Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 38 / Friday, February 26, 2010 / Notices 8997 

IV. Request for Comments 

Comments are invited on: (1) Whether 

the proposed collection of information 

is necessary for the proper performance 

of the functions of NASA, including 

whether the information collected has 

practical utility; (2) the accuracy of 

NASA’s estimate of the burden 

(including hours and cost) of the 

proposed collection of information; (3) 

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (4) ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information 

on respondents, including automated 

collection techniques or the use of other 

forms of information technology. 

Comments submitted in response to 

this notice will be summarized and 

included in the request for OMB 

approval of this information collection. 

They will also become a matter of 

public record. 

Brenda Maxwell, 

NASA PRA Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2010–3895 Filed 2–25–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND 

SPACE ADMINISTRATION 

[Notice (10–021)] 

NASA Advisory Council; Science 

Committee; Earth Science 

Subcommittee; Meeting 

AGENCY: National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: The National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration (NASA) 

announces a meeting of the Earth 

Science Subcommittee of the NASA 

Advisory Council (NAC). This 

Subcommittee reports to the Science 

Committee of the NAC. The Meeting 

will be held for the purpose of soliciting 

from the scientific community and other 

persons scientific and technical 

information relevant to program 

planning. 

DATES: Tuesday, March 16, 2010, 

8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Wednesday, 

March 17, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. EST. 

ADDRESSES: NASA Headquarters, 300 E 

Street, SW., Room 8R40 (March 16, 

2010) and Room 3H46 (March 17, 2010), 

Washington, DC 20546. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Marian Norris, Science Mission 

Directorate, NASA Headquarters, 

Washington, DC 20546, (202) 358–4452, 

fax (202) 358–4118, or 

mnorris@nasa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

meeting will be open to the public up 

to the capacity of the room. The agenda 

for the meeting includes the following 

topics: 

—Earth Science Division Budget 

Update 

—Science Mission Directorate Science 

Plan Update 

—Climate Initiative Plan 

It is imperative that the meeting be held 

on these dates to accommodate the 

scheduling priorities of the key 

participants. Attendees will be 

requested to sign a register and to 

comply with NASA security 

requirements, including the 

presentation of a valid picture ID, before 

receiving an access badge. Foreign 

nationals attending this meeting will be 

required to provide a copy of their 

passport, visa, or green card in addition 

to providing the following information 

no less than 10 working days prior to 

the meeting: full name; gender; date/ 

place of birth; citizenship; visa/green 

card information (number, type, 

expiration date); passport information 

(number, country, expiration date); 

employer/affiliation information (name 

of institution, address, country, 

telephone); title/position of attendee. To 

expedite admittance, attendees with 

U.S. citizenship can provide identifying 

information 3 working days in advance 

by contacting Marian Norris via e-mail 

at mnorris@nasa.gov or by telephone at 

(202) 358–4452. 

Dated: February 17, 2010. 

P. Diane Rausch, 

Advisory Committee Management Officer, 

National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2010–3899 Filed 2–25–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND 

SPACE ADMINISTRATION 

[Notice (10–022)] 

National Environmental Policy Act; 

Wallops Flight Facility Shoreline 

Restoration and Infrastructure 

Protection Program 

AGENCY: National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration (NASA). 

ACTION: Notice of availability of the 

Draft Programmatic Environmental 

Impact Statement (PEIS) for the Wallops 

Flight Facility (WFF) Shoreline 

Restoration and Infrastructure 

Protection Program (SRIPP). 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National 

Environmental Policy Act, as amended, 

(NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the 

Council on Environmental Quality 

Regulations for Implementing the 

Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40 CFR 

parts 1500–1508), and NASA’s NEPA 

policy and procedures (14 CFR part 

1216, subpart 1216.3), NASA has 

prepared and issued the Draft PEIS for 

the proposed SRIPP at WFF. The U.S. 

Department of the Interior, Minerals 

Management Service (MMS), and the 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have 

served as Cooperating Agencies in 

preparing the Draft PEIS. 

NASA is proposing to implement a 

fifty-year design life storm damage 

reduction project at its WFF on Wallops 

Island, Virginia. The project would be 

implemented to reduce the potential for 

storm-induced physical damage to the 

over $1 billion in Federal and State 

assets on Wallops Island. The Draft PEIS 

examines in detail three project 

alternatives, each expected to provide 

substantial damage reduction from 

storms with intensities ranging up to 

approximately the 100-year return 

interval storm. Although some 

reduction in flooding can be expected 

under each alternative, the primary 

purpose of the proposal is not flood 

protection, rather it is moving 

destructive wave energy further away 

from the Wallops Island shoreline and 

the infrastructure behind it. 

Alternative One, NASA’s preferred 

alternative, would include extending 

the existing Wallops Island seawall up 

to a maximum of 1,400 meters (m) 

(4,600 feet [ft]) south and placing an 

estimated 2.5 million cubic meters 

(MCM) (3.2 million cubic yards [MCY]) 

of sand along the shoreline. Alternative 

Two would include the same seawall 

extension as Alternative One; however 

the sand placed along the shoreline 

would be less, at approximately 2.2 

MCM (2.9 MCY). Under this alternative, 

NASA would also construct a groin 

perpendicular to the shoreline at the 

south end of the project site to limit the 

volume of nearshore sand being 

transported from the restored Wallops 

Island beach to the south. Alternative 

Three would entail the same seawall 

extension as in Alternatives One and 

Two; however, sand placement would 

be the least of the Alternatives at 

approximately 2.1 MCM (2.8 MCY). 

NASA would construct a single 

detached breakwater parallel to the 

shoreline at the south end of the project 

site to retain sand under Alternative 

Three. Under all three project 

alternatives, NASA would obtain the 

sand required for its initial beach 

nourishment from an unnamed shoal 

(referred to as Shoal A) located in 

Federal waters approximately 23 

kilometers (km) (14 miles [mi]) east of 


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8998 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 38 / Friday, February 26, 2010 / Notices 

Wallops Island. Sand for an expected 

nine future renourishment cycles could 

come from either Shoal A or a second 

offshore shoal in Federal waters referred 

to as Shoal B, approximately 31 km (19 

mi) east of the project site. Additionally, 

NASA is considering transporting sand 

that accumulates on north Wallops 

Island to supplement its future 

renourishment needs (commonly known 

as ‘‘backpassing’’). It is estimated that up 

to half of the required renourishment 

volumes could be obtained from 

‘‘backpassing.’’ The No Action 

Alternative is to not implement the WFF 

SRIPP, but to continue making 

emergency repairs to the Wallops Island 

shoreline, as necessary. 

NASA will hold a public comment 

meeting as part of the review of the 

Draft PEIS. The public meeting location 

and date as currently scheduled are 

provided under SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION below. 

DATES: Interested parties are invited to 

submit comments on environmental 

issues and concerns, preferably in 

writing, on or before April 15, 2010, or 

45 days from the date of publication in 

the Federal Register of the U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency’s 

Notice of Availability of the Draft SRIPP 

PEIS, whichever is later. 

ADDRESSES: Comments submitted by 

mail should be addressed to 250/NEPA 

Manager, WFF Shoreline Restoration 

and Infrastructure Protection Program, 

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s 

Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, 

Virginia 23337. Comments may be 

submitted via e-mail to wff_shoreline_

eis@majordomo.gsfc.nasa.gov. 

The Draft PEIS may be reviewed at the 

following locations: 

(a) Chincoteague Island Library, 4077 

Main Street, Chincoteague, Virginia 

23336 (757–336–3460). 

(b) Eastern Shore Public Library, 

23610 Front Street, Accomac, Virginia 

23301 (757–787–3400). 

(c) Northampton Free Library, 7401 

Railroad Avenue, Nassawadox, Virginia 

23413 (757–442–2839). 

(d) NASA Wallops Flight Facility 

Technical Library, Building E–105, 

Wallops Island, Virginia 23337 (757– 

824–1065). 

(e) NASA Headquarters Library, Room 

1J20, 300 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 

20546–0001 (202–358–0168). 

A limited number of hard copies of 

the Draft PEIS are available, on a first 

request basis, by contacting 250/NEPA 

Manager, NASA WFF, Environmental 

Office, Code 250.W, Wallops Island, 

Virginia 23337; or electronic mail at 

wff_shoreline_eis@

majordomo.gsfc.nasa.gov. The Draft 

SRIPP PEIS is available on the Internet 

in Adobe® portable document format at 

http://sites.wff.nasa.gov/code250/

shoreline_eis.html. The Notice of Intent 

to prepare the Draft SRIPP PEIS, issued 

on March 24, 2009, is also available on 

the Internet at the same Web site 

address. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Additional information on the WFF 

SRIPP can be obtained by addressing an 

e-mail to wff_shoreline_eis@

majordomo.gsfc.nasa.gov or by mailing 

to 250/NEPA Manager, WFF Shoreline 

Restoration and Infrastructure 

Protection Program, NASA Goddard 

Space Flight Center’s Wallops Flight 

Facility, Wallops Island, Virginia 23337. 

Additional information about the WFF 

SRIPP and NASA’s NEPA process may 

be found on the Internet at http://

sites.wff.nasa.gov/code250/shoreline

_eis.html. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Draft 

PEIS addresses the environmental 

impacts associated with NASA’s 

proposed implementation of a 50-year 

design life storm damage reduction 

program along the shoreline of Wallops 

Island. The environmental impacts of 

principal concern are those that could 

result from dredging sand from offshore 

shoals and from the construction of a 

sand retention structure at the south end 

of the project site. 

The three action alternatives 

considered in the Draft PEIS would all 

provide the facilities on Wallops Island 

equal levels of storm damage reduction 

for the duration of the program. Each 

alternative would involve the 

establishment of an approximately 34 m 

(110 ft) wide dry beach along 

approximately 6,000 m (19,700 ft) of the 

Wallops Island shoreline to serve as a 

primary line of defense from destructive 

storm waves. In addition to the beach, 

a sand dune would be created to cover 

the ocean side of the existing and 

proposed seawall. The remaining 

portion of the fill would be placed 

underwater and would gradually slope 

to the east. It is expected that the fill 

alone would provide considerable 

damage reduction from a 30-year return 

interval storm. With the fill combined 

with the rock seawall, the project would 

provide substantial infrastructure 

damage reduction from up to an 

approximately 100-year return interval 

storm. A rock sand retention structure (a 

groin or breakwater) is included under 

Alternatives Two and Three, 

respectively, to slow the transport of 

sand from the project site and 

potentially reduce the amount of beach 

fill needed both initially and throughout 

the lifecycle of the project. 

All three alternatives would involve 

an initial construction phase and future 

follow-on maintenance cycles. The 

initial construction phase would likely 

include three distinct elements 

spanning approximately three fiscal 

years: 

Year 1 Activities—The existing rock 

seawall would be extended a minimum 

of 460 m (1,500 ft) up to a maximum of 

1,400 m (4,600 ft) south. The actual 

length of seawall extension constructed 

in Year 1 would be based upon available 

funding; however, additional 

lengthening (up to the 1,400 m [4,600 ft] 

total length) would be accomplished in 

future years as funding becomes 

available. 

Year 2 Activities—Approximately 

one-third of the sand necessary for 

beach nourishment would be placed 

along the central areas of the Wallops 

Island shoreline that are currently 

reinforced by the rock seawall. The 

objective for this first fill cycle would be 

to restore the deficit of sand caused by 

the continual erosion at the base of the 

seawall. Sand placement would likely 

involve removing sand from the shoal 

by hopper dredges and pumping the 

material onto the beach. 

Year 3 Activities—The remaining 

sand needed to complete the beach 

nourishment would be placed along the 

Wallops Island shoreline. Additionally, 

under Alternatives Two and Three, the 

sand retention structure would be 

constructed. 

Subsequent beach renourishment 

cycles would vary throughout the 

lifecycle of the proposed project. Factors 

dictating the frequency and magnitude 

of such actions would include project 

performance as revealed through 

ongoing monitoring, storm severity and 

frequency, and availability of funding. 

Given the dynamic nature of the ocean 

environment, and that exact locations 

and magnitude of renourishment cycles 

may fluctuate, additional NEPA 

documentation for renourishment 

actions may be prepared in the future, 

as appropriate. For each of the action 

alternatives considered in the PEIS, the 

renourishment cycle is anticipated to be 

every five years, totaling nine cycles 

over the fifty-year design life of the 

project. 

In addition to the construction 

activities outlined for each of the three 

action alternatives, NASA would 

implement a rigorous monitoring 

program that would begin with 

construction in Year 1 and continue 

throughout the project. The intent of the 

monitoring program is to measure the 

performance of the project, and through 

adaptive management, make informed 

decisions regarding the need for 


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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 38 / Friday, February 26, 2010 / Notices 8999 

renourishment, sand retention 

structures, and future storm damage 

reduction measures. 

NASA plans to hold a public meeting 

to discuss the project and to solicit 

comments on the Draft SRIPP PEIS. The 

public meeting is currently scheduled 

for: 

Tuesday, March 16, 2010, at the WFF 

Visitor Information Center, Route 175, 

Wallops Island, Virginia, 6 p.m.–9 p.m. 

Written public input on 

environmental issues and concerns 

associated with the WFF SRIPP are 

hereby requested. 

Olga M. Dominguez, 

Assistant Administrator for Infrastructure. 

[FR Doc. 2010–3896 Filed 2–25–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Comment Request 

AGENCY: National Science Foundation. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: Under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104– 

13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), and as part 

of its continuing effort to reduce 

paperwork and respondent burden, the 

National Science Foundation invites the 

general public and other Federal 

agencies to take this opportunity to 

comment on this information collection. 

This is the second notice for public 

comment; the first was published in the 

Federal Register at 74 FR 68637 and one 

comment was received regarding the 

materials provided. NSF is forwarding 

the proposed submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

clearance simultaneously with the 

publication of this second notice. The 

full submission may be found at: 

http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

PRAMain. 

DATES: Comments regarding these 

information collections are best assured 

of having their full effect if received by 

OMB within 30 days of publication in 

the Federal Register. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments 

regarding the information collection and 

requests for copies of the proposed 

information collection request should be 

addressed to Suzanne Plimpton, Reports 

Clearance Officer, National Science 

Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Rm. 

295, Arlington, VA 22230, or by e-mail 

to splimpto@nsf.gov. Copies of the 

submission may be obtained by calling 

(703) 292–7556. 

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR

COMMENTS: Contact Suzanne Plimpton, 

the NSF Reports Clearance Officer, 

phone (703) 292–7556, or send e-mail to 

splimpto@nsf.gov. Individuals who use 

a telecommunications device for the 

deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 

1–800–877–8339, which is accessible 24 

hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a 

year (including Federal holidays). 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor a collection of information 

unless the collection of information 

displays a currently valid OMB control 

number and the agency informs 

potential persons who are to respond to 

the collection of information that such 

persons are not required to respond to 

the collection of information unless it 

displays a currently valid OMB control 

number. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comment: On December 28, 2009, we 

published in the Federal Register (74 

FR 68637) a 60-day notice of our intent 

to request reinstatement of this 

information collection authority from 

OMB. One comment came from Jean 

Public of Florham Park, NJ, via e-mail 

on January 1, 2010. The commenter 

requested a list of the surveys described 

in the notice. 

Response: NSF responded that this 

information is publicly available via two 

sources: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/ 

and http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/ 

seind10/. NSF believes that because the 

comment does not contain suggestions 

for altering the collection of information 

for which NSF is seeking OMB 

approval, NSF is proceeding with the 

clearance request. 

Title: Generic Clearance of the 

Science Resources Statistics Survey 

Improvement Projects. 

OMB Approval Number: 3145–0174. 

Abstract. Generic Clearance of the 

Science Resources Statistics Survey 

Improvement Projects. The National 

Science Foundation’s Division of 

Science Resources Statistics (NSF/SRS) 

needs to collect timely data on constant 

changes in the science and technology 

sector and to provide the most complete 

and accurate information possible to 

policy makers in Congress and 

throughout government and academia. 

NSF/SRS conducts many surveys to 

obtain the data for these purposes. The 

Generic Clearance will be used to 

ensure that the highest quality data are 

obtained from these surveys. State-ofthe-art methodology will be used to 

develop, evaluate, and test 

questionnaires and survey concepts as 

well as to improve survey methodology. 

This may include field or pilot tests of 

questions for future large-scale surveys, 

as needed. 

Expected Respondents. The 

respondents will be from industry, 

academia, nonprofit organizations, 

members of the public, and State, local, 

and federal governments. Respondents 

will be either individuals or 

institutions, depending upon the survey 

under investigation. Qualitative 

procedures will generally be conducted 

in person or over the phone, but 

quantitative procedures may be 

conducted using mail, Web, e-mail, or 

phone modes, depending on the topic 

under investigation. Up to 19,150 

respondents will be contacted across all 

survey improvement projects. No 

respondent will be contacted more than 

twice in one year under this generic 

clearance. Every effort will be made to 

use technology to limit the burden on 

respondents from small entities. 

Both qualitative and quantitative 

methods will be used to improve NSF’s 

current data collection instruments and 

processes and to reduce respondent 

burden, as well as to develop new 

surveys. Qualitative methods include, 

but are not limited to, expert review; 

exploratory, cognitive, and usability 

interviews; focus groups; and 

respondent debriefings. Cognitive and 

usability interviews may include the use 

of scenarios, paraphrasing, card sorts, 

vignette classifications, and rating tasks. 

Quantitative methods include, but are 

not limited to, telephone surveys, 

behavior coding, split panel tests, and 

field tests. 

Information being collected is not 

considered sensitive. In general, 

assurances of data confidentiality will 

not be provided to respondents in the 

pretests. Instead, respondents have the 

option of requesting that any and all 

data they provide be kept confidential. 

Use of the Information. The purpose 

of these studies is to use the latest and 

most appropriate methodology to 

improve NSF surveys. The data will be 

used internally to improve NSF surveys. 

Methodological findings may be 

presented externally in technical papers 

at conferences, published in the 

proceedings of conferences, or in 

journals. Improved NSF surveys will 

help policy makers in decisions on 

research and development funding, 

graduate education, scientific and 

technical workforce, regulations, and 

reporting guidelines, as well as 

contributing to reduced survey costs. 

Burden on the Public. NSF estimates 

that a total reporting and recordkeeping 

burden of 14,280 hours will result from 

activities to improve its surveys. The 

calculation is: 


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