SUPPORTING STATEMENT - PART A
Flood and Coastal Storm Damage Surveys – 0710-0017
1. Need for the Information Collection
Information collection via the survey instruments is necessary to formulate and evaluate alternative water resources development plans in accordance with the Principles and Guidelines for Water Related Land Resources Implementation Studies (PR&G), promulgated by the U.S. Water Resources Council, 1983, which specifically identifies personal interviews as a method of gathering primary flood damage data. The PR&G were most recently updated in 2013 at the direction of Section 2031 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-114). The information collection is also needed to determine the effectiveness and evaluate the impacts of Army Corps of Engineers projects (P.L. 74-738); and, in the case of flood damage mitigation, obtain information on flood damages incurred, whether or not a project is being considered or exists (P.L. 74-738). The information to be gathered under this collection also supports the mandate from the Flood Control Act of 1936 (P.L. 74-734), which established the criterion for Federal action that “the benefits, to whomsoever they may accrue are in excess of the estimated costs.” The Engineer Regulation (ER) 1105-2-100, Planning Guidance Notebook (April, 2000) defines benefits for the project under consideration, with flood damages avoided comprising the primary category of benefits used in project justification. Secondary benefits include reductions in emergency costs, unrecoverable and non-transferrable income losses, clean-up and other costs associated with flooding.
2. Use of the Information
The Army Corps of Engineers provides flood risk management structural and nonstructural mitigation, planning and technical services to communities, residents, and business at risk of flooding. Flood damage surveys are administered by the Army Corps of Engineers and its contractors to determine the impacts and potential impacts of flooding and to determine how communities, residents, and businesses respond to flooding. The data are used for estimating damage for factors such as depth of flooding, construction types, and different occupancies of use. The data are also used for estimating other costs of flooding, such as agricultural losses, cleanup costs, and flood preparedness costs. Damage estimation models are then calculated and used to estimate the cost of flooding and to evaluate the benefits of alternative flood mitigation plans, which are critical to determining the feasibility of flood risk management projects. Results of surveys will help communities to better determine and communicate their flood risks. The models are also used for programmatic evaluation of the Army Corps of Engineers’ National Flood Risk Management Program.
The following describes the type of information to be collected by each survey instrument:
Uses of the Information by Individual Survey Instrument
Agricultural
This is a comprehensive agricultural damage survey that can be used for estimating project benefits by determining with and without conditions. The survey covers historic flood experience, cropping patterns, effect of flooding on crops yield, crops damage, and production budgets. There are also questions to determine the effect of flooding on farm property.
Background Information: Basic information on farm operation and flood history.
Crops Distribution and Production Practices: To determine what crops are generally planted in what acreage to be able to estimate seasonally adjusted flood loss.
Crops Damage: to use previous crops loss experience to be better able to predict future flood loss.
Farm Property Damage: to determine actual non-crops flood loss to be able to estimate dollar loss to buildings and farm infrastructure
Fish Pond Damage: to use damage information to be able to estimate
Coastal Storm Damage
This survey asks about property characteristics to determine susceptibility to coastal flooding and erosion. The survey inquires about previous flood and erosion experience and how the respondent and the community have adjusted to these problems.
Background Information: to gain basic information about the property and the respondent’s flood history.
Structure and Outside Property Information: to be able determine the value of the property subject to flooding and to be able to classify the property to use the appropriate damage function.
Costs and Damages: to be able to relate actual damages and other flood-related costs to levels of inundation, waves, and erosion for calculating damage and cost relationships based on structure characteristics.
Warning and Response: to be able to design more effective warning notices and be able to estimate future damages prevented by increased lead time and better preparedness activities. This survey can be used to determine the benefits, private costs, and the effectiveness of different flood warning methods and response activities are and how flood warning response might vary by demographic characteristics of the population. Respondents are asked about their behavior when there is an emergency evacuation, whether they evacuated, what influenced their behavior, and the nature of warning and preparedness measures that were in place during the emergency.
Nonresidential
This survey is used to learn about the responding business’s recent flood experience and how the business has responded to the threat of flooding. Questions are included to determine the value of all contents, outside property, and the depreciated replacement value of the building. Respondents are asked to estimate the structure, content, and vehicle damage as well as emergency and cleanup costs for hypothetical flood levels.
Background Information: to gain basic information about the business and the business’s flood history.
Individual Building Information: to be able determine the value of the property subject to flooding and to be able to classify the property to use the appropriate damage function.
Physical Damage and Other Costs: to be able to relate actual damages and other flood-related costs to levels of inundation for calculating damage and cost relationships based on structure characteristics.
Damage Susceptibility: to be able to estimate damages when recent flooding has not occurred based on the respondents’ knowledge of location of damageable property and susceptibility to damage if inundated. This survey facilitates the inventory of major components of business property. It includes questions about hypothetical damages at various flood levels to each of the inventoried components. The survey also inquires about the extent of other costs of flooding at hypothetical levels of inundation.
Flood Warning and Response: to be able to design more effective warning notices and be able to estimate future damages prevented by increased lead time and better preparedness activities.
The survey also covers nonphysical flood costs, such as emergency expenses and income losses.
Public Damage and Costs
This is a short survey that asks about the extent of public damages and other public costs of flooding from a single event. Total public financial costs and hours of volunteer time for emergency operations and cleanup are included.
Residential
This
is a thorough survey for estimating physical damage and other costs
of flooding to residential property. Detailed household descriptions
are used to estimate the depreciated replacement value of the
structure. Structural damage and damages prevented are determined for
various parts of the household structure. This survey is designed for
post-flood evaluation and estimation of depth-damage functions.
Background Information: to gain basic information about the property and the respondent’s flood history.
Cost and Damages: to be able to relate actual damages and other flood-related costs to levels of inundation for calculating damage and cost relationships based on structure characteristics.
Structure, Contents, and External Property Information: to be able to determine the value of the property subject to flooding and to be able to classify the property to use the appropriate damage function.
Warning and Response: to be able to design more effective warning notices and be able to estimate future damages prevented by increased lead time and better preparedness activities.
Roadway Damage
These questions are used to determine the flood damages that occurred to public roads and other costs to communities, and to be able to estimate future damages and costs for similar magnitude events.
Information Collection Methods
On-Site and In-person intercept surveys:
Survey instruments are provided to respondents while on site to complete and return. This may include oral administration, paper forms, or the use of electronic technology and kiosks. The survey administrator is prepared to answer any questions the respondent may have about how to fill out the instrument but does not interfere or influence how the respondents answer the questions. Regardless of collection method, respondents will be provided with PRA information including the Agency Disclosure Notice as well as OMB Control Number and expiration date.
Mail and e-mail surveys:
Using existing lists of respondents’ addresses, a multi-contact approach based on Dillman's “Tailored Design Method” will be employed. Under the Dillman method, the first contact will be a cover letter explaining that a survey is coming to them and its importance. The second contact will be the survey instrument along with a postage-paid addressed envelope to return the survey. The third contact will be a reminder postcard sent 10 days after the survey was sent. Finally, the respondents will receive a letter thanking them for the willingness to participate in the survey and reminding them to return it if they have not already done so. Respondents will be given multiple ways to contact someone with questions regarding the survey (including phone, web, or email). If the survey has been lost, the respondent can request that another be sent to them. Electronic mail is sometimes used instead of postal mail to communicate with customers. Although this is a cost-effective mode to survey a large group of people, it does not usually generate the best response rate. Telephone calls to non-respondents can be used to increase response rates.
Web-based survey:
Using an existing list of respondents’ addresses and/or e-mail addresses, we will also provide a web link for respondents to complete the survey questions at their convenience online. The responses could be directly entered into a database for expedited analysis.
3. Use of Information Technology
Survey
data collection will primarily be through in-person interviews.
Survey administrators will be encouraged to use laptop computers or
tablets to minimize data recording and for better quality control and
assurance. Mail surveys will also be used to maximize response, and
survey administrators will be encouraged to have respondents complete
their surveys on government-secure servers. Since respondents would
likely be suffering from the hardship of flood-related damages, it is
considered most appropriate to conduct the survey through in-person
interviews, where the interviewer can empathize and elaborate on each
question. Electronic, web-based surveys will be employed as well, but
less than 75% of the total number of submissions. We continue to
explore and improve on the use of information technology to capture
this sorely-needed data.
4. Non-duplication
The information obtained through this collection is unique and is not already available for use or adaptation from another cleared source. No other Federal agency systematically collects information for the purpose computing damage relationships.
5. Burden on Small Businesses
This
information collection does not impose a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small businesses or entities as
historically fewer than 2% of respondents involved small businesses
with flood-prone inventory. Additionally, the information being
collected in these surveys has, for the most part, already been
gathered by respondents for insurance, disaster relief, disaster
loan, and tax purposes.
6. Less Frequent Collection
The flood characteristics vary considerably by type of flood and by floodplain. If collections were not taken frequently and without data gathered directly from flood victims, potential flood victims and flood-prone communities, the Army Corps of Engineers would not be able to objectively determine the feasibility of its flood risk management projects. In addition, Corps planners would not know how people became aware of impending floods or how they responded to warnings and visual evidence of flooding.
7. Paperwork Reduction Act Guidelines
This collection of information does not require collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with the guidelines delineated in 5 CFR 1320.5(d)(2).
8. Consultation and Public Comments
Part A: PUBLIC NOTICE
A 60-Day Federal Register Notice (FRN) for the collection was published on Tuesday, February 27, 2024. The 60-Day FRN citation is 89 FR 14455 .
No comments were received during the 60-Day Comment Period.
A 30-Day Federal Register Notice for the collection published on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. The 30-Day FRN citation is 89 FR 34220.
Part B: CONSULTATION
No additional consultation apart from soliciting public comments through the Federal Register was conducted for this submission.
9. Gifts or Payment
No payments or gifts are being offered to respondents as an incentive to participate in the collection.
10. Confidentiality
A Privacy Act Statement is not required for this collection because we are not requesting individuals to furnish personal information for a system of records.
A System of Record Notice (SORN) is not required for this collection because records are not retrievable by PII.
A Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) is not required for this collection because PII is not being collected electronically.
As prescribed in Record Series 1200A-Corps of Engineers Planning, Record #1105-2-100b:
Hard
copies of the survey responses will be retained and stored in a
locked, secure file cabinet until they are no longer needed for
conducting business for but not longer than 6 years, then destroyed.
All surveys will be destroyed after the 6 year-retention period.
11.
Sensitive
Questions
No questions considered sensitive are being asked in this collection.
12. Respondent Burden and its Labor Costs
Part A: ESTIMATION OF RESPONDENT BURDEN
Collection Instruments
Agricultural Flood Damage Survey
Number of Respondents: 200
Number of Responses Per Respondent: 1
Number of Total Annual Responses: 200
Response Time: 30 minutes
Respondent Burden Hours: 100 hours
Coastal Storm Damage Survey
Number of Respondents: 300
Number of Responses Per Respondent: 1
Number of Total Annual Responses: 300
Response Time: 20 minutes
Respondent Burden Hours: 100 hours
Nonresidential Flood Damage Survey
Number of Respondents: 500
Number of Responses Per Respondent: 1
Number of Total Annual Responses: 500
Response Time: 30 minutes
Respondent Burden Hours: 250 hours
Public Damages and Other Costs Survey
Number of Respondents: 150
Number of Responses Per Respondent: 1
Number of Total Annual Responses: 150
Response Time: 30 minutes
Respondent Burden Hours: 75 hours
Residential Flood Damage Survey
Number of Respondents: 1,800
Number of Responses Per Respondent: 1
Number of Total Annual Responses: 1,800
Response Time: 20 minutes
Respondent Burden Hours: 600 hours
Roadway Damage Survey
Number of Respondents: 50
Number of Responses Per Respondent: 1
Number of Total Annual Responses: 50
Response Time: 30 minutes
Respondent Burden Hours: 25 hours
Total Submission Burden
Total Number of Respondents: 3,000
Total Number of Annual Responses: 3,000
Total Respondent Burden Hours: 1,150 hours
Part B: LABOR COST OF RESPONDENT BURDEN
Collection Instruments
Agricultural Flood Damage Survey
Number of Total Annual Responses: 200
Response Time: 30 minutes
Respondent Hourly Wage: $40.27
Labor Burden per Response: $20.14
Total Labor Burden: $4,027
Based on BLS median wage for Farmers, Ranchers and Other Agricultural Managers = $40.27/hour
Coastal Storm Damage Survey
Number of Total Annual Responses: 300
Response Time: 20 minutes
Respondent Hourly Wage: $27.93
Labor Burden per Response: $9.31
Total Labor Burden: $2,793
Based on BLS median wage for All Full Time Workers = $27.93/hour
[Nonresidential Flood Damage Survey]
Number of Total Annual Responses: 500
Response Time: 30 minutes
Respondent Hourly Wage: $48.69
Labor Burden per Response: $24.35
Total Labor Burden: $12,172.50
Based on BLS median wage for General and Operations Managers = $48.69/hour
[Public Damages and Other Costs Survey]
Number of Total Annual Responses: 150
Response Time: 30 minutes
Respondent Hourly Wage: $29.57
Labor Burden per Response: $14.79
Total Labor Burden: $2,217.75
Based
on BLS median wage for Federal, State, and Local Government Employees
= $29.57/hour
[Residential Flood Damage Survey]
Number of Total Annual Responses: 1,800
Response Time: 20 minutes
Respondent Hourly Wage: $27.93
Labor Burden per Response: $9.31
Total Labor Burden: $16,758
Based on BLS median wage for All Full Time Workers = $27.93/hour
[Roadway Damage Survey]
Number of Total Annual Responses: 50
Response Time: 30 minutes
Respondent Hourly Wage: $29.57
Labor Burden per Response: $14.79
Total Labor Burden: $739.25
Based
on BLS median wage for Federal, State, and Local Government Employees
= $29.57/hour
Overall Labor Burden
Total Number of Annual Responses: 3,000
Total Labor Burden: $38,708
The Respondent hourly wage was determined by using Bureau of Labor Statistics wage estimates below:
Agricultural Flood Damage, Coastal Storm Damage, Nonresidential Flood Damage, and Residential Flood Damage surveys utilize wage data taken from the BLS May 2023 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm).
Roadway Damage and Public Damages and Other Costs surveys utilize wage data taken from the BLS 2023 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates for the “Federal, State, and Local Government, including State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service” designation (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/999001.htm).
13. Respondent Costs Other than Burden Hour Costs
There are no annualized costs to respondents other than the labor burden costs addressed in Section 12 of this document to complete this collection.
14. Cost to the Federal Government
Part A: LABOR COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Collection Instruments
Agricultural Flood Damage Survey
Number of Total Annual Responses: 200
Processing Time per Response: 45 minutes
Hourly Wage of Worker(s) Processing Responses: $47.22
Cost to Process Each Response: $35.42
Total Cost to Process Responses: $7,083
Coastal Storm Damage Survey
Number of Total Annual Responses: 300
Processing Time per Response: 45 minutes
Hourly Wage of Worker(s) Processing Responses: $47.22
Cost to Process Each Response: $35.42
Total Cost to Process Responses: $10,624.50
Nonresidential Flood Damage Survey
Number of Total Annual Responses: 500
Processing Time per Response: 1 hour
Hourly Wage of Worker(s) Processing Responses: $47.22
Cost to Process Each Response: $47.22
Total Cost to Process Responses: $23,610
Public Damages and Other Costs Survey
Number of Total Annual Responses:150
Processing Time per Response: 1 hour
Hourly Wage of Worker(s) Processing Responses: $47.22
Cost to Process Each Response: $47.22
Total Cost to Process Responses: $7,083
Residential Flood Damage Survey
Number of Total Annual Responses: 1,800
Processing Time per Response: 30 minutes
Hourly Wage of Worker(s) Processing Responses: $47.22
Cost to Process Each Response: $23.61
Total Cost to Process Responses: $42,498
Roadway Damage Survey
Number of Total Annual Responses: 50
Processing Time per Response: 15 minutes
Hourly Wage of Worker(s) Processing Responses: $47.22
Cost to Process Each Response: $11.81
Total Cost to Process Responses: $590.25
Overall Labor Burden to the Federal Government
Total Number of Annual Responses: 3,000
Total Labor Burden: $91,489
Based on GS-12 Step 5 hourly wage for the Locality Pay Area of Rest of U.S. effective January 2024 (https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/24Tables/html/RUS_h.aspx).
Part B: OPERATIONAL AND MAINTENANCE COSTS
Cost Categories
Equipment: $1,000
Printing: $1,000
Postage: $3,500
Software Purchases: $1,000
Licensing Costs: $1,000
Other: $2,500
Total Operational and Maintenance Cost: $10,000
Part C: TOTAL COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Total Labor Cost to the Federal Government: $91,489
Total Operational and Maintenance Costs: $10,000
Total Cost to the Federal Government: $101,489
15. Reasons for Change in Burden
The only changes in respondent burden estimates are to reflect increased hourly wages as a result of inflation. Response times and estimated number of respondents remain the same.
16. Publication of Results
The results of this information collection will not be published.
17. Non-Display of OMB Expiration Date
We
are not seeking approval to omit the display of the expiration date
of the OMB approval on the collection instrument.
18. Exceptions to “Certification for Paperwork Reduction Submissions”
We
are not requesting any exemptions to the provisions stated in 5 CFR
1320.9.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Kaitlin Chiarelli |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2024-07-27 |