ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ANNUAL PUBLIC WATER SYSTEMS COMPLIANCE REPORT 1. Identification of the Information Collection 1(a) Title of the Information Collection Annual Public Water Sy stems Compliance Report, I CR Number 1812.04 ( Reinstatement) 1(b) Short Characterization/Abstract Section 1414 (c)(3)(A) of the Safe Drinking Water Act requires that each state (a term that includes states, commonwealths and territories) that has primary enforcement authority under the Act shall prepare, make readi ly available to the public, and submit to the Administrator of EPA, an annual report of violations of national primary drinking water regulations in the state. These Annual State Public Water Sy stem Compliance Reports are to include violations of maximum contaminant levels, treatment requirements, variances and exemptions, and monitoring requirements determined to be significant by the Administrator after consultation with the states. To minimize a state ’ s burden in preparing its annual statutorily
- required report, EPA issued guidance that explains what Section 1414(c)(3)(A) requires and provides model language and reporting templates. EPA also annually makes available to the states a computer query that generates for each state (from information states are already separatel y required to submit to EPA ’ s national database on a quarterl y basis) the required violations information in a table consistent with the reporting template in EPA ’ s guidance. Fifty
- five states (including Puerto Rico, the Virgin I slands , American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Navajo Nation) currently have primary enforcement authority under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The Navajo Nation was approved for primacy on December 6, 2000. Currently the State of Wyoming and the District of Columbia 2

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neither have primary

enforcement authority

nor are they seeking primary authority , so the number of 56 states is unlikely to change over the next three years of this ICR . The cost of this ICR to each state with primary enforcement authority

will be approximately

$4 , 996.40 during each of the three year s of this I CR. 2. Need for and Use of the Collection 2(a) Need/Authority for the Collection As stated above, Section 1414 (c)(3)(A) of the Safe Drinking Water Act re quires that each state that has primary enforcement authority under the Act shall prepare, make readil y available to the public, and submit to the Administrator of EPA, an annual report of violations of national primary

drinking water regulations in the st ate. The states ’ reports are to include violations of maximum contaminant levels, treatment requirements, variances and exemptions, and monitoring requirements determined to be significant by the Administrator after consultation with the states. Section 1414(c)(3)(B) of the Safe Drinking Water Act requires EPA to prepare and make available to the public an annual report that summarizes and evaluates the reports submitted by

the states pursuant to subparagraph (A). 2(b) Practical Utility/Users of the Da ta EPA summarizes the data submitted by the states and uses that information in preparing its annual report that provides a national overview of the compliance performance of public water s ys tems. In its annual national report, EPA must also use the vio lations data provided specified b y the states to make recommendations concerning the resources necessary to improve compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act. The information submitted by the states also helps EPA identify

and resolve discrepancies betw een violations data in the states ’ reports and 3

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the violations data states submit quarterly to EPA ’ s national database. 3. Nonduplication, Consultations, and Other Collection Criteria 3(a) Nonduplication The information to be obtained under this ICR has n ot been collected b y EPA or any other federal agency . States are required to report public water s ys tem violations to EPA ’ s national database on a quarterl y basis, but states cannot satisfy their obligations under Section 1414(c)(3)(A) simpl y b y referring interested parties to EPA ’ s Safe Drinking Water Information Sy stem/Federal S ys tem (SDWI S/FED). EPA works with states to ensure they can efficiently extract from SDWI S/FED the calendar ye ar violations data they need to prepare a report in which the violations data are readil y available to the public. Some states elect not to use the EPA
- provided query

to extract the essential reporting data from SDWI S/FED, and use their own data sy stems instead. 3(b) Public Notice Required Prior to ICR Submission to OMB An announcement of a public comment period for the renewal of this I CR was published in the Federal Register on July

2, 2009 ( 74 FR 31730 ) No comments were received. 3(c) Consultations To obtain comments from actual respondents regarding the annual publ ic water s ys tems compliance report and the corresponding burden hour estimates, EPA staff consulted with the following individuals:

Name Telephone Organization Robert Bomberger 717
- 787
- 0127 Pennsylvania Dept of Environmental Protection 4

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Nan cy R eilman 410
- 537
- 3729 Maryland Dept of the Environment Joan Cockrell 601
- 576
- 7518 Mississippi Bureau of Public Water Sy stems As states have now completed eleven of these annual reports, most of them simply generate the necessary

data from SDWI S/FED, confirm the accuracy of the numbers, and update the previous year ’ s report. As a result, the burden hours associated with preparing a report have not changed. EPA ’ s burden hour estimates reflect input from these consultations. 3(d) Effects of Less Frequent Col lection Because Section 1414(c)(3)(A) requires the states to prepare these reports annually and to make the reports readily available to the public, states do not have the option of collecting this information less frequently
. 3(e) General Guidelines All of the collection activities described within this I CR fall within OMB ’ s General Guidelines. 3(f) Confidentiality The required information consists of violations data and other information that are a matter of public record. None of the information col lected as part of the states ’ annual public water s ys tems compliance report comprises confidential business information (CBI)
. 3(g) Sensitive Questions No questions of a sensitive nature are asked or answered in the states ’ annual public water s ys tems comp liance report. 4. The Respondents and the Information Requested 4(a) Respondents/SIC Codes 5

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The respondents of the recordkeeping and reporting requirements are states that have received primary

enforcement authority

under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The term “ state ” , in this context can include states, commonwealths, territories, and Indian Tribes. Currentl y, primary enforcement authority

has been approved for every state except Wyoming, and for the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam , and the Northern Mariana Islands. Primary enforcement authority

has not been approved for the District of Columbia or for Indian Tribes other than the Navajo Nation . EPA has primary enforcement authority

in those jurisdictions and is likely to retain that during the three ye ar duration of this I CR. 4(b) INFORMATION REQUESTED (i) Data Items The reporting items as required by section 1414(c)(3)(A) include:

· State name and reporting period

· Full report, including a description of the data in the Summary of Violations chart, specific information on the violation categories for each rule identified on the chart, a list of the s ys tems that had maximum contaminant level or treatment technique requirement violations, explanations of any aggregated number of
v iolations, and a description of sy stems that were out of compliance during the ye ar, a discussion of variance or exemption violations;

· Summary

report, including a description of the data on violations, a list of the sy stems that had maximum contaminant lev el or treatment technique requirement violations, and a discussion of variance or exemption violations; and

· Reviewed and completed Summary of Violations chart. 6

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In addition to these items, States are encouraged to provide optional information as outlined EP A guidance. EPA provided guidance to the States to assist them in the development of their statutorily
- mandated reports. ii. Respondent Activities States will need to conduct the following activities in order to complete and submit their Annual State Pub lic Water Sy stems Compliance Report.

· Review the instructions and other necessary materials;

· Gather inventory

and violations data from SDWI S/FED and from their own data bases;

· Review and analyze inventory and violations data from SDWI S/FED and from their o wn data bases;

· Prepare summary of violations of variances and exemptions; and

· Prepare report and submit to EPA in hard copy or hard cop y and electronic version, make report readily available to the public, prepare and distribute a summary of the report. 5. The Information Collected -- Agency Activities, Collection Methodology, and Information Management 5(a) Agency Activities During the lifetime of this I CR, EPA Headquarters activities associated with the Annual State Public Water Systems Compliance Report consist of the following:

· Modify

guidance documents as necessary and distribute to states and EPA Regional Offices; 7

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· Prepare and distribute tools for states and EPA Regional Offices to use to gather data from SDWI S/FED (annual activity);

· Answer questi ons from states and EPA Regional Offices (annual activity);

· Provide support for Indian L and reporting (annual activity); and

· Review Annual State Public Water Sy stem Compliance Reports, and data from SDWI S/FED, prepare the Annual National Public Water Sy st ems Compliance Report that summarized and evaluates the annual state reports, and distribute the national report. EPA Regional Offices will need to complete the following activities to prepare Annual State Public Water Systems Compliance Reports for states that do not have primary enforcement authority , to gather public water s ys tem compliance data for Indian lands, and to assist the states as they prepare their reports:

· Assist EPA Headquarters in the development and distribution of any necessary guidance materials;

· Assist EPA Headquarters in the development and distribution of tools for gathering data from SDWI S/FED (annual activity);

· Provide general guidance to all states in the Region for completing the Annual state Public Water Sy stems Compliance Report ;

· Gather information from SDWI S/FED for each Indian land in the Region;

· Prepare a summary of variances and exemptions violations in each Indian land in the Region;

· Gather and submit to EPA Headquarters inventory and violations information 8

 from SDWI S/FED fo r each Indian land in the Region, information about enforcement and compliance assistance activities related to the Safe Drinking Water Act on Indian lands in the Region, and information about financial assistance related to implementation of the Safe Drinking Water Act on Indian lands in the Region;

· Prepare Annual State Public water S ys tems Compliance Report for each State in the Region that does not have primary enforcement authority

and submit it to EPA Headquarters in hard copy or hard copy

and electron ic version, make report readil y available to the public, prepare and distribute a summary of the report. 5(b) Collection Methodology and Management EPA asks States with primary enforcement authority

to submit their Annual State Public Water Sy stem Report s to in electronic (WordPerfect compatible) and hard
- copy format. Section 1414(c)(3)(A) requires that both the Annual State Public Water Systems Compliance Reports and the State
- prepared summaries be accessible to the public. In its guidance, EPA recommends that States and EPA Regions use one or more of the following mechanisms for making the reports and summaries readily available:

· Publish an official notice in newspapers regarding the availability of the report or summary ;

· Conduct a press conference, i ssue a press release, or incorporate a notice into standard press conferences to announce report availability ;

· Prepare notices for distribution in public libraries and other public buildings;

· Provide copies of the report for review at public offices and lo cations, libraries, 9

 web sites, state/local departments of health, etc; and

· In clude notices of availability in local, state and EPA web sites. Additionally , EPA ’ s national report, which will summarize the data collected from the states, will be posted on th e Internet. 5(c) Small Entity Flexibility None of the states, commonwealths, or territories affected b y this I CR are small entities as defined b y the Regulatory Flexibility Act. 5(d) Collection Schedule Each Annual State Public Water Sy stems Compliance Report covers violations that occurred in a calendar ye ar. States with primary enforcement authority

have six months after the end of each calendar year to prepare their Reports, which are due to EPA on the first of July
. 6. Estimating the Burden and C ost of the Collection 6(a) Estimating Respondent Burden Table 1: presents the burden hours and costs per respondent as well as for all respondents during each ye ar covered by this ICR. Preparing an Annual State Public Water Sy stems Compliance Report invo lves reviewing and describing information on public water s ys tems violations. EPA encourages states to rel y on SDWI S/FED data for this purpose, as the states are already obligated to provide data to SDWI S/FED on a quarterly basis. EPA further facilitates this process by

providing a set of computer queries to the states every year that extracts from SDWI S/FED the violations data each state needs to prepare its annual report. Some states prefer to extract data from their own databases. Each state must als o prepare a narrative describing any violations of variances or exemptions. The burden for each state of preparing an Annual State 10

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Public Water System Compliance Report is estimated to be 208 hours. 6(b) Estimating Respondent Costs Based on the Bureau of Labor website for State and L ocal governments (http//www.bls.gov/ococg/cgs042.htm), EPA estimates an average hourl y labor rate (hourl y rate plus overhead factor of 1.6 ) of $ 68.46 for managerial staff, $ 54.69 for technical staff, and $ 38.01 for clerical s taff. Table 1 : Annual Respondent Burden, presents a summary of the estimated respondent average annual cost associated with this I CR . No capital or operations and maintenance costs are incurred b y respondents under this I CR. This ICR does not require continuous monitoring. 6(c) Estimating Agency Burden and Cost Table 2 : Annual Agency Burden, presents the estimated Agency burden hours and costs associated with the information collection activities under this ICR. Other direct costs (cop yi ng, printin g, telephone, and mailing expenses) are also included. Based on the GSA pay

schedule, EPA estimates an average hourl y labor rate (hourl y rate plus the standard government overhead factor of 1.6) of $ 60 .45 for managerial staff, $ 46 .21 for technical staff, and $ 25
. 08 for clerical staff. 6(d) Estimating the Respondent Universe and Total Burden and Costs Responding to this I CR by preparing an Annual State Public Water Sy stems Report is a statutory requirement for the 55 states with primary enforcement authority and for all 10 EPA Regions. EPA ’ s burden estimate assumes all states and 10 EPA Regions will prepare reports. 6(e) Bottom Line Burden Hours and Cost Tables The detailed bottom line burden hours and cost calculation for the respondents and the 11

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Agency are shown in Tables 1 and 2, respectivel y and summarized below. 6(f ) Reasons for Change in Burden The decrease in burden from the most recentl y approved ICR is due to a miscalculation of the number of states submitting reports. Wyoming was counted in the previous I CR as a respondent although it doesn’t have primacy for the drinking water program and the US EPA submits its annual report. The number of respondents should be fifty
- five entities , which includes 49 states, 5 territories and one tribe. Federal a pproval to implement the drinking water program is call primary

enforcement authority

or “ primacy
. ” 6(g) Burden Statement : The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 80 hours per respon se. Burden means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended b y persons to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or provide information to or for a Federal agency . This includes the time needed to review instructions; develop, acquire, inst all, and utilize technology and s ys tems for the purposes of collecting, validating, and verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; adjust the existing way s to compl y with any previously applicab le instructions and requirements; train personnel to be able to respond to a collection of information; search data sources; complete and review the collection of information; and transmit or otherwise disclose the information. An agency may not conduct o r sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it display s a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA ’ s regulations are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and 48 CFR chapter 15. 12

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To comment o n the Agency's need for this information, the accuracy of the provided burden estimates, and any suggested methods for minimizing respondent burden, including the use of automated collection techniques, EPA has established a public docket for this I CR under Docket ID Number EPA
- HQ
- OECA
- 2009
- 0280 , which is available for online viewing at www.regulations.gov , or in person viewing at the Enforcement and Compliance Docket in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW, Wash ington, D.C. The EPA Docket Center Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday

through Friday , excluding legal holiday s. The telephone number for the Reading Room is (202) 566
- 1744, and the telephone number for the Enforcement and Compliance Docket is (202) 566
- 1752. An electronic version of the public docket is available at www.regulations.gov. This site can be used to submit or view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the public docket, and to access those documents in the public docket that are available electronically . When in the sy stem, select “search,” then key in the Docket ID Number identified above. Also, you can send comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory

Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20503, Attention: Desk Officer for EPA. Please include the EPA Docket ID Number EPA
- HQ
- OECA
- 2009
- 0280 and OMB Control Number 2020
- 0020 in any correspondence. Part B of the Supporting Statement This part is not applicable because no statistical methods were used in collecting this information. 13

 Table 1. Annual Respondent Burden and Cost Annual Public Water Systems Compliance Report, EPA ICR Number 1812.04 OMB Control Number 2020 - 0020

Information Col lection Activity Hours and Costs Per Respondent Total Hours and Costs

Mgr. $ 68.46 / Hour Tech. $ 54.96 / Hour Cler. $ 38.01 / Hour Labor Hours/ Year Labor Cost/ Year ($) Capital/

Startup Cost ($)* O & M

Cost ($)* Number of

Respondents Total,

Ho urs/ Year Total,

Cost/Year ($)* * Review instructions and other necessary materials 4 4 218.36 0 0 55 22 0 12,010
Gather inventory and violations data from SDWIS/FED and State databases 4 4 218.36 0 0 55 22 0 12,010

Review and analyze data 24 24 1,310.14 0 0 55 1,3 20 72,058 Prepare summary of violations of variences and exemptions 4 4 218.36 0 0 55 22 0 12,010

Prepare report and submit to EPA 4 28 8 40 2,106.43 0 0 55 2,2 0 0 115,854 Make report availabl e to public 4 4 152.04 0 0 55 22 0 8,362
Total 4 64 12 80 4,223.69 0 0 55 44 0 0 232,303 * Same as the Capital/Startup and Operation & Maintenance Costs addressed in Section 6(b).

** Includes Labor Cost, Capital/Startup and O&M Cost. 14

 Table 2. Annual Agency Burden and Cost Annual Public Water Systems Compliance Report, EPA ICR Number 1812. 04 OMB Control Number 2020 - 0020

Information Collection Activity Agency Hours and Costs Total Hours and Costs

Mgr. $ 60.45 / Hour Tech. $ 46.21 / Hour Cler. $ 25.08 / Hour Agency Hours/ Year Labor Cost/ Year ($) Capital/

Startup Cost ($) O& M

Cost ($)* Number of Respondents Total

Hours/ Year Total Cost/Year ($) Modify guidance as necessary and distribute to states and EPA Regions 1 24 25 1,164 1 25 1,164

Prepare and distribute tools for gathering data from SDWIS/FED 1 16 17 796 12 204 9,552

Answer questions from states and EPA Regional Offices 40 40 1,840 12 480 22,080

Provide support for Indian Land reporting 120 120 5,520 9 1080 49,680

Review state reports and data from SDWIS/FED 40 40 2,080 12 480 24,960
Prepare and distribute annual report where EPA directly implements drinking water 4 80 12 96 4,220 2 192 8,440

Prepare and distribute national summary report 4 120 16 140 6,160 1 140 6,160

Total 10 440 28 478 15,620 49 2601 122,036 * O&M costs include photocopying, postage, and telephone.