0497 ss ren 052207corr

SUPPORTING STATEMENT
NATURAL RESOURCE DAMAGE ASSESSMENT
RESTORATION PROJECT INFORMATION SHEET
OMB CONTROL NO.: 0648-0497

A.

JUSTIFICATION

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary.
The purpose of the collection of this information is to assist state and federal Natural Resource
Trustees in more efficiently carrying out the restoration planning phase of Natural Resource
Damage Assessments (NRDA), in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321-4370d; 40 CFR 1500-1500 and other federal and local statutes
and regulations as applicable. Currently, when a release or substantial threat of release of oil
occurs and a NRDA is conducted, state and federal Natural Resource Trustees carry out three
phases: pre-assessment, restoration planning, and restoration implementation. Traditionally, the
restoration planning phase is time-consuming and expensive because Trustees must contact
numerous governmental agencies, as well as private groups and non-government organizations,
to develop a list of restoration project alternatives for each incident; a requirement before
selecting a suitable project(s) to compensate the public and environment for lost services and
resources. This information sheet will facilitate the collection of information on a continual
basis; thereby markedly shortening the time needed to generate a list of restoration alternatives
following each incident. By reducing the time needed to conduct the restoration planning phase
of a NRDA, the entire NRDA process becomes more efficient and habitat restoration projects
will be implemented sooner for more benefit to the public and the environment.
2. Explain how, by whom, how frequently, and for what purpose the information will be
used. If the information collected will be disseminated to the public or used to support
information that will be disseminated to the public, then explain how the collection
complies with all applicable Information Quality Guidelines.
The purpose of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Restoration Project Information Sheet
is to collect information on existing, planned, or proposed habitat restoration projects in a
localized region. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) staff and other
federal and state agencies enter the collected information into a database on an on-going basis.
Following the release or substantial threat of release of oil (hereafter referred to as incident),
NOAA staff and other state and federal agencies may query the database to identify potential
restoration projects suitable for compensating the public and environment for the loss of services
and/ or resources as a result of the incident. Nonprofit organizations and members of the public
may also make queries for potential projects. The frequency of queries by agencies,
organizations, and the general public will depend on the number of incidents or interest in habitat
restoration.
Portions of the information collected will be disseminated to the public or used to support
publicly disseminated information. NOAA Fisheries will retain control over the information and
safeguard it from improper access, modification, and destruction, consistent with NOAA
standards for confidentiality, privacy, and electronic information. The information collection is
designed to yield information that meets all applicable information quality guidelines. Prior to
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dissemination, the information will be subjected to quality control measures and a predissemination review pursuant to Section 515 of Public Law 106-554.
The information collection by the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Restoration Project
Information Sheet will consist of:
(a) Contact Information – Basic details necessary to identify and contact project managers such
as name, title, address, organization, city, state, zip code, phone and fax numbers, e-mail, and
URL for Web sites.
(b) General Information – Basic project information such as the project title, details on the
physical location of the project site including Parish/ County and watershed, latitude and
longitude.
(c) Habitat Types – Respondents have the opportunity to indicate the habitat type(s) to
potentially restore as well as the method of restoration (creation, enhancement, protection,
etc.), number of acres restored (by acres created, re-established, or rehabilitated) and
benefited (acres enhanced or protected) for each habitat type.
(d) Project Status – Basic information indicating whether certain phases of the project, such as
planning/design/permitting, are either funded or completed.
(e) Description and Benefits – A detailed description of the project with background about the
site as well as other potential benefits.
(f) Project Partners – details on support (e.g. planning, funding, technical assistance) provided
by other organizations including partner name, contact information, and involvement.
3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological techniques or other forms of
information technology.
The Natural Resource Damage Assessment Restoration Project Information Sheet will be
provided to government agencies, private organizations, non-government organizations, and the
general public as a hard copy and will also be available from the Internet at
http://www.darrp.noaa.gov. It may be developed on a personal computer (if desired); however,
while electronic submission of the information is allowed, it is not required. The Natural
Resource Damage Assessment Restoration Project Information Sheet will be available as a
fillable form that can be saved and used to produce subsequent project submissions.
4. Describe efforts to identify duplication.
There are no other collections that gather similar information. No duplication of effort exists
with other Federal Government information collection efforts.
5. If the collection of information involves small businesses or other small entities, describe
the methods used to minimize burden.
The information to be collected is very basic in its nature and should not be a hardship or burden
for small entities to produce. Separate requirements based on their size have not been developed.

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6. Describe the consequences to the Federal program or policy activities if the collection is
not conducted or is conducted less frequently.
The state and federal natural resource trustees feel that this information is critical in order to
pursue cost-effective planning and implementation of restoration projects.
7. Explain any special circumstances that require the collection to be conducted in a
manner inconsistent with OMB guidelines.
The proposed collection of information will be conducted in a manner that is consistent with
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidelines.
8. Provide a copy of the PRA Federal Register notice that solicited public comments on the
information collection prior to this submission. Summarize the public comments received
in response to that notice and describe the actions taken by the agency in response to those
comments. Describe the efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their
views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and
recordkeeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be
recorded, disclosed, or reported.
A Federal Register notice solicited public comment on this information collection. No
comments were received. Consultations with interested and affected persons are an integral part
of this information collection, and were accomplished by discussion with a representative cross
section of intended submitters to explain and clarify the information needed.
9. Explain any decisions to provide payments or gifts to respondents, other than
remuneration of contractors or grantees.
No payment, gifts, or other remuneration will be provided.
10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for
assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.
The information collection does not request any proprietary or confidential information. No
confidentiality is provided.
11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual
behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered
private.
No questions of a sensitive nature are asked.
12. Provide an estimate in hours of the burden of the collection of information.
It is estimated that approximately 66 respondents will annually submit completed Natural
Resource Damage Assessment Restoration Project Information Sheets, with each respondent
submitting an average of 2 to 3 Information Sheets for individual projects. It is estimated that
approximately 165 annual responses will be received. At an estimated response time of 20
minutes each, this yields an estimate of 55 burden hours. Estimated total burden hours and labor
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costs for this collection will be 55 hours and $1,024 (based on an average hourly wage of $18.62
[U.S. Department of Labor, 2005]), respectively. However, it should be noted that the
restoration project information collected is intended to provide information to restoration
practitioners throughout the areas of collection, including those submitting the data. Therefore,
the burden of data collection is expected to be offset (and in some cases exceeded) by the
benefits accrued to restoration practitioners from having access to project information.
U.S. Department of Labor – Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2005. National Compensation Survey: Occupational
Wages in the United States, June 2005. Bulletin 2581 http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/sp/ncbl0832.pdf

13. Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to the respondents or recordkeepers resulting from the collection (excluding the value of the burden hours in #12
above).
If the information is submitted via electronic mail, this collection will incur no cost burden on
respondents beyond the costs of response time (assuming respondents have a computer). If
respondents opt to mail the information, they will incur the cost of standard postage at $0.41 per
envelope if sent separately. If all responses were mailed separately, the maximum cost burden
incurred would total approximately $67.65 annually. If respondents opt to fax the information,
they will incur the cost of a toll call, which varies depending on the carrier. Assuming a cost of
$1 per faxed page, the maximum cost to the respondents using this method of submittal would be
$165 annually. It is assumed that most respondents will choose to either email or mail the
information rather than fax it, since there are no time constraints on submittals.
14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government.
It is estimated that screening the submitted projects will require 1 weeks of a federal employees’
time. The total estimated cost is $1,366.
15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments reported in Items 13 or
14 of the OMB 83-I.
Based on the postage increase from $0.37 to $0.41, the cost, if all 165 responses are submitted by
mail, would increase from $61.05 to $67.65.
16. For collections whose results will be published, outline the plans for tabulation and
publication.
All data collected will be summarized and available either in table format and/ or on the internet.
17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the
information collection, explain the reasons why display would be inappropriate.
Not applicable.
18. Explain each exception to the certification statement identified in Item 19 of the
OMB 83-I.
There are no exceptions.
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B. COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS
This collection does not employ statistical methods.

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