[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 61 (Thursday, March 28, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21493-21494]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-06599]


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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; NOAA Financial Assistance Performance Progress Reports

    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. This notice pertains to a revision and extension of 
the approved collection of information for NOAA Financial Assistance 
Performance Progress Reports. Public comments were previously requested 
via the Federal Register on December 27, 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: NOAA Financial Assistance Performance Progress Reports.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0718.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular submission. Revision and extension of a 
currently approved information collection.
    Number of Respondents: 645.
    Average Hours per Response: Marine Debris Program (MDP) Performance 
Progress Report: 8 hours; MDP Performance Progress Report Table: 0.25 
hours; MDP Companion Tracker: 1 hour; MDP Additional Metrics Trackers: 
3 hours; Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) Semi-Annual Reports: 10 
hours; Restoration Center (RC) Progress Report: Initial--9.5 hours; 
Semi-Annual--5.5 hours; and Final--9.75 hours; RC Administrative 
Progress Reports: Initial--6 hours; Semi-Annual--2.75 hours; and 
Final--5.5 hours.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 4,800.
    Needs and Uses: This is a request for revision and extension to 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 previously-approved information collection assists NOAA in 
the administration and evaluation of financial assistance awards made 
by the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP), NOAA Coral Reef Conservation 
Program (CRCP), and the NOAA Restoration Center (RC).
    This revision, which is described in more detail below, is only 
applicable for the NOAA MDP financial assistance awards, and previous 
information collections for NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) 
and NOAA Restoration Center (RC) remain unchanged. There are no changes 
to the NOAA CRCP or NOAA RC forms that were previously approved, 
including the RC Progress Reports (Initial, Semi-Annual, and Final), RC 
Administrative Progress Reports (Initial, Semi-Annual, and Final), and 
CRCP Semi-Annual Reports. However, the extension applies to the entire 
previously-approved information collection.
    Every year, the NOAA MDP, the NOAA CRCP, and the NOAA RC each 
support a variety of initiatives specific to their individual 
authorizations and programmatic mandates. This support is made 
substantially through grants and cooperative agreements, the terms and 
conditions of which require regular progress reporting and 
communication of project accomplishments to the agency. This 
information collection identifies what is to be provided in these 
reports, and aims to assist recipients in fulfilling their 
responsibilities in meeting interim and final progress report 
requirements. This information is also necessary for NOAA to 
effectively oversee the expenditure of public funds awarded through 
these programs, to ensure both cost-effectiveness and programmatic 
goals are met.
    The NOAA RC provides technical and financial assistance to 
identify, develop, implement, and evaluate community-driven habitat 
restoration projects. Awards are made as grants or cooperative 
agreements under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act of 2006, 16 U.S.C. 1891a and the Fish 
and Wildlife Coordination Act, 16 U.S.C. 661, as amended by the 
Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1970.
    The NOAA CRCP operates under authorization from the Coral Reef 
Conservation Act (CRCA) of 2000, 16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq. This act 
authorizes the NOAA CRCP to conserve, and restore the condition of 
United States coral reef ecosystems; to promote the science-based 
management and sustainable use of coral reef ecosystems to benefit 
local communities and the Nation; to develop sound scientific 
information on the condition of coral reef ecosystems and the threats 
to such ecosystems; to assist in the preservation of coral reefs by 
supporting science-based, consensus-driven, and community-based coral 
reef management; to provide financial resources, technical assistance, 
and scientific expertise to establish a formal mechanism for the 
collecting and allocating of monetary donations from the private sector 
to be used for coral reef conservation projects; to support rapid 
response to exigent circumstances that pose immediate and long-term 
threats to coral reefs; and to serve as a model for advancing 
international efforts to monitor, conserve, and restoral coral.
    The NOAA MDP supports national and international efforts to 
research, prevent, and reduce the impacts of marine debris. The NOAA 
MDP is a centralized office within NOAA that coordinates and supports 
activities, both within the bureau and with other federal agencies that 
address marine debris and its impacts. In addition to inter-agency 
coordination, NOAA MDP uses partnerships with state and local agencies, 
tribes, non-governmental

[[Page 21494]]

organizations, academia, and industry to investigate and solve the 
problems that stem from marine debris through removal, research, 
prevention, and reduction activities, in order to protect and conserve 
our nation's marine environment and coastal economies, and to ensure 
navigation safety. In large part, these partnerships are made through 
grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, MOUs, or are simply informal 
technical assistance arrangements.
    The Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act 
authorizes NOAA MDP to enter into cooperative agreements and contracts 
and provide financial assistance in the form of grants to carry out the 
purposes of the Act--namely to identify, determine sources of, assess, 
reduce, and prevent marine debris and its adverse impacts on the marine 
environment and navigation safety. 33 U.S.C. 1951, 1952. To date, both 
competitive and non-competitive funding opportunities have been 
implemented by NOAA MDP to provide federal funding to non-federal 
applicants for activities to carry out the purposes of the Act.
    The terms and conditions of MDP grants and cooperative agreements 
require regular progress reporting and communication of project 
accomplishments to the agency. Grant reporting is necessary for NOAA to 
effectively oversee the expenditure of public funds, and to ensure both 
the cost-effectiveness of funded projects and that programmatic goals 
are met.
    This information collection revision clarifies agency reporting 
requirements, and aims to assist recipients in fulfilling their federal 
grant responsibilities. NOAA MDP proposes to revise and clarify grant 
performance progress report (PPR) instructions and add a table to the 
PPR that will be used for recipients whose activities span multiple 
states. NOAA MDP proposes to add the collection of performance measure 
information in a spreadsheet that captures required project metrics at 
a finer geographic resolution than would otherwise be possible using 
the PPR. NOAA MDP also proposes collection of additional metrics 
related to certain activities from large marine debris removals and 
pre- and post-removal habitat monitoring for grantees who perform these 
activities as part of their NOAA MDP award. The additional collection 
of project-level data, including project-level location and 
implementation data, aligns with the guidance provided in Memorandum M-
22-12, Advancing Effective Stewardship of Taxpayer Resources and 
Outcomes in the Implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and 
Jobs Act (IIJA) in order to ensure robust and transparent reporting of 
IIJA investments.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit organizations; Not-for-profit institutions; State, Local, or 
Tribal government.
    Frequency: Variable (quarterly to semi-annually).
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to Obtain or Retain Benefits.
    Legal Authority: The Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and 
Reduction Act (33 U.S.C. 1951 et seq.) as amended by the Marine Debris 
Act Amendments of 2012 (Pub. L. 112-213, Title VI, Sec. 603, 126 Stat. 
1576, December 20, 2012), Save Our Seas Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-265), 
and Save Our Seas 2.0 Act of 2020 (Pub. L. 116-224); Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 2006, 16 U.S.C. 1891a and 
the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, 16 U.S.C. 661, as amended by 
the Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1970; Coral Reef Conservation Act of 
2000 (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.)
    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 0648-0718. Do not submit Confidential Business 
Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for 
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024-06599 Filed 3-27-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-JS-P