Published 30-day FRN (88 FR 31270)

31270

Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 94 / Tuesday, May 16, 2023 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–HQ–ES–2023–N045; MO# 300030113;
OMB Control Number 1018–0165]

Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission to the Office of
Management and Budget;
Implementing Regulations for Petitions
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of information collection;
request for comment.
AGENCY:

In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we,
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service), are proposing to renew an
information collection without
revisions.

SUMMARY:

Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on or before June 15,
2023.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent
within 30 days of publication of this
notice to https://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 ‘‘1018–0165’’ in the subject
line of your comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To
request additional information about
this ICR, contact Madonna L. Baucum,
Service Information Collection
Clearance Officer, by email at Info_
Coll@fws.gov, or by telephone at (703)
358–2503. Individuals in the United
States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of
hearing, or have a speech disability may
dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to
access telecommunications relay
services. Individuals outside the United
States should use the relay services
offered within their country to make
international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act (PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et
seq.) and its implementing regulations
at 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), all information
collections require approval under the
PRA. We may not conduct or sponsor
and you are not required to respond to
a collection of information unless it

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displays a currently valid OMB control
number.
On February 9, 2023, we published in
the Federal Register (88 FR 8451) a
notice of our intent to request that OMB
approve this information collection. In
that notice, we solicited comments for
60 days, ending on April 10, 2023. In an
effort to increase public awareness of,
and participation in, our public
commenting processes associated with
information collection requests, the
Service also published the Federal
Register notice on Regulations.gov
(Docket FWS–HQ–ES–2023–0006) to
provide the public with an additional
method to submit comments (in
addition to the typical Info_Coll@
fws.gov email and U.S. mail submission
methods). We received one anonymous
comment which did not address the
information collection requirements. No
response to that comment is required.
As part of our continuing effort to
reduce paperwork and respondent
burdens, we invite the public and other
Federal agencies 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.
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. We will include or
summarize each comment in our request
to OMB to approve this ICR. 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

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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: The Endangered Species Act
of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.), specifies the process by
which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service and the National Marine
Fisheries Service (Services, we) make
decisions on listing, delisting, or
changing the status of a listed species,
or revising critical habitat. Any
interested person may submit a written
petition to the Services requesting to
add a species to the Lists of Endangered
and Threatened Wildlife and Plants
(Lists), remove a species from the Lists,
change the listed status of a species, or
revise the boundary of an area
designated as critical habitat. The
petition process is a central feature of
the ESA and serves a beneficial public
purpose.
Petitions
Information collected from petitioners
used to determine whether to list a
species includes:
(1) Petitioner’s name; signature;
address; telephone number; and
association, institution, or business
affiliation;
(2) Scientific and any common name
of the species that is the subject of the
petition;
(3) Clear indication of the
administrative action the petitioner
seeks (e.g., listing of a species or
revision of critical habitat);
(4) Detailed narrative justification for
the recommended administrative action
that contains an analysis of the
supporting information presented;
(5) Literature citations that are
specific enough for the Services to
locate the supporting information cited
by the petition, including page numbers
or chapters, as applicable;
(6) Electronic or hard copies of
supporting materials (e.g., publications,
maps, reports, and letters from
authorities) cited in the petition;
(7) For petitions to list, delist, or
reclassify a species:
• Information to establish whether
the subject entity is a ‘‘species’’ as
defined in the ESA;
• Information on the current
geographic range of the species,
including range States or countries; and
• Copies of notification letters to
States (explained in more detail below);
(8) Information on current population
status and trends and estimates of
current population sizes and

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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 94 / Tuesday, May 16, 2023 / Notices
distributions, both in captivity and the
wild, if available;
(9) Identification of the factors under
section 4(a)(1) of the ESA that may
affect the species and where these
factors are acting upon the species;
(10) Whether any or all of the factors
alone or in combination identified in
section 4(a)(1) of the ESA may cause the
species to be an endangered species or
threatened species (i.e., place the
species in danger of extinction now or
in the foreseeable future), and, if so,
how, including a description of the
magnitude and imminence of the threats
to the species and its habitat;
(11) Information on existing
regulatory protections and conservation
activities that States or other parties
have initiated or have put in place that
may protect the species or its habitat;
(12) For petitions to revise critical
habitat:
• Description and map(s) of areas that
the current designation (a) does not
include that should be included or (b)
includes that should no longer be
included, and the rationale for
designating or not designating these
specific areas as critical habitat.
Petitioners should include sufficient
supporting information to substantiate
the requested changes, which may
include GIS data or boundary layers that
relate to the request, if appropriate;
• Description of physical or biological
features essential for the conservation of
the species and whether they may

require special management
considerations or protection;
• For any areas petitioned to be
added to critical habitat within the
geographical area occupied by the
species at the time it was listed,
information indicating that the specific
areas contain the physical or biological
features that are essential to the
conservation of the species and may
require special management
considerations or protection. The
petitioner should also indicate which
specific areas contain which features;
• For any areas petitioned for removal
from currently designated critical
habitat within the geographical area
occupied by the species at the time it
was listed, information indicating that
the specific areas do not contain the
physical or biological features that are
essential to the conservation of the
species, or that these features do not
require special management
consideration or protections; and
• For areas petitioned to be added to
or removed from critical habitat that
were outside the geographical area
occupied by the species at the time it
was listed, information indicating why
the petitioned areas are or are not
essential for the conservation of the
species; and
(13) A complete, balanced
representation of the relevant facts,
including information that may
contradict claims in the petition.
Average
number of
responses
each

Annual
number of
respondents

Requirement

Notification of States
For petitions to list, delist, or change
the status of a species, or for petitions
to revise critical habitat, regulations
require petitioners to provide notice of
their intention to submit a petition to
the State agency responsible for the
management and conservation of fish,
plant, or wildlife resources in each State
where the species that is the subject of
the petition occurs. Because a court of
appeals invalidated this regulatory
requirement, the Service proceeds with
processing petitions even without
evidence that the petitioner has
provided notice to the responsible State
agency. There are no forms associated
with this information collection.
Title of Collection: Implementing
Regulations for Petitions, 50 CFR
424.14.
OMB Control Number: 1018–0165.
Form Number: None.
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved collection.
Respondents/Affected Public:
Individuals, private sector, and State/
Tribal governments.
Respondent’s Obligation: Required to
obtain or retain a benefit.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
Total Estimated Annual Nonhour
Burden Cost: $280.00 (for materials,
printing, postage, and data equipment
maintenance, etc.).
Average
completion
time per
response
(hours)

Annual
number of
responses

Estimated
annual
burden hours

Petitioner—Prepare and Submit Petitions (50 CFR 424.14(c), (d), (e), and (g)
Individuals ............................................................................
Private Sector ......................................................................
Government .........................................................................

2
11
1

1
1
1

2
11
1

120
120
120

240
1,320
120

Petitioner—Notify States (50 CFR part 424)
Individuals ............................................................................
Private Sector ......................................................................
Government .........................................................................

1
1
1

1
1
1

1
1
1

1
1
1

1
1
1

Totals ............................................................................

17

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

17

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

1,683

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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. 2023–10369 Filed 5–15–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P

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