Information Collection Approval Process

TABLE OF CONTENTS

OVERVIEW

5.1 What is the purpose of this chapter? This chapter provides procedures for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) employees to obtain Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval of information collections. (See 281 FW 4 for guidance about what is and what is not an information collection.)

5.2 What is the scope of this chapter? This chapter applies to all employees who are involved with information collections. We use the term “programs” throughout this chapter to mean those Regional, Headquarters, and field station employees whose activities may have an information collection component.

5.3 What are the authorities, terms you need to know, and responsibilities for this chapter? See 281 FW 4 for a list of the authorities, terms you need to know, and overall responsibilities for information collection.

5.4 What general guidelines should employees follow?

A. All information collections from 10 or more “persons” annually (individuals/households, private sector, and State/local/Tribal governments) require OMB approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), regardless of whether the collection is voluntary, required to obtain or retain a benefit, or mandated by law (see 281 FW 4 for a list of examples of each response type). 

(1) Examples of information collections include, but are not limited to:

     (a) Permit applications,

     (b) Grant applications, 

     (c) Annual report forms, 

     (d) Surveys or focus groups (over the telephone, virtually, or in person), 

     (e) Requests for proposals, 

     (f) Recordkeeping requirements, 

     (g) Third-party notification requirements, and

     (h) Electronic data collections transmitted to the Government.

(2) Collections also include verbal or web-based requests such as surveys or electronic forms. 

(3) Consult the Service Information Collection Clearance Officer (ICCO) in the Policy and Regulations Branch, Division of Policy, Economics, Risk Management, and Analytics and 281 FW 4 for help determining whether a document or activity is an information collection.

B. You may not collect information or sponsor the collection of information from 10 or more “persons” unless OMB authorizes the collection. See 281 FW 4 for a description of how the PRA defines “persons.”

C. If the collection is in a rule, you must obtain OMB approval regardless of the number of respondents, unless an exemption applies (see 281 FW 4).

D. You also must get OMB approval if the information collection addresses all or a substantial majority of an industry or sector in a 12-month period, regardless of how many entities are in the industry or sector (see 281 FW 4). 

E. You should not require respondents to respond sooner than 30 days after receipt of the request or report more frequently than quarterly. If you do, you must justify it to OMB. 

CLEARANCE PROCESS

5.5 What is the clearance process for information collections that do not involve new rulemakings? Contact the Service ICCO early in the planning process for your collection. The Service ICCO will review all new information collections not associated with rulemakings to determine the appropriate clearance process to obtain OMB approval. The Service ICCO will review your request to determine which of the following apply:

A. Exemption. If an exemption applies to your request, the Service ICCO documents the determination in writing for your files.

B. Generic clearance process. The Service uses several generic clearances that expedite the OMB approval process. Generic clearance processes are significantly streamlined so that  agencies may obtain OMB’s approval more quickly for certain information collections. These collections are usually voluntary, low-burden, and uncontroversial. Generic clearances are a useful way for agencies to meet PRA obligations while eliminating unnecessary burdens and delays. The Service ICCO determines whether your information collection requirements are suitable for submission under a generic clearance process. Using the generic clearance processes, OMB may approve a request in as little as 10 business days. The following types of information collections are frequently acceptable for submission under the generic clearance process: 

(1) Customer satisfaction surveys (including surveys posted on websites or those concerning website satisfaction);

(2) Focus groups or panel discussion groups; 

(3) Comment cards or complaint forms; 

(4) Art, photography, and literature contests; 

(5) Usability testing of a website or pretesting of a form; 

(6) Surveys to improve transportation conditions and recreation and resource management on refuges; 

(7) Collections designed to improve existing or future service deliveries, products, or communication materials; and

(8) Education, interpretation, and public outreach activities. The PRA covers education, interpretation, and public outreach activities that frequently have registration components and other requirements where respondents provide information to the Service.

C. Regular clearance process. If the Service ICCO determines your information collection requirements are not exempt or suitable for clearance under any of the generic clearance processes, you must obtain OMB approval through the regular clearance process. Exhibit 1 includes guidance on the process and timelines for obtaining clearance on information collections under the regular clearance process (except new rulemakings). Exhibit 1 should also be used for renewals of all regular information collections. 

5.6 What is the clearance process for information collections associated with rulemakings? Follow the procedures and timelines described in Exhibit 1 when a rulemaking changes a currently approved information collection or adds a new information collection. 

A. If the new rulemaking references, but does not change, an information collection previously approved by OMB, the Service ICCO will note this in the PRA language within the Required Determination section of the rule’s preamble. OMB does not need to reapprove the collection. The information collection is “unchanged" when there is no change in the respondent pool, the information that the respondents will give, the collection method used, or the previously approved burden estimates.

B. If the information is unchanged, but relocated within the regulations, contact the Service ICCO who will draft the appropriate PRA language for the rule.

5.7 What are the advance notice requirements for proposed information collections? Regulations at 5 CFR 1320 require we provide the public with two separate comment periods (60 and 30 days each). 

A. You must publish a notice in the Federal Register giving the public 60 days advance notice of the proposed collection and requesting comments. For information collections associated with a rulemaking, the proposed rule solicits public comments for the required 60-day period. You cannot submit your Information Collection Request (ICR) to OMB for review until you provide the public with the required 60-day comment period and consider all public comments when preparing the final submission package. 

B. After the 60-day comment period, you must publish a Federal Register notice that gives the public 30 days to comment. For information collections associated with a rulemaking, the final rule solicits public comments for the required 30-day period. In this notice or rulemaking, you describe all comments received during the 60-day period and what actions you took with those comments. 

INFORMATION COLLECTION BURDEN

5.8 What is paperwork burden and how is it related to the clearance process?

A. OMB requires that the program responsible for the information collection determine the burden it would impose on respondents. The “burden” is the amount of time the public must spend to fulfill the request for information.

B. Paperwork burden imposed by information collection requirements is not only associated with completing a form, but also all aspects imposed on respondents when complying with an information collection’s requirements. Paperwork burden is a complex concept where you consider all aspects of the burden imposed on respondents when complying with an information collection’s requirements. Paperwork burden also includes requirements not related to forms (e.g., telephonic reporting, monitoring, or recordkeeping).

C. When calculating burden, you must consider all activities imposed on the respondents, such as, but not limited to:

(1) The effort required (or time spent) to collect or otherwise generate the information needed to comply with the information collection requirement. This includes time for reviewing instructions as well as gathering and maintaining data associated with the collection;

(2) Time spent complying with monitoring requirements;

(3) The legal obligation to report information to the Government to verify compliance with Government requirements or to obtain or retain a benefit (see 281 FW 4 for examples);

(4) Third-party disclosure requirements (see 281 FW 4 for a definition); 

(5) Labeling or marking requirements (such as putting hangtags on specimen submissions or marking hunting or fishing equipment with owner information);

(6) Requirements that use technological methods to monitor public compliance, including automated collection techniques; and

(7) Requirements for compilation or maintenance of records, either alone or in conjunction with the reporting of information.

D. OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) is responsible for properly weighing each collection’s burdens imposed on the public against the requesting agency’s legitimate needs and usefulness of the information. The Service provides annual burden calculations for inclusion in the Department of the Interior’s (Department) annual Information Collection Budget (ICB) report to OIRA. OIRA gives the final ICB to Congress.

INFORMATION COLLECTION REQUESTS

5.9 What is an Information Collection Request (ICR)? An ICR is a compilation of documents that a program prepares to justify the information collection requirements to OMB. OMB reviews the ICR to determine whether to approve the information collection. See section 5.11 for details about what is included in an ICR.

5.10 When should the program submit the ICR? The regular information collection approval process takes an average of 8-10 months to complete. Programs should contact the Service ICCO as soon as they know about the requirement to discuss the proposed collection. If the information collection requires approval under the regular clearance process, the Service ICCO will work with the program to develop the 60-day Federal Register notice for publication. Publishing the 60-day Federal Register notice is the first step in the regular information collection process.

5.11 What should be included in the ICR? 

A. The following documents must be in the ICR and sent to the ICCO for review (work with the ICCO to discuss timing):

(1) Supporting Statement “A” (SSA). The SSA is the key document that justifies and describes the information collection and must be included in all ICRs. Each information collection identified in the burden table in question 12 of the SSA requires a separate FWS Form 3-2331A, Information Collection Worksheet.

(2) Supporting Statement “B,” which is only used for surveys and collections involving statistical analysis.

(3) Copy of each information collection instrument (form, survey instrument, interview guide, etc.) in final format, including instructions, guidance, screenshots of applicable websites, or description documents you use in the information collection. 

(4) Electronic copies of each comment received during the 60-day comment period that addresses the information collection requirements.

B. After the program incorporates the comments from the 60-day notice into the SSA, the Service ICCO will draft a 30-day notice for their review. This notice includes a synopsis of the comments and agency responses. The notice must include detailed information on any changes made to the information collection resulting from the comments or provide the Service’s rationale for not adopting recommendations made in the comments.

5.12 What if there is not enough time to obtain OMB approval? The PRA states that an agency cannot conduct or sponsor the collection of information unless OMB has reviewed and approved the proposed collection. 

A. Rarely, situations arise where we need to undertake an information collection before completing the normal approval process. If we need to do this, we must seek OMB approval under emergency clearance procedures. OMB may grant approval for an emergency clearance if:

(1) Public harm is reasonably likely to result if we follow normal clearance procedures;

(2) An unanticipated event has occurred (e.g., surveying State agencies on pandemic response preparedness; however, OMB does not consider failure to plan accordingly to be an unanticipated event); or 

(3) Congress requires it (e.g., legislation that directs the public to register ownership of a species with the Service by a specific date).

B. Under the rare circumstances identified above, the Director or their designee may request permission to seek expedited, or emergency, OMB review of an ICR.

(1) The Service is still required to publish a Federal Register notice soliciting comments for 60 days.

(2) The program must still prepare the required SSA.

(3) The Director or their designee must sign a letter to the current OMB OIRA Administrator outlining the circumstances of the emergency request.

(4) On the day the 60-day notice publishes, the Service ICCO will submit the emergency ICR (published 60-day notice, SSA, and letter from Director or designee) to OMB for consideration.

(5) If OMB grants the expedited review, the program must do as much as possible to consult with members of the public. Only OMB may authorize the program to modify or, if necessary, waive the public comment requirements.

(6) The emergency ICR approval is only valid for 6 months. For this reason, immediately upon receiving OMB approval, the program should begin the regular ICR approval process, which includes completing the required targeted outreach to respondents affected by the emergency clearance.

C. To request expedited review, contact the Service ICCO for instructions. In these situations, the Service ICCO consults with the Department’s ICCO and OIRA to select an approach that permits compliance with the PRA while meeting their other obligations.

5.13 What does a program have to do if OMB approval is about to expire?

A. The program must submit the final ICR to the ICCO at least 4 months before the expiration date to allow sufficient time for review. 

B. The 4-month due date is important because the ICCO must submit the request to the Department’s ICCO at least 3 months before the expiration date. This gives the Department’s ICCO enough time to review and approve the ICR, and to allow for Departmental approval to publish the required 30-day Federal Register notice in advance of the expiration date. 

C. The program must plan ahead and allow enough time to complete the steps in Exhibit 1.

D. When a renewal or revision to an existing information collection is submitted to OMB on or before the expiration date, the collection automatically renews on a monthly basis until OMB takes action on the submission (in accordance with 5 CFR 1320).

INFORMATION COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS

5.14 What must appear in an information collection instrument? Any information collection instrument (e.g., form, survey, regulation, instruction) must:

A. Display a valid OMB control number to show OMB approval of the information collection, along with the expiration date of the approval.

B. Contain PRA, estimated burden, and other necessary statements, as appropriate, that inform the public of:

(1) The reason(s) we are collecting the information;

(2) How we will use the information to further Service performance;

(3) The collection’s estimated average burden in hours and a request that the public direct any comments to the Service ICCO concerning the burden estimate’s accuracy and any suggestions for reducing the burden; 

(4) Whether responses to the collection of information are voluntary, required to obtain or retain a benefit (actual statement must cite authority), or mandatory (actual statement must cite authority);

(5) The nature and extent of confidentiality the Service will provide, if any (actual statement must cite authority); and

(6) The fact that a Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

C. Comply with Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a) requirements and, if the Service’s Privacy Officer believes it is necessary, include a Privacy Act (PA) statement or PA notice.

(1) The Service’s ICCO sends information collection instruments to the PA Officer for review to determine if a Systems of Records Notice (SORN), Privacy Impact Statement (PIA), Privacy Threshold Analysis (PTA), or any combination of these documents, are required. 

(2) The PA Officer works with the program to ensure compliance with the PA and coordinates with the Service ICCO if information collection instruments are subject to the provisions of the PA. 

D. Comply with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). If necessary, the Service ICCO will coordinate a FOIA program review of information collection instruments and provide a FOIA statement.

5.15 What are the additional, specific requirements for forms?

A. With limited exceptions, forms that the public completes must be available on the Service forms website in a fillable format. Programs must provide the Service Forms Manager with an electronically fillable version of the form(s) after receiving OMB approval and before making the form publicly available. See 281 FW 2 for Service requirements for forms and 270 FW 4 and 5 for more information about the Rehabilitation Act and accessibility requirements.

B. When designing the form, keep the following in mind:

(1) Use plain language (see 116 FW 1).

(2) Keep the layout simple and the fields in logical order.

(3) Tabbing between fields must be in sequence. Do not have users jump from the top of the form to the bottom and back to the top.

(4) Include the appropriate PRA, estimated burden, and PA statements (see section 5.14).

(5) Upon receiving OMB approval of the form, ensure the form complies with the requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. 794(d)), so that it is accessible to people with disabilities.