[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 63 (Monday, April 1, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22394-22396]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-06829]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army

[Docket ID: USA-2023-HQ-0016]


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Department of the Army, 
Department of Defense (DoD).

ACTION: 30-Day information collection notice.

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SUMMARY: The DoD has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of 
information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act.

DATES: Consideration will be given to all comments received by May 1, 
2024.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Reginald Lucas, (571) 372-7574, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title; Associated Form; and OMB Number: Jurisdictional 
Determination Forms and Aquatic Resources Delineation Forms; ENG Forms 
6116 (0-9), 6245-6250, 6281 (0-2); OMB Control Number 0710-0024.
    Type of Request: Extension.

Request for Corps Jurisdictional Determination (ENG 6247)

    Number of Respondents: 16,891.
    Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Annual Responses: 16,891.
    Average Burden per Response: 10 minutes.
    Annual Burden Hours: 2,815.

Approved Jurisdictional Determination Forms (ENG 6245, 6248, & 6281)

    Number of Respondents: 668.
    Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Annual Responses: 668.
    Average Burden per Response: 150 minutes.
    Annual Burden Hours: 1,670.

Rapanos Dry Land AJD Form (ENG 6246)

    Number of Respondents: 243.
    Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Annual Responses: 243.
    Average Burden per Response: 15 minutes.
    Annual Burden Hours: 61.

Preliminary JD Form (ENG 6249)

    Number of Respondents: 1,500.
    Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Annual Responses: 1,500.
    Average Burden per Response: 25 minutes.
    Annual Burden Hours: 625.

Ordinary High Water Mark Data Sheet (ENG 6250)

    Number of Respondents: 39,980.
    Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Annual Responses: 39,980.
    Average Burden per Response: 30 minutes.
    Annual Burden Hours: 19,990.

Automated Wetland Data Sheets (ENG 6116 (0-9))

    Number of Respondents: 48,692.
    Responses per Respondent: 2.
    Annual Responses: 97,384.

[[Page 22395]]

    Average Burden per Response: 30 minutes.
    Annual Burden Hours: 48,692.

Total

    Number of Respondents: 107,974.
    Annual Responses: 156,666.
    Annual Burden Hours: 73,853.
    Frequency: On Occasion.
    Needs and Uses:

Jurisdictional Determination Forms

    The USACE (Corps), through its Regulatory Program, regulates 
certain activities in waters of the United States (WOTUS), pursuant to 
section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA). WOTUS are defined under 33 
CFR part 328. The Corps also regulates certain activities in 
``navigable WOTUS'' pursuant to sections 9 and 10 of the Rivers and 
Harbors Act of 1899 (RHA). The Corps has authorized its district 
engineers to issue formal determinations concerning the applicability 
of the CWA or the RHA to tracts of land. (See 33 CFR 320.1(a)(6)). 
These formal determinations concerning the applicability of the CWA or 
RHA to tracts of land are known as ``jurisdictional determinations.'' 
Approved jurisdictional determinations (AJDs) and preliminary JDs 
(PJDs) are tools used by the Corps to help implement section 404 of the 
CWA (33 U.S.C. 1344) and sections 9 and 10 of the RHA (33 U.S.C. 401, 
et seq.). Both types of JDs specify what geographic areas will be 
treated as subject to regulation by the Corps under one or both 
statutes.
    On August 29, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and 
Department of the Army (the agencies) issued a final rule to amend the 
final ``Revised Definition of `WOTUS' '' rule, published in the Federal 
Register on January 18, 2023. This final rule conforms the definition 
of ``WOTUS'' to the U.S. Supreme Court's May 25, 2023, decision in the 
case of Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency. Parts of the 
January 2023 rule are invalid under the Supreme Court's interpretation 
of the CWA in the Sackett decision. Therefore, the agencies have 
amended key aspects of the regulatory text to conform it to the Court's 
decision. The conforming rule, ``Revised Definition of 'WOTUS'; 
Conforming,'' published in the Federal Register and became effective on 
September 8, 2023.
    As a result of ongoing litigation on the January 2023 rule, the 
agencies are currently implementing the January 2023 rule, as amended 
by the conforming rule, in 23 states, the District of Columbia, and the 
U.S. Territories. In the other 27 states and for certain parties, the 
agencies are interpreting ``WOTUS'' consistent with the pre-2015 
regulatory regime and the Supreme Court's decision in Sackett until 
further notice.
    This information collection request thus implements the collections 
of information associated with the Corps' implementation of the 2023 
rule, as amended, and the pre-2015 regime consistent with Sackett. The 
Corps intends to implement the 2023 Conforming Rule and the pre-2015 
regime consistent with Sackett using two forms, which consist of the 
Preliminary Jurisdictional Determination Form (PJD Form) and a ``JD 
Request Form.'' Under the most recent regulatory regimes (the September 
2023 Conforming Rule and the pre-2015 regime consistent with Sackett), 
the Corps has elected to use a Memorandum for Record (MFR) instead of a 
JD ``form'' to document the basis of its jurisdictional decisions under 
those two regimes. While we are including four separate AJD Forms in 
this package, including (1) the ``pre-2015 regime (a.k.a., 
``Rapanos'')'' AJD Form, (2) The pre-2015/Rapanos ``dry land'' AJD 
Form, (3) the 2020 NWPR AJD Form, and (4) the January 2023 rule AJD 
Form, none of those four AJD Forms are currently in use. Even though 
these four forms are not currently in use, they are included in this 
collection for historical purposes. Therefore, there a total of six JD 
forms (the PJD Form, the JD Request Form, and the 4 historical AJD 
Forms) in this collection.

Aquatic Resource Delineation Datasheets

    In order for the Corps to determine the amount and extent of 
aquatic resources at a site, the Corps must geographically delineate 
aquatic resources in accordance with established regulations, policy, 
and guidance. The aquatic resource delineation datasheets fall into two 
main categories: (1) the ENG 6119 (0-9) series, which are our automated 
wetland determination data sheets (ADS) and (2) the Ordinary High-Water 
Mark (OHWM) field identification datasheet.
    To delineate wetlands, the Corps uses the 1987 Corps of Engineers 
Wetlands Delineation Manual (Corps Manual) and the most current 
applicable regional supplements. There are ten wetland data sheets in 
total, but these really are one single collection that is split into 10 
regional sub-forms. The ADSs streamline the information collection 
process by incorporating reference material and analytical processes 
directly into the form, which is provided as a Microsoft Excel document 
rather than the PDF form included in the regional supplements. 
Additionally, the ADSs automate data analysis using information input 
by the respondent (e.g., the ``dominance test'' for wetland 
vegetation), which reduces the time and effort required to complete 
these processes.
    Non-tidal, non-wetland WOTUS, which are defined in 33 CFR part 328, 
must be delineated to the extent of the ordinary high-water mark OHWM, 
which is defined at 33 CFR 328.3(c)(4) and 33 CFR 329.11(a)(1). 
Regulatory Guidance Letter (RGL) 05-05 provides guidance on 
identification of OHWM. In 2022, the Corps released a draft Engineer 
Research and Development Center Technical Report, ``National Ordinary 
High Water Mark Field Delineation Manual for Rivers and Streams'' 
(Draft National Manual), which is the first national manual that 
provides and describes indicators and a methodology to help improve 
consistency in the identification and delineation of the OHWM by (1) 
providing consistent definitions of OHWM indicators; (2) outlining a 
clear, step-by-step process for identifying the OHWM using a Weight-of-
Evidence approach; and (3) providing a datasheet for logging 
information at a site. As part of the development of the Draft National 
Manual, the Corps developed a Data Sheet (ENG 6250) for facilitating 
documentation of the OHWM.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    OMB Desk Officer: Mr. Matthew Oreska.
    You may also submit comments and recommendations, identified by 
Docket ID number and title, by the following method:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency 
name, Docket ID number, and title for this Federal Register document. 
The general policy for comments and other submissions from members of 
the public is to make these submissions available for public viewing on 
the internet at http://www.regulations.gov as they are received without 
change, including any personal identifiers or contact information.
    DOD Clearance Officer: Mr. Reginald Lucas.
    Requests for copies of the information collection proposal should 
be sent to Mr. Lucas at [email protected].


[[Page 22396]]


    Dated: March 26, 2024.
Aaron T. Siegel,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. 2024-06829 Filed 3-29-24; 8:45 am]
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