0497 SS 091310rev

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.
This request is a renewal of the information collection.
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 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.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS) restoration project information sheets 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 NRDA Restoration Project Information Sheet is to collect information on
existing, planned, or proposed habitat restoration projects in a localized region. The NRDA
Restoration Project Information Sheet will be provided in two formats to facilitate the
information collection needs of two distinct programs: 1) the Louisiana Regional Restoration
Planning program will use the original format since this form was developed specific to this
program, and 2) NOAA fisheries’ Damage Assessment Remediation Restoration Program will
use the recently amended format for the NRDA restoration planning process since this form is a
fillable, trackable PDF that will feed directly into a database and therefore is more robust for data
management purposes.

1

The two formats for the NRDA Restoration Project Information Sheet will collect the same
information, which includes:
(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) Project Information – Basic project information such as the project title, size, and cost and
details on the physical location of the project site including Parish/ County, watershed, and
latitude/longitude.
(c) Project Categories– Respondents have the opportunity to provide categorical identifications
of project types, habitats, and resource benefits to easily describe projects.
(d) Project Status – Basic information indicating the status of certain phases of the project, such
as resource acquisition, planning/design, permitting..
(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.
The data collection fields within the amended NRDA Project Information Sheet have been
refined/consolidated to provide better clarification of the information requested and a means of
standardizing restoration project ideas. Specifically, respondents, using a reorganized set of
checklists, have the ability to more clearly and specifically identify the type of project they are
proposing (restoration, protection, land acquisition, etc.), the habitat within which the project
occurs (upland, riverine, marine and estuarine wetlands, etc.), and the resources that may benefit
(marine mammals, birds, fish, etc.), where the original form has only two categories:
“resource/habitat/service” and “restoration result”.
The information collected from these forms will be used by NOAA staff and other federal and
state agencies to occupy 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. Queries for potential projects may also be made by nonprofit organizations and
members of the public. 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. NMFS 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 information that meets 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.

2

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 Sheets will be
provided to government agencies, private organizations, non-government organizations, and the
general public as a hard copy and will also be available as a fillable form from the internet at
http://www.darrp.noaa.gov. They may be developed on a personal computer (if desired);
however, while electronic submission via email of the information is allowed, it is not required.
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.
6. Describe the consequences to the Federal program or policy activities if the collection is
not conducted or is conducted less frequently.
If this information were not collected, the ability to pursue cost-effective planning and
implementation of restoration projects would be adversely affected.
7. Explain any special circumstances that require the collection to be conducted in a
manner inconsistent with OMB guidelines.
Not Applicable.
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 April 26, 2010 (75 FR 21582) 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. Future consultations will be held with
groups, agencies, persons, etc., on an irregular basis as necessary to ensure they understand these
information requests.
3

9. Explain any decisions to provide payments or gifts to respondents, other than
remuneration of contractors or grantees.
No payment, gift, 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 labor costs for this collection will be $1,024 (based on an average hourly wage of
$18.62.* 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.
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).
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 $0.44 per
envelope if sent separately. If all responses were mailed separately, the maximum cost burden
incurred would total approximately $73 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
*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

4

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; therefore, the maximum
estimated submission cost will be based on the total postage cost of $73.
14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government.
It is estimated that screening the submitted projects will require 1 week of a federal employees’
time. The total estimated cost is $1,366.
15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments reported.
Because the postal rate increased since the last renewal, the maximum estimate for submission
costs increased by $5.
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.
Not Applicable.

B. COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS
This collection does not employ statistical methods.

5