[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 130 (Monday, July 12, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36572-36574]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-14675]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-HQ-WSFR-2021-N161; FF09W25000-212-FXGO166409WSFR0; OMB Control
Number 1018-0100]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Administrative
Procedures for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Financial Assistance
Programs
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we,
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are proposing to renew an
information collection with revisions.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before
August 11, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of
this notice to 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 the Service Information Collection Clearance
Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB (JAO/3W), 5275
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803 (mail); or by email to
Info_Coll@fws.gov. Please reference OMB Control Number 1018-0100 in the
subject line of your comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Madonna L. Baucum, Service Information
Collection Clearance Officer, by email at Info_Coll@fws.gov, or by
telephone at (703) 358-2503. Individuals who are hearing or speech
impaired may call the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 for TTY
assistance. You may also view the information collection request (ICR)
at http://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 general 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.
On October 9, 2020, we published in the Federal Register (85 FR
64158) a notice of our intent to request that OMB approve this
information collection. In that notice, we solicited comments for 60
days, ending on December 8, 2020. We received one comment in response
to the notice that did not address the information collection
requirements. The commenter expressed general concerns about lack of
transparency in Federal financial assistance funding, specifically
funding awarded to a State fish and game agency and foreign assistance.
The Service complies with all Federal financial assistance public
transparency requirements. Data on all Service financial assistance
programs are available at https://beta.sam.gov/. Data on all Service
award actions are available at https://www.usaspending.gov/. Data on
the Service's foreign assistance authorities and activities are
available at https://www.foreignassistance.gov/. The Service also
issues press releases for a wide variety of financial assistance
programs. The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program routinely
issues press releases for the mandatory formula grants to States
awarded under the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act and the
Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act. The public can access
Service press release archives at https://www.fws.gov/news/.
As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent
burdens, we are again soliciting comments from the public and other
Federal agencies on the proposed ICR that is described below. 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; and
(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. 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: We issue financial assistance through grants and
cooperative agreement awards to individuals; commercial organizations;
institutions of higher education; nonprofit organizations; foreign
entities; and State, local, and Tribal governments. The Service
administers a
[[Page 36573]]
wide variety of financial assistance programs, authorized by Congress
to address the Service's mission, as listed in the System for Award
Management (SAM) Assistance Listings, previously referred to as the
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. SAM provides public
descriptions of assistance listings of Federal programs, projects,
services, and activities that provide assistance or benefits to the
American public. It contains financial and non-financial assistance
programs administered by departments and establishments of the Federal
government. The Assistance Listings are assigned unique numbers and
provide information on program types, the specific type of assistance
for each program, and the applicable financial assistance authorities
for each program. See the Service's active Assistance Listings on
SAM.gov.
The Service currently manages the following types of assistance
programs:
Formula Grants
Project Grants
Project Grants (Discretionary)
Cooperative Agreements (Discretionary Grants)
Direct Payments with Unrestricted Use
Use of Property, Facilities, and Equipment
Some assistance programs are mandatory and award funds to eligible
recipients according to a formula prescribed in law or regulation.
Other programs are discretionary and award funds based on competitive
selection and merit review processes. Mandatory award recipients must
give us specific, detailed project information during the application
process so that we may ensure that projects are eligible for the
mandatory funding, are substantial in character and design, and comply
with all applicable Federal laws. Applicants to discretionary programs
must give us information as dictated by the program requirements and as
requested in the program's public notice of funding opportunity,
including that information that addresses ranking criteria. All
recipients must submit financial and performance reports that contain
information necessary for us to track costs and accomplishments. The
recipients' reports must adhere to schedules and rules in 2 CFR part
200, ``Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit
Requirements for Federal Awards'' and the award terms and conditions.
Part 200 prescribes the information that Federal agencies must collect,
and financial assistance applicants and recipients must provide to
receive benefits under Federal financial assistance programs, and
supports this information collection.
The Service provides technical and financial assistance to other
Federal agencies, States, local governments, Native American tribes,
nongovernmental organizations, citizen groups, and private landowners
for the conservation and management of fish and wildlife resources. The
process begins with the submission of an application. The respective
program reviews and prioritizes proposed projects based on their
respective project selection criteria. Pending availability of funding,
applicants submit their application documents to the Service through
the Federal Grants.gov website or through the Department's grants
management system (currently the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services' GrantSolutions), when solicited by the Service through a
Funding Opportunity.
As part of this collection of information, the Service collects the
following types of information requiring approval under the PRA:
A. Application Package: We use the information provided in
applications to: (1) Determine eligibility under the authorizing
legislation and applicable program regulations; (2) determine
allowability of major cost items under the Cost Principles at 2 CFR
part 200; (3) select those projects that will provide the highest
return on the Federal investment; and (4) assist in compliance with
laws, as applicable, such as the National Environmental Policy Act, the
National Historic Preservation Act, and the Uniform Relocation
Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970. The full
application package (submitted by the applicant) generally includes the
following:
Required Federal financial assistance application forms
(SF-424 suite of forms, as applicable to specified project).
Project Narrative--generally includes items such as:
[cir] Statement of need,
[cir] Project goals and objectives,
[cir] Methods used and timetable,
[cir] Description of key personnel qualifications,
[cir] Description of stakeholders or other relevant organizations/
individuals involved and level of involvement,
[cir] Project monitoring and evaluation plan, and/or
[cir] Other pertinent project specific information.
Pertinent project budget-related information--generally
includes items such as:
[cir] Budget justification,
[cir] Detail on costs requiring prior approval,
[cir] Indirect cost statement,
[cir] Federally funded equipment list, and/or
[cir] Certifications and disclosures.
B. Amendments: Recipients must provide written explanation and
submit prior approval requests for budget or project plan revisions,
reporting due date extensions, or other changes to approved award terms
and conditions. The information provided by the recipient is used by
the Service to determine the eligibility and allowability of activities
and to comply with the requirements of 2 CFR part 200.
C. Reporting Requirements: Reporting requirements associated with
financial assistance awards generally include the following types of
reports:
Federal Financial Reports (using the required SF-425),
Performance Reports, and
Real Property Status Reports, when applicable (using the
required SF-429 forms series).
D. Recordkeeping Requirements: In accordance with 2 CFR 200.334,
financial records, supporting documents, statistical records, and all
other non-Federal entity records pertinent to a Federal award must be
retained for a period of 3 years after the date of submission of the
final expenditure report or, for Federal awards that are renewed
quarterly or annually, from the date of the submission of the quarterly
or annual financial report, respectively, as reported to the Federal
awarding agency or pass-through entity (in the case of a subrecipient)
(unless an exemption as described in 2 CFR 200.334 applies that
requires retention of records longer than 3 years).
Proposed Revisions
Consolidation of OMB Control No. 1018-0007 Into 1018-0100
The Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669 et
seq.) and the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 777
et seq., except 777e-1) provide authority for Federal assistance to the
States for management and restoration of fish and wildlife. These Acts
and the regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR
part 80, subpart D, require that States, territories, and the District
of Columbia annually certify their hunting and fishing license sales.
The Service's Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration (WSFR) program
currently collects those certifications under OMB Control No. 1018-
0007, ``Annual
[[Page 36574]]
Certification of Hunting and Sport Fishing Licenses Issued, 50 CFR part
80, subpart D.'' The WSFR program continues to enhance use of their
``Wildlife Tracking and Reporting Actions for the Conservation of
Species (TRACS)'' system to collect information electronically from
financial assistance applicants and recipients. As of Federal fiscal
year 2021, WSFR will begin using TRACS to collect State license data
and certifications electronically. As this control number includes the
Wildlife TRACS system collection, in this revision we are consolidating
the OMB Control No. 1018-0007 information collection requirements into
this collection. If OMB approves this request, we will discontinue OMB
Control Number 1018-0007. Consolidation of OMB approvals for Service
financial assistance-related collections into a single collection
reduces burden on the public by ensuring consistency in the application
and award administration processes across all Service financial
assistance programs.
Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act Compliance
We are implementing the enhanced results-oriented accountability
requirements in the Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act
(Pub. L. 114-191), OMB guidance memorandum M-18-04, ``Monitoring and
Evaluation Guidelines for Federal Departments and Agencies that
Administer United States Foreign Assistance,'' and OMB revisions to 2
CFR part 200 published August 13, 2020 (85 FR 49506). To meet the
enhanced requirements, some programs may collect more performance
information than previously collected.
Title of Collection: Administrative Procedures for U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service Financial Assistance Programs.
OMB Control Number: 1018-0100.
Form Number: 3-154.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals; commercial organizations;
institutions of higher education; nonprofit organizations; foreign
entities; and State, local, and Tribal governments.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 14,711.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 16,024.
Estimated Completion Time per Response: Varies from 3 hours to 100
hours, depending on the activity.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 391,670.
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.).
Madonna Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-14675 Filed 7-9-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P