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Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 0710-0018)

Title Of Information Collection: Columbia River System Operation (CRSO) EIS Navigation Survey

Purpose: The Northwestern Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) requests approval of a survey instrument that collects information from business owners to analyze the impacts to navigation from changes in operation of the locks and dams on the Columbia River and Snake River. The businesses will be asked about general characteristics of their operation, with focus on two main topics. One set of questions will work to determine what alternate shipping modes would be chosen if waterway transport were not available. These questions will be key in developing a model to estimate the potential impacts of removal of four Lower Snake River dams (one of the alternatives under consideration for the CRSO EIS). Another set of questions will work to determine the response of shippers to changes to waterway rates and transport times. These questions will be useful in understanding demand elasticity of waterway traffic. USACE will use this information to evaluate the CRSO EIS “no action” and action alternatives. The data from the survey will be an input into multiple economic models, and used to evaluate the National Economic Development (NED) account, Regional Economic Development (RED) account, and the Other Social Effects (OSE) account.

Description Of Respondents: The sampling strategy is to directly contact approximately 60 shipping organizations (businesses) that move commodities on the Columbia and Snake Rivers. These shipping organizations provide transport services to approximately 280 facilities including grain elevators, forest, fuel, and fertilizer companies. We expect it will take shipping organizations approximately 30 minutes to complete the survey, depending on the number of facilities serviced.

Type Of Collection (Check One):

☐ Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form ☐ Customer Satisfaction Survey

☐ Usability Testing (e.g. Website or Software) ☐ Small Discussion Group

☐ Focus Group ☒ Other: Survey

Certification:

1. The collection is voluntary.

2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.

3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal agencies.

4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.

5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.

6. The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the future.

I certify all six of the above to be true.

Name: Christopher Bouquot Date: 01/22/2018

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected?

☐ Yes ☒ No

2. If yes above, will any information that is collected be included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974?

☐ Yes ☐ No ☒ N/A

3. If yes to Question 1, has an up-to-date System of Records Notice (SORN) been published?

☐ Yes ☐ No ☒ N/A

Gifts Or Payments: Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, or a token of appreciation) provided to participants?

☐ Yes ☒ No

Burden Hours:

It is expected that approximately 60 shipping organizations will complete surveys, providing survey responses about shipping choices for the up to 280 facilities near the Columbia River and Snake River systems. Depending upon the number of facilities served and number of forms being completed, the survey response time per shipping organization is estimated to take approximately 30 to 60 minutes.

Category of Respondent:	No. of Respondents:	Participation Time (minutes)	Burden (hours)
Private Sector	60	30 minutes	30 hours
State, Local, or Tribal Governments	0	0	0
Total	60	Average = 30 mins	30 hours

Federal Cost: The estimated cost to the Federal government for conducting the study which does not include analysis is approximately $75,000.

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

Selection Of Targeted Respondents:

1. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe?

☒ Yes ☐ No

If the answer is yes above, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan)? If the answer is No above, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them?

The customer list will be derived from the USACE Waterborne Commerce Statistics Center (WCSC) database. The WCSC database will be analyzed to identify all businesses that utilize the waterway industry on the Columbia and Snake River. The sample plan is to survey all businesses identified by the WCSC analysis. The surveys will be conducted by contacting them by phone and sending an e-mail with a link to the survey. If the respondent would prefer the survey over the phone or needs help with the survey, then the facilitator will conduct the survey by phone. If a respondent prefers a face-to-face interview, they will be conducted by lead economist for the survey contractor.

Administration Of The Instrument:

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

☐ Web-based or other forms of Social Media

☒ Telephone

☒ In-person

☐ Mail

☒ Other, explain: e-mail

The survey respondent will be contacted by phone and sent an e-mail with a link to the survey. A follow-up phone call will be made to the survey respondent to help non-respondents with the emailed survey. If a survey participant prefers a face-to-face interview, this option will also be offered.

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used?

☒ Yes ☐ No

Washington State University will likely conduct interviews. The respondents will be contacted by phone and sent an e-mail link to a survey. If the respondent would prefer the survey over the phone or needs help with the survey, then the facilitator will conduct the survey by phone. Respondents will be read the latest Agency Disclosure Notice before beginning the survey.