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[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 48 (Wednesday, March 12, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14084-14085]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-05300]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[OMB Number 1010-0187]

Information Collection: Project Planning for the Use of OCS Sand, 
Gravel, and Shell Resources in Construction Projects That Qualify for a 
Negotiated Noncompetitive Agreement; Submitted for OMB Review; Comment 
Request

ACTION: 30-day notice.

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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the 
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is notifying the public that 
we have submitted an information collection request (ICR) to the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This ICR 
concerns the paperwork requirements that respondents will submit to 
BOEM to obtain Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) sand, gravel, and shell 
resources for use in shore protection, beach and coastal restoration, 
and other authorized projects that qualify for a negotiated 
noncompetitive agreement. This notice provides the public a second 
opportunity to comment on the paperwork burden of this collection.

DATES: Submit written comments by April 11, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments on this ICR to the Desk Officer for the 
Department of the Interior at OMB-OIRA at (202) 395-5806 (fax) or 
OIRA_submission@omb.eop.gov (email). Please provide a copy of your 
comments to the BOEM Information Collection Clearance Officer, Arlene 
Bajusz, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, 381 Elden Street, HM-3127, 
Herndon, Virginia 20170 (mail) or arlene.bajusz@boem.gov (email). 
Please reference ICR 1010-0187 in your comment and include your name 
and return address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To obtain information pertaining to 
this notice and/or the Marine Minerals Program, contact the Program at 
(703) 787-1215. You may review the ICR online at http://www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to review Department of the 
Interior collections under review by OMB.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    OMB Control Number: 1010-0187.
    Title: Project Planning for the Use of OCS Sand, Gravel, and Shell 
Resources in Construction Projects that Qualify for a Negotiated 
Noncompetitive Agreement.
    Abstract: Under the authority delegated by the Secretary of the

[[Page 14085]]

Interior, BOEM is authorized, pursuant to section 8(k)(2) of the OCS 
Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(k)(2)), to convey rights to OCS sand, gravel, 
and shell resources by negotiated noncompetitive agreement (NNA) for 
use in shore protection and beach and coastal restoration, or for use 
in construction projects funded in whole or part by, or authorized by, 
the Federal Government.

Background

    Since 1994, 43 shore protection or beach and coastal restoration 
projects have been completed using OCS sand resources, conveying more 
than 77 million cubic yards of OCS material and restoring more than 232 
miles of shoreline. Recently, the program has seen an increase in 
demand for OCS resources due to the decreasing availability of sand 
sources located in State waters and an increase in coastal storm 
intensity, duration, and frequency. In order for BOEM to continue to 
meet the needs of local, State and regional entities, information 
regarding upcoming projects must be acquired to plan for future 
projects and anticipated workload. Therefore, BOEM will issue calls for 
information about needed resources and locations from interested 
parties to develop and maintain a project schedule.
    This ICR addresses the information needed from States, local 
governments, Federal agencies, environmental and other interest 
organizations, and all other interested parties to update and maintain 
a NNA project schedule. It includes the potential for an annual call 
for information and the potential for a call in response to an 
emergency declaration, such as a tropical storm. In order to meet the 
needs of the States under the current BOEM staff and funding resources, 
BOEM may request the relevant States to prioritize their own projects 
based on several criteria including likelihood of project funding and 
progress of environmental work. The information provided by States will 
also help BOEM determine appropriate future resource allocation, 
identify potential conflicts of use, conduct environmental analyses, 
develop NNAs, and meet all necessary environmental and legal 
requirements.
    BOEM's calls for information will request interested parties to 
submit a description of their proposed projects for which OCS sand, 
gravel, and shell resources will be used. The description must include 
the offshore borrow sites if known; the estimated date of construction; 
a short description of current project funding; the name of a primary 
point of contact with that person's mailing address, telephone number, 
and email address; as well as any additional information concerning the 
status of the project that would be useful to BOEM. This information 
may include detailed maps; geospatial data and coordinates of desired 
resources and sites that would be nourished; a description of the 
environmental impact documents that have been completed to date 
concerning any portion of the project; a cited reference list; status 
of geological and geophysical permit (if required); information 
concerning known or suspected archaeological or historic artifacts; 
interpretations of geology and extent of sand areas; known volumes of 
sand resource site; historical data related to the proposed borrow or 
placement area; and a description of the status of Federal, State, and/
or local permits required for the project.
    With this renewal, we are also including a provision for a call in 
response to emergency declarations, such as a tropical storm. Hurricane 
Sandy demonstrated BOEM's need for accurate and timely information 
following a natural disaster declaration. Therefore, we are increasing 
the estimated hour burden for this collection.
    We will protect information from respondents considered proprietary 
under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) and its 
implementing regulations (43 CFR part 2). No items of a sensitive 
nature are collected. Responses are required to obtain or retain 
benefits.
    Frequency: Annually and on occasion.
    Description of Respondents: Potential respondents primarily 
comprise States, local governments, and other interested parties.
    Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour Burden: We are 
estimating that the annual reporting burden for this collection is 
about 200 hours, assuming an emergency declaration is made each year. 
Individual Entity Compilation: 25 entities x 1 hour/entity x 2 
responses/year = 50 hours; Individual State Compilation: 15 States x 5 
hours/State x 2 responses/year = 150 hours (50 county hours + 150 State 
hours = 200 total burden hours).
    Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Non-Hour Cost Burden: We have 
identified no non-hour paperwork cost burdens for this collection.
    Public Disclosure Statement: The PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) 
provides that an agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of 
information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. 
Until OMB approves a collection of information, you are not obligated 
to respond.
    Comments: Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et 
seq.,) requires each agency ``. . . to provide notice . . . and 
otherwise consult with members of the public and affected agencies 
concerning each proposed collection of information . . .'' Agencies 
must specifically solicit comments to: (a) Evaluate whether the 
collection is necessary or useful; (b) evaluate the accuracy of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information; (c) enhance the 
quality, usefulness, and clarity of the information to be collected; 
and (d) minimize the burden on the respondents, including the use of 
technology.
    To comply with the public consultation process, on October 3, 2013, 
BOEM published a Federal Register notice (78 FR 61381) announcing that 
we would submit this ICR to OMB for approval. This notice provided the 
required 60-day comment period. We received no comments in response.
    Public Availability of Comments: Before including your address, 
phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information 
in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--
including your personal identifying information--may be made publicly 
available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold 
your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.

    Dated: February 27, 2014.
Deanna Meyer-Pietruszka,
Chief, Office of Policy, Regulations, and Analysis.
[FR Doc. 2014-05300 Filed 3-11-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P
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