[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 94 (Monday, May 17, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27575-27576]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-11620]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Geological Survey


Agency Information Collection Activities: State Water Resources 
Research Institute Program Annual Application and Reporting

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

ACTION: Notice of a new collection.

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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), we 
are notifying the public that we have submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) an information collection request (ICR). 
This notice provides the public an opportunity to comment on the 
paperwork burden of this collection. We 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.

DATES: You must submit comments on or before June 16, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Please submit written 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 e-mail to [email protected] or 
fax at 202-395-5806; and identify your submission as 1028-NEW. Please 
also submit a copy of your written comments to Phadrea Ponds, USGS 
Information Collection Clearance Officer, 2150-C Centre Avenue, Fort 
Collins, CO 80526-8118 (mail); 970-226-9230 (fax); or [email protected] 
(e-mail). Use OMB Control Number 1028-NEW in the subject line.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John E. Schefter, Chief, Office of 
External Research, U.S. Geological Survey, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, 
MS 424, Reston, Virginia 20192 (mail) at (703) 648-6800 (Phone); or 
[email protected] (e-mail).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Water Resources Research Act of 1984, as amended (42 U.S.C. 
10301 et seq.), authorizes a water resources research institute 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.

[[Page 27576]]

II. Data

    OMB Control Number: None. This is a new collection.
    Title: State Water Resources Research Institute Program Annual 
Application and Reporting.
    Type of Request: New.
    Affected Public: The state water resources research institutes 
authorized by the Water Resources Research Act of 1983, as amended, and 
listed at http://water.usgs.gov/wrri/institutes.html.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain benefits.
    Frequency of Collection: Annually.
    Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: We expect to receive 54 
applications and award 54 grants per year.
    Estimated Annual Total Responses: 54.
    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.
    Annual Burden Hours: 8,640.

III. Request for Comments

    On December 29, 2009, we published a Federal Register notice (74 FR 
68860) announcing that we would submit this ICR to OMB for approval and 
soliciting comments. The comment period closed on March 1, 2010. We did 
not receive any comments in response to that notice.
    We again invite comments concerning this ICR on: (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) ways to 
minimize the burden on the respondents, including the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. Before including your address, phone number, e-mail 
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 anytime. 
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.

    Dated: May 10, 2010.
John E. Schefter,
Water Resources Research Act Program Coordinator.
[FR Doc. 2010-11620 Filed 5-14-10; 8:45 am]
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