0648-0007 Supporting Statement Part A

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

U.S. Department of Commerce

National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration

Nautical Discrepancy and Data Reporting System

OMB Control No. 0648-0007

SUPPORTING STATEMENT PART A

Abstract

This request is for a revision and extension of a currently approved information collection. Coast Survey is proposing to add three Project Status Report Forms to the collection. The solicitation forms, titled Permit/Public Notice Status Report, Artificial Reef/Mariculture Status Report, and Submerged Pipeline Status Report Form, provide a standardized method for reporting project statuses to the Nautical Data Branch, and provide special instructions regarding the submission of digital as-builts and/or survey data. The title of this collection is also being updated from Nautical Discrepancy Reporting System to Nautical Discrepancy and Data Reporting System.

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Justification

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary. Identify any legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection. Attach a copy of the appropriate section of each statute and regulation mandating or authorizing the collection of information.

NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey is the nation’s nautical chart maker, maintaining and updating over a thousand charts covering the 3.5 million square nautical miles of coastal waters in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone and the Great Lakes. The marine transportation system relies on charting accuracy and precision to keep navigation safe and coastal communities protected from environmental disasters at sea.

Coast Survey also writes and publishes the United States Coast Pilot®, a series of ten nautical books that supplement nautical charts with essential marine information that cannot be shown graphically on the charts and are not readily available elsewhere. Subjects include, but are not limited to, channel descriptions, anchorages, bridge and cable clearances, tides and tidal currents, prominent features, pilotage, towage, weather, ice conditions, wharf descriptions, dangers, routes, traffic separation schemes, small craft facilities, and Federal Regulations applicable to navigation. Charts and Coast Pilots are purchased by all segments of the marine public, including U.S. and foreign commercial vessels and millions of recreational boaters. Government assets, including U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard vessels and other government vessels and agencies, also rely on this information. Federal regulations (33 CFR 164.33) require all vessels of 1,600 gross tons and greater, while traversing U.S. waters, to carry marine charts and the U.S. Coast Pilot.

The marine environment and shorelines are constantly changing. NOAA makes every effort to update information portrayed in charts and described in the Coast Pilot. Sources of information include, but are not limited to: pilot associations, shipping companies, towboat operators, state marine authorities, city marine authorities, local port authorities, marine operators, hydrographic research vessels, naval vessels, Coast Guard cutters, merchant vessels, fishing vessels, pleasure boats, U.S. Power Squadron Units, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Units, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The purpose of ASSIST is to offer a formal, standardized instrument for recommending changes, corrections, and updates to nautical charts and the Coast Pilot, and to monitor and document the accepted changes.

The Citizen Science component to the collection method benefits Coast Survey by allowing the public to “adopt” a product or part of a product and provide annual data updates that directly affect that product or products.

The Nautical Data Branch (NDB) receives numerous potential construction notifications in the form of USACE-issued Public Notices, Permit Applications, and Permits, which could include a proposal or authorization to dredge and/or construct, remove, or abandon structures. NDB vets these Public Notices, Permit Applications, or Permits for the potential of a charting action and registers them into a database. To facilitate the ability of NDB to learn the status of USACE-permitted projects and to obtain as-built and/or survey data associated with the completion of these projects, Coast Survey is proposing to add three Project Status Report Forms to the collection. The solicitation forms, titled Permit/Public Notice Status Report, Artificial Reef/Mariculture Status Report, and Submerged Pipeline Status Report Form, provide a standardized method for reporting project statuses to the Nautical Data Branch and provide special instructions regarding the submission of digital as-builts and/or survey data. Upon receipt of the forms, NDB may register the forms, along with the USACE Permit and any as-built data, into the Marine Chart Division’s (MCD) internal database in support of potential updates to the applicable NOAA nautical chart(s).

The Project Status Report Forms provide an effective way for permittees to notify Coast Survey of the status of their permitted projects and help Coast Survey’s Marine Chart Division garner pertinent data necessary for chart application. This mode of data delivery facilitates the ability of the Nautical Data Branch to capture complete, more efficient, registration-ready source packages that require less frequent correspondence with the permittee prior to source registration. This process is instrumental in accelerating the availability of important, and/or possibly critical, nautical data to the cartographic production branches for charting action.

Data obtained through ASSIST, the Citizen Science project, and the Project Status Report Forms will be used to update U.S. nautical charts and the United States Coast Pilot.

2. Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used. Except for a new collection, indicate the actual use the agency has made of the information received from the current collection.

When a user of a nautical chart or the Coast Pilot notices information is missing or has changed, he/she uses the https://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/customer-service/assist webpage to report the discrepancy. The information is evaluated by cartographers in NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey’s Nautical Data Branch. Coast Survey ascertains that the information is germane and, if so, that it is complete. If the information requires clarification, Coast Survey will contact the respondent, by telephone or email, for more information. Once complete, the information is assigned a control number and routed to the applicable production branch to update the chart and/or Coast Pilot master files. If the change is critical to safe navigation, Coast Survey issues a change for publication in the Coast Guard’s Local Notice to Mariners and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s Weekly Notice to Mariners.

The Citizen Science project allows the general public the opportunity to “adopt” an Electronic Navigational Chart (ENC) or part of an ENC. By “adopting” an area the person/persons or group will be responsible for submitting an annual report on the adequacy of the chart. To do this the interested person will notify Coast Survey (ocs.citizen.science@noaa.gov) of their intention to examine a certain product or area. Once approved the person/persons/group will examine the area they are responsible for visually on a computer, inspect by boat, and/or compare to satellite imagery noting any discrepancies or issues with the product. They will then fill out the Citizen Science reporting form and submit it to Coast Survey (ocs.citizen.science@noaa.gov). Coast Survey will evaluate the report for any information that would result in a change to the product. If that information does exist, it will be given a control number and routed to the applicable production branch to update the chart.

Upon receipt of Project Status Report Forms from the permittee or their agent, Nautical Data Branch (NDB) cartographers will update internal Permits Database records to reflect the status of a project, (e.g., Pending, Complete, etc.); add notes to the record if necessary; and add the form and other associated data as a PDF to the existing PDF file of a Corps of Engineers Public Notice and/or Permit that is linked to the record. If the permittee indicates on the form that the project is complete, and they provide accompanying, adequate post-construction and/or post-dredge survey data, then the cartographer will register the form, survey data, and other pertinent information in the Document Registry (DREG) database, which serves as a digital archive and the virtual pipeline for the majority of chart source data from NDB to the Marine Chart Division cartographic products branches. Upon receipt of the source records via DREG, the production cartographers may update the Nautical Information System (NIS), which is the charting database from which NOAA Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs) are exported and then provided to the public.

If a permitted project has not started or is in progress, then an annual hard-copy mailing for that project will be sent to the permittee until the project is completed as indicated by the permittee via the form. If a permitted project includes maintenance dredging over a period of years, then an annual hard copy mailing for that project will be sent to the permittee until the maintenance-dredging period has expired.

NOAA 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. See response to Question 10 of this Supporting Statement for more information on confidentiality and privacy. The information collection yields data that meet all applicable information quality guidelines. Prior to dissemination, the information is subjected to quality control measures and a pre-dissemination review pursuant to Section 515 of Public Law 106-554.

3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g. permitting electronic submission of responses, and the basis for the decision for adopting this means of collection. Also, describe any consideration of using information technology to reduce burden.

The submissions for the ASSIST information collection are provided electronically or via telephone. Discrepancy reporters may fill out the online form at https://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/customer-service/assist or they may call Coast Survey directly (888-990-6622). The submissions for the Citizen Science reports are submitted to ocs.citizen.science@noaa.gov.

The Nautical Data Branch will generate an annual hard-copy mailing of a form for each Corps of Engineers-permitted project, which will be sent via standard mail to the address of the permittee or their agent. Each of the forms will also be available for download from the Office of Coast Survey website. The permittee or agent can a) Fill out the form, include other relevant data, and mail the hard copy to Coast Survey, b) Fill out the form, scan the form, include other relevant data, and then send it via email, or c) Download a digital copy of the form in PDF from the website, enter data into the fields, and then send the form and other relevant information via email.

The hard-copy mailing is necessary because the Corps of Engineers Public Notice and/or Permit for a project may only include a mailing address for the applicant / permittee. For future upgrades to the Permits Databases mailing systems, the Nautical Data Branch may consider options for emailing the forms for those public notices or permits that include the permittee’s or their agent’s email address.

4. Describe efforts to identify duplication. Show specifically why any similar information already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purposes described in Question 2

Extensive databases catalog and document changes to nautical charts and United States Coast Pilot®, with electronic documentation extending back to the 1970s. Every change or germane report is entered into the databases and reviewed prior to making the document updates; therefore, there are no duplicate entries. There are no other federal or state sources that collect this data.

5. If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities, describe any methods used to minimize burden.

The use of these forms is voluntary and has no significant impact on small businesses, organizations or government entities. The forms require no records to be kept by the respondent.

6. Describe the consequence to Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.

If this collection is not conducted, critical information might not be brought to Coast Survey’s attention, or the information might be incomplete. This could result in a maritime accident with possible loss of life or harm to the environment.

7. Explain any special circumstances that would cause an information collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with OMB guidelines.

This collection will be conducted in a manner consistent with OMB guidelines.

8. If applicable, provide a copy and identify the date and page number of publications in the Federal Register of the agency's notice, required by 5 CFR 1320.8 (d), soliciting comments on the information collection prior to submission to OMB. Summarize public comments received in response to that notice and describe actions taken by the agency in response to these comments. Specifically address comments received on cost and hour burden.

A Federal Register Notice published on March 23, 2022 (87 FR 16462) solicited public comments. No comments were received.

Coast Survey contacted three external stakeholders 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. No comments were received.

Additionally, Coast Survey automatically solicits public comments whenever someone submits a correction notice through NOAA’s Nautical Discrepancy Reporting System (http://ocsdata.ncd.noaa.gov/idrs/discrepancy.aspx) in order to verify the information.

9. Explain any decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.

No remuneration of any kind is provided to respondents.

10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for the assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy. If the collection requires a systems of records notice (SORN) or privacy impact assessment (PIA), those should be cited and described here.

No confidentiality is offered to respondents other than the fact that individual data providers are not identified on charts or in the text of Coast Pilot.

11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior or attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private. This justification should include the reasons why the agency considers the questions necessary, the specific uses to be made of the information, the explanation to be given to persons from whom the information is requested, and any steps to be taken to obtain their consent.

No questions of a sensitive nature are asked.

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12. Provide estimates of the hour burden of the collection of information.

Information Collection	Type of Respondent (e.g., Occupational Title)	# of Respondents/year (a)	Annual # of Responses / Respondent (b)	Total # of Annual Responses (c) = (a) x (b)	Burden Hrs / Response (d)	Total Annual Burden Hrs (e) = (c) x (d)	Hourly Wage Rate (for Type of Respondent) (f)	Total Annual Wage Burden Costs (g) = (e) x (f)
ASSIST Discrepancy Reports	General Public	900	1.5	1350	0.5	675	$24.98	$16,861.50
Citizen Science Discrepancy Reports	General Public	5	1	5	1	5	$24.98	$124.90
Permit/Public Notice Status Report	Civil Engineer	550	1	550	0.16	88	$45.91	$4,040.08
Artificial Reef/Mariculture Status Report	Biological Scientist	70	1	70	0.16	11	$43.27	$475.97
Submerged Pipeline Status Report Form	Civil Engineer	50	1	50	0.25	12.5	$45.91	$573.88
Totals				1570		791.5		$22,076.33

* BLS’s Occupational Outlook Handbook - https://www.bls.gov/bls/blswage.htm

13. Provide an estimate for the total annual cost burden to respondents or record keepers resulting from the collection of information. (Do not include the cost of any hour burden already reflected on the burden worksheet).

Information Collection	# of Respondents/year (a)	Annual # of Responses / Respondent (b)	Total # of Annual Responses (c) = (a) x (b)	Cost Burden / Respondent (h)	Total Annual Cost Burden (i) = (c) x (h)
ASSIST Discrepancy Reports	900	1.5	1350	0	$0
Citizen Science Discrepancy Reports	5	1	5	0	$0
Permit/Public Notice Status Report	550	1	550	0.58	$319
Artificial Reef/Mariculture Status Report	70	1	70	0.58	$40.60
Submerged Pipeline Status Report Form	50	1	50	0.58	$29
TOTALS			1,570		$388.60

*There are no capital costs or operating and maintenance costs associated with this information collection.

14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government. Also, provide a description of the method used to estimate cost, which should include quantification of hours, operational expenses (such as equipment, overhead, printing, and support staff), and any other expense that would not have been incurred without this collection of information.

Cost Descriptions	Grade/Step	Loaded Salary /Cost	% of Effort	Fringe (if Applicable)	Total Cost to Government
Federal Oversight	ZP-4	$140,000	35%		$49,000
Contractor Cost
Travel
Other Costs:
TOTAL					$49,000

15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments reported in ROCIS.

Information Collection	Respondents		Responses		Burden Hours		Reason for change or adjustment
	Current Renewal / Revision	Previous Renewal / Revision	Current Renewal / Revision	Previous Renewal / Revision	Current Renewal / Revision	Previous Renewal / Revision
ASSIST Discrepancy Reports	900	900	1350	1350	675	675
Citizen Science Discrepancy Reports	5	5	5	5	5	5
Permit/Public Notice Status Report	550	0	550	0	88	0	New Collection
Artificial Reef/Mariculture Status Report	70	0	70	0	11	0	New Collection
Submerged Pipeline Status Report Form	50	0	50	0	12.5	0	New Collection
Total for Collection	1,575	905	2,025	1355	791.5	680
Difference	670		670		111.5

Information Collection	Labor Costs		Miscellaneous Costs		Reason for change or adjustment
	Current	Previous	Current	Previous
ASSIST Discrepancy Reports	$16,861.50	$16,861.50	$0	$0
Citizen Science Discrepancy Reports	$124.90	$124.90	0	0
Permit/Public Notice Status Report	$4,040.08	0	$319	0	New Collection
Artificial Reef/Mariculture Status Report	$475.97	0	$40.60	0	New Collection
Submerged Pipeline Status Report Form	$29.00	0	$29	0	New Collection
Total for Collection	$22,076.33	$16,986.40	$388.60	0
Difference	$5,089.93		$388.60

16. For collections of information whose results will be published, outline plans for tabulation and publication. Address any complex analytical techniques that will be used. Provide the time schedule for the entire project, including beginning and ending dates of the collection of information, completion of report, publication dates, and other actions.

Individual submissions will not be published, although verified discrepancies will result in an update to the appropriate charts.

17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons that display would be inappropriate.

The agency plans to display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection on all instruments.

18. Explain each exception to the certification statement identified in “Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions."

Certification Statement for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions

The agency certifies compliance with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).

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