[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 39 (Tuesday, February 27, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14447-14449]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-03943]


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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; a Coastal Management Needs Assessment and Market Analysis for 
Financing Resilience

AGENCY: National Oceanic and 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 April 29, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to 
Adrienne Thomas, NOAA PRA Officer, at [email protected]. Please 
reference OMB Control Number 0648-0796 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 Kim Penn, NOAA Office for Coastal Management, 1305 East-West Hwy 
Silver Spring, MD 20910, (410)701-0407, and [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    This is a request for extension of an approved collection of 
information under the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. 
and implementing regulations at 5 CFR part 1320. This information 
collection assists NOAA in the development of funding and financing 
coastal resilience learning products and tools in support of the 
Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (CZMA), 16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq. 
NOAA's Office for Coastal Management (OCM) and its regional, State, 
Federal, and non-profit partners have worked closely with coastal 
managers across the country to increase the resilience of our coastal 
communities, economies and ecosystems. Under the CZMA, OCM provides 
financial and technical assistance to states and territories, including 
that which helps its customers (coastal managers) develop hazard 
mitigation and climate adaptation plans that include strategies for 
short-term responses to immediate threats (e.g., flooding, hurricanes) 
as well as long-term responses to gradual changes (e.g., sea level 
rise, drought). Services are provided through outreach, training, 
funding, resource, and tool development.
    Solutions to these resilience challenges are often complex and 
cross-sectoral. Therefore, coastal decision-makers regularly point to 
the need for more substantial, coordinated, sustained

[[Page 14448]]

and creative funding opportunities to support these efforts. The 
results of an initial review of more than 200 resources that NOAA 
conducted in support of this effort, and informal conversations with 
NOAA customers and other stakeholders indicate that there is no 
comprehensive inventory or guide to understanding and selecting 
appropriate funding options or financing strategies. These findings 
have been further confirmed in subsequent informal discussions with 
coastal resilience and finance practitioners at national venues such as 
the National Adaptation Forum and Social Coast Forum, as well as 
through the original needs assessment using this information collection 
instrument. NOAA's coastal management partners continue to request 
support on this topic.
    The financing world is one that is constantly evolving new products 
and retiring others. The range of funding and financing options, from 
grants and low-interest loans to more innovative private-public 
partnerships and emerging bonds, presents an ever-changing and complex 
array of choices. In initial internal communications and informal 
discussions conducted between June 2018 and February 2020, NOAA 
customers indicated that these opportunities and mechanisms are not 
well understood, and are generally inaccessible to coastal managers, 
particularly in small to mid-sized communities, rural areas, and tribal 
communities. The initial information gathered via this collection 
supported this.
    In many coastal communities, investment in mitigation and 
resilience measures remains either limited or reactive in response to a 
catastrophic event. While there is no data on the number of adaptation 
plans that have been implemented, lack of funding is a frequently cited 
barrier to implementation. At the same time, it has been estimated that 
investing in mitigation can save communities $6 for every $1 spent 
through mitigation grants from agencies including the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and 
Economic Development Administration (according to the National 
Institute of Building Sciences' October 2018 report, Natural Hazard 
Mitigation Saves: Utilities and Transportation Infrastructure). 
Understanding the suite of funding and financing options available at 
the time resilience planning is undertaken, and then incorporating 
financial strategies into the planning process and recommendations, 
will help ensure that these plans are implemented. Section 310 of the 
Coastal Zone Management Act allows for technical assistance and 
management-oriented research to develop and implement state coastal 
management program amendments.
    NOAA uses the information collected to develop needs assessments 
defining the types of funding, financing mechanisms, and associated 
resources that its state and local coastal manager customers need for 
coastal resilience activities and a market analysis of existing funding 
and financing programs and mechanisms. Simultaneously, NOAA is 
identifying existing resources and partnership opportunities for State 
and local coastal managers and NOAA's non-profit, academic, and other 
customers. Information collected to date has helped inform the 
development of new NOAA funding and financing products and services and 
future collection efforts will help NOAA better understand the impacts 
these products and services have had on coastal managers' barriers.
    This request is for a set of related interviews to facilitate this 
research. NOAA will perform interviews with state and local coastal 
managers, as well as representatives from non-profit organizations, 
academia, the Federal Government, and the finance industry. The 
interviews will collect relevant information from interviewees on their 
experiences with coastal resilience funding and financing mechanisms, 
challenges and opportunities related to funding and financing coastal 
resilience, and technical support needs and opportunities that NOAA can 
address.
    The information provided by interviewees will be synthesized into 
the needs assessment, which will address needs and information gaps 
partitioned by region, financial scale, time scale, and scope/sector. 
The information provided by interviewees will also be used to help 
inform an inventory of existing entities providing resources for 
resilience funding, as well as a summary of existing and emerging 
funding sources and financial tools and mechanisms for coastal 
resilience. Finally, the interviews will inform recommendations on 
NOAA's potential niche in addressing the identified needs and gaps.
    The resulting research (and any subsequent resources or tools 
developed by NOAA to address identified gaps) will provide much needed 
information to NOAA's customers on funding and financing coastal 
resilience efforts, including available resources and mechanisms, best 
practices and strategies, real world success stories, and opportunities 
for technical and financial partnerships with private and public 
entities.

II. Method of Collection

    Information will be collected during structured telephone 
interviews.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0648-0796.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission. Extension of a currently 
approved information collection.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations; Not-
for-profit institutions; State, Local, or Tribal government; Federal 
Government.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 36.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1.25 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 45.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (CZMA), 16 
U.S.C. 1451 et seq.

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 information collection request. 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

[[Page 14449]]

cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for 
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024-03943 Filed 2-26-24; 8:45 a.m.]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-P