[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 148 (Thursday, August 1, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62778-62779]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-16985]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Geological Survey

[GX24GA00EZ50300; OMB Control Number 1028-NEW]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval: Comment 
Request; U.S. Geological Survey, Generic Clearance for Natural Hazard 
Disaster-Related Data Collection

AGENCY: U.S. Geological Survey, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, 
the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is proposing a new information 
collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
September 30, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on this information collection request 
(ICR) by mail to USGS, Information Collections Clearance Officer, 12201 
Sunrise Valley Drive, MS 159, Reston, VA 20192; or by email to [email protected]. Please reference OMB Control Number 1028-NEW 
in the subject line of your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information 
about this ICR, contact Jack Friedman by email at [email protected], 
or by telephone at 608-636-0796. 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 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 PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501 
et seq.) and 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), all information collections require 
approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). As part of our 
continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burdens, we invite 
the public and other Federal agencies to comment on new, proposed, 
revised, and continuing collections of information. This helps us 
assess the impact of our information collection requirements and 
minimize the public's reporting burden. It also helps the public 
understand our information collection requirements and provide the 
requested data in the desired format.
    We are especially interested in public comment addressing the 
following:
    (1) Whether or not the collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including 
whether or not the information will have practical utility;
    (2) The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this collection 
of information, including the validity of the methodology and 
assumptions used;
    (3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    (4) How the agency might minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on those who are to respond, including through the use of 
appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., 
permitting electronic submission of response.
    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 ICR. Before including your address, phone 
number, email address, or other personally identifiable information 
(PII) in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--
including your PII--may be made publicly available at any time. While 
you can ask us in your comment to withhold your PII from public review, 
we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
    Abstract: The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey is to serve the 
Nation by providing reliable scientific information to describe and 
understand the Earth; minimize loss of life and property from natural 
disasters; manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources; and 
enhance and protect our quality of life (USGS, SM 120.1.2). Regarding 
hazard events, the USGS provides information needed by its customers 
before, during, and after hazard events to minimize the loss of life 
and property. Hazards include, but are not limited to, earthquakes, 
volcanoes, landslides, geomagnetic (solar) storms, floods, drought, 
coastal erosion, tsunamis, wildland fire, wildlife disease, and other 
biological and chemical threats (USGS, SM 120.1.3.A). Part of the 
USGS's function is to communicate with emergency managers, public 
safety officials, and others during hazard events and to conduct post-
crisis analysis (USGS, SM 120.1.3.A.6-7). With this in mind, the USGS 
proposes to conduct a number of data collection efforts within the 
topic areas of hazards preparedness, response, and recovery studies and 
community resilience and sustainability. These efforts include studies 
of specific disaster events (e.g., wildfire, hurricane, earthquake, 
volcano, landslide, tsunami, geomagnetic (i.e., space weather), and 
flood); assessments of the effectiveness of USGS science to meet the 
needs of emergency managers, public safety officials, and others; and 
evaluations of the usability and utility of USGS natural hazard-related 
guidance or other products.
    These data collection efforts may be either qualitative or 
quantitative in nature or may consist of mixed methods. Additionally, 
data may be collected via a variety of means, including but not limited 
to electronic or social media, direct or indirect observation (i.e., in 
person video and audio collections), interviews, questionnaires, and 
focus groups. The USGS will limit its inquiries to data collections 
that solicit strictly voluntary opinions or responses. The data 
collected will be used to decrease negative impacts of hazard events on 
society, improve the flow of actionable information to emergency 
managers and public safety officers, and, in turn, increase community 
resilience within the United States. Steps will be taken to protect 
confidentiality of respondents in each activity covered by this 
request.
    The USGS utilizes this clearance to conduct research in support of 
topic areas of natural hazard-related disaster studies and community 
resilience. This type of research is directly related to a range of 
hazards that are unpredictable in their number and scale during a given 
year. Additionally, some hazard events may require multiple studies 
resulting in multiple collections. Therefore, in light of the 
uncertainties regarding the frequency and extent of severe hazard 
events, the USGS is requesting the ICR annual response allotment be set 
at 4,500 responses and the ICR annual hours allotment at 2,000 hours.
    The USGS will collect this information by electronic means when 
possible, as well as by mail, fax, telephone, technical discussions, 
and in-person interviews. The USGS may also utilize observational 
techniques to collect this information.
    Title of Collection: Generic Clearance for Hazard Event-Related 
Data Collection.
    OMB Control Number: 1028-NEW.
    Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: New.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals or households; emergency 
managers; first responders; weather forecasters; members of the media; 
water, power, transportation, and communications infrastructure 
operators; businesses or other for-profit

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organizations; not-for-profit institutions; State, local or Tribal 
government; Federal government; standards-making bodies; universities.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 2,500.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 4,500 (2,500 15-minute 
surveys; 1,500 15-minute follow-up surveys; 500 2-hour follow-up 
interviews).
    Estimated Completion Time per Response: Varied, dependent upon the 
data collection method used. The possible response time to complete a 
questionnaire may be 15 minutes or 2 hours to participate in an 
interview.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 2,000.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: The vast majority will be one-time data 
collection. It is possible that follow-up data collection (pre-/post-
conditions) could occur if data are collected from respondents who are 
impacted by more than one hazard-related incident or a prolonged 
incident, but we expect this to be very rare.
    Total Estimated Annual Non-hour Burden Cost: None.
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, nor is a person is required 
to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a 
currently valid OMB control number.
    The authority for this action is the PRA of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et 
seq.).

Michael Grimm,
Associate Director for Natural Hazards, USGS.
[FR Doc. 2024-16985 Filed 7-31-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4338-11-P