60-Day FRN

ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1

Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 143 / Thursday, July 25, 2024 / Notices
Director, HSAC at 202–891–2876 or
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: An
advisory committee meeting notice must
be published in the Federal Register at
least 15 calendar days before the
meeting except in exceptional
circumstances per 41 CFR 102–3.150.
This notice is being provided with less
than 15 days’ notice due to exceptional
circumstances of the assassination
attempt on July 13. The meeting will
focus on security related threats and the
DHS response focused on the election
season. Notice of this meeting is given
under Section 10(a) of the Federal
Advisory Committee Act (FACA), Public
Law 92–463 (5 U.S.C. Ch. 10), which
requires each FACA committee meeting
to be open to the public unless the
President, or the head of the agency to
which the advisory committee reports,
determines that a portion of the meeting
may be closed to the public in
accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552b(c).
The HSAC provides organizationally
independent, strategic, timely, specific,
actionable advice, and
recommendations to the Secretary of
Homeland Security on matters related to
homeland security. The Council
consists of senior executives from
government, the private sector,
academia, law enforcement, and nongovernmental organizations.
The Council will meet in an open
session between 1:00 p.m. to 1:20 p.m.
ET to hear from senior DHS leadership.
For the open session, members of the
public will be in listen-only mode.
Meeting instructions for virtual and in
person attendance. Members of the
public may register to participate in this
Council meeting via teleconference
under the following procedures. Each
individual must provide their full legal
name and email address no later than
5:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, July 25,
2024, to Rebecca Sternhell, Acting
Executive Director of the Homeland
Security Advisory Council, via email to
[email protected] or via phone at 202–
891–2876. Members of the public who
have registered to participate will be
provided the teleconference call-in
number. For more information about the
HSAC, please visit our website: https://
www.dhs.gov/homelandecurityadvisory-council.
For information on services for
individuals with disabilities, or to
request special assistance, please email
[email protected] by 5:00 p.m. ET on
Thursday, July 25, 2024 or call 202–
891–2876. The HSAC is committed to
ensuring all participants have equal
access regardless of disability status. If
you require a reasonable

VerDate Sep<11>2014

19:41 Jul 24, 2024

Jkt 262001

accommodation due to a disability to
fully participate, please contact Rebecca
Sternhell at 202–891–2876 or HSAC@
hq.dhs.gov as soon as possible.
The Council will meet in a closed
session from 1:20 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET
to participate in a sensitive discussion
with DHS senior leaders regarding DHS
operations.
Basis for Partial Closure: In
accordance with Section 10(d) of FACA,
the Secretary of Homeland Security has
determined this meeting must be closed
during this session as the disclosure of
the information relayed would be
detrimental to the public interest for the
following reasons:
The Council will participate in a
sensitive operational discussion
containing For Official Use Only and
Law Enforcement Sensitive information.
This discussion will include
information regarding threats facing the
United States and how DHS plans to
address those threats. The session is
closed pursuant to 5 U.S.C.
552b(c)(9)(B) because the disclosure of
this information could significantly
frustrate implementation of proposed
agency actions.
Dated: July 22, 2024.
Rebecca Sternhell,
Acting Executive Director, Homeland Security
Advisory Council, Department of Homeland
Security.
[FR Doc. 2024–16500 Filed 7–24–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9112–FN–P

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
[Docket Number DHS–2024–0026]

Agency Information Collection
Activities: DHS OBIM Biometric
Technology Assessments, OMB
Control No. 1601–NEW
Department of Homeland
Security (DHS).
ACTION: 60-Day notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:

The Department of Homeland
Security will submit the following
Information Collection Request (ICR) to
the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for review and clearance in
accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: Comments are encouraged and
will be accepted until September 23,
2024. This process is conducted in
accordance with 5 CFR 1320.1.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by docket number Docket #
DHS–2024–0026, at:
SUMMARY:

PO 00000

Frm 00095

Fmt 4703

Sfmt 4703

60443

Æ Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://
www.regulations.gov. Please follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
Instructions: All submissions received
must include the agency name and
docket number Docket # DHS–2024–
0026. All comments received will be
posted without change to http://
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided.
Docket: For access to the docket to
read background documents or
comments received, go to http://
www.regulations.gov.
The
Department of Homeland Security’s
(DHS) Office of Biometric Identity
Management (OBIM) provides biometric
compare, store, share, and analyze
services to DHS and mission partners. In
order to serve its mission partners,
OBIM is focused on delivering accurate,
timely, and high assurance biometric
identity information and analysis. To
achieve OBIM’s overall goals and
priorities, OBIM continually works to
improve biometric services by keeping
up with advancing biometrics in terms
of new modalities, capabilities, and
safeguarding information. OBIM is
constantly investigating new
developments to keep up with the speed
of relevance and to support DHS
operational missions through the
development of standards for
interagency implementation of
biometrics.
Because OBIM is congressionally
mandated to manage the operation of
the department’s primary biometric
repository and identification system that
is used to identify and verify
individuals crossing U.S. borders, it is
mandatory for homeland security that
the types of biometrics used, the
technologies that capture them, and the
way that OBIM safeguards them are
advancing at a pace that keeps in front
of bad actors. In the continuing
appropriations act of 2013, OBIM was
created from the former US–VISIT
program to administer the DHS
biometric database, as authorized by
section 7208 of the Intelligence Reform
And Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004
(8 U.S.C. 1365b). See Consolidated And
Further Continuing Appropriations Act
of 2013, Public Law 113–6, 127 Stat. 198
(2013). The Senate Explanatory
Statement for the appropriation explains
that ‘‘OBIM is the lead entity within
DHS responsible for biometric identity
management services through its
management of the Automated
Biometric Identification System, or
IDENT. OBIM assumes the most
significant and cross-cutting
responsibility from what was known as

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

E:\FR\FM\25JYN1.SGM

25JYN1

ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1

60444

Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 143 / Thursday, July 25, 2024 / Notices

US–VISIT—namely to serve customers
across DHS, at other Federal agencies, in
State and local law enforcement, and
overseas through storage of biometric
identities, recurrent matching against
derogatory information, and other
biometric expertise and services.’’ The
Consolidated Appropriations Act of
2017, Public Law 115–31, Division F,
section 301, 131 Stat. 135, 418 (2017),
mandated DHS to implement a facial
recognition matching capability for
IDENT, including the ability to search,
store and match, that is independent of
other biometric modalities but scalable
for future needs. The 2017
Appropriations Act also called for DHS
to ‘‘demonstrate new agile projects
focused on the ability to fuse biographic
intelligence information with biometric
data.’’
Thus, OBIM is constantly working
through research and development
efforts and standards development to
improve biometric use, capture, and
storage through investigation of the
latest industry or academic
advancements and how research
findings can help improve performance
of systems and policies that surround
the use of the system. While continuing
to improve its biometric services, OBIM
has identified a need to understand the
performance of new sensors and data
emerging from these sensors. This
understanding is crucial for advancing
standards development and threshold
guidance, as continuously evolving
technologies impact the performance of
the operational biometric matchers
leveraged by the OBIM biometric
repository. OBIM engages with
performers, like John Hopkins
University Applied Physics Laboratory
(JHU APL), National Institute of
Standards Technology (NIST), and DHS
Science And Technology (S&T) to
collaborate and leverage the subject
matter expertise available at each entity
on biometric sensor evaluation to assess
the performance of emerging biometric
technologies.
OBIM seeks an Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) number to address
the Paperwork Reduction Act
requirements for OBIM’s studies of
emerging biometric technology. These
OBIM studies support relevant
biometrics collection projects so that
OBIM can collaborate with performers
to take on various biometric collection
projects that will help to understand
biometric collection device performance
in various operational settings. These
performers include academic and other
research centers to design and execute
studies that involve collection of
different biometrics depending on the
need and/or research question. Since

VerDate Sep<11>2014

19:41 Jul 24, 2024

Jkt 262001

OBIM operates and maintains the DHS
biometric repository responsible for
storing, sharing, and matching of
different types of biometrics modalities
(i.e., face, finger, iris, and future
biometrics) it is imperative that OBIM
understand biometric collection device
performance so that we are better able
to do the sharing and comparing portion
of our homeland security mission.
Because authentication/identification
accuracy depends on the reliability of
the equipment used to capture data,
OBIM is developing guidance on
biometric capture quality, to enable the
implementation of new capabilities that
enhance national security and general
public safety.
OBIM has tasked the performers to
help in this effort based on their
extensive experience with biometric
image collection and analysis developed
from previous studies. The performers
anticipate conducting several smallscale human research studies to support
OBIM program goals. OBIM is interested
in gathering more information in the
following biometric modalities: face,
fingerprint, palm print, iris, and voice.
The purpose of this analysis is (1) to
evaluate the current state of the art in
biometrics and biometric capture, and
(2) to provide insights on likely future
developments in biometrics and identity
intelligence technologies for OBIM to
continue advancing research and
development efforts, interoperability
standards, and threshold guidance. The
goal is to aid in the elaboration of a
multi-year strategy for both research and
development for future technologies.
As OBIM is not an academic
institution and does not engage in
research studies; OBIM relies on
academic and other research centers to
design and execute studies that involve
collection of different biometrics
(depending on the need and/or research
question). These performers develop
research questions and protocols to
solve questions and provide information
and guidance for OBIM to better
influence capture, share, match, and
storage of biometrics.
OBIM aims to continue to improve
biometric services within DHS and the
necessary guidance associated with the
implementation of these biometrics. The
primary objective of the studies and use
of information technology is to compare
the performance of biometric sensors.
Specifically, understanding the
parameters that impact the quality of
biometric image collection, which in
turn, impacts the performance of
downstream comparison algorithms.
OBIM will assess new sensors, as the
technologies are continuously evolving,
and the inherent impact on the

PO 00000

Frm 00096

Fmt 4703

Sfmt 4703

performance with the operational
biometric matchers leveraged by the
OBIM biometric repository. To perform
these assessments, biometric collections
will occur using emerging commercial
off the shelf sensors (e.g., finger, face,
iris, scanner, using a platen, clamshell,
mobile application, etc.). The
assessment and potential future
implementation of advancing biometric
sensors aims to improve the biometric
collection experience for the customer
and the agent to ensure quality
biometrics are collected in an easy to
use and time efficient manner to reduce
burden on the customer and agent
involved in the collection while still
providing quality biometric images to
allow for accurate comparison for
mission decision support.
Advancing technology will look to
reduce burden by:
• Contactless modes of collection,
reducing hygienic burden to individuals
as a result of the current practices of
touching the same surface.
• Simultaneous collection of multiple
biometrics, reducing the burden to the
customer and agent by eliminating
multiple devices and thus decreasing
the time for each additional biometric to
be collected.
• Mobile collection sensors, reducing
time burden of customer by eliminating
the need to travel from site of encounter
to a collection site.
If any small businesses will be
involved in the collections, study, or
testing that are conducted surrounding
biometric devices or matching
performances, OBIM will work to
ensure that guidance is streamlined and
clear for all participants and all the time
limits put forth for collection and
testing are limited. No requests of
performers, vendors, or participants will
be made that will be prohibitive to the
participation of small businesses.
OBIM provides accurate, timely, and
high assurance biometric identity
services. As technology continues to
advance at a rapid speed, new biometric
collection devices and techniques
continue to emerge. Variations in the
technology leveraged in these new
devices/sensors may impact the
interoperability with the existing
operational biometric comparison
algorithms leveraged by DHS OBIM.
Assessments of these technologies do
not account for the impact on the legacy
biometric information within the OBIM
biometric repository and provides
skewed performance results on
emerging technology. Less frequent
collections will impact the ability to
identify issues related to the
performance of the operational
comparison algorithms with emerging

E:\FR\FM\25JYN1.SGM

25JYN1

Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 143 / Thursday, July 25, 2024 / Notices
biometric collection technologies. This
will hinder advancements of research
and development, drafting updates to
interoperability standards, and inform
comparison algorithm threshold
guidance to optimize biometric
comparison results for mission decision
points.
There are no confidentiality
assurances associated with this
collection. However, coverage for the
collection of this information is
provided under DHS/ALL–041 External
Biometric Records (EBR) System of
Records, April 24, 2018, 83 FR 17829;
DHS/NPPD/US–VISIT–0004–IDENT
SORN, 72 FR 31080 (Jun. 5, 2007); DHS/
ALL–043 Enterprise Biometric
Administrative Records (EBAR) System
of Records, March 16, 2020, 85 FR
14955.
The Office of Management and Budget
is particularly interested in comments
which:
1. Evaluate whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary
for the proper performance of the
functions of the agency, including
whether the information will have
practical utility;
2. Evaluate the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information,
including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
3. Enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and
4. Minimize the burden of the
collection of information on those who
are to respond, including through the
use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other
technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology,
e.g., permitting electronic submissions
of responses.

ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1

Analysis
Agency: Department of Homeland
Security (DHS).
Title: DHS OBIM Biometric
Technology Assessments.
OMB Number: 1601–NEW.
Frequency: Annually.
Affected Public: Direct Service
Providers, Educational Institutions, etc.
Number of Respondents: 1,000.
Estimated Time per Respondent: 1.5
hours.
Total Burden Hours: 1,500 hours.
Robert Dorr,
Executive Director, Business Management
Directorate.
[FR Doc. 2024–16341 Filed 7–24–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9112–FL–P

VerDate Sep<11>2014

19:41 Jul 24, 2024

Jkt 262001

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Geological Survey
[GX24EN05ESK0000]

Agency Information Collection
Activities; The Impact and Potential of
‘‘Co-Production’’ in Addressing Climate
Adaptation Across the Pacific Islands
U.S. Geological Survey,
Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of information collection;
request for comment.
AGENCY:

In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA), the U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS) is proposing a new information
collection.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on or before
September 23, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Send your comments on
this information collection request (ICR)
by mail to USGS, Information
Collections Clearance Officer, 12201
Sunrise Valley Drive, MS 159, Reston,
VA 20192; or by email to gs-info_
[email protected]. Please reference
OMB Control Number 1028–NEW CASC
Co-Production Assessment.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To
request additional information about
this ICR, contact Mari-Vaughn Johnson
by email at [email protected] or by
telephone at 808–208–3142. Individuals
in the United States who are deaf,
deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a
speech disability may dial 711 (TTY,
TDD, or TeleBraille) to access
telecommunications relay services.
Individuals outside the United States
should use the relay services offered
within their country to make
international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
accordance with the PRA (44 U.S.C.
3501 et seq.) and 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), all
information collections require approval
under the PRA. We may not conduct or
sponsor, nor are you required to
respond to, a collection of information
unless it displays a currently valid OMB
control number.
As part of our continuing effort to
reduce paperwork and respondent
burdens, we invite the public and other
Federal agencies to comment on new,
proposed, revised, and continuing
collections of information. This helps us
assess the impact of our information
collection requirements and minimize
the public’s reporting burden. It also
helps the public understand our
information collection requirements and
SUMMARY:

PO 00000

Frm 00097

Fmt 4703

Sfmt 4703

60445

provide the requested data in the
desired format.
We are especially interested in public
comment addressing the following:
(1) Whether or not the collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
agency, including whether or not the
information will have practical utility;
(2) The accuracy of our estimate of the
burden for this collection of
information, including the validity of
the methodology and assumptions used;
(3) Ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
(4) How the agency might minimize
the burden of the collection of
information on those who are to
respond, including through the use of
appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology, e.g., permitting
electronic submission of response.
Comments that you submit in
response to this notice are a matter of
public record. Before including your
address, phone number, email address,
or other personally identifiable
information (PII) in your comment, you
should be aware that your entire
comment—including your PII—may be
made publicly available at any time.
While you can ask us in your comment
to withhold your PII from public review,
we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
Project A
Abstract: The Pacific Islands Climate
Adaptation Science Center (PI–CASC)
involves a partnership between U.S.
Geological Survey (USGS) and a
university consortium including the
University of Hawai1i at Ma¯noa, the
University of Hawai1i at Hilo, and the
University of Guam. PI–CASC aims to
support a portfolio of research projects
that foster long-lasting partnerships
between researchers, natural and
cultural resource stewards and
managers, and community leaders.
While building local capacities, PI–
CASC endeavors to co-develop the
science/knowledge bases informing our
current understanding of climate change
and its impacts, as well as how we
might take steps to adapt to those
impacts across the Pacific Islands. PI–
CASC is seeking to conduct surveys and
interviews with project leaders,
collaborators, and community members
to better understand the state of coproduction across the portfolio and how
such cooperative efforts may be
improved moving forward. The
proposed survey and interviews will
collect the following information:

E:\FR\FM\25JYN1.SGM

25JYN1