Agency Information Collection: Comment Request, 2421-2422 [2013-00375]

Agencies

• Geological Survey
• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 8 (Friday, January 11, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2421-2422]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-00375]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Geological Survey

[GX.13.CD00.B9510.00]


Agency Information Collection: Comment Request

AGENCY: United States Geological Survey (USGS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of an extension of a currently approved information 
collection, 1028-0095.

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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the 
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is inviting comments on an information 
collection request (ICR) that we have sent to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The ICR concerns the 
paperwork requirements for the National Institutes for Water Resources 
(NIWR) USGS Competitive Grant Program. As required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, and as part of our continuing efforts to 
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, we invite the general public 
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on this 
ICR. This collection is scheduled to expire on January 31, 2013.

DATES: Submit written comments by February 11, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Please submit comments on this information collection 
directly to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attention: Desk Officer for the 
Department of the Interior via email: (OIRA_SUBMISSION@omb.eop.gov); 
or by fax (202) 395-5806; and identify your

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submission with 1028-0095. Please also submit a copy of your 
comments to Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Geological 
Survey, 807 National Center, Reston, VA 20192 (mail); or 
smbaloch@usgs.gov (email). Please reference Information Collection 
1028-0095.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Earl Greene, Acting Chief Office of 
External Research, U.S. Geological Survey, 5522 Research Park Drive, MS 
436, Baltimore, Maryland 21228 (mail) at (443) 498-5505 (Phone); or 
eagreene@usgs.gov (email). You may find additional information about 
this information collection at www.reginfo.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: National Institutes for Water Resources (NIWR) USGS 
Competitive Grant Program.
    OMB Control Number: 1028-0095.
    Abstract: The NIWR-USGS National Competitive Grant Program issues 
an annual call for proposals to support research on water problems and 
issues of a regional or interstate nature beyond those of concern only 
to a single state and which relate to specific program priorities 
identified jointly by the USGS and the state water resources research 
institutes authorized by the Water Resources Research Act of 1984, as 
amended (42 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.). The program is conducted in 
conjunction with the State Water Resources Research Institutes. The 
NIWR cooperates with the USGS in establishing total programmatic 
direction, reporting on the activities of the Institutes, coordinating 
and facilitating regional research and information and technology 
transfer, and in operating the NIWR-USGS Student Internship Program. 
Any investigator at an accredited institution of higher learning in the 
United States is eligible to apply for a grant through a water research 
institute or center established under the provisions of the Act. 
Proposals involving substantial collaboration between the USGS and 
university scientists are encouraged. Proposals may be for projects of 
1 to 3 years in duration and may request up to $250,000 in federal 
funds. Successful applicants must match each dollar of the federal 
grant with one dollar from nonfederal sources. An annual progress and 
final technical report for all projects is required at the end of the 
project period. This program is authorized by the Water Resources 
Research Act of 1984, as amended (42 U.S.C. 10303(g)).
    No questions of a ``sensitive'' nature are asked.
    Frequency of Collection: Annually.
    Affected Public: Research investigators at accredited institutions 
of higher education.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary (necessary to receive benefits).
    Estimated Number of Respondents: We expect to receive approximately 
65 applications and award 7 grants per year.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: We 
estimate the annual reporting burden to be 3,984 hours. This includes 
60 hours per applicant to prepare and submit the application; and 12 
hours (total) per grantee to complete the interim and final technical 
reports.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'': We 
have not identified any ``non-hour cost'' burdens associated with this 
collection of information.
    Public Disclosure Statement: The PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) 
provides that an agency may not conduct or sponsor and you are not 
required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a 
currently valid OMB control number.
    Comments: To comply with the public consultation process, on August 
28, 2012, we published a Federal Register notice (77 FR 52052) 
announcing that we would submit this ICR to OMB for approval. The 
notice provided the required 60-day public comment period, which ended 
October 29, 2012. In response to our Federal Register Notice, we 
received one comment, which consisted of a general invective about the 
U.S. Government and did not pertain to this information collection. We 
are again soliciting comments as to: (a) Whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the agency to perform its 
duties, including whether the information is useful; (b) the accuracy 
of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of 
information; (c) how to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and (d) how to minimize the burden on 
the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques 
or other forms of information technology. Please note that the comments 
submitted in response to this notice are a matter of public record. 
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 OMB in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that it will be 
done.

    Dated: December 27, 2012.
Earl Greene,
Acting Chief, Office of External Research, U.S. Geological Survey.
[FR Doc. 2013-00375 Filed 1-10-13; 8:45 am]
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