Jones and NOAA awards ss 091409 Part A

SUPPORTING STATEMENT
Jones and NOAA Awards Nominations
OMB CONTROL NO. 0648-xxxx

A.

JUSTIFICATION

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary.
The 1990 reauthorization of the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) authorized NOAA to
“implement a program to promote excellence in coastal zone management by identifying and
acknowledging outstanding accomplishments in the field.” As authorized in Section 314 of the
CZMA, the Walter B. Jones Awards recognize three categories of excellence: Coastal Steward
of the Year, Excellence in Local Government, and Excellence in Coastal and Marine Graduate
Study. The CZMA authorizes NOAA to conduct public ceremonies to acknowledge such
awards, which allows NOAA to fund invitational travel and purchase awards for the Jones
Awards.
In conjunction with the Walter B. Jones Awards, NOAA instituted several additional categories
of awards, to recognize: Volunteer of the Year, Non-governmental Organization of the Year,
Excellence in Promoting Cultural & Ethnic Diversity, Excellence in Business Leadership, and
the Susan Snow Cotter Award for Excellence in Ocean and Coastal Resource (NOAA re-named
this award in honor of Susan Snow Cotter in 2007).
NOAA issues a call for nominations to solicit nomination for each of the award categories.
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.
NOAA conducts the Jones/NOAA Awards on a biannual basis. The nominations provide
background information on potential nominees, including name, address and other contact
information as well as a description of the nominees’ accomplishments. The information is used
to issue press releases and is provided in a program that is distributed at the award ceremony as
well as on the webpage (http://coastalmanagement.noaa.gov/).
As explained in the preceding paragraphs, the information gathered has utility. 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. See response to Question 10 of this Supporting Statement for more information on
confidentiality and privacy. The information collection is designed to yield data that meet all
applicable information quality guidelines. Prior to dissemination, the information will be
subjected to quality control measures and a pre-dissemination review pursuant to Section 515 of
Public Law 106-554.

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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.
Nominations can be accepted via hard copy, fax or email submissions.
4. Describe efforts to identify duplication.
No other Jones/NOAA Excellence Awards program is conducted.
5. If the collection of information involves small businesses or other small entities, describe
the methods used to minimize burden.
There are no small businesses involved.
6. Describe the consequences to the Federal program or policy activities if the collection is
not conducted or is conducted less frequently.
If this collection were not conducted, the awards nominations could not be solicited and the
awards would not be made.
7. Explain any special circumstances that require the collection to be conducted in a
manner inconsistent with OMB guidelines.
NA.
8. Provide information on 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 published on May 29, 2009 (74 FR 25701) solicited public comments.
No comments were received.
9. Explain any decisions to provide payments or gifts to respondents, other than
remuneration of contractors or grantees.
No payments or gifts will be provided to respondents.
10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for
assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.
The nominations will be peer reviewed by NOAA agency and other agency or private
individuals. The reviewers conduct their review in confidence and return their rankings to
NOAA for compilation. Only the names and brief descriptions of the winners are released.
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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.
A nomination generally takes less than one hour to prepare. Historically, an annualized number
of less than 25 nominations is received for any year. Thus, a maximum burden of 25 hours is
requested.
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 Question
12 above).
There are no costs other than postage or faxing for submissions not emailed. The maximum total
cost per year would be $150.00.
14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government.
The Call for Nominations brochure will cost $1000 to print, and is mailed to 750 individuals
($0.44 x 750 = $33), for a total cost of $1,330, annualized to $665.
15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments.
This is a new request for OMB approval.
16. For collections whose results will be published, outline the plans for tabulation and
publication.
The only information made public is the name of the winning nominations as well as a brief
description of their accomplishments. No other information is published.
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.
Not applicable.

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