1625-0001 30-Day FR Notice

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 3, 2016)]

[Notices]

[Pages 5774-5776]

From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[FR Doc No: 2016-01896]

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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2015-0910]

Collection of Information Under Review by Office of Management

and Budget; OMB Control Number: 1625-0001

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Thirty-day notice requesting comments.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 the

U.S. Coast Guard is forwarding an Information Collection Request (ICR),

abstracted below, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Office

of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), requesting approval of a

revision to the following collection of information: 1625-0001, Report

of Marine Casualty & Chemical Testing of Commercial Vessel Personnel.

Our ICR describes the information we seek to collect from the public.

Review and comments by OIRA ensure we only impose paperwork burdens

commensurate with our performance of duties.

DATES: Comments must reach the Coast Guard and OIRA on or before March

4, 2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Coast Guard docket

number [USCG-2015-0910] to the Coast Guard using the Federal

eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Alternatively, you

may submit comments to OIRA using one of the following means:

(1) Email: [email protected].

(2) Mail: OIRA, 725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503,

attention Desk Officer for the Coast Guard.

(3) Fax: 202-395-6566. To ensure your comments are received in a

timely manner, mark the fax, attention Desk Officer for the Coast

Guard.

A copy of the ICR is available through the docket on the Internet

at http://www.regulations.gov. Additionally, copies are available from:

Commandant (CG-612), Attn: Paperwork Reduction Act Manager, U.S. Coast

Guard, 2703 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE., Stop 7710, Washington, DC

20593-7710.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Anthony Smith, Office of

Information Management, telephone 202-475-3532, or fax 202-372-8405,

for questions on these documents.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Participation and Request for Comments

This Notice relies on the authority of the Paperwork Reduction Act

of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended. An ICR is an application to

OIRA seeking the approval, extension, or renewal of a Coast Guard

collection of information (Collection). The ICR contains information

describing the Collection's purpose, the Collection's likely burden on

the affected public, an explanation of the necessity of the Collection,

and other important information describing the Collection. There is one

ICR for each Collection. The Coast Guard invites comments on whether

this ICR should be granted based on the Collection being necessary for

the proper performance of Departmental functions. In particular, the

Coast Guard would appreciate comments addressing: (1) The practical

utility of the Collection; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden of

the Collection; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity

of information subject to the Collection; and (4) ways to minimize the

burden of the Collection on respondents, including the use of automated

collection techniques or other forms of information technology. These

comments will help OIRA determine whether to approve the ICR referred

to in this Notice.

We encourage you to respond to this request by submitting comments

and related materials. Comments to Coast Guard or OIRA must contain the

OMB Control Number of the ICR. They must also contain the docket number

of this request, [USCG-2015-0910], and must be received by March 4,

2016.

Submitting Comments

We encourage you to submit comments through the Federal eRulemaking

Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. If your material cannot be

submitted using http://www.regulations.gov, contact the person in the

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document for alternate

instructions. Documents mentioned in this Notice, and all public

comments, are in our online docket at http://www.regulations.gov and

can be viewed by following that Web site's instructions. Additionally,

if you go to the online docket and sign up for email alerts, you will

be notified when comments are posted.

We accept anonymous comments. All comments received will be posted

without change to http://www.regulations.gov and will include any

personal information you have provided. For more about privacy and

[[Page 5775]]

the docket, you may review a Privacy Act notice regarding the Federal

Docket Management System in the March 24, 2005, issue of the Federal

Register (70 FR 15086).

OIRA posts its decisions on ICRs online at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain after the comment period for each ICR. An OMB Notice

of Action on each ICR will become available via a hyperlink in the OMB

Control Number: 1625-0001.

Previous Request for Comments

This request provides a 30-day comment period required by OIRA. The

Coast Guard published the 60-day Notice (80 FR 64430, October 23, 2015)

required by 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2). We received two comment submissions

to the 60-day Notice.

The first commenter asked that future versions of the form CG-2692

be ``unlocked'' so that a computer application that the commenter's

company uses may auto-fill in the form data elements. We are unable to

accommodate this request at this time, as it is Coast Guard policy that

public use forms be locked/secured so they may not be modified.

However, this concern may be alleviated in the future as the Coast

Guard moves to permit the online submission of marine casualty reports.

The second commenter raised five issues. The first issue raised by

the commenter stated that the ICR title ``Marine Casualty Information

and Periodic Chemical Testing Drug and Alcohol Testing of Commercial

Vessel Personnel'' is in error and could lead to erroneous reporting of

test results.

We agree with the commenter that the historical use of the term

``Periodic'' may result in some confusion resulting in unnecessary

reporting of chemical test results to the Coast Guard. As a result, we

revised the title to remove that term and to better reflect the intent

of the collection. The revised title is ``Report of Marine Casualty &

Chemical Testing of Commercial Vessel Personnel''.

The second issue raised by the commenter addressed the wording

found in the ``Need'' section of the 60-day Notice. The commenter

questioned the appropriateness of the term ``cured'' noting that the

opinion of a majority of substance abuse treatment specialists have

determined that substance abuse is never cured, but rather, is a

treatable medical condition. The commenter further noted that the Coast

Guard regulation, 46 CFR 16.201(f), acknowledges that the individual is

not required to be cured. Rather, that the individual is determined to

be of sufficiently low-risk for misuse by a Medical Review Officer.

We agree with the commenter that the inclusion of the historical

term ``cured'' is inconsistent with existing Coast Guard regulations

regarding chemical testing requirements and that current substance-

abuse rehabilitative science determines addiction to be a treatable

condition that is not curable. For these reasons, we edited our

``Need'' section in this Notice to remove the term ``cured'' and

inserted language that is both consistent with existing Coast Guard

regulations and current substance-abuse rehabilitative science.

The third issue raised by the commenter was a statement questioning

the data found on the form OMB 83-I of the ICR. The commenter stated

that it was challenging to understand the quantitative dispersion of

annual responses published in the ICR. The commenter asked for greater

specificity as to the representative value of the 180,489 annual

responses. The commenter requested additional information to include

identification information of the responders, a summary of the

responses, the timeframe in which the responses were received, a

comparison of the 180,489 responses received in other years and

finally, analytical data to determine the mean average of responses for

the last five years.

We note that the form OMB 83-I information is a summary, and that a

detailed breakdown of the responses are found in Appendix A to the

Supporting Statement. The Supporting Statement and Appendix A are found

in the docket to the Notice (see documents USCG-2015-0910-0004 and

USCG-2015-0910-0005 respectively). Further we note that the number of

180,489 annual responses is generally consistent with year-over-year

comparisons and represents neither the least or greatest annual

response rate in recent years. Therefore, we hold this number to be

both accurate and representative of the annual response burden upon

industry. We do not agree with the commenter that an exhaustive

analytical review of the data is necessary.

The fourth issue raised by the commenter questioned who is going to

be responsible for the completion of the proposed new forms [CG-2692C &

CG-2692D]? The commenter opined that the stated intent of the ICR, to

streamline the reporting process and to reduce the burden upon

industry, would not be the outcome of adding two new forms. The

commenter further stated that it should be the responsibility of the

Coast Guard to complete the new forms themselves.

As explained in the 60-day Notice section entitled ``Why is the

Coast Guard Proposing to Add 2 New Forms'', these two new forms do not

seek to add any new information to be collected in the request.

Instead, they take certain sections of the existing form CG-2692 and

move them to these two new forms. Additionally, in the event there are

multiple entries required (e.g. several injuries, etc.) these new forms

easily facilitate multiple entries for the submitter. As with the

current forms and consistent with the regulatory requirements found in

Title 46 CFR part 4, the owner, agent, master, operator, or person in

charge of a vessel are responsible to complete the forms.

The fifth issue raised by the commenter requested greater

information concerning the evaluation of comments from the maritime

industry and general public identifying the need to revise these forms

and to add two new forms. Specifically, the commenter asked if the

evaluation was published or if an information request was published to

facilitate this evaluation?

The Coast Guard conducted multiple opportunities for marine

industry and public participation to the evaluation of the marine

casualty reporting process. This effort was made by the Coast Guard to

ensure both the marine industry and the public were provided multiple

opportunities to provide input to the revision of the marine casualty

reporting process. The Coast Guard also conducted a deliberative

internal review of process logistics to ensure that only information

necessary to evaluating marine casualties was included as required

reporting in the proposed new forms.

The Coast Guard engagement with the marine industry and the public

was designed to ensure multiple opportunities for participation and to

include a broad representative sample of input. In 2013, the Coast

Guard's Towing Safety Advisory Committee (TSAC) was consulted in

accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The input received

from TSAC, advising revision to the marine casualty reporting process,

contributed greatly to this proposal to reformat and restructure the

existing form CG-2692.

Again in 2014, the Coast Guard sought-out input from the marine

industry and the public when we issued a Notice of Availability and

Request for Comments on January 14, 2014 (79 FR 2466) for a draft

Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular (NVIC). This publication

provided guidance for the identification and reporting of marine

casualties.

[[Page 5776]]

The comments received from the marine industry and the public to

this NVIC proposal, advising revision to the marine casualty reporting

process, contributed greatly to the proposal to reformat and

restructure the existing form CG-2692.

Information Collection Request

1. Title: Report of Marine Casualty & Chemical Testing of

Commercial Vessel Personnel.

OMB Control Number: 1625-0001.

Summary: Marine casualty information is needed for CG

investigations of commercial vessel casualties involving death, vessel

damage, etc., as mandated by Congress. Chemical testing information is

needed to improve CG detection/reduction of drug use by mariners.

Need: Section 6101 of 46 U.S.C. as delegated by the Secretary of

Homeland Security to the Commandant, authorizes the Coast Guard to

prescribe regulations for the reporting of marine casualties involving

death, serious injury, material loss of property, material damage

affecting the seaworthiness of a vessel, or significant harm to the

environment. It also requires information on the use of alcohol being

included in a marine casualty report. Section 7503 of 46 U.S.C.

authorizes the Coast Guard to deny the issuance of licenses,

certificates of registry, and merchant mariner's documents (seaman's

papers) to users of dangerous drugs. Similarly, 46 U.S.C. 7704 requires

the Coast Guard to revoke such papers when a holder of the same has

been shown to be a drug user unless the holder provides satisfactory

proof that the holder has successfully completed a rehabilitation

program acceptable to the Coast Guard and is determined to be, by a

competent substance abuse professional, free from misuse of chemical

substances and that the risk of subsequent misuse of chemical

substances is sufficiently low to justify returning to safety-sensitive

positions..

Forms: CG-2692, Report of Marine Casualty, Commercial Diving

Casualty, or OCS-related Casualty; CG-2692A, Barge Addendum; CG-2692B,

Report of Mandatory Chemical Testing Following a Serious Marine

Incident Involving Vessels in Commercial Service; CG-2692C, Personnel

Casualty Addendum; and CG-2692D, Involved Persons and Witnesses

Addendum.

Respondents: Vessels owners and operators.

Frequency: On occasion. This information collection has a

requirement for recordkeeping.

Hour Burden Estimate: The estimated burden has increased from

20,986 hours to 23,586 hours a year due to an increase in the estimated

number of responses.

Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C.

Chapter 35, as amended.

Dated: January 26, 2016.

Thomas P. Michelli,

U.S. Coast Guard, Deputy Chief Information Officer.

[FR Doc. 2016-01896 Filed 2-2-16; 8:45 am]

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