Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 126 / Monday, July 1, 2013 / Notices 39283 

burden of the proposed collection of 

information, including the validity of 

the methodology and assumptions used; 

(iii) enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (iv) minimize the burden 

of the collection of information on those 

who are to respond, including through 

the use of appropriate automated 

electronic, mechanical, or other 

technological collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology, 

e.g., permitting electronic submission of 

responses. EPA will consider the 

comments received and amend the ICR 

as appropriate. The final ICR package 

will then be submitted to OMB for 

review and approval. At that time, EPA 

will issue another Federal Register 

notice to announce the submission of 

the ICR to OMB and the opportunity to 

submit additional comments to OMB. 

Abstract: 

The USEPA Office of Research and 

Development is investigating public 

values for Chinook salmon and Winter 

steelhead recovery in the Willamette 

basin of Oregon. These values will be 

estimated via a willingness to pay mail 

survey instrument. There are two 

effluent-dominated perennial reaches 

considered in the survey. The primary 

goal of conducting economic valuation 

studies should be to improve the way in 

which communities frame choices 

regarding the allocation of scarce 

resources and to clarify the trade-offs 

between alternative outcomes. This 

problem is particularly relevant to 

salmon conservation efforts in the 

Pacific Northwest. Despite the deep 

cultural importance of salmon to the 

citizens of the Pacific Northwest, there 

is a remarkable lack of valid empirical 

economic studies quantifying this 

importance to the general public. This 

survey will estimate the benefits of 

salmon and steelhead recovery in the 

Willamette basin as outlined in the 

Upper Willamette River Conservation 

and Recovery Plan. 

The public benefits associated with 

several recovery options will be 

estimated in this survey. The first 

option is labeled ’minimum recovery’ 

and represents a permanent increase in 

the number of wild origin Chinook 

salmon and steelhead that return 

annually to the Willamette basin 

watershed. The increase in fish 

abundance is also associated with a 

reduction in the risk of extinction that 

is great enough to ’de-list’ these species 

from the endangered species list. The 

second recovery status evaluated in the 

survey is labeled ’broadsense recovery’. 

This recovery option also represents a 

reduction in extinction risk great 

enough to remove both species form the 

endangered species list but also 

represents an even larger increase in 

wild origin fish than under the ‘minimal 

recovery’ option. In addition to the 

different recovery options, public 

preferences for the time to recovery will 

be evaluated. 

For the survey, a choice experiment 

framework is used with statistically 

designed tradeoff questions. Recovery 

options for wild origin Chinook salmon 

and steelhead and time to recovery are 

posed as increases in a yearly household 

tax for the next 25 years. Each choice 

question allows a zero cost ‘‘opt out’’ 

option. A few additional questions to 

further understand respondent choice 

motivations, their river-related 

recreation behavior, and their attitudes 

towards wild origin versus hatchery 

origin fish are also included. Several 

pages of background introduce the issue 

to respondents. A small number of 

sociodemographic questions are 

included to gauge how well the sample 

respondents represent the target 

population. A sample from across the 

state of Oregon will receive the survey. 

The survey will target three 

subpopulations of Oregon to be 

studied—the urban population of the 

Willamette valley, the rural population 

within the Willamette valley, and the 

population residing outside the 

Willamette valley. The primary reason 

for the survey is public value research. 

All survey responses will be kept 

confidential. 

Form Numbers: None. 

Respondents/affected entities: The 

target respondents for this survey are 

representatives 18 yrs or older of 

households across the state of Oregon. A 

sample of household representatives 18 

yrs or older will be contacted by mail 

following the multiple contact protocol 

in Dillman (2009). A response rate of 

30% will be targeted. To increase 

response rates from the sample, several 

contacts will be used, including a 

prenotice to all recipients, a reminder 

postcard, and follow-up mailing as 

needed. 

Respondent’s obligation to respond: 

Voluntary. 

Estimated number of respondents: 

The number of target responses from 

each subpopulation within Oregon is 

250 households each, or 750 households 

total. 

Frequency of response: One-time 

response. 

Total estimated burden: For a typical 

respondent, a conservative estimate of 

their time to review and respond to 

survey questions is 30 minutes. 

Assuming the target of 750 people total 

respond to the survey, the burden is 375 

hours. 

Total estimated cost: The Bureau of 

Labor Statistics reports average wage 

rates for Oregon for all occupations 

(Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2011). The 

average hourly wage for all occupations 

in Oregon was $21.75, or an average cost 

per participant of $10.88. Assuming 750 

participants fill out the survey, the total 

estimated respondent labor cost is 

$8,160. This would be a one-time 

expenditure of their time. 

Changes in Estimates: This is the first 

notice; there is no change in estimates 

at this time. 

Dated: June 10, 2013. 

Thomas D. Fontaine III, 

Western Ecology Division Director. 

[FR Doc. 2013–15754 Filed 6–28–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9829–9] 

Forum on Environmental 

Measurements Announcement of 

Competency Policy for Assistance 

Agreements—Implementation 

Extension 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. Announcement of 

Implementation Extension for 

Competency Policy for Assistance 

Agreements. 

SUMMARY: As published in the Federal 

Register on April 29, 2013, the 

Environmental Protection Agency’s 

Forum on Environmental Measurements 

(FEM) is implementing a policy 

requiring organizations generating or 

using environmental data under certain 

Agency-funded assistance agreements to 

submit documentation of their 

competency prior to award of the 

agreement, or if that is not practicable, 

prior to beginning any work involving 

the generation or use of environmental 

data under the agreement. The Policy 

was originally approved on December 

12, 2012 by the Science Technology 

Policy Council (STPC). Because 

implementation tools are currently 

being developed by the Agency based 

on outreach with internal and external 

stakeholders, EPA is delaying the 

required effective date of the Policy to 

October 1, 2013. Webinars and materials 

to aid with implementation are available 

on the FEM Web site (http:// 

www.epa.gov/fem/lab_comp.htm). 

Accordingly, this revision means that 

the policy will apply to: 

• Awards made under competitive 

solicitations issued on or after October 

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39284 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 126 / Monday, July 1, 2013 / Notices 

1, 2013* that are expected to exceed 

$200,000 (in federal funding) in 

maximum value and involve the use or 

generation of environmental data; and 

• Non-competitive assistance 

agreements awarded on or after October 

1, 2013* that are expected to exceed 

$200,000 (in federal funding) in total 

maximum value and involve the use or 

generation of environmental data. 

*While the effective date of this 

policy is being changed to October 1, 

2013, EPA offices may apply this policy 

prior to that date at their discretion. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Comments or questions should be sent 

to Ms. Lara P. Phelps, US EPA (E243– 

05), 109 T. W. Alexander Drive, 

Research Triangle Park, NC 27709; 

emailed to phelps.lara@epa.gov≤; or call 

(919) 541–5544. 

Dated: June 20, 2013. 

Glenn Paulson, 

Science Advisor. 

[FR Doc. 2013–15753 Filed 6–28–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OA–2013–0320; FRL–9830–1] 

Technical Guidance for Assessing 

Environmental Justice in Regulatory 

Analysis 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. Announcement of 60- 

day extension of public comment period 

for draft guidance. 

SUMMARY: On May 9, 2013 the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

issued for public comment a document 

entitled, ‘‘Technical Guidance for 

Assessing Environmental Justice in 

Regulatory Analysis.’’ The purpose of 

this notice is to extend the public 

comment period by 60 days. The public 

comment period will now close on 

September 6, 2013. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before September 6, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–HQ– 

OA–2013–0320 by one of the following 

methods: 

• www.regulations.gov: Follow the 

on-line instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• Email: maguire.kelly@epa.gov. 

• Fax: 202–566–2363. 

• Mail: Technical Guidance for 

Assessing Environmental Justice in 

Regulatory Analysis, Environmental 

Protection Agency, Mailcode: 1890T, 

1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., 

Washington, DC 20460. 

• Hand Delivery: EPA West, Room 

3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., 

Washington, DC. Such deliveries are 

only accepted during the Docket’s 

normal hours of operation, and special 

arrangements should be made for 

deliveries of boxed information. 

Instructions: Direct your comments to 

Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OA–2013– 

0320. EPA’s policy is that all comments 

received will be included in the public 

docket without change and may be 

made available online at 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided, unless 

the comment includes information 

claimed to be Confidential Business 

Information (CBI) or other information 

whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Do not submit information that you 

consider to be CBI or otherwise 

protected through www.regulations.gov 

or email. The www.regulations.gov Web 

site is an ‘‘anonymous access’’ system, 

which means EPA will not know your 

identity or contact information unless 

you provide it in the body of your 

comment. If you send an email 

comment directly to EPA without going 

through www.regulations.gov your email 

address will be automatically captured 

and included as part of the comment 

that is placed in the public docket and 

made available on the Internet. If you 

submit an electronic comment, EPA 

recommends that you include your 

name and other contact information in 

the body of your comment and with any 

disk or CD–ROM you submit. If EPA 

cannot read your comment due to 

technical difficulties and cannot contact 

you for clarification, EPA may not be 

able to consider your comment. 

Electronic files should avoid the use of 

special characters, any form of 

encryption, and be free of any defects or 

viruses. For additional information 

about EPA’s public docket visit the EPA 

Docket Center homepage at http:// 

www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm. 

Docket: All documents in the docket 

are listed in the www.regulations.gov 

index. Although listed in the index, 

some information is not publicly 

available, e.g., CBI or other information 

whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Certain other material, such as 

copyrighted material, will be publicly 

available only in hard copy. Publicly 

available docket materials are available 

either electronically in 

www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at 

the Technical Guidance for Assessing 

Environmental Justice in Regulatory 

Analysis Docket, EPA/DC, EPA West, 

Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. 

NW., Washington, DC. The Public 

Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 

4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

excluding legal holidays. The telephone 

number for the Public Reading Room is 

(202) 566–1744, and the telephone 

number for the Technical Guidance for 

Assessing Environmental Justice in 

Regulatory Analysis is (202) 566–2273. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Kelly Maguire, Office of Policy, National 

Center for Environmental Economics, 

Mail code 1809T, Environmental 

Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 

Ave. NW., Mail code 1809T, 

Washington, DC 20460; telephone 

number: 202–566–2273; fax number: 

202–566–2363; email address: 

maguire.kelly@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Technical Guidance for Assessing 

Environmental Justice in Regulatory 

Analysis is available in the public 

docket for this notice. The docket can be 

viewed online at www.regulations.gov 

or in person at the EPA Docket Center, 

EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 

Constitution Ave., NW. Washington, 

DC. The telephone number for the 

Docket Center is 202–566–1744. For 

additional information about EPA’s 

public docket, visit http://www.epa.gov/ 

dockets. 

I. General Information 

EPA is extending the public comment 

period for the draft Technical Guidance 

for Assessing Environmental Justice in 

Regulatory Analysis by 60 days. The 

public comment period will now close 

on September 6, 2013. EPA has been 

doing environmental justice 

assessments of its regulatory actions for 

years. This experience and body of work 

assessing regulatory actions provide the 

foundation for this draft guidance. This 

guidance begins to address the issue of 

how to analytically consider 

environmental justice in regulatory 

analyses. It provides a set of questions 

to guide analysts in evaluating potential 

environmental justice concerns in EPA 

rules, provides a set of 

recommendations and best practices for 

analyses, and defines key terms. No new 

risk assessment or socio-economic 

assessment methods are required, thus 

minimizing resource or analytical 

burdens. This guidance takes into 

account EPA’s past experience in 

integrating EJ into the rulemaking 

process and will enable EPA to conduct 

consistent, better analysis of regulations 

to inform the public and decision 

makers. 

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