Agency Information Collection Activities; Land and Water Conservation Fund State Assistance Program, 67797-67798 [2023-21680]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• National Park Service

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 189 (Monday, October 2, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67797-67798]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-21680]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-PCE-LWCF-NPS0036373; PPWOSLAD00 PGWS1S181.Y00000 XXXP503581 
PS.SSLAD0R21.00.1 (223); OMB Control Number 1024-0031]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Land and Water 
Conservation Fund State Assistance Program

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 we, the 
National Park Service (NPS), are proposing to renew an information 
collection with revisions.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
November 1, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and suggestions on the information 
collection requirements should be submitted by the date specified above 
in DATES to https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this 
particular information collection by selecting ``Currently under 
Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function. 
Please provide a copy of your comments to Phadrea Ponds, NPS 
Information Collection Clearance Officer (ADIR-ICCO), 13461 Sunrise 
Valley Drive (MS-244) Reston, VA 20192 (mail); or [email protected] 
(email). Please include 1024-0031 (LWCF) in the subject line of your 
comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information 
about this ICR, contact Elisabeth Morgan, Recreation Grant Branch Chief 
by email at [email protected] (email); or by telephone at 
202-354-6916. Please reference OMB Control Number 1024-0031(LWCF) in 
the subject line of your comments. Individuals in the United States who 
are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may 
dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay 
services. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay 
services offered within their country to make international calls to 
the point of contact in the United States. You may also view the ICR at 
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) and 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), we 
provide the public and other Federal agencies with an opportunity to 
comment on new, proposed, revised, and continuing collections of 
information. This helps us assess the impact of our information 
collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. It 
also helps the public understand our information collection 
requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format.
    A Federal Register notice with a 60-day public comment period 
soliciting comments on this collection of information was published (87 
FR 55843) on September 12, 2022. We received written comments from 
Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office and Oregon Parks 
and Recreation Department. The comments and NPS responses are 
summarized below.
    Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office:
    It would be most helpful if NPS revised and expanded A&R questions 
to clarify the information sought. In our experience, incomplete 
information provided on this form (often due to misunderstanding what 
is required) creates additional work, expense and time lags for RCO's 
subgrantees as well as NPS. We all share the same goal of wanting to 
provide a complete accurate initial application, within reason of what 
information that an applicant would have without promise of any grant 
funding. The commenter also provided specific feedback on ways to 
provide clarity to the instructions in each section.
    NPS Response/Action Taken: The comments and suggestions for 
rewording to improve the clarity and to remove duplication of questions 
were accepted. To accommodate the request proposing additional 
instructions for questions the NPS will create annotated versions of 
the A&R and C&S forms to provide additional guidance.
    Oregon Parks and Recreation Department:
    The comments from this respondent were mainly technical in nature, 
addressing the wording of some questions on both the A&R and C&S Forms, 
as well as describing issues with formatting on these forms that make 
the forms more difficult for applicants to use, including ``an 
unnecessary amount of time to correct.'' The respondent also noted that 
Section 3.0, Subsection C. Environmental Resources Survey should be 
improved. The respondent recommended that Tables 1 and 2 have a column 
added to indicate neutral impacts (impacts that are neither positive or 
negative) and a Not Applicable column (resource does not exist).
    NPS Response/Action Taken:
     We will revisit the forms to try to address the issues the 
commenter identified, such as possibly placing form fields in the 
document for responses so that applicants don't feel the need to enter 
their responses in colored text. We note that some of the issues the 
commenter described can be caused by how these documents are saved and 
shared for use, which may erase formatting.
     The tables in Section 3.C were revised to remove the 
response indicating more research is needed and to restore a ``not 
present or N/A'' option in Table 1. (Conforming changes were

[[Page 67798]]

made to the same tables in Section 3.A of the C&S Form.)
     To accommodate the request proposing additional 
instructions for questions the NPS will create annotated versions of 
the forms to provide additional guidance.
    As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent 
burdens, we invite the public and other Federal agencies to comment on 
new, proposed, revised, and continuing collections of information. This 
helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements 
and minimize the public's reporting burden. It also helps the public 
understand our information collection requirements and provide the 
requested data in the desired format.
    We are especially interested in public comment addressing the 
following:
    (1) Whether or not the collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including 
whether or not the information will have practical utility.
    (2) The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this collection 
of information, including the validity of the methodology and 
assumptions used.
    (3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected.
    (4) How might the agency 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 response.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request 
to OMB to approve this ICR. 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 us in your comment to withhold your 
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.
    Abstract: The Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965, as 
amended (LWCF Act) (54 U.S.C. 200305 et. seq.) was enacted to help 
preserve, develop, and ensure access for the public to outdoor 
recreation opportunities. Among other programs, the LWCF Act provides 
funds for and authorizes federal assistance to the States for planning, 
acquisition, and development of needed land and water areas and 
facilities for outdoor recreation purposes. In accordance with the LWCF 
Act, the National Park Service (we, NPS) administers the LWCF State 
Assistance Program, which provides matching grants to States,
    LWCF grants are provided to states (including the 50 states; the 
Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands; the 
District of Columbia; and the Territories of Guam, the U.S. Virgin 
Islands, and American Samoa) on a matching basis for up to 50 percent 
of the total project-related allowable costs. Grants to eligible 
insular areas may be for 100 percent assistance. Payments for all 
projects are made to the state organization that is authorized to 
accept and administer funds paid for approved projects. Local units of 
government participate in the program as sub-grantees of the state with 
the state retaining primary grant compliance responsibility. The 
following updates are included as revisions to this collection:
    1. New Requirement--Standard Form SF-429. In accordance with DOI's 
regulations at 2 CFR 1402, the SF-429 Real Property Status Report Cover 
Sheet and Attachment B, Request to Acquire, Furnish, or Improve, is 
required for projects requesting LWCF assistance for land acquisition. 
For post-grant completion stewardship reporting, the Cover Sheet and 
Attachment A, General Reporting are required.
    Title of Collection: Land and Water Conservation Fund State 
Assistance Program.
    OMB Control Number: 1024-0031.
    Form Number: NPS Forms 10-902A, 10-903, 10-904, 10-904A, 10-905 and 
Standard Form SF429.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: States Governments; the Commonwealths 
of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands; the District of 
Columbia; and the territories of Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, and 
American Samoa.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 423.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 7,797.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 56,249.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
    Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.
    An agency 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.
    The authority for this action is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

Phadrea Ponds,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, National Park Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-21680 Filed 9-29-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P