1505-0250_RESTORE Act Supporting Statement_07AUG14

Department of the Treasury

Departmental Offices

Application and Reports for the Direct Component and the Centers of Excellence Research Grants Program of the Gulf RESTORE Program

Supporting Statement and Request for Clearance

OMB No. 1505-0250

1. Circumstances necessitating the collection of information

Authorized under the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act (RESTORE) (P.L. 112-141), the Department of the Treasury is implementing several provisions of the Act, more specifically the Direct Component and the Centers of Excellence Research Grants Program. These programs require Treasury to make grants from the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund to five States and certain counties and parishes impacted by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. The five States are Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. The counties and parishes are 23 counties in Florida and 20 parishes in Louisiana.

For the Direct Component, eligible activities include activities designed to protect or restore natural resources, create jobs, construction coastal flood protection, and promote seafood and tourism in the Gulf Coast Region. For the Centers of Excellence Program, eligible activities are the establishment of centers of excellence to conduct research only on the Gulf Coast Region.

2. Use of the data

The information will be used to: (1) identify eligible recipients and activities; (2) determine the appropriate amount of funding; (3) ensure compliance with applicable laws; (4) track grantee progress; and (5) report on the effectiveness of the program.

3. Use of information technology

Applicants will complete s fillable forms and return the application electronically via a system chosen by Treasury. Applicants will complete a fillable multiyear plan form and operational self-assessment form electronically and return it to Treasury. Grantees will enter progress information on fillable forms and submit the progress reports electronically. Data from applications and reports will be stored electronically.

4. Efforts to identify duplication

The information is not known to overlap with any other data collected under previously approved information collections.

5. Impact on small businesses and entities

This collection is limited to certain States, counties, and parishes.

6. Consequences of less frequent collection and obstacles to burden reduction

Collection is at a minimum: Applications for when funds are available; semi-annual reporting to assess progress; multiyear plan; operational self-assessment updated annually.

7. Circumstances requiring special information collection

Not applicable.

8. Solicitation of comments on information collection

A notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) was published in the Federal Register on

September 6, 2013, at 78 FR 54801, soliciting comments on the Gulf RESTORE Program, 31 CFR Part 34. While several counties submitted comments related to the burden of the regulation, none of the comments received specifically addressed the estimated burden hours of information collection.

9. Provision of payments to recordkeepers

Not applicable.

10. Assurance of confidentiality

The Department is subject to all Federal regulations with respect to confidentiality of the information provided in this collection of information and provides no other assurances of confidentiality to respondents.

11. Justification of sensitive questions

No personal identifiable information (PII) is collected.

12. Justification for emergency clearance

Reporting	# Respondents	# Responses Per Respondent	Total annual Responses	Hours per response	Total Burden	Cost to Respondent (@ $150 per hrs.)
Applications - Direct Components Multiyear Plans Operational Self-Assessment	47	2	94	10	940	$141,000
Application - Centers of Excellence Research Grants Program Operational Self-Assessments	5	2	10	10	100	$15,000
Direct Component Activity Milestones Report	47	4	188	1	188	$28,200
Direct Component Activity Status of Performance Report	47	4	188	2	376	$56,400
Centers of Excellence Research Grants Program Status of Performance Report	5	4	20	2	40	$6,000
Centers of Excellence Research Grants Program Annual Report	5	1	5	4	20	$3,000
Total Reporting	52	9.71	505	3.295	1,664	$249,600

Recordkeeping	# Recordkeepers				Total Burden	Cost to Respondent (@ $150 per hrs.)
Applications - Direct Component	47				4,700	$705,000
Application - Centers of Excellence Research Grants Program	5				500	$75,000
Total Recordkeeping	52	1	52	100	5,200	$780,000
Total Burden	52	10.71	557	12.32315978	6,864	$1,029,600

13. Estimated total annual cost burden to respondents  

There will be no annualized capital/start-up costs for the grantees to provide this information.

14. Estimated cost to the federal government.

This is a new collection. We will submit a revision to capture those costs either prior to or as part of our subsequent extension request.

15. Reasons for change in burden

The number of responses have increased from the time of the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) due to the determination of the types of reporting required by recipients. The increase of 193 responses is attributed to program changes.

16. Plans for tabulation, statistical analysis and publication

There are no plans for publication. The Treasury Department will conduct numerous types of analysis on these data. These analyses will include assessments of eligibility and effectiveness of program activities (e.g. types of activities, amounts funded) as well as compliance checks.

17. Reasons why displaying the OMB expiration date is inappropriate

Display of the expiration date may be confusing to respondents. Non-display of expiration date is requested.

18. Exceptions to certification requirement

There are no exceptions to the certification statement.

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