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[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 134 (Thursday, July 12, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32284-32285]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-14888]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of 
information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 
U.S.C. chapter 35).
    Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
    Title: NOAA Marine Debris Program Performance Progress Report and 
Data Collection Form.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0718.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular (revision and extension of a currently 
approved information collection).
    Number of Respondents: 70.
    Average Hours per Response: 2.
    Burden Hours: 1,400.
    Needs and Uses: This request is for revision and extension of an 
existing information collection.
    The NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) supports national and 
international efforts to research, prevent, and reduce the impacts of 
marine debris. The MDP is a centralized office within NOAA that 
coordinates and supports activities, both within the bureau and with 
other federal agencies, which address marine debris and its impacts. In 
addition to inter-agency coordination, the MDP uses partnerships with 
state and local agencies, tribes, non-governmental organizations, 
academia, and industry to investigate and solve the problems that stem 
from marine debris through research, prevention, and reduction 
activities, in order to protect and conserve our nation's marine 
environment and ensure navigation safety.
    The Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act (33

[[Page 32285]]

U.S.C. 1951 et seq.) as amended by the Marine Debris Act Amendments of 
2012 (Pub. L. 112-213, Title VI, Sec. 603, 126 Stat. 1576, December 20, 
2012) outlines three central program components for the MDP to 
undertake: (1) Mapping, identification, impact assessment, removal, and 
prevention; (2) reducing and preventing fishing gear loss; and (3) 
outreach to stakeholders and the general public. To address these 
components, the Marine Debris Act authorized the MDP to establish 
several competitive grant programs on marine debris research, 
prevention and removal that provide federal funding to non-federal 
applicants throughout the coastal United States and territories.
    The terms and conditions of the financial assistance awarded 
through these grant programs require regular progress reporting and 
communication of project accomplishments to MDP. Progress reports 
contain information related to, among other things, the overall short 
and long-term goals of the project, project methods and monitoring 
techniques, actual accomplishments (such as pounds of debris removed 
from an ecosystem, numbers of volunteers participating in a cleanup 
project, etc.), status of approved activities, challenges or potential 
roadblocks to future progress, and lessons learned. This information 
collection enables MDP to monitor and evaluate the activities supported 
by federal funds to ensure accountability to the public and to ensure 
that funds are used consistent with the purpose for which they were 
appropriated. It also ensures that reported information is standardized 
in such a way that allows for it to be meaningfully synthesized across 
a diverse set of projects and project types. MDP uses the information 
collected in a variety of ways to communicate with federal and non-
federal partners and stakeholders on individual project and general 
program accomplishments.
    Revision: A section has been added to the report form, but there is 
no change to burden.
    Affected Public: Not-for-profit institutions; business or other 
for-profit organizations; state, local or tribal government.
    Frequency: Semiannual.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
    This information collection request may be viewed at reginfo.gov. 
Follow the instructions to view Department of Commerce collections 
currently under review by OMB.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to [email protected] or fax to (202) 395-5806.

    Dated: July 8, 2018.
Sarah Brabson,
NOAA PRA Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2018-14888 Filed 7-11-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-JE-P
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