[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 160 (Monday, August 19, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67101-67102]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-18448]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Federal Emergency Management Agency

[Docket ID: FEMA-2024-0023; OMB No. 1660-0026]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection, 
Comment Request; Administrative Plan for the Hazard Mitigation Grant 
Program

AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland 
Security.

ACTION: 60-Day notice of Extension and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as part of its 
continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites 
the general public to take this opportunity to comment on an extension 
of a currently approved information collection. In accordance with the 
requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice seeks 
comments concerning the State Administrative Plan for the procedural 
guide that details how the State will administer the Hazard Mitigation 
Grant Program (HMGP).

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before October 18, 2024.

ADDRESSES: To avoid duplicate submissions to the docket, please submit 
comments at http://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID FEMA-2024-0023. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    All submissions received must include the Agency name and Docket 
ID. Regardless of the method used to submitting comments or material, 
all submissions will be posted, without change, to the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov, and will include any 
personal information you provide. Therefore, submitting this 
information makes it public. You may wish to read the Privacy and 
Security Notice that is available via a link on the homepage of http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Travis Battiest, Section Chief for 
Tools, SOPS, and Implementation, Hazard Mitigation Assistance Division, 
Mitigation Directorate, FEMA, at (202) 714-8052 or 
[email protected]. You may contact the Information 
Management Division for copies of the proposed collection of 
information at email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FEMA regulations in 44 CFR 206.437 require 
development and updates to the Administrative Plan by Applicants or 
Recipients as a condition of receiving Hazard Mitigation Grant Program 
(HMGP) funding under section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act of 1988 (Pub. L. 93-288, as 
amended) (42 U.S.C. 5170c). Applicants or Recipients can be any State 
of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin 
Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
Islands, or the government of a Federally-recognized Tribe that chooses 
to act as an Applicant or Recipient.
    The regulation at 44 CFR 206.437 requires a State to have a FEMA-
approved Administrative Plan to receive HMGP funding. At its minimum, 
the Administrative Plan will include the designated State agency or 
Indian Tribal government that will act as the Recipient, identify the 
State Hazard Mitigation Officer or Tribal Hazard Mitigation Officer, 
identify staffing requirements, and establish a guide for 
implementation activities and procedures to account for non-Federal 
cost sharing. Additional information requirements are guided by the 
type of mitigation activities being pursued.
    The State, territorial, or Tribal government must establish 
procedures to guide the administration of the HMGP in the 
Administrative Plan, as outlined in the listed activities below. FEMA 
will review the information provided to ensure proper documentation of 
each activity.
    The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) adopted in its entirety 
the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit 
Requirements for Federal Awards (2 CFR part 200) on December 26, 2014. 
This rule eliminates overlapping and duplicative requirements for 
stakeholders, including States, territories and Indian Tribal 
governments, by using general terms such as ``recipient'' or ``pass-
through entity.'' FEMA is also avoiding unnecessary duplication, 
overlap and the demand for maintenance of requirements under HMGP in 
two documents, the State Administrative Plan, and the Tribal 
Administrative Plan. FEMA instead is offering and referring to one 
common set of requirements in an ``Administrative Plan.'' The term 
``State Administrative Plan'' is now referred to ``Administrative Plan 
for the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program''.

Collection of Information

    Title: Administrative Plan for the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.
    Type of Information Collection: Extension of a currently approved 
information collection.
    OMB Number: 1660-0026.
    FEMA Forms: Not applicable.
    Abstract: The State Administrative Plan for the Hazard Mitigation 
Grant Program (HMGP) is a procedural guide that details how the State, 
territory, or Tribal government will administer the HMGP. The State, 
territory, or Tribal government (who acts as a recipient) must have a 
current administrative plan approved by the appropriate FEMA Regional 
Administrator before receiving HMGP funds. The administrative plan may 
take any form including a chapter within a comprehensive State, 
territory, or Tribal mitigation program strategy.
    Affected Public: State, Local, or Tribal Government.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 35.
    Estimated Number of Responses: 70.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 560.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost: $34,143.
    Estimated Respondents' Operation and Maintenance Costs: $0.
    Estimated Respondents' Capital and Start-Up Costs: $0.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to the Federal Government: $25,241.

Comments

    Comments may be submitted as indicated in the ADDRESSES caption 
above. Comments are solicited to (a) evaluate whether the proposed data 
collection is necessary for the proper performance of the Agency, 
including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) 
evaluate the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (c) enhance the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) minimize the burden 
of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including 
through the use of appropriate automated,

[[Page 67102]]

electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses.

Millicent Brown Wilson,
Records Management Branch Chief, Office of the Chief Administrative 
Officer, Mission Support, Federal Emergency Management Agency, 
Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2024-18448 Filed 8-16-24; 8:45 am]
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