70868 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 225 / Wednesday, November 23, 2005 / Notices 

information, including the validity of 

the methodology and assumptions used; 

(c) enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (d) 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 submission of 

responses. Comments should be 

received within 60 days of the date of 

this notice. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons should 

submit written comments to Chief, 

Records Management Section, 

Information Resources Management 

Branch, Information Technology 

Services Division, Federal Emergency 

Management Agency, Department of 

Homeland Security, 500 C Street, SW., 

Room 316, Washington, DC 20472. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Contact Gayle Kelch, Statistician, 

United States Fire Administration, 

National Fire Data Center (301) 447–

1154 for additional information. You 

may contact the Records Management 

Branch for copies of the proposed 

collection of information at facsimile 

number (202) 646–3347 or e-mail 

address: FEMA-InformationCollections@dhs.gov. 

Dated: November 15, 2005. 

Darcy Bingham, 

Branch Chief, Information Resources 

Management Branch, Information 

Technology Services Division. 

[FR Doc. 05–23134 Filed 11–22–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–17–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Federal Emergency Management 

Agency 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Federal Emergency 

Management Agency, U.S. Department 

of Homeland Security. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Emergency 

Management Agency, as part of its 

continuing effort to reduce paperwork 

and respondent burden, invites the 

general public and other Federal 

agencies to take this opportunity to 

comment on proposed revision of a 

currently approved information 

collection. In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), this notice seeks 

comments concerning the community 

inspection report, which is the subject 

of this information collection 

submission. The community inspection 

report will be used in the 

implementation of the inspection 

procedure in the Monroe County, the 

City of Marathon, and the Village of 

Islamorada, Florida and any other 

community that incorporates in Monroe 

County on or after January 1, 1999. The 

inspection procedure has two major 

purposes: (1) To help the communities 

of Monroe County, City of Marathon, the 

Village of Islamorada, Florida, and any 

other communities in Monroe County 

that incorporate after January 1, 1999 

verify that structures in their 

communities (those built after the 

effective date of the Flood Insurance 

Rate Map (FIRM), referred to as PostFIRM) comply with the community’s 

floodplain management ordinance; and 

(2) to ensure that property owners pay 

flood insurance premiums 

commensurate with their flood risk. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

community inspection report, which is 

the subject of this information collection 

submission, will be used in the 

implementation of the inspection 

procedure in the Monroe County, the 

City of Marathon, and the Village of 

Islamorada, Florida and any other 

community that incorporates in Monroe 

County on or after January 1, 1999. The 

inspection procedure has two major 

purposes: (1) To help the communities 

of Monroe County, City of Marathon, the 

Village of Islamorada, Florida, and any 

other communities in Monroe County 

that incorporate after January 1, 1999 

verify that structures in their 

communities (those built after the 

effective date of the Flood Insurance 

Rate Map (FIRM), referred to as PostFIRM) comply with the community’s 

floodplain management ordinance; and 

(2) to ensure that property owners pay 

flood insurance premiums 

commensurate with their flood risk. 

The National Flood Insurance 

Program (NFIP) was established by the 

National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 

(Pub. L. 90–448), as amended. The 

Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 

(Pub. L. 93–234) and the National Flood 

Insurance Reform Act of 1994 (Pub. L. 

103–325) made significant changes to 

the program. The primary purposes of 

the NFIP are to: (1) Better indemnify 

individuals for flood losses through 

insurance; (2) reduce future flood 

damages through state and community 

floodplain management regulations; and 

(3) reduce federal expenditures for 

disaster assistance and flood control. 

The NFIP makes Federally-backed flood 

insurance coverage available only in 

those communities that adopt and 

enforce a floodplain management 

ordinance to regulate new development 

in flood hazard areas. Over 19,000 

communities participate in the NFIP. 

The concept behind the program is 

that the communities would join the 

NFIP to make their citizens eligible to 

purchase subsidized flood insurance for 

existing buildings. It was recognized 

that insurance for many of these 

buildings would be prohibitively 

expensive if the premium were not 

subsidized. It was also recognized that 

most of these flood prone buildings 

were built by individuals that did not 

have sufficient knowledge of the hazard 

to make informed decisions. 

In exchange for the availability of this 

subsidized insurance, communities 

would protect new construction through 

adoption and enforcement of 

community floodplain management 

ordinances. Owners of these new 

buildings (those built after the Federal 

Emergency Management Agency 

(FEMA) had identified flood hazards in 

the community) would pay actuarial 

rates for flood insurance that fully 

reflect the risk to the building. 

Community floodplain management 

regulations require that residential 

buildings be elevated to or above the 

elevation of the base flood (the flood 

that has a 1 percent chance of occurring 

during any given year, also known as 

the 100-year flood). Non-residential 

buildings can either be elevated or flood 

proofed (made watertight) to the base 

flood. Without community oversight of 

building activities and development in 

the floodplain, the best efforts of some 

to reduce flood losses could be 

undermined or destroyed by the careless 

building of others. Community 

enforcement of a floodplain 

management ordinance is critical in 

protecting a building from future flood 

damages, in reducing taxpayer funded 

disaster assistance, and also in keeping 

flood insurance rates affordable. 

The purpose of the inspection 

procedures is to require owners of 

insured buildings (policyholders) to 

obtain an inspection from community 

floodplain management officials and 

submit a community inspection report 

as a condition of renewing the Standard 

Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP) on the 

building. The community inspection 

report, which is the subject of this 

information collection submission, will 

materially assist in reducing the number 

of buildings at risk to flood losses. The 

inspection procedure has two major 

purposes: (1) To help the pilot 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 225 / Wednesday, November 23, 2005 / Notices 70869 

communities for this inspection 

procedure, Monroe County, City of 

Marathon, and the Village of 

Islamorada, Florida, and any 

community that incorporates after 

January 1, 1999 verify that structures in 

their communities (those built after the 

effective date of the FIRM, or postFIRM) comply with the community’s 

floodplain management ordinance; and 

(2) to ensure that property owners pay 

flood insurance premiums 

commensurate with their flood risk. 

Post-FIRM construction is charged an 

actuarial rate that must fully reflect the 

risk of flooding. The community 

inspection report will be needed to 

effectively implement the inspection 

procedure. The community inspection 

report will be used to document 

whether the insured building is in 

compliance with the community’s 

floodplain management ordinance. The 

inspection report will also assist FEMA 

to ensure that property owners are 

paying flood insurance premiums 

commensurate with their flood risk. 

Under the NFIP Floodplain 

Management Regulations at 44 CFR 

60.3, all new construction and 

substantial improvements of structures 

in A Zones on the community’s FIRM 

must have any enclosed areas below the 

lowest floor of an elevated building 

designed to include openings to 

equalize hydrostatic flood pressure on 

exterior walls by allowing for the 

automatic entry and exit of floodwaters. 

In V Zones, new construction and 

substantial improvements must have the 

space below the lowest floor either free 

of obstruction or constructed with open 

wood lattice-work, insect screening, or 

non-supporting breakaway walls, 

intended to collapse under wind and 

water loads without causing collapse, 

displacement, or other structural 

damage to the elevated portion of the 

building or supporting foundation 

system. In both A and V Zones on the 

community’s FIRM, the area below the 

lowest floor of an elevated building can 

only be used for parking of vehicles, 

building access, or storage. 

In addition, owners must build the 

area below the lowest floor of an 

elevated building using flood resistant 

materials and must use construction 

methods and practices that minimize 

flood damages. Owners must also build 

with electrical, ventilation, plumbing, 

and air conditioning equipment and 

other service facilities that are designed 

or located so as to prevent water from 

entering or accumulating within the 

components during conditions of 

flooding. 

FEMA conducted a Community 

Assistance Visit (CAV) in Monroe 

County, Florida, in 1982, 1987, and in 

1995. The purpose of a CAV is to assess 

an NFIP community’s floodplain 

management program and to provide 

whatever assistance the community 

needs to administer its floodplain 

management ordinance effectively when 

program deficiencies or violations are 

identified. One of the more serious 

problems that FEMA identified through 

the CAVs was the apparent widespread 

use of the enclosed area below the 

lowest floor of elevated buildings for 

uses other than parking of vehicles, 

building access, or storage. Follow-up 

contacts with Monroe County had 

indicated that it was unable to identify 

possible violations and remedy 

violations identified. 

There are several factors that have 

limited Monroe County’s ability to 

determine whether a building with an 

enclosure complies with the county’s 

floodplain management ordinance: (1) A 

provision in Florida laws exempts 

‘‘owner-occupied family residences’’

from the administrative warrant 

inspection procedure provided under 

State law for identifying building-safety 

issues. Under Florida State law, entry by 

local officials into owner-occupied 

single family homes without consent of 

the owner requires a search warrant, 

which is extremely difficult to obtain. 

(2) It is often difficult from the street to 

determine whether the enclosed area 

below an elevated building contains 

uses other than parking of vehicles, 

building access, or storage. Although the 

County can seek consent and approval 

of the owner to inspect their property, 

the community has had limited success 

in identifying violations using this 

method. (3) The volume of possible 

violations is also a contributing factor in 

the community’s ability to address this 

problem. Monroe County estimated that 

there are several thousand buildings 

with illegal enclosures below the lowest 

floor of an elevated building. 

Consequently, the community has had 

little success in identifying possible 

violations so that it could then require 

actions to remedy the violations to the 

maximum extent possible. 

Given these circumstances, Monroe 

County indicated its interest in 

participating in an inspection 

procedure. In January 1997, a Monroe 

County Citizen’s Task Force, which was 

appointed by the Monroe County Board 

of County Commissioners to address the 

issue of illegal enclosures below the 

lowest floor of an elevated building, 

recommended establishment of a 

procedure to require an inspection and 

a compliance report prior to the renewal 

of a flood insurance policy. On June 11, 

1998, the Board of County 

Commissioners of Monroe County, 

Florida, passed a resolution that 

requested FEMA to establish an 

inspection procedure for the County as 

a means of verifying that insured 

buildings in the Special Flood Hazard 

Area under the NFIP comply with the 

County’s floodplain management 

ordinance. 

The Village of Islamorada 

incorporated as a separate community 

within Monroe County in January 1998 

and became a separate participating 

NFIP community on October 1, 1998. 

The Village of Islamorada encompasses 

four of the Florida Keys that would have 

been included as part of the inspection 

procedure in Monroe County. Because 

of possible illegal enclosures in the 

Village of Islamorada, the community 

indicated its interest in participating in 

the pilot inspection procedure in a letter 

dated September 24, 1998, in its 

application to join the NFIP. 

The City of Marathon incorporated as 

a separate community within Monroe 

County on November 2, 1999 and 

became a separate participating NFIP 

community on October 16, 2000. The 

City of Marathon encompasses 12 miles 

of the Florida Keys that would have 

been included as part of the inspection 

procedure in Monroe County. Because 

of possible illegal enclosures in the City 

of Marathon, the community indicated 

its interest in participating in the pilot 

inspection procedure in a resolution 

titled, ‘‘A Resolution of the City Council 

of the City of Marathon, Florida, 

Providing for Approval of the City’s 

Participation in the National Flood 

Insurance Program’s Pilot Inspection 

Program and Providing for an Effective 

Date’’, which was passed and adopted 

on September 13, 2000. 

An interim final rule was published 

in the Federal Register on March 8, 

2002 (67 FR 10631) that amended the 

NFIP regulations to clarify that areas of 

Monroe County that incorporate on or 

after January 1, 1999, and become 

eligible for the sale of flood insurance 

must participate in the inspection 

procedures as a condition of joining the 

NFIP. This requirement was specifically 

stated in the supplementary of the 

proposed rule (published in the Federal 

Register on May 5, 1999, 64 FR 24256) 

and in the final rule (published in the 

Federal Register on June 27, 2000, 65 

FR 39726) establishing the inspection 

procedure. However, this requirement 

was not clearly stated in the Appendices 

(A)(4), (A)(5), and (A)(6) of 44 CFR part 

61, the endorsements to the Standard 

Flood Insurance Policy. The interim 

final rule amended 44 CFR 59.30 and 

the appendices to make clearer that 

participation in the inspection 

70870 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 225 / Wednesday, November 23, 2005 / Notices 

procedures is a requirement for any area 

within Monroe County that incorporates 

on or after January 1, 1999. FEMA will 

publish notices in the Federal Register 

when communities in Monroe County 

incorporate, agree to implement the 

pilot inspection procedure, and become 

eligible for the sale of flood insurance. 

Due to the fact that there has been 

widespread use of the enclosed area 

below the lowest floor of elevated 

buildings for uses other than parking of 

vehicles, building access or storage, the 

community inspection report will 

materially assist the communities in 

identifying and remedying the violation, 

thereby reduce the number of buildings 

exposed to significant flood losses. 

Furthermore, the collection of 

information will help FEMA ensure that 

the policyholders of buildings with 

illegal enclosures are paying premiums 

commensurate with their flood risk. 

The inspection procedure will be 

conducted in the communities of 

Monroe County, City of Marathon, the 

Village of Islamorada, and any other 

community in Monroe County that 

incorporates after January 1, 1999. 

FEMA would make any decision to 

implement the inspection procedure in 

NFIP participating communities outside 

Monroe County only after completing 

the pilot inspection procedure within 

the selected communities and after an 

evaluation to determine how effective 

the procedure is in achieving NFIP 

building compliance. Implementation of 

the inspection procedure beyond 

Monroe County would require separate 

rulemaking and preparation of 

supporting materials for Paperwork 

Reduction Act submissions. 

Collection of Information 

Title: Inspection of Insured Structures 

by Communities. 

Type of Information Collection: 

Extension of a currently approved 

collection. 

OMB Number: 1660–0045. 

Abstract: The purpose of the 

inspection procedure and need for the 

community inspection report is to: 

(1) To help the communities of 

Monroe County, City of Marathon, the 

Village of Islamorada, Florida, and any 

other community in Monroe County that 

incorporates after January 1, 1999 verify 

and document that post-FIRM structures 

in their communities comply with the 

community’s floodplain management 

ordinance; and 

(2)To ensure that property owners pay 

flood insurance premiums 

commensurate with their flood risk due 

to the increased exposure to flood 

damages. 

The final rule (published in the 

Federal Register on June 27, 2000, 65 

FR 39726) and the interim final rule 

(published in the Federal Register on 

March 8, 2002, 67 FR 10631) established 

an inspection procedure in Monroe 

County, City of Marathon, the Village of 

Islamorada, Florida and any other 

community in Monroe County that 

incorporates after January 1, 1999 that 

would be built around the flood 

insurance policy renewal process. The 

requirement that a building be inspected 

by the community, as a condition of 

renewing the flood insurance policy on 

the building, would only apply to NFIP 

insured buildings in Special Flood 

Hazard Areas that are identified as 

possible violations by the community in 

which the property is located. The 

Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA) is 

an area that is based on a flood that 

would have a 1-percent chance of being 

equaled or exceeded in any given year, 

referred to as the 100-year flood. 

Policyholders that have a flood 

insurance policy with a renewal 

effective date on and after the 

implementation date of the pilot 

inspection procedure would receive, 

along with their policy renewal notice, 

an endorsement established in 

Appendices (A)(4), (A)(5), and (A)(6) of 

44 CFR part 61. The endorsement would 

provide that an inspection by the 

community may be required before a 

subsequent renewal of the flood 

insurance policy. Policies issued as new 

policies after the effective date for 

implementing the pilot inspection 

procedure would also contain the 

endorsement established in Appendices 

(A)(4), (A)(5), and (A)(6). The 

endorsement amended all flood 

insurance policies (pre-FIRM and postFIRM) on buildings in Monroe County, 

City of Marathon, and the Village of 

Islamorada, Florida (there are 

approximately 28,771 flood insurance 

policies in these communities at the 

time of this submission). Pre-FIRM 

insured buildings are included for the 

endorsement since there may be some 

policies within this category that should 

be rated post-FIRM because they were 

misrated or substantially improved after 

the effective date of the community’s 

FIRM. A notice describing the purpose 

of the inspection procedure would 

accompany the new endorsement to the 

Standard Flood Insurance Policy 

regarding the inspection procedure. 

Monroe County, City of Marathon, 

and the Village of Islamorada would 

identify possible violations and forward 

the list to FEMA. There are an estimated 

2,000–4,000 number of insured 

buildings within the three communities 

that may be subject to an inspection 

based on the identification as possible 

violations. This estimate was reported to 

FEMA from the communities. Based on 

FEMA’s review of floodplain 

development in these communities, 

FEMA is comfortable with this estimate. 

Monroe County, City of Marathon, 

and the Village of Islamorada would 

identify possible violations through a 

review of the pre-FIRM and post-FIRM 

flood insurance policies provided by 

FEMA and from a visual street 

inspection of the building, from tax 

records, and through a review of other 

documents on file in the community 

pertaining to the property and through 

other community procedures. For 

buildings identified by Monroe County, 

City of Marathon, and the Village of 

Islamorada as possible violations, the 

insurer of the flood insurance policy 

would send a notice to policyholders 

approximately 6 months before the 

policy expiration date. This notice 

would state that the policyholder must 

obtain an inspection from the 

community and submit the results of the 

property inspection as part of the 

renewal of the flood insurance policy by 

the end of the renewal grade period (30 

days after date of the policy expiration). 

The insurer would send a reminder 

notice to the policyholder with the 

Renewal Notice about 45 to 60 days 

before the policy expires. 

The policyholder would be 

responsible for contacting the 

community to arrange for an inspection. 

The community would inspect the 

building to determine whether it 

complies with the community’s 

floodplain management ordinance and 

document its findings in an inspection 

report. The community would provide 

two copies of the inspection report to 

the policyholder. 

If the policyholder obtained a timely 

inspection and sent the community’s 

inspection report and the renewal 

premium payment to the insurer by the 

end of the renewal grace period, the 

insurer would renew the flood 

insurance policy whether or not the 

building has been identified as a 

violation by the community. The insurer 

would review the insurance policy for 

rerating upon review of the community 

inspection report. If the building was 

not properly rated to reflect the 

building’s risk of flooding, the policy 

would be rerated to reflect that risk. If 

the community’s inspection found a 

violation, the community would 

undertake an enforcement action in 

accordance with its floodplain 

management ordinance. 

If the policyholder did not obtain an 

inspection and submit an inspection 

report with the renewal premium 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 225 / Wednesday, November 23, 2005 / Notices 70871 

payment by the end of the renewal grace 

period (30 days after date of expiration), 

the flood insurance policy would not be 

renewed. The insurer would send a 

notice to the insured that the flood 

insurance policy expired and cannot be 

re-issued without the community 

inspection report. 

The communities will not be using a 

FEMA designed form in documenting 

the inspection of an insured structure. 

FEMA consulted with local officials 

from the communities participating in 

the inspection procedure on the type of 

existing building inspection reports they 

use to implement their floodplain 

management ordinance and we 

determined that the current community 

inspection documents could be used for 

purposes of implementing the 

inspection procedure and for purposes 

of determining whether the building’s 

flood insurance policy needs to be 

rerated by insurer. 

The community inspection report is 

critical to the effective implementation 

of the inspection procedure. Without 

the inspection procedure, the Village of 

Islamorada, City of Marathon, and 

Monroe County would continue to have 

limited ability to inspect properties for 

illegal enclosures that violate their 

floodplain management ordinance and 

as a result, both communities would be 

unable to undertake appropriate actions 

to remedy the violations. There are 

several potential serious consequences 

if these structures continue to be in 

violation of the community’s floodplain 

management ordinance. 

Allowing uses other than parking of 

vehicles, building access, or storage in 

the enclosed area below the Base Flood 

Elevation (elevation of the 100-year 

flood) significantly increases the flood 

damage potential to the area below the 

lowest floor of the elevated building. 

Improperly constructed enclosure walls 

and utilities can tear away and damage 

the upper portions of the elevated 

building exposing the building to 

greater damage. Improperly constructed 

enclosures can also result in flood forces 

being transferred to the elevated portion 

of the building with the potential for 

catastrophic damage. If a flood disaster 

occurs, the impact will go beyond the 

building itself. If the ground level 

enclosure is finished with living spaces, 

there is an increased risk to lives. 

Residents who live in these ground level 

enclosures may not be fully aware of the 

flood risk. 

Furthermore, there is limited coverage 

in this area for elevated post-FIRM 

buildings, as provided for in the 

Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP) 

under Article 6—Property Not Covered. 

This provision of the SFIP, effective 

since October 1, 1983, limits coverage 

for enclosures, including personal 

property contained therein. FEMA does 

not cover such items as finished 

enclosure walls, floors, ceilings, and 

personal property such as rugs, carpets, 

and furniture. In 1983, FEMA limited 

the coverage for enclosed areas below 

elevated buildings due to the financial 

losses experienced in the NFIP when 

FEMA provided full coverage in these 

areas. Consequently, property owners 

and residents that may live in these 

lower enclosed areas may have 

significant uninsured losses in the event 

of a flood for finished items and 

contents below the lowest floor. 

However, in spite of the limited 

coverage afforded for these enclosed 

areas, they do affect the rating of the 

policy. Because of the increase in flood 

damage potential to the building 

resulting from flood forces being 

transferred to the elevated portion of the 

building, the damage potential must be 

recognized in the rates by adding rate 

loadings based on the size of the 

enclosure. In addition, the rates must 

also reflect whether the enclosure 

contains essential building elements 

which are covered, namely, sump 

pumps, well water tanks and pumps, 

electrical junction and circuit breaker 

boxes, elevators, natural gas tanks, 

pumps or tanks related to solar energy, 

cisterns, stairways and staircases 

attached to the building, and foundation 

elements that support the building. The 

collection of information from the 

policyholder in the inspection 

procedure will ensure that the 

policyholders of buildings with 

enclosures are paying premiums 

commensurate with their flood risk. 

Along with significant flood damages 

to the building and the potential for loss 

of life, the community, the State, and 

the Federal Government will be faced 

with costly outlays for flood fighting 

and rescue operations, response, and 

recovery as well as taxpayer funded 

disaster assistance. 

Under the inspection procedure, the 

policyholder will be required to obtain 

an inspection in order to renew the 

policy. This will be a one-time 

collection of information during the 

period of time for which the inspection 

procedure is to be implemented. Since 

the primary purpose of the inspection is 

to provide communities with a 

mechanism to ensure compliance with 

the floodplain management ordinance 

and for FEMA to verify flood insurance 

rates, less frequent collection of the 

information through the inspection 

report is not possible. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households and business or other forprofit. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: We expect a total of 2,000 to 

4,000 respondents (policyholders) to 

obtain an inspection from the 

community in which the property is 

located. This is the total estimated 

number of insured buildings that are 

possible violations of the community’s 

floodplain management ordinance in 

Monroe County, City of Marathon, and 

the Village of Islamorada. The burden 

hours are calculated based on the 

maximum number of estimated 

respondents (4,000 insured buildings). 

Monroe County, City of Marathon, and 

the Village of Islamorada will identify 

which insured buildings are possible 

violations of the community’s 

floodplain management ordinance. It is 

anticipated that the inspection 

procedure will be implemented over a 

multi-year period in each community in 

order to inspect several hundred 

insured buildings identified as possible 

violations each year. 

It is estimated that Monroe County 

will inspect 500–700 insured buildings 

per year, the City of Marathon will 

inspect 200–400 insured buildings per 

year, and the Village of Islamorada will 

inspect 200–400 insured buildings per 

year. 

The policyholders of insured 

buildings identified as possible 

violations by the community will 

receive a notice from their insurer 

approximately 6 months before the 

policy expiration date. This notice will 

state that the policyholder must obtain 

an inspection from the community and 

submit the results of the inspection as 

part of the renewal of the flood 

insurance policy by the end of the 

renewal grace period (30 days after date 

of the policy expiration). In addition, for 

each of the 2,000–4,000 insured 

buildings identified as a possible 

violation of the community’s floodplain 

management ordinance, the following 

will apply: 

• The policyholder will receive a 

reminder notice from the insurer 

regarding the inspection with the 

Renewal Notice about 45 to 60 days 

before the policy expires. 

• The policyholder is responsible for 

contacting the community to arrange for 

an inspection by a local official in the 

community in which the property is 

located. 

• The policyholder will receive two 

copies of the inspection report from the 

community and submit one copy of the 

inspection report as part of the policy 

renewal process, which includes the 

payment of the premium. 

70872 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 225 / Wednesday, November 23, 2005 / Notices 

• If the policyholder did not obtain 

an inspection and submit an inspection 

report with the renewal payment by the 

end of the renewal grade period (30 

days after date of expiration), the flood 

insurance policy would not be renewed. 

The insurer would send a notice at 

expiration or shortly thereafter to the 

policyholder that the flood insurance 

policy expired and cannot be re-issued 

without the community inspection 

report. 

The flood insurance renewal notice 

and flood insurance application have 

previously been approved by OMB 

(OMB 1660–0045). 

Number of respondents/Type of response Frequency of 

response Burden hours Total burden hours 

4,000 policyholders to receive & read a notice that an inspection is required in order for the flood insurance policy to be renewed. These 

4,000 policyholders will also receive a reminder notice about 45–60 

days before the policy expires.

1 15 minutes (total for both notices) .. 1000 

4,000 policyholders contact respective community to arrange for an inspection of the property. Local official inspects the property with the 

policyholder or his/her designee. (Note: In any given year we expect 

several hundred policyholders to receive the notice and contact their 

community.) Compliant buildings should take less time to inspect 

compared to an insured building that is non-compliant.

1 1–2.5 hours ** .................................. 10,000 

4,000 policyholders submit a copy of the inspection report with the renewal premium payment. 800 estimated no. of respondents that did 

not obtain an inspection. These respondents will be sent a notice at 

time of policy expiration that their flood insurance policy expired. 

(FEMA estimates that less than 20% of the 4,000 respondents will not 

obtain an inspection and as a result their flood insurance policy will 

not be renewed.) 

1 

1 

8 minutes .........................................

8 minutes .........................................

533 

107 

*Total number of Burden Hours to implement the inspection procedure over a multi-year period.11,640 

Annual (one-time) total burden hours for each policyholder is 

approximately.

3 

Total annual burden for approximately 500–700 inspections per 

year in Monroe County.

2,100 

Total annual burden for approximately 200–400 inspections per 

year in the Village of Islamorada.

1,200 

Total annual burden for approximately 200–400 inspections per 

year in the City of Marathon.

1,200 

**FEMA has estimated that the amount of time to contact the community to arrange for the inspection and for the policyholder or his/her designee to be available to let the community official into the building to conduct the inspection will range from 1 hour to 2.5 hours. 

*It is estimated that 2,000–4,000 buildings will need to be inspected over a multi-year period. On an annual basis, it is estimated that 900–

1,500 buildings will be inspected each year when you combine the estimated annual inspections to be conducted by each community. The total 

number of inspections would not change with the incorporation of any community within Monroe County that joins the National Flood Insurance 

Program and agrees to participate in the inspection procedure after January 1, 1999. The estimated total number of inspections (2,000–4,000) 

remains the same. The addition of any other community only offsets the total number, burden hours, and costs in Monroe County. 

Estimated Cost: Communities 

generally charge a fee for permits and 

inspections as part of their 

administration of their zoning 

ordinance, building code, and 

floodplain management ordinance. It is 

estimated that it will cost the 

policyholder on average between $35 to 

$50.00 for each inspection. There may 

be expenses related to telephone calls 

and arranging for someone to be 

available at the property so that local 

officials can inspect the building. These 

expenses are estimated to be on average 

$15.00 per respondent. Therefore, 

policyholders who are required to 

obtain an inspection as a condition of 

renewing the flood insurance policy and 

who obtain that inspection, it is 

estimated to cost on average $65.00 per 

policyholder. For approximately 900 to 

1,500 inspections per year, the total 

annual cost burden to respondents is 

estimated to be between $58,500 and 

$97,500. 

COMMENTS: Written comments are 

solicited to (a) Evaluate whether the 

proposed data collection is necessary for 

the proper performance of the agency, 

including whether the information shall 

have practical utility; (b) 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; 

(c) enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (d) 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 submission of 

responses. Comments should be 

received within 60 days of the date of 

this notice. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons should 

submit written comments to Chief, 

Records Management Section, 

Information Resources Management 

Branch, Information Technology 

Services Division, Federal Emergency 

Management Agency, Department of 

Homeland Security, 500 C Street, SW., 

Room 316, Washington, DC 20472. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Contact Rachel Sears, Program 

Specialist, Mitigation Division, 

(202)646–2977 for additional 

information. You may contact the 

Records Management Branch for copies 

of the proposed collection of 

information at facsimile number (202) 

646–3347 or e-mail address: FEMAInformation-Collections@dhs.gov. 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 225 / Wednesday, November 23, 2005 / Notices 70873 

Dated: November 3, 2005. 

Darcy Bingham, 

Branch Chief, Information Resources 

Management Branch, Information 

Technology Services Division. 

[FR Doc. 05–23135 Filed 11–22–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–11–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

Information Collection Renewal Sent to 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) for Approval Under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act; 1018–0113; 

Information Collection in Support of 

Grants Programs Authorized by the 

Neotropical Migratory Bird 

Conservation Act (Pub. L. 106–247, 14 

Stat. 593) 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: We (Fish and Wildlife 

Service, Service) have sent a request to 

OMB to renew approval for our 

information collection associated with 

the Neotropical Migratory Bird 

Conservation Act (NMBCA) grants 

program. The current OMB control 

number for this information collection 

is 1018–0113, which expires November 

30, 2005. We have requested that OMB 

renew approval of this information 

collection for a 3-year term. 

DATES: You must submit comments on 

or before December 23, 2005. 

ADDRESSES: Send your comments and 

suggestions on this information 

collection renewal to the Desk Officer 

for the Department of the Interior at 

OMB–OIRA at (202) 395–6566 (fax) or 

OIRA_DOCKET@OMB.eop.gov (e-mail). 

Please provide a copy of your comments 

to Hope Grey, Information Collection 

Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife 

Service, MS 222–ARLSQ, 4401 North 

Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203 

(mail); (703) 358–2269 (fax); or 

hope_grey@fws.gov (e-mail). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To 

request a copy of the information 

collection requirements or explanatory 

information, contact Hope Grey, 

Information Collection Clearance 

Officer, at the above addresses or by 

telephone at (703) 358–2482. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OMB 

regulations at 5 CFR 1320, which 

implement the provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), require that 

interested members of the public and 

affected agencies have an opportunity to 

comment on information collection and 

recordkeeping activities (see 5 CFR 

1320.8(d)). Federal agencies may not 

conduct or sponsor and a person is not 

required to respond to a collection of 

information unless it displays a 

currently valid OMB control number. 

On July 29, 2005, we published in the 

Federal Register (70 FR 43900) a 60-day 

notice of our intent to request renewal 

of this information collection authority 

from OMB. In that notice, we solicited 

public comments for 60 days ending 

September 27, 2005. We did not receive 

any comments regarding this notice. 

The NMBCA establishes a matching 

grants program to fund projects that 

promote the conservation of neotropical 

migratory birds in the United States, 

Latin America, and the Caribbean. The 

purposes of NMBCA are to: (1) 

Perpetuate healthy populations of 

neotropical migratory birds; (2) assist in 

the conservation of these birds by 

supporting conservation initiatives in 

the United States, Latin America, and 

the Caribbean; and (3) provide financial 

resources and foster international 

cooperation for those initiatives. 

Principal conservation actions 

supported by NMBCA are protection 

and management of neotropical 

migratory bird populations; 

maintenance, management, protection, 

and restoration of neotropical migratory 

bird habitat; research and monitoring; 

law enforcement; and community 

outreach and education. 

Competing for grant funds involves 

applications from partnerships that 

describe in substantial detail project 

locations, project resources, future 

benefits, and other characteristics, to 

meet the standards established by the 

Fish and Wildlife Service and the 

requirements of NMBCA. The 

information collection for this program 

is part of a system of records covered by 

the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552(a)). 

Materials that describe the program 

and assist applicants in formulating 

project proposals are available on our 

Web site at http://www.fws.gov/ 

birdhabitat/. Persons who do not have 

access to the website may obtain 

instructional materials by mail by 

contacting the Service’s Division of Bird 

Habitat Conservation. There has been 

little change in the scope and general 

nature of these instructions since OMB 

first approved this information 

collection in 2002. Instructions assist 

applicants in formulating detailed 

project proposals for consideration by a 

panel of reviewers from the Fish and 

Wildlife Service. These instructional 

materials are the basis for this 

information collection request. 

We publish notices of funding 

availability annually on the Grants.gov 

Web site (http://www.grants.gov) as well 

as in the Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance (http://cfda.gov). We use 

information collected under this 

program to respond to such needs as 

audits, program planning and 

management, program evaluation, 

Government Performance and Results 

Act reporting, Standard Form 424 

(Application for Federal Assistance), 

assistance awards, budget reports and 

justifications, public and private 

requests for information, data provided 

to other programs for databases on 

similar programs, congressional 

inquiries, and reports required by 

NMBCA. 

If the information were not collected, 

we would have to eliminate the program 

because it would not be possible to 

determine eligibility and the relative 

worth of the proposed projects. 

Reducing the frequency of collection 

would only reduce the frequency of 

grant opportunities as the information 

collected is unique to each project 

proposal. Discontinuation of the 

program is not a viable option. 

Title: Information Collection in 

Support of Grants Programs Authorized 

by the Neotropical Migratory Bird 

Conservation Act (Pub. L. 106–247; 14 

Stat. 593). 

OMB Control Number: 1018–0113. 

Form Number(s): None. 

Frequency of Collection: Occasional. 

This grants program has one project 

proposal submission per year. Annual 

reports are due 90 days after the 

anniversary date of the grant agreement. 

Final reports are due 90 days after the 

end of the project period. The project 

period is up to 2 years. 

Description of Respondents: (1) An 

individual, corporation, partnership, 

trust, association, or other private entity; 

(2) an officer, employee, agent, 

department, or instrumentality of the 

Federal Government, of any State, 

municipality, or political subdivision of 

a State, or of any foreign government: (3) 

a State, municipality, or political 

subdivision of a State; (4) any other 

entity subject to the jurisdiction of the 

United States or of any foreign country; 

and (5) an international organization. 

Number of Respondents: 160 submit 

grant applications; 60 submit required 

reports. 

Annual Burden: 70 hours per 

application; 30 hours per report. 

Total Annual Burden Hours: 13,000. 

We again invite your comments on: 

(1) Whether or not the collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the NMBCA grants 

programs, including whether or not in