54244 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 169 / Wednesday, August 31, 2011 / Notices 

exceeding $1 billion are required to 

participate in the STTR Program. 

Federal agencies who participate in 

the SBIR and STTR programs must 

collect information from the public to: 

(1) Meet their reporting requirements 

under 15 U.S.C. 638 (b)(7), (g)(8), (i), 

(j)(1)(E), (j)(3)(C), (l), (o)(10), and (v); (2) 

Meet the requirement to maintain both 

a publicly accessible database of SBIR/ 

STTR award information and a 

government database of SBIR/STTR 

award information for SBIR and STTR 

program evaluation under 15 U.S.C. 638 

g(10), (k), (o)(9), and (o)(15); and (3) 

Meet requirements for public outreach 

under 15 U.S.C. 638 (j)(2)(F), (o)(14), 

and (s). 

DHS is not asking for anything 

outside of what is already required in 

the FAR. Should anything outside the 

FAR arise, DHS will submit a request for 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) approval. The prior information 

collect request for OMB No. 1600–005 

was approved through October 31, 2011 

by OMB in a Notice of OMB Action. 

The information being collected is 

used by the Government’s contracting 

officers and other acquisition personnel, 

including technical and legal staffs to 

determine adequacy of technical and 

management approach, experience, 

responsibility, responsiveness, expertise 

of the firms submitting offers, 

identification of members of the public 

(i.e., small businesses) who qualify for, 

and are interested in participating in, 

the DHS SBIR Program, facilitate SBIR 

outreach to the public, and provide the 

DHS SBIR Program Office necessary and 

sufficient information to determine that 

proposals submitted by the public to the 

DHS SBIR Program meet criteria for 

consideration under the program. 

Failure to collect this information 

would adversely affect the quality of 

products and services DHS receives 

from contractors. Potentially, contracts 

would be awarded to firms without 

sufficient experience and expertise, 

thereby placing the Department’s 

operations in jeopardy. Defective and 

inadequate contractor deliverables 

would adversely affect DHS’s 

fulfillment of the mission requirements 

in all areas. Additionally, the 

Department would be unsuccessful in 

identifying small businesses with 

research and development (R&D) 

capabilities, which would adversely 

affect the mission requirements in this 

area. 

Many sources of the requested 

information use automated word 

processing systems, databases, emails, 

and, in some cases, web portals to 

facilitate preparation of material to be 

submitted and to post and collect 

information. It is commonplace within 

many of DHS’s Components for 

submissions to be electronic as a result 

of implementation of e-Government 

initiatives. 

DHS S&T uses information technology 

(i.e., electronic web portals) in the 

collection of information to reduce the 

data gathering and records management 

burden. DHS S&T uses a secure Web site 

which the public can propose SBIR 

research topics and submit proposals in 

response to SBIR solicitations. In 

addition, DHS uses a web portal to 

review RFIs and register to submit a 

white paper or proposal in response to 

a specific BAA. The data collection 

forms standardize the collection of 

information that is necessary and 

sufficient for the DHS SBIR Program 

Office to meet its requirements under 15 

U.S.C. 638. 

According to Federal Procurement 

Data System (FPDS) and Federal 

Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps), 

the number of competitive solicitations 

and award actions has increased each 

over the past three years, thereby 

increasing the universe of possible 

respondents to DHS and its 

Components’ solicitations. However, an 

increase in the information collection 

burden associated with the gathering of 

additional information to support the 

evaluation of solicitation responses has 

been offset, by the use of electronic web 

portals, such as CCR, FAPIIS, those used 

to submit SBIR research topics and 

submit response to DHS SBIR 

solicitations. Additionally, electronic 

web portals are used to collect 

unclassified white papers and proposals 

to reduce the data gathering and records 

management burden for BAAs. 

In addition to issuance of solicitations 

over the Internet or electronic systems; 

increased use of oral presentations in 

lieu of written proposals, permitted 

under FAR 15.102; and increased use of 

combined contract action notices/ 

requests for proposals, as encouraged by 

FAR 12.603, are contributing to the 

relative stability of DHS’s information 

collection burden to the public. There is 

no change in the information being 

collected. 

The Office of Management and Budget 

is particularly interested in comments 

which: 

1. Evaluate whether the proposed 

collection of information is necessary 

for the proper performance of the 

functions of the agency, including 

whether the information will have 

practical utility; 

2. 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; 

3. Enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and 

4. 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 submissions 

of responses. 

Analysis: 

Agency: Office of the Chief 

Procurement Officer, DHS. 

Title: Solicitation of Proposal 

Information for Award of Public 

Contracts. 

OMB Number: 1600–0005. 

Frequency: On occasion. 

Affected Public: Private sector. 

Number of Respondents: 17,180. 

Estimated Time per Respondent: 13 

hours. 

Total Burden Hours: 721,560. 

Dated: August 22, 2011. 

Richard Spires, 

Chief Information Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2011–22237 Filed 8–30–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–9B–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

[Docket No. DHS–2011–0043] 

Telecommunications Service Priority 

System 

AGENCY: National Protection and 

Programs Directorate, DHS. 

ACTION: 30-Day Notice and request for 

comments; Extension, without change, 

of a currently approved collection. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland 

Security (DHS), National Protection and 

Programs Directorate (NPPD), Office of 

Cybersecurity and Communications 

(CS&C), National Communications 

System (NCS) will submit the following 

information collection request (ICR) to 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) for review and clearance in 

accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–13, 

44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). DHS is soliciting 

comments concerning Extension, 

without change, of a currently approved 

collection: 1670–0005, 

Telecommunications Service Priority 

(TSP) System. DHS previously 

published this information collection 

request (ICR) in the Federal Register, 76 

FR 2011–13953 (June 7, 2011), for a 60- 

day public comment period. No 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 169 / Wednesday, August 31, 2011 / Notices 54245 

comments were received by DHS. The 

purpose of this notice is to allow an 

additional 30 days for public comments. 

DATES: Comments are encouraged and 

will be accepted until September 30, 

2011. This process is conducted in 

accordance with 5 CFR 1320.10. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments and 

questions about this ICR should be 

forwarded to DHS/NPPD/CS&C/NCS, 

245 Murray Lane, Mail Stop 0615, 

Arlington, VA 20598–0615. E-mailed 

requests should go to Deborah Bea, 

deborah.bea@dhs.gov. Comments must 

be identified by DHS–2011–0043 and 

may also be submitted by one of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

• E-mail: 

oira_submission@omb.eop.gov. Include 

the docket number in the subject line of 

the message. 

• Fax: (202) 395–5806. 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the words ‘‘Department of 

Homeland Security’’ and the docket 

number for this action. Comments 

received will be posted without 

alteration at http://www.regulations.gov, 

including any personal information 

provided. 

OMB is particularly interested in 

comments that: 

1. Evaluate whether the proposed 

collection of information is necessary 

for the proper performance of the 

functions of the agency, including 

whether the information will have 

practical utility; 

2. 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; 

3. Enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and 

4. 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 submissions 

of responses. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

purpose of the TSP System is to provide 

a legal basis for telecommunications 

vendors to provide priority provisioning 

and restoration of telecommunications 

services supporting national security 

and emergency preparedness functions. 

The information gathered via the TSP 

System forms is the minimum necessary 

for the DHS/NCS to effectively manage 

the TSP System. 

Analysis 

Agency: Department of Homeland 

Security, National Protection and 

Programs Directorate, Office of 

Cybersecurity and Communications, 

National Communications System. 

Title: Telecommunications Service 

Priority System. 

OMB Number: 1670–0005. 

Frequency: Information is required on 

particular occasions when an 

organization decides it wants TSP on its 

critical circuits. It is occasional/ 

situational—the program office is not 

able to determine when this will occur. 

Affected Public: Business and state, 

local, or tribal governments. 

Number of Respondents: 28,161 

respondents. 

Estimated Time per Respondent: 3 

hours, 17 minutes. 

Total Burden Hours: 7,727.42 annual 

burden hours. 

Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): 

$251,141.15. 

Total Burden Cost (operating/ 

maintaining): $0.00. 

Dated: August 24, 2011. 

David Epperson, 

Chief Information Officer, National Protection 

and Programs Directorate, Department of 

Homeland Security. 

[FR Doc. 2011–22238 Filed 8–30–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–9P–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Federal Emergency Management 

Agency 

[Docket ID: FEMA–2011–0013; OMB No. 

1660–0106] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Submission for OMB 

Review; Comment Request, Integrated 

Public Alert and Warning Systems 

(IPAWS) Inventory 

AGENCY: Federal Emergency 

Management Agency, DHS. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Emergency 

Management Agency (FEMA) will 

submit the information collection 

abstracted below to the Office of 

Management and Budget for review and 

clearance in accordance with the 

requirements of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995. The submission 

will describe the nature of the 

information collection, the categories of 

respondents, the estimated burden (i.e., 

the time, effort and resources used by 

respondents to respond) and cost, and 

the actual data collection instruments 

FEMA will use. 

DATES: Comments must be submitted on 

or before September 30, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments 

on the proposed information collection 

to the Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs, Office of 

Management and Budget. Comments 

should be addressed to the Desk Officer 

for the Department of Homeland 

Security, Federal Emergency 

Management Agency, and sent via 

electronic mail to 

oira.submission@omb.eop.gov or faxed 

to (202) 395–5806. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

copies of the information collection 

should be made to Director, Records 

Management Division, 1800 South Bell 

Street, Arlington, VA 20598–3005, 

facsimile number (202) 646–3347, or 

e-mail address FEMA-InformationCollections-Management@dhs.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Presidential Executive Order 13407 

establishes the policy for an effective, 

reliable, integrated, flexible, and 

comprehensive system to alert and warn 

the American people in situations of 

war, terrorist attack, natural disaster, or 

other hazards to public safety and wellbeing. The Executive Order requires that 

DHS establish an inventory of public 

alert and warning resources, 

capabilities, and the degree of 

integration at the Federal, State, 

territorial, Tribal, and local levels of 

government. The Integrated Public Alert 

and Warning System (IPAWS) 

implements the requirements of the 

Executive Order. The information 

collected has, and will continue to 

consist of the public alert and warning 

systems, as well as the communication 

systems being used for collaboration 

and situational awareness at the Local 

Emergency Operations Center (EOC) 

level and higher. This information will 

help FEMA identify the technologies 

currently in use or desired for inclusion 

into IPAWS. 

Collection of Information 

Title: Integrated Public Alert and 

Warning Systems (IPAWS) Inventory. 

Type of Information Collection: 

Revision of a currently approved 

information collection. 

OMB Number: 1660–0106. 

Form Titles and Numbers: FEMA 

Form 142–1–1, IPAWS Inventory. 

Abstract: FEMA will be conducting an 

inventory, evaluation and assessment of 

the capabilities of Federal, State, 

territorial, Tribal, and local government 

alert and warning systems. The IPAWS 

Inventory and Evaluation Survey 

collects data that will facilitate the 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES