Appendix A

Office: Bureau of the Census

Initiative Title: Automated Export System

Description: The Automated Export System (AES) is a collaborative effort by the U.S. Census Bureau (Census) and the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the Department of Homeland Security. The AES will eliminate the manual process for filing the Shipper's Export Declaration (SED) and Outbound Carrier Manifests by requiring the U.S. export trade community to file SED information electronically to the CBP mainframe computer system or through the Census Internet service, AESDirect. The AES initiative will reduce burden on respondents by reducing costs, removing the number of duplicative submissions reported monthly, making the filing more user-friendly, and improving the efficiency of the data collection process.

Estimated Reduction: -167,000 hours

Collection Affected: 0607-0152

Expected Completion: To be determined

Potential Hurdles

to Completion: The Bureau is dependent on successfully working with other Federal agencies to complete final regulations.

Status: Finalizing regulations.

Office: NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service

Initiative Title: National Permit System (NPS)

Description: The NPS will be a centralized database with Web-based permit application. Features directly affecting public burden are:

1) Harmonization and linkage of appropriate data residing in stovepipe regional permit, dealer, and vessel databases.

2) Standardization of permit applications renewals, and electronic submission of fees.

3) Use of common components and data throughout the permit process that reduces the burden of duplicative submission of recurrent data. Unique electronic signatures will be employed to unequivocally identify permit holders.

Estimated Burden

Reduction: 9,700 hours annually: an average of 10 minutes’savings on permit applications. There were 58,210 permit applications in 2005.

Collection(s)

Affected: 0648-0194, -0202, -0203, -0204, -0205, -0206, -0269,

-0272, -0304,- 0327, -0334, -0393, -0398, -0401, -0471,

-0490, -0512, -0513, -0514, -0545.

Expected Completion: Before end of FY 2008.

Potential Hurdles

to Completion: As this project has been long in the planning, and all regions and divisions have had significant input, no major obstacles are expected. Implementation will be phased in over approximately a 12-month period.

Status: Work in progress.