Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments, 67785 [2015-27993]

Agencies

• Geological Survey
• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 212 (Tuesday, November 3, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 67785]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-27993]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Geological Survey

[GX16CD00B951000]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments

AGENCY: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of a revision of a currently approved information 
collection (1028-0095).

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SUMMARY: We (the U.S. Geological Survey) will ask the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the information collection (IC) 
described below. 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 IC. This 
collection is scheduled to expire on March 31, 2016.

DATES: To ensure that your comments are considered, we must receive 
them on or before January 4, 2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this information collection to 
the Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Geological Survey, 
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive MS 807, Reston, VA 20192 (mail); (703) 648-
7197 (fax); or gs-info_collections@usgs.gov (email). Please reference 
`Information Collection 1028-0095, State Water Resources Research 
Institute Program Annual Application and Reporting' in all 
correspondence.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Earl Greene, Chief, Office of External 
Research, U.S. Geological Survey, 5522 Research Park Drive, Baltimore, 
MD 21228 (mail); 443-498-5505 (phone); eagreene@usgs.gov (email). You 
may also find information about this ICR at www.reginfo.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Water Resources Research Act of 1984, as amended (42 U.S.C. 
10301 et seq.), authorizes a research institute water resources or 
center in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, 
the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Federated States of Micronesia, the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa. There 
are currently 54 such institutes, one in each state, the District of 
Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. The institute 
in Guam is a regional institute serving Guam, the Federated States of 
Micronesia, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Each 
of the 54 institutes submits an annual application for an allotment 
grant and provides an annual report on its activities under the grant. 
The State Water Resources Research Institute Program issues an annual 
call for applications from the institutes to support plans to promote 
research, training, information dissemination, and other activities 
meeting the needs of the States and Nation. The program also encourages 
regional cooperation among institutes in research into areas of water 
management, development, and conservation that have a regional or 
national character. The U.S. Geological Survey has been designated as 
the administrator of the provisions of the Act.

II. Data

    OMB Control Number: 1028-0095.
    Form Number: NA.
    Title: State Water Resources Research Institute Program Annual 
Application and Reporting.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: The state water resources research institutes 
authorized by the Water Resources Research Act of 1983, as amended, and 
listed at https://water.usgs.gov/wrri/index.php.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory (necessary to obtain grants).
    Frequency of Collection: Annually.
    Estimated Total Number of Annual Responses: We expect to receive 54 
applications and award 54 grants per year.
    Estimated Time per Response: 160 hours. This includes 80 hours per 
applicant to prepare and submit the annual application; and 80 hours 
(total) per grantee to complete the annual reports.
    Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 8,640.
    Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' Burden: 
There are no ``non-hour cost'' burdens associated with this IC.
    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 and current expiration date.

III. Request for Comments

    We are 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) ways 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 personal mailing 
address, phone number, email address, or other personally identifiable 
information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire 
comment, including your personally identifiable information, may be 
made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your 
comment to withhold your personally identifiable information from 
public view, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Earl A. Greene,
Chief, Office of External Research.
[FR Doc. 2015-27993 Filed 11-2-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4338-11-P