[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 170 (Tuesday, September 7, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50056-50057]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-19265]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; NOAA Financial Assistance Performance Progress Reports

    The Department of Commerce will submit the following information 
collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. We invite the 
general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and 
continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of 
our information collection requirements and minimize the public's 
reporting burden. Public comments were previously requested via the 
Federal Register on May 21, 2021 (86 FR 27561--0648-0718) and June 8, 
2021 (86 FR 30444--0648-0472) during a 60-day comment period. This 
notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
    Agency: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, Commerce.
    Title: NOAA Financial Assistance Performance Progress Reports.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0718.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular submission [Revision of a currently 
approved information collection].
    Number of Respondents: 445.
    Average Hours per Response: Performance Progress Reports: MDP, 
CRCP, RC Initial Report--10 hours each; RC Semi-Annual PPR--5.5 hours; 
RC Administrative Progress Reports: Initial--6 hours; Semi-Annual--2.75 
hours; and Final--5.5 hours.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 4,545.
    Needs and Uses: This is a request for revision and extension of a 
currently approved information collection. The revision requests 
approval to merge OMB Control Number 0648-0472 (NOAA Community-based 
Restoration Program Progress Reports) into 0648-0718. Upon OMB 
approval, control number 0648-0472 will be discontinued. 0648-0718 is 
also being revised to add a Performance Progress Report for the Coral 
Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) and revise the Marine Data Program 
form to add an optional marine debris removal data collection page. The 
title of this information collection will be changed from NOAA Marine 
Debris Program Performance Progress Report to NOAA Financial Assistance 
Performance Progress Reports to encompass all collections of 
information under the control number.
    This information collection assists the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the administration and evaluation 
of financial assistance awards made by the Coral Reef Conservation 
Program (CRCP), the NOAA Restoration Center (NOAA RC), and NOAA Marine 
Debris Program. Every year each of these programs support a variety of 
initiatives specific to their individual authorizations and 
programmatic mandates. This support is made substantially through 
grants and cooperative agreements, the terms and conditions of which 
require regular progress reporting and communication of project 
accomplishments to the agency. This information collection identifies 
what is to be provided in these reports, and aims to assist recipients 
in fulfilling their responsibilities in meeting interim and final 
progress report requirements. This information is also necessary for 
NOAA to effectively oversee the expenditure of public funds awarded 
through these programs, to ensure both cost-effectiveness and 
programmatic goals are met.
    The NOAA RC provides technical and financial assistance to 
identify, develop, implement, and evaluate community-driven habitat 
restoration projects. Awards are made as grants or cooperative 
agreements under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act of 2006, 16 U.S.C. 1891a and the Fish 
and Wildlife Coordination Act, 16 U.S.C. 661, as amended by the 
Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1970.
    The NOAA CRCP operates under authorization from the Coral Reef 
Conservation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.). This Act was enacted 
on December 14, 2000, to preserve, sustain and restore the condition of 
coral reef ecosystems; to promote the wise management and sustainable 
use of coral reef ecosystems to benefit local communities and the 
Nation; to develop sound scientific information on the condition of 
coral reef ecosystems and the threats to such ecosystems; to assist in 
the preservation of coral reefs by supporting conservation programs, 
including projects that involve affected local communities and non-
governmental organizations; to provide financial resources for those 
programs and projects; and to establish a formal mechanism for the 
collecting and allocating of monetary donations from the private sector 
to be used for coral reef conservation projects.
    The NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) supports national and 
international efforts to research, prevent, and reduce the impacts of 
marine debris. 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 coastal economies, and to 
ensure navigation safety. In large part, these partnerships are made 
through grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, MOUs or are simply 
informal technical assistance arrangements. The

[[Page 50057]]

Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act (33 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) 
authorizes the MDP to enter into cooperative agreements and contracts 
and provide financial assistance in the form of grants to carry out the 
purposes of the Act--namely to identify, determine sources of, assess, 
reduce, and prevent marine debris and its adverse impacts on the marine 
environment and navigation safety.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit organizations; Not-for-profit institutions; State, Local, or 
Tribal government.
    Frequency: Variable (quarterly to semi-annually).
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to Obtain or Retain Benefits.
    Legal Authority: Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act of 2006, 16 U.S.C. 1891a and the Fish and Wildlife 
Coordination Act, 16 U.S.C. 661, as amended by the Reorganization Plan 
No. 4 of 1970; Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6401 et 
seq.; Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act (33 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).
    This information collection request may be viewed at 
www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view the Department of 
Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of 
this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. 
Find this particular information collection by selecting ``Currently 
under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search 
function and entering either the title of the collection or the OMB 
Control Number 0648-0718.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2021-19265 Filed 9-3-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-JE-P