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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 26 / Thursday, February 7, 2019 / Notices

both humans and animals. Human and
animal illnesses from environmental
exposures to HABs in fresh and marine
waters have been documented in the
United States. Animal illness may be an
indicator of bloom toxicity; thus, it is
necessary to provide a One Health
approach for reporting HAB-associated
illnesses and events.
HABs are an emerging public health
concern. Several outbreaks related to
HABs in freshwater settings have
occurred in the United States. In 2009–
2010, 11 HAB-associated outbreaks in
fresh water settings were reported to the
CDC Waterborne Disease and Outbreak
Surveillance System (WBDOSS). These
11 outbreaks represent 46% of the
outbreaks associated with untreated
recreational water reported in 2009–
2010 and 79% of HAB-associated
outbreak s reported to WBDOSS since
1978. At least 61 persons experienced
health effects such as dermatologic,
gastrointestinal, respiratory, or
neurologic symptoms. In August 2014,
detectable levels of microcystin, a
potent HAB toxin, were detected in
drinking water supply in Toledo, Ohio,
resulting in a ‘‘do not drink’’ water
advisory and an extensive emergency
response.
Known adverse health effects from
HABs in marine waters include
respiratory illness and seafood
poisoning. In 2007, 15 persons were
affected with respiratory illness from
exposures to brevetoxins, an algal toxin,
during a Florida red tide. From 2007–
2011, HAB-associated foodborne

exposures were identified for 273 case
reports of human illness through a
separate five-year data collection effort
with a subset of states. Of these reports,
248 reported ciguatera fish poisoning or
poisoning by other toxins in seafood,
including saxitoxin and brevetoxin. A
review of national outbreak data
reported to CDC for the time period
1998–2015 identified outbreaks of
ciguatera fish poisoning as the second
most common cause of fish-associated
foodborne disease outbreaks in the
United States.
The purpose of OHHABS is (1) to
provide a database for routine data
collection at the state/territorial and
national level to identify and
characterize HAB events, HABassociated illnesses, and HAB exposures
in the United States and (2) to better
inform and improve our understanding
of HAB-associated illnesses and
exposures through routine surveillance
to inform public health policy and
illness prevention efforts. OHHABS
(electronic, year-round collection)
includes questions about HAB events
and HAB-associated-illness for human
and animal cases. OHHABS, a webbased reporting system, is nationally
available for state and territorial health
departments to voluntarily report
information about HAB-associated
human and animal cases and HAB
events.
States and territories lacking a
database to collect information on HAB
events and HAB-associated illnesses
may use OHHABS as a repository to

track and review HAB events and HABassociated illnesses within their state or
territory. OHHABS data may help states
and territories characterize the baseline
frequency of HAB events and HABassociated illnesses. Data from states
and territories will be assessed by CDC
to determine and characterize HAB
events and HAB-associated illnesses
nationally.
As with all routine public health
surveillance conducted by CDC,
participation by states and territorial
health departments with OHHABS is
voluntary. Participating states and
territories will remain responsible for
the collection and interpretation of
these data elements at the state level
and will voluntarily submit them to
CDC. HAB event, and HAB-associated
human and animal case definitions,
which were created for OHHABS with
input from state and federal partners,
are available online to assist states and
territories. States and territories that
lack state-specific case and event
definitions may use the HAB-associated
human and animal case and HAB event
definitions to identify suspect, probable,
and confirmed HAB-associated cases
and HAB events, respectively, to report
to OHHABS.
There is no cost to respondents other
than the time to participate. The
estimated annual burden is 57 hours.
Authorizing legislation comes from
Section 301 of the Public Health Service
Act (42 U.S.C. 241).

ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED BURDEN HOURS
Type of
respondents

Form name

Number of
respondents

State/territorial epidemiologists

One Health Harmful Algal Bloom System (OHHABS) ...........

Jeffrey M. Zirger,
Acting Lead, Information Collection Review
Office, Office of Scientific Integrity, Office
of Science, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES

[FR Doc. 2019–01329 Filed 2–6–19; 8:45 am]

[60-Day–19–0604; Docket No. CDC–2018–
0119]

BILLING CODE 4163–18–P

Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention

Proposed Data Collection Submitted
for Public Comment and
Recommendations
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS).
ACTION: Notice with comment period.
AGENCY:

The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), as part of

SUMMARY:

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57

Number of
responses per
respondent
3

Average
burden per
response
(in hours)
20/60

its continuing effort to reduce public
burden and maximize the utility of
government information, invites the
general public and other Federal
agencies the opportunity to comment on
a proposed and/or continuing
information collection, as required by
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
This notice invites comment on a
proposed information collection project
titled ‘‘School-Associated Violent
Deaths Surveillance System (SAVD.’’
The U.S. Department of Education
(DOE) requested assistance from the
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC)/National Center for
Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC)
to establishing an ongoing surveillance

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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 26 / Thursday, February 7, 2019 / Notices
system of school-associated violent
deaths (SAVD) in the United States in
order to track and monitor schoolassociated violence, particularly
homicides and suicides that occur in
schools on an ongoing basis.
DATES: CDC must receive written
comments on or before April 8, 2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by Docket No. CDC–2018–
0119 by any of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal:
Regulations.gov. Follow the instructions
for submitting comments.
• Mail: Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information
Collection Review Office, Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, 1600
Clifton Road NE, MS–D74, Atlanta,
Georgia 30329.
Instructions: All submissions received
must include the agency name and
Docket Number. CDC will post, without
change, all relevant comments to
Regulations.gov.
Please note: Submit all comments
through the Federal eRulemaking portal
(regulations.gov) or by U.S. mail to the
address listed above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To
request more information on the
proposed project or to obtain a copy of
the information collection plan and
instruments, contact Jeffrey M. Zirger,
Information Collection Review Office,
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, NE, MS–
D74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; phone:
404–639–7570; Email: omb@cdc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA)
(44 U.S.C. 3501–3520), Federal agencies
must obtain approval from the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for each
collection of information they conduct
or sponsor. In addition, the PRA also
requires Federal agencies to provide a
60-day notice in the Federal Register
concerning each proposed collection of
information, including each new
proposed collection, each proposed
extension of existing collection of
information, and each reinstatement of
previously approved information
collection before submitting the
collection to the OMB for approval. To
comply with this requirement, we are
publishing this notice of a proposed
data collection as described below.
The OMB is particularly interested in
comments that will help:
1. Evaluate whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary
for the proper performance of the
functions of the agency, including
whether the information will have
practical utility;
2. Evaluate the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden of the

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proposed collection of information,
including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
3. Enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and
4. 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 submissions
of responses.
5. Assess information collection costs.
Proposed Project
School Associated Violent Death
Surveillance System ((0920–0604,
expiration 05/31/2019)—Revision—
National Center for Injury Prevention
and Control (NCIPC), Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Background and Brief Description
The Division of Violence Prevention
(DVP), National Center for Injury
Prevention and Control (NCIPC)
proposes to maintain a system for the
surveillance of school-associated
homicides and suicides. The system
relies on existing public records and
interviews with law enforcement
officials and school officials. The
purpose of the system is to (1) estimate
the rate of school-associated violent
death in the United States and (2)
identify common features of schoolassociated violent deaths. The system
will contribute to the understanding of
fatal violence associated with schools,
guide further research in the area, and
help direct ongoing and future
prevention programs.
Violence is the leading cause of death
among young people, and increasingly
recognized as an important public
health and social issue. In 2016, over
3,600 school-aged children (5 to 18
years old) in the United States died of
violent deaths due to suicide, homicide,
and unintentional firearm injuries. The
vast majority of these fatal injuries were
not school associated. However,
whenever a homicide or suicide occurs
in or around school, it becomes a matter
of particularly intense public interest
and concern. NCIPC conducted the first
scientific study of school-associated
violent deaths (SAVD) during the 1992–
99 academic years to establish the true
extent of this highly visible problem.
Despite the important role of schools as
a setting for violence research and
prevention interventions, relatively
little scientific or systematic work has
been done to describe the nature and
level of fatal violence associated with

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2515

schools. Until NCIPC conducted the first
nationwide investigation of violent
deaths associated with schools, public
health and education officials had to
rely on limited local studies and
estimated numbers to describe the
extent of school-associated violent
death.
SAVD is an ongoing surveillance
system that draws cases from the entire
United States in an attempt to capture
all cases of school-associated violent
deaths that have occurred. Investigators
review public records and published
press reports concerning each schoolassociated violent death. For each
identified case, investigators also
contact the corresponding law
enforcement agency and speak with an
official in order to confirm or reject the
case as an SAVD, and to request a copy
of the official law enforcement report for
confirmed SAVD cases. In past years,
investigators would interview an
investigating law enforcement official
(defined as a police officer, police chief,
or district attorney), and a school
official (defined as a school principal,
school superintendent, school
counselor, school teacher, or school
support staff) who were knowledgeable
about the case in question; however,
moving forward, the interviews with
these respondents will be eliminated,
and instead CDC study personnel will
abstract data from law enforcement
reports to enter using a Data Abstraction
Tool. Data to be abstracted from the law
enforcement report include the
following: Information on both the
victim and alleged offender(s)—
including demographic data, their
criminal records, and their relationship
to one another; the time and location of
the incident precipitating the fatality;
the circumstances, motive, and method
of the fatal injury; and the security and
violence prevention activities in the
school and community where the death
occurred, before and after the fatal
injury event. The revised data collection
process eliminating the use of telephone
interviews will reduce respondents’
burden greatly.
All data are secured through the use
of technical, physical, and
administrative controls. Hard copies of
data are kept under lock and key in
secured offices, located in a secured
facility that can be accessed only by
presenting the appropriate credentials.
Digital data are password protected and
then stored (and backed up routinely)
onto a secure Local Area Network that
can only be accessed by individuals
who have been appropriately
authorized. Study data are reported in
the aggregate, such that no individual
case can be identified from the reports.

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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 26 / Thursday, February 7, 2019 / Notices

There are no costs to the respondents
other than their time.

ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED BURDEN HOURS
Number of
responses
per
respondent

Total
burden hours
(in hours)

Form name

Law Enforcement Officer ..................

Law Enforcement Case Confirmation Script.
Letter to Local Law Enforcement Officials.

50

1

5/60

4

50

1

15/60

13

...........................................................

........................

........................

........................

17

Total ...........................................

Jeffrey M. Zirger,
Acting Lead, Information Collection Review
Office, Office of Scientific Integrity, Office
of Science, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2019–01334 Filed 2–6–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163–19–P

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention
[30-Day–19–1061]

Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork
Reduction Act Review
In accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
has submitted the information
collection request titled Behavioral Risk
Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to
the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for review and approval. CDC
previously published a ‘‘Proposed Data
Collection Submitted for Public
Comment and Recommendations’’
notice on September 18, 2018 to obtain
comments from the public and affected
agencies. CDC received three comments
related to the previous notice. This
notice serves to allow an additional 30
days for public and affected agency
comments.
CDC will accept all comments for this
proposed information collection project.
The Office of Management and Budget
is particularly interested in comments
that:
(a) Evaluate whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary
for the proper performance of the
functions of the agency, including
whether the information will have
practical utility;
(b) Evaluate the accuracy of the
agencies estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information,
including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;

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Number of
respondents

Average
burden per
response
(in hours)

Type of
respondent

(c) Enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected;
(d) 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
responses; and
(e) Assess information collection
costs.
To request additional information on
the proposed project or to obtain a copy
of the information collection plan and
instruments, call (404) 639–7570 or
send an email to omb@cdc.gov. Direct
written comments and/or suggestions
regarding the items contained in this
notice to the Attention: CDC Desk
Officer, Office of Management and
Budget, 725 17th Street NW,
Washington, DC 20503 or by fax to (202)
395–5806. Provide written comments
within 30 days of notice publication.
Proposed Project
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance
System (BRFSS)—Revision—National
Center for Chronic Disease Prevention
and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP),
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC).
Background and Brief Description
CDC is requesting OMB approval to
revise information collection for the
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance
System (BRFSS) for the period of 2019–
2022. The BRFSS is a nationwide
system of cross-sectional telephone
health surveys administered by health
departments in states, territories, and
the District of Columbia (collectively
referred to here as states) in
collaboration with CDC. The BRFSS
produces state-level information
primarily on health risk behaviors,
health conditions, and preventive health
practices that are associated with

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chronic diseases, infectious diseases,
and injury. Designed to meet the data
needs of individual states and
territories, the CDC sponsors the BRFSS
information collection project under a
cooperative agreement with states and
territories. Under this partnership,
BRFSS state coordinators determine
questionnaire content with technical
and methodological assistance provided
by CDC. For most states and territories,
the BRFSS provides the only sources of
data amenable to state and local level
health and health risk indicator uses.
Over time, it has also developed into an
important data collection system that
federal agencies rely on for state and
local health information and to track
national health objectives such as
Healthy People.
CDC bases the BRFSS questionnaire
on modular design principles to
accommodate a variety of state-specific
needs within a common framework. All
participating states are required to
administer a standardized core
questionnaire, which provides a set of
shared health indicators for all BRFSS
partners. The BRFSS core questionnaire
consists of fixed core, rotating core, and
emerging core questions. Fixed core
questions are asked every year. Rotating
core questions cycle on and off the core
questionnaire during even or odd years,
depending on the question. Emerging
core questions are included in the core
questionnaire as needed to collect data
on urgent or emerging health topics
such as influenza. In addition, the
BRFSS includes a series of optional
modules on a variety of topics. In off
years, when the rotating questions are
not included in the core questionnaire,
they are offered to states as optional
modules. This framework allows each
state to produce a customized BRFSS
survey by appending selected optional
modules to the core survey. States may
select which, if any, optional modules
to administer. As needed, CDC provides
technical and methodological assistance
to state BRFSS coordinators in the

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