support Coastal and 
Marine Management

    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 August 25, 2023 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: Assessing Public Preferences and Values to Support Coastal 
and Marine Management.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-XXXX.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: New information collection.
    Number of Respondents: Focus groups: 96; Surveys: 6,282.
    Average Hours per Response: Focus groups: 1 hour; Surveys: 12 
minutes.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 3,528.48.
    Needs and Uses: This request is for a new information collection, 
which will include focus groups and pre-test to help guide revisions 
necessary to the survey instrument, to directly support decision-makers 
with the National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR). The proposed data 
collection involves surveying randomly selected residents (aged 18 
years and older) from households in counties surrounding the NERRs. The 
purpose of this information collection is to obtain data on the 
opinions, values, attitudes, and behaviors of visitors to NOS-special 
places, as well as residents from surrounding areas. The initial 
surveys will be conducted for the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine 
Research Reserve in Virginia (CBNERR-VA), Weeks Bay NERR (WBNERR), and 
Grand Bay NERR (GNDNERR), and the survey will be repeated regularly in 
other NERRs based on information needs and budget.
    The NERRS is a Federal-State partnership program for the 
stewardship, education, and research of unique estuarine sites. This 
data collection supports the NERRS' vision of establishing healthy 
estuaries and coastal watersheds where human and ecological communities 
thrive. The NERRS has identified five priority research areas, 
including a focus on social science and economic processes within each 
NERR site. However, limited data exist characterizing stakeholder 
activities, attitudes, knowledge, and preferences, including their 
spatial aspects. Gathering such data is essential for effective 
management of stakeholder groups, regulatory proposals, and resource 
management decisions.
    Designated in 1986, WBNERR is located along the eastern shore of 
Mobile Bay in Baldwin County, Alabama. CBNERR-VA, designated in 1991, 
comprises four reserve sites within the York River in the southern 
Chesapeake Bay subregion. Finally, GNDNERR was established in 1999 and 
is located in the Grand Bay Savannah Complex along the Mississippi-
Alabama state line in Jackson County, Mississippi. All three NERRS 
prioritize public access and responsible use to protect ecosystems, 
identifying public sites, minimizing conflicts, and evaluating visitor 
use. Therefore, information is needed on who uses these NERR sites, 
their motivations, management preferences, and why some do not visit. 
This data supports conservation and management goals, strengthens 
decision-making, increases capacity, and extends education and 
outreach. It is also required by NOAA to meet objectives related to 
ocean and coastal planning and management. The data benefits state and 
local officials as well.
    NOAA's mission is to provide science, service and stewardship for, 
among other activities, management of the nation's oceans and coasts. 
NOAA supports ``comprehensive ocean and coastal planning and 
management'' in order to facilitate use of oceans and coasts, while 
also ensuring ``continued access to coastal areas, sustained 
ecosystems, maintained cultural heritage, and limited cumulative 
impacts.'' NOAA is subject to and supports mandates of the Coastal Zone 
Management Act (CZMA) (16 U.S.C. 1452 (303)(2)(D)), which encourages 
the wise use of coastal resources, including energy activity. The CZMA 
also encourages the inclusion and participation of the public in 
carrying out the tenets of the act (16 U.S.C. 1452 (303)(4)). The 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (40 CFR 1502.6) mandates 
federal agencies to use social science data to assess the impacts of 
federal actions on the human environment. Consequently, up-to-date 
sociological data is needed to support federal agency obligations under 
each of these acts.
    Finally, NOAA is responding to Executive Orders 13707 and 13985. 
Executive Order 13707, Using Behavioral Science Insights to Better 
Serve the American People, requests federal agencies to, among other 
actions: ``identify policies, programs, and operations where applying 
behavioral science insights may yield substantial improvements in 
public welfare, program outcomes, and program cost effectiveness'' and 
``develop strategies for applying behavioral science insights to 
programs and, where possible, rigorously test and evaluate the impact 
of these insights.'' Executive Order 13985, On Advancing Racial Equity 
and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, 
requires the federal government to allocate resources ``in a manner 
that

[[Page 7378]]

increases investment in underserved communities, as well as individuals 
from those communities.''
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Frequency: This is a one-time information collection for this 
region, although the collection may be deployed to other regions in the 
future.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) (16 U.S.C. 1452 
(303)(2)(D)), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (40 CFR 1502.6).
    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.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for 
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024-02141 Filed 2-1-24; 8:45 am]
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