This collection
is approved for one-time collection of data from Orange County, CA
beaches to expand NOAA’s knowledge of user attitudes and knowledge
about marine debris and the potential effects on visitor behavior
as part of a regional pilot study, “The Economic Impacts of Marine
Debris on Tourism-dependent Communities”. Previously, NOAA
collected information for a “Pilot Study of Beach Recreation in
Orange County” (Leggett et al. 2014) regarding marine debris in
Orange County, California . This collection serves as a Pre-test to
the proposed Regional Pilot Study previous study and includes
additional questions that were not part of Leggett et al. (2014) by
presenting visual information to respondents and asking
hypothetical behavior questions regarding their last summer beach
trips. NOAA requested to conduct pilot studies in the following
regions: Northeast (Barnstable (MA), Dukes (MA) and Nantucket
(MA)); Mid-Atlantic (Kent (DE), Sussex (DE), Wicomico (MD),
Worcester (MD), and Accomack (VA)); Southeast (Horry (SC) and
Georgetown (SC)); Gulf of Mexico (Mobile (AL) and Baldwin (AL));
California (Santa Cruz (CA) and Monterey (CA)); Pacific Northwest
(Grays Harbor (WA), Pacific (WA), Clatsop (OR), and Tillamook
(OR)); and Great Lakes (Lucas (OH), Ottawa (OH), Erie (OH), Lorain
(OH), and Cuyahoga (OH)); OMB is not approving one-time collection
of data from these regions at this time, pending the results of the
Orange County Pre-test that inform the practical utility of this
collection and any possible revisions to the regional Pilot Study
design including survey questionnaire changes and sampling frame
redesign that may flow from the results of the Orange County
Pre-test. This is a Pre-test of a Regional Pilot Study to further
the research on methods and the results are not appropriate to
extrapolate outside the sample of the study. Upon the completion of
this Pre-test, NOAA must submit to OMB results of the Pre-test
including: (1) overall cumulative response rate using one of the
AAPOR definitions; (2) item non-response rates for key questions
including all hypothetical behavioral questions; (3) results of
probing the respondents on how respondents reacted to the pictures
used in the questionnaire including whether they thought the
pictures were reasonable, reflective of what they actually saw at
the beaches, whether the scale and/or concentration used in the
pictures are appropriate (e.g., the actual number of debris/m2 vs.
the number of debris shown in unknown physical dimension); (4)
results of probing the respondents about how confident they are of
their responses to the hypothetical behavior questions; (5) results
of probing the respondents about whether they believe the level of
marine debris is a problem; (6) results of probing the respondents
about whether they believe presence of marine debris is indicative
of bad water quality; (7) results of internal scope tests. If OMB
approves the extension of the Pre-test into other regions, results
of external scope tests should be submitted as site characteristics
of the beaches may be used; (8) results of preliminary nonresponse
assessments using zip code information should be submitted. If OMB
approves the extension of the Pre-test into other regions, NOAA
must submit information on their nonresponse bias follow-up study
including which key attitudinal questions are used to reweigh the
results in addition to the usual demographic variables. If NOAA
concludes that a nonresponse bias follow-up study is not warranted
due to the preliminary nature of the Regional Pilot Study, NOAA
must provide justification for this decision including what
information the Regional Pilot Study is likely to produce to inform
future agency products and decisions; (9) provide results of the
different modeling analysis the researchers conducted; (10) provide
justification for the primary econometric model and results chosen
including how the model might account for the intensity of use
among users, whether the value of marine debris reduction might
accrue more to users who live near the beaches (e.g., day trips)
rather than users who do not live near the beaches (e.g., overnight
trips) if OMB approves the extension of the Pre-test into other
regions.
Inventory as of this Action
Requested
Previously Approved
08/31/2020
36 Months From Approved
726
0
0
56
0
0
0
0
0
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) is requesting approval for a new information
collection to conduct a mail survey of households in eight coastal
locations in the continental United States. The eight locations
include the seven coastal communities that are the focus of the
study (Table 1) plus Orange County, California, which was the
location for the Preliminary Case Study Assessing Economic Benefits
of Marine Debris Reduction (OMB Control No. 0648-0681 (IEc 2014).
The proposed eight study locations are (1) Northeast; (2)
Mid-Atlantic; (3) Southeast; (4) Gulf of Mexico; (5) Great Lakes;
(6) Pacific Northeast; and (7) California (2 locations). The survey
instrument for this study will combine a selection of questions
from the Orange County survey (IEc 2014) with new contingent
behavior questions developed specifically for this study. The
survey data will be combined with a national model of coastal
recreation, which relies on data collected for the Deepwater
Horizon oil spill assessment, to estimate the economic impacts of
marine debris on tourism-dependent communities. The economic
impacts to be evaluated include changes in the number of trips, the
value of beach recreation to those who visit the beach, and changes
in tourism spending (also called regional economic impacts)
associated with an increase or decrease in the number of
recreational trips.
US Code:
33 USC 1951 et seq. Name of Law: Marine Debris Research,
Prevention and Reduction Act of 2006
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.