Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request, 70867-70868 [05-23134]
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 225 / Wednesday, November 23, 2005 / Notices
Recommendations for the creation of the
fire department database came out of a
Blue Ribbon Panel’s review of the
USFA—initiated by former FEMA
Director James Lee Witt in the spring of
1998. The report included a review of
the structure, mission and funding of
the USFA, future policies, programmatic
needs, course development and
delivery, and the role of the USFA to
reflect changes in the fire service. The
panel included 13 members of the U.S.
fire community. As a result of those
recommendations, the USFA is working
to identify all fire departments in the
United States to develop and populate
a national database that will include
information related to demographics,
capabilities and activities of fire
departments Nationwide. In the first
year of this effort, information was
collected from 16,000 fire departments.
Since the first year of the collection, an
additional 8,000 departments have
registered with the census for a total of
24,000 fire departments. This leaves an
estimated 9,000 departments still to
respond.
Collection of Information
Title: National Fire Department
Census.
Type of Information Collection:
Extension of a currently approved
collection.
OMB Number: 1660–0070.
Abstract: Many data products and
reports exist that contain fragmented or
estimated information about fire
department demographics, and
capabilities, but there is no single
reference source today that aggregates
this data to provide a complete and
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
Federal Emergency Management
Agency
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request
Federal Emergency
Management Agency, U.S. Department
of Homeland Security.
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:
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 a proposed continuing
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
use of a census form to collect data for
the development of a national fire
department database.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S.
Fire Administration (USFA) receives
many requests from fire service
organizations and the general public for
information related to fire departments,
including total number of departments,
number of stations per department,
population protected, and number of
firefighters. The USFA also has a need
for this information to guide
programmatic decisions, and produce
mailing lists for USFA publications.
70867
accurate profile of fire departments in
the United States. The U.S. Fire
Administration (USFA) receives many
requests for information related to fire
departments, including total number of
departments, number of stations per
department, population protected,
apparatus and equipment status. The
USFA is working to identify all fire
departments in the United States to
develop and populate a national
database that will include information
related to demographics, capabilities
and activities. The database will be used
by USFA to guide programmatic
decisions, provide the Fire Service and
the public with information about fire
departments, to produce mailing lists
for USFA publications and other
materials. In the first year of this effort,
information was collected from 16,000
fire departments. Since the first year of
the collection, an additional 8,000
departments have registered with the
census for a total of 24,000 fire
departments. This leaves an estimated
9,000 departments still to respond.
Additionally, fire departments already
registered with the census will be
contacted once every five years to
provide updates or changes to their
census data so that USFA can keep the
database as current as possible. Fire
departments are able to complete the
census form on-line through the USFA
web site, or by filling out a paper census
form and faxing the completed form, or
sending it in a return envelope.
Affected Public: Federal, State, local
government, volunteer and industrial
fire departments.
ESTIMATED TOTAL ANNUAL BURDEN HOURS
Number of
respondents
(A)
FEMA forms
Frequency of
response
(B)
Hours per response
(C)
Annual burden
hours
(A × B × C)
9,000
Estimated Cost: The estimated costs to
the government will be contracted direct
labor and associated overhead costs of
$50,000. There would be no costs to the
respondent other than the minimal
direct labor cost of a single firefighter or
emergency service worker taking a small
amount of time to complete the census
form and this would be applicable only
to those fire departments and emergency
service agencies with career employees.
The majority of the respondents will be
from volunteer fire departments for
which no direct labor costs will be
incurred. The estimate of respondent
VerDate Aug<31>2005
17:33 Nov 22, 2005
Jkt 208001
25 Minutes (.42) .....
3,750
9,000
Total .................................................................................................
1
1
25 Minutes (.42) .....
3,750
costs for those career departments is
computed as follows: Estimated number
of census forms multiplied by the
national median hourly rate of a
firefighter of $17.42 multiplied by .42
(representing the estimated 25 minutes
it takes to complete the census form)
and multiply that by .27 which
represents the percentage of
respondents who are career (paid)
personnel. Using this equation, total
estimated costs to respondents of
$17,779 is derived (9,000 estimated
census forms x $17.42 = $156,780 x .42
= $65,848 x .27 = $17,779). The average
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
cost per census form is a minimal $1.96.
The respondents are under no obligation
to complete the census form and may
refuse to do so or stop at any time so
the average cost to the respondent of
$1.96 could easily not be incurred by
refusing to fill out the census form.
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
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23NON1
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
Federal Emergency
Management Agency, U.S. Department
of Homeland Security.
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:
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
VerDate Aug<31>2005
17:33 Nov 22, 2005
Jkt 208001
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
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Frm 00087
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
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
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 225 (Wednesday, November 23, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70867-70868]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-23134]
[[Page 70867]]
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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 a proposed continuing 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 use of a
census form to collect data for the development of a national fire
department database.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) receives
many requests from fire service organizations and the general public
for information related to fire departments, including total number of
departments, number of stations per department, population protected,
and number of firefighters. The USFA also has a need for this
information to guide programmatic decisions, and produce mailing lists
for USFA publications. Recommendations for the creation of the fire
department database came out of a Blue Ribbon Panel's review of the
USFA--initiated by former FEMA Director James Lee Witt in the spring of
1998. The report included a review of the structure, mission and
funding of the USFA, future policies, programmatic needs, course
development and delivery, and the role of the USFA to reflect changes
in the fire service. The panel included 13 members of the U.S. fire
community. As a result of those recommendations, the USFA is working to
identify all fire departments in the United States to develop and
populate a national database that will include information related to
demographics, capabilities and activities of fire departments
Nationwide. In the first year of this effort, information was collected
from 16,000 fire departments. Since the first year of the collection,
an additional 8,000 departments have registered with the census for a
total of 24,000 fire departments. This leaves an estimated 9,000
departments still to respond.
Collection of Information
Title: National Fire Department Census.
Type of Information Collection: Extension of a currently approved
collection.
OMB Number: 1660-0070.
Abstract: Many data products and reports exist that contain
fragmented or estimated information about fire department demographics,
and capabilities, but there is no single reference source today that
aggregates this data to provide a complete and accurate profile of fire
departments in the United States. The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA)
receives many requests for information related to fire departments,
including total number of departments, number of stations per
department, population protected, apparatus and equipment status. The
USFA is working to identify all fire departments in the United States
to develop and populate a national database that will include
information related to demographics, capabilities and activities. The
database will be used by USFA to guide programmatic decisions, provide
the Fire Service and the public with information about fire
departments, to produce mailing lists for USFA publications and other
materials. In the first year of this effort, information was collected
from 16,000 fire departments. Since the first year of the collection,
an additional 8,000 departments have registered with the census for a
total of 24,000 fire departments. This leaves an estimated 9,000
departments still to respond. Additionally, fire departments already
registered with the census will be contacted once every five years to
provide updates or changes to their census data so that USFA can keep
the database as current as possible. Fire departments are able to
complete the census form on-line through the USFA web site, or by
filling out a paper census form and faxing the completed form, or
sending it in a return envelope.
Affected Public: Federal, State, local government, volunteer and
industrial fire departments.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Annual burden
FEMA forms respondents Frequency of Hours per response (C) hours (A x B
(A) response (B) x C)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9,000 1 25 Minutes (.42)............. 3,750
-----------------
Total........................ 9,000 1 25 Minutes (.42)............. 3,750
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Cost: The estimated costs to the government will be
contracted direct labor and associated overhead costs of $50,000. There
would be no costs to the respondent other than the minimal direct labor
cost of a single firefighter or emergency service worker taking a small
amount of time to complete the census form and this would be applicable
only to those fire departments and emergency service agencies with
career employees. The majority of the respondents will be from
volunteer fire departments for which no direct labor costs will be
incurred. The estimate of respondent costs for those career departments
is computed as follows: Estimated number of census forms multiplied by
the national median hourly rate of a firefighter of $17.42 multiplied
by .42 (representing the estimated 25 minutes it takes to complete the
census form) and multiply that by .27 which represents the percentage
of respondents who are career (paid) personnel. Using this equation,
total estimated costs to respondents of $17,779 is derived (9,000
estimated census forms x $17.42 = $156,780 x .42 = $65,848 x .27 =
$17,779). The average cost per census form is a minimal $1.96. The
respondents are under no obligation to complete the census form and may
refuse to do so or stop at any time so the average cost to the
respondent of $1.96 could easily not be incurred by refusing to fill
out the census form.
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
[[Page 70868]]
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-Information-
Collections@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
