The Land and Water Conservation Fund
Act of 1965 (LWCF Act) (54 USC §200305) was enacted to help
preserve, develop, and ensure access for the public to outdoor
recreation opportunities. The LWCF Act provides funds for and
authorizes Federal assistance to the States for planning,
acquisition, and development of needed land and water areas and
facilities. In accordance with the LWCF Act, the National Park
Service (we, NPS) administers the LWCF State Assistance Program,
which provides matching grants to States and through the States to
local units of government. As used in this information collection
request, the term “States” includes the 50 States; the
Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands; the
District of Columbia; and the Territories of Guam, the U.S. Virgin
Islands, and American Samoa. LWCF grants are provided to States on
a matching basis for up to 50 percent of the total project-related
allowable costs. Grants to eligible insular areas may be for 100
percent assistance. The LWCF State Assistance Program gives maximum
flexibility and responsibility to the States. States establish
their own priorities and criteria and allocate their grant money
through a competitive selection process based on a Statewide
Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan. Payments for all projects
are made to the State organization that is authorized to accept and
administer funds paid for approved projects. Local units of
government participate in the program as subgrantees of the State
with the State retaining primary grant compliance
responsibility.
US Code:
54 USC §200305 Name of Law: Land and Water Conservation Fund
Act of 1965
We are reporting an increase of
50 annual responses and a decrease of 710 total annual burden hours
from our 2013 submission. The increased annual responses are due to
an increased annual appropriation for this program since our last
submission in 2013. The decreased annual burden hours are due to
adjusted completion times as a result of our public outreach and
experience administering this collection. It should be noted an
error was discovered during this renewal process with the response
time submitted in 2013 for the “Extension of 3-Year Limit for
Delayed Outdoor Recreation Development” IC. The burden response
time was mistakenly reported as 161 hours per response during our
2013 submission rather than the correct 16 hours per response. This
has been corrected in ROCIS, resulting in a decrease of 725 burden
hours for this IC (shown in the table included in the response for
question 15 on the supporting statement).
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.