[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 136 (Friday, July 17, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44868-44869]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-14449]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of the Secretary
[Docket No. USGS-ECO-2026-0004; GX26EN05ESB0500; OMB Control Number
1028-0096]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Regional Climate
Adaptation Science Centers (CASCs)
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 to renew an information
collection authorization.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before
September 15, 2026.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by one of the following methods:
[ssquf] Internet: https://www.regulations.gov. Search for and
submit comments on Docket No. USGS-ECO-2026-0004.
[ssquf] U.S. Mail: USGS, Information Collections Clearance Officer,
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, MS 159, Reston, VA 20192.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information
about this information collection request (ICR), contact Shawn Carter,
Chief Administrator (Acting) and Senior Scientist of the USGS National
Climate Adaptation Science Center, by email at [email protected], or by
telephone at 571-314-2788.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with PRA of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
3501 et seq.) and 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), all information collections
require approval under the PRA. We may not conduct or sponsor, and you
are not required to respond to, a collection of information
[[Page 44869]]
unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.
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 USGS manages one National and nine CASCs. Each
regional CASC involves a cooperative agreement with a host institution.
The host institution agreements are periodically re-competed, requiring
collection of information from potential host institutions. In
addition, this information collection addresses annual and biannual
reporting required of host institutions as part of their hosting
agreement and associated research agreements.
Title of Collection: Department of the Interior Regional Climate
Adaptation Science Centers.
OMB Control Number: 1028-0096.
Form Number: N/A.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Respondents/Affected Public: Institutions that propose to serve as
CASC host or partner institutions including state, local government,
and tribal entities, and academic institutions. Existing host
institutions are state academic institutions.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 10.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 307 Responses (see
table below).
Estimated Completion Time per Response: Each proposal for CASC
hosting is expected to take 200 hours to complete. The time required to
complete annual reports for any specific host cooperative agreement is
expected to take 5 hours per report and annual reports for each
research agreement are expected to total 2.5 hours per report.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 2,590 Hours (see
table below).
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Annual burden
Type of report Annual number hours per Total annual
of reports report burden
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Host Recompete.................................................. 9 200 1,800
Host Performance Report......................................... 9 5 45
Host Financial Report........................................... 9 5 45
Research Performance Report..................................... 135 2.5 337.5
Research Financial Report....................................... 135 2.5 337.5
NCASC Performance Report........................................ 5 2.5 12.5
NCASC Financial Report.......................................... 5 2.5 12.5
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Grand Total................................................. 307 220 2,590
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Respondent's Obligation: Required to Obtain or Retain a Benefit.
Frequency of Collection: Information will be collected once every
five years for each CASC to enable re-competition of CASC hosting
agreements. In addition, host institutions are required to provide
annual financial reports and performance reports, as well as annual or
biannual financial and performance reports on the associated research
agreements.
Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: There are no ``non-hour
cost'' burdens associated with this collection of information.
The authority for this action is the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
Brian D. Kimbrell,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, Federal Register Liaison.
[FR Doc. 2026-14449 Filed 7-16-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4334-63-P