Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; The Environmental Questionnaire and Checklist (EQC), 35257 [2020-12414]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• Office of the Secretary

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 111 (Tuesday, June 9, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 35257]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-12414]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Office of the Secretary


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; The Environmental Questionnaire and Checklist (EQC)

    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 March 30, 2020 (85 FR 17532) during a 60-day 
comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public 
comments.
    Agency: Office of Facilities and Environmental Quality, Office of 
the Secretary.
    Title: The Environmental Questionnaire and Checklist (EQC).
    OMB Control Number: 0690-0028.
    Form Number(s): CD-593.
    Type of Request: Regular submission (an extension of a current 
information collection).
    Number of Respondents: 1,000.
    Average Hours per Response: 3 hours.
    Burden Hours: 3,000.
    Needs and Uses: This request is for an extension of a currently 
approved information collection. The National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321-4347) and the Council on Environmental Quality's 
(CEQ) Regulations for Implementing NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508) 
require that federal agencies complete an environmental analysis for 
all major federal actions significantly affecting the environment. 
Those actions may include a federal agency's decision to fund non-
federal projects under grants and cooperative agreements, including 
infrastructure projects. In order to determine NEPA compliance 
requirements for a project receiving Department of Commerce (DOC) 
bureau-level funding, DOC must assess information which can only be 
provided by the applicant for federal financial assistance (grant).
    The Environmental Questionnaire and Checklist (EQC) provides 
federal financial assistance applicants and DOC staff with a tool to 
ensure that the necessary project and environmental information is 
obtained. The EQC was developed to collect data concerning potential 
environmental impacts that the applicant for federal financial 
assistance possesses and to transmit that information to the Federal 
reviewer. The EQC will allow for a more rapid review of projects and 
facilitate DOC's evaluation of the potential environmental impacts of a 
project and level of NEPA documentation required. DOC staff will use 
the information provided in answers to the questionnaire to determine 
compliance requirements for NEPA and conduct subsequent NEPA analysis 
as needed. Information provided in the questionnaire may also be used 
for other regulatory review requirements associated with the proposed 
project, such as the National Historic Preservation Act.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit organizations; Not-for-profit institutions; State, Local or 
Tribal Government; Federal Government, etc.
    Frequency: One-time; Annually.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $1,200 in mailing costs ($6 
x approximately 200 respondents who choose to mail rather than email 
attachments).
    Legal Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.
    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 0690-0028.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2020-12414 Filed 6-8-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-NW-P