Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Middle Mile Grant Program
| Court | Commerce Department,National Telecommunications And Information Administration |
| Citation | 88 FR 57441 |
| Published date | 23 August 2023 |
| Record Number | 2023-18178 |
| Section | Notices |
57441
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 162 / Wednesday, August 23, 2023 / Notices
for fishing years 2024 and 2025. They
will discuss other business, to include
giving feedback to the Council on
expected SSC tasks for 2024 and
discussing plans for the 8th meeting of
the CCC Scientific Coordination
Subcommittee.
Although non-emergency issues not
contained on the agenda may come
before this Council for discussion, those
issues may not be the subject of formal
action during this meeting. Council
action will be restricted to those issues
specifically listed in this notice and any
issues arising after publication of this
notice that require emergency action
under section 305(c) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act, provided the public has
been notified of the Council’s intent to
take final action to address the
emergency. The public also should be
aware that the meeting will be recorded.
Consistent with 16 U.S.C. 1852, a copy
of the recording is available upon
request.
Special Accommodations
This meeting is physically accessible
to people with disabilities. Requests for
sign language interpretation or other
auxiliary aids should be directed to Cate
O’Keefe, Executive Director, at (978)
465–0492, at least 5 days prior to the
meeting date.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: August 18, 2023.
Rey Israel Marquez,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023–18159 Filed 8–22–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Telecommunications and
Information Administration
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Middle Mile Grant Program
AGENCY
: National Telecommunications
and Information Administration (NTIA),
Commerce.
ACTION
: Notice of information collection,
request for comment.
SUMMARY
: The Department of
Commerce, in accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA), invites the general public and
other Federal agencies to comment on
proposed and continuing information
collections, which helps us assess the
impact of our information collection
requirements and minimize the public’s
reporting burden. The purpose of this
notice is to allow for 60 days of public
comment preceding the submission of
the collection to OMB.
DATES
: To ensure consideration,
comments regarding this proposed
information collection must be received
on or before October 23, 2023.
ADDRESSES
: Interested persons are
invited to submit written comments by
mail to Arica Cox, Deputy Director,
Grants Management, Administration,
and Compliance, Office of internet
Connectivity and Growth, National
Telecommunication and Information
Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Room 4626, Washington, DC
20230, or by email to broadbandusa@
ntia.gov. Please reference OMB Control
0660–0052 in the subject line of your
comments. Do not submit Confidential
Business Information or otherwise
sensitive or protected information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
:
Requests for additional information or
specific questions related to collection
activities should be directed to Arica
Cox, Deputy Director, Grants
Management Administration, and
Compliance, Office of internet
Connectivity and Growth, National
Telecommunication and Information
Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Room 4626, Washington, DC
20230, via telephone at (202) 209–3011,
or email at acox@ntia.gov;
broadbandusa@ntia.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
:
I. Abstract
NTIA seeks approval under the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) to add
11 questions regarding equipment
purchases to the Enabling Middle Mile
Broadband Infrastructure Program
(Middle Mile) Bi-Annual Performance
Reports (OMB No. 0660–0052). This
collection of questions will be added to
the Middle Mile Bi-Annual Performance
Reports as a supplement referred to as
the Middle Mile Reports Addendum.
The Middle Mile Grant Program,
authorized by Section 60401 of the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
of 2021, Public Law 117–58, 135 Stat.
429 (November 15, 2021) (Infrastructure
Act or Act), provides funding for the
construction, improvement, or
acquisition of middle mile
infrastructure. The Middle Mile Grant
Program will make up to $980,000,000
available for federal assistance to the
following eligible entities: a State,
political subdivision of a State, Tribal
government, technology company,
electric utility, utility cooperative,
public utility district,
telecommunications company,
telecommunications cooperative,
nonprofit foundation, nonprofit
corporation, nonprofit institution,
nonprofit association, regional planning
council, Native entity, economic
development authority, or any
partnership of two (2) or more of these
entities. The purpose of the grant
program is to expand and extend middle
mile infrastructure to reduce the cost of
connecting areas that are unserved or
underserved to the internet backbone.
On May 13, 2022, NTIA published the
program’s Notice of Funding
Opportunity (NOFO) on
internetforAll.gov to describe the
requirements under which it will award
grants for the Middle Mile Grant
Program. See Enabling Middle Mile
Broadband Infrastructure Program
Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)
(May 13, 2022), https://
www.internetforall.gov/program/
enabling-middle-mile-broadband-
infrastructure-program. The NOFO
requires award recipients to submit bi-
annual performance reports, financial
reports, and a final report as a part of
the grant close-out process. Award
recipients must follow the reporting
requirements described in Sections
A.01, Reporting Requirement, of the
Department of Commerce Financial
Assistance Standard Terms and
Conditions (dated November 12, 2020).
Additionally, in accordance with 2 CFR
part 170, all recipients of a federal
award made on or after October 1, 2010,
must comply with reporting
requirements under the Federal Funding
Accountability and Transparency Act of
2006 (Pub. L. 109–282).
Modifying the Middle Mile Bi-Annual
Performance Reports and Final Report
to include NTIA’s requested questions
regarding equipment purchases on the
Middle Mile Report Addendum will
enable the Commerce Department and
NTIA to ensure recipient compliance
with the Build America, Buy America
Act (‘‘BABA’’) and facilitate NTIA’s
ability to collect data to comply with
BABA reporting requirements. NTIA
will also use the information collected
to effectively administer and monitor
the grant program to ensure the
achievement of the Middle Mile Grant
Program purposes and account for the
expenditure of federal funds to deter
waste, fraud, and abuse.
II. Method of Collection
Award recipients will submit the
Middle Mile Reports Addendum as part
of the Bi-Annual Performance Reports
for the periods ending March 31st and
September 30th of each year. NTIA will
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57442
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 162 / Wednesday, August 23, 2023 / Notices
collect data through electronic
submission.
The report addendum shall discuss
the six-month period immediately
preceding the report date, in a manner
that:
(1) Lists the Buyer.
(2) Describes the Category of the
Purchase.
(3) Describes where the Purchase will
be located and how it will be used.
(4) Quantifies the number being
purchased.
(5) Asks the country from which the
Purchase is sourced.
(6) If a foreign source, describes the
efforts made to source domestically.
(7) Lists the Manufacturer.
(8) Lists the Purchase Price.
(9) Lists the Purchase Date.
(10) Lists the Estimated Delivery Date.
(11) Lists the Actual Delivery Date.
Recipients must maintain sufficient
records to substantiate all information
above upon request.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0660–0052.
Form Number(s): TBD.
Type of Review: Revision of a current
information collection.
Affected Public: Recipients of funding
under the Middle Mile Grant Program.
Recipients might include States,
political subdivisions of a State, Tribal
governments, technology companies,
electric utilities, utility cooperatives,
public utility districts,
telecommunications companies,
telecommunication cooperatives,
nonprofit foundations, nonprofit
corporations, nonprofit institutions,
nonprofit associations, regional
planning councils, Native entities,
economic development authorities, or
any partnership of two (2) or more of
these entities.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
40.
Estimated Time per Response: 43.72
hours.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 7,621.17.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to
Public: $363,758.29.
Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory.
Legal Authority: Section 60401of the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
of 2021, Public Law 117–58, 135 Stat.
429 (November 15, 2021).
IV. Request for Comments
We are soliciting public comments to
permit the Department to:
(a) Evaluate whether the proposed
information collection is necessary for
the proper functions of the Department,
including whether the information will
have practical utility. (b) Evaluate the
accuracy of our estimate of the time and
cost burden for this proposed collection,
including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used. (c)
Evaluate ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected. d) Minimize the reporting
burden on those who are to respond,
including the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
Comments that you submit in
response to this notice are a matter of
public record. We will include or
summarize each comment in our request
to OMB to approve this ICR. Before
including your address, phone number,
email address, or other personal
identifying information in your
comment, you should be aware that
your entire comment—including your
personal identifying information—may
be made publicly available at any time.
While you may ask us in your comment
to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of
the Under Secretary of Economic Affairs,
Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2023–18178 Filed 8–22–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–60–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Telecommunications and
Information Administration
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request; NTIA
internet Use Survey
The Department of Commerce will
submit the following information
collection request to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
review and clearance in accordance
with the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, on or after the date of publication
of this notice. We invite the general
public and other Federal agencies to
comment on proposed, and continuing
information collections, which helps us
assess the impact of our information
collection requirements and minimize
the public’s reporting burden. Public
comments were previously requested
via the Federal Register on June 2, 2023
during a 60-day comment period. This
notice allows for an additional 30 days
for public comments.
Agency: National
Telecommunications and Information
Administration, (NTIA), Commerce.
Title: NTIA internet Use Survey.
OMB Control Number: 0660–0021.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Revision of a current
information collection.
Number of Respondents: 50,000
households.
Average Hours per Response:
1
⁄
6
hour
(10 minutes).
Burden Hours: 8,334.
Needs and Uses: Data from the NTIA
internet Use Survey will be used to help
inform federal policies related to digital
equity and other internet-related issues.
As required by law, 47 U.S.C.
1723(d)(3)(A)(i), certain estimates from
this data collection will be used as
inputs into the State Digital Equity
Capacity Grant Program funding
formula. More generally, NTIA will use
the data both in relevant publications
and to help inform policymakers.
Additionally, a public use dataset that
protects respondent confidentiality will
be created by the Census Bureau and
made available by both agencies for use
by researchers and other members of the
public.
Affected Public: Individuals and
households.
Frequency: Biennial.
Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary.
Legal Authority: 47 U.S.C.
902(b)(2)(M), (P).
This information collection request
may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov.
Follow the instructions to view the
Department of Commerce collections
currently under review by OMB.
Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be
submitted within 30 days of the
publication of this notice on the
following website www.reginfo.gov/
public/do/PRAMain. Find this
particular information collection by
selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day
Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or
by using the search function and
entering either the title of the collection
or the OMB Control Number 0660–0021.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of
the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs,
Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2023–18079 Filed 8–22–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–60–P
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