Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 84 / Friday, May 1, 1998 / Notices 24175

managers use the information to plan,

design, build, operate, and maintain a

treatment works that protects public

health and the environment. In

addition, the appropriate State or EPA

Regional office reviews the information

to determine if the project is necessary,

reasonable, in accordance with sound

planning principles, and a prudent use

of Federal funds.

In general, Indian Tribes submit the

same type of information as

municipalities. Therefore, estimates of

the municipal burden in descriptions of

the individual information collections

include the Indian Tribes’ time, where

applicable. EPA Regions assist the

Tribes in preparing grant applications,

which decreases the burden of the

information requirements. In addition,

the Indian Health Service provides

technical assistance.

EPA collects information from the

State to meet statutory and

administrative program management

requirements. Under this ICR, the only

requirement for States is the listing of

projects for funding in priority order.

State program managers would develop

this type of list for their own

administrative needs. EPA reviews the

information to determine if the State’s

program meets CWA requirements and

evaluates the effectiveness of the State’s

program management.

Under Title II, construction grant

programs may be administered by EPA

or delegated States. The requirements

for the construction grants program are

at 40 CFR Part 35, Subpart I, and Title

II of the CWA. These provisions require

grantees to submit information to EPA

or delegated States, and also require

States that award construction grants to

submit information to EPA. Authority

for collecting this information comes

from the Construction Grants

Information Collection Request (OMB

No. 2040–0027, ICR 0827.05).

EPA is currently phasing out the

Construction Grants Program. The

program is being replaced by the State

Revolving Loan Fund (SRF) Program

(Title VI of the Clean Water Act).

Established in the 1987 amendment to

the CWA, the SRF program provides a

continuous source of funding for

publicly owned treatment works

(POTWs). Because most States are now

funding construction projects through

the SRF program rather than the

Construction Grants Program, the

burden associated with the Construction

Grants Program has decreased

significantly. (The information

collection request associated with the

SRF program are cleared under a

separate ICR, OMB No. 2040–0118, ICR

No. 1391.)

An 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. The OMB control

numbers for EPA’s regulations are listed

in 40 CFR Part 9 and 48 CFR Chapter

15.

The EPA would like to solicit

comments to:

(i) evaluate whether the proposed

collection of information is necessary

for the proper performance of the

functions of the agency, including

whether the information will have

practical utility;

(ii) evaluate the accuracy of the

agency’s estimate of the 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.

Burden Statement:

Average Burden Hours per Response:

4.7.

Frequency of Response: 280.

Number of Likely Respondents: 60.

Average Annual Cost Burden:

$23,823.68.

Burden means the total time, effort, or

financial resources expended by 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, install, and utilize technology

and systems for the purposes of

collecting, validating, and verifying

information, processing and

maintaining information, and disclosing

and providing information; adjust the

existing ways to comply with any

previously applicable 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.

Dated: April 27, 1998.

Michael B. Cook,

Director, Office of Wastewater Management.

[FR Doc. 98–11663 Filed 4–30–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–6007–1]

Agency Information Collection

Activities: Submission for OMB

Review; Comment Request;

Compliance Information Project

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: In compliance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.

3501 et seq.), this document announces

that the following Information

Collection Request (ICR) has been

forwarded to the Office of Management

and Budget (OMB) for review and

approval: Compliance Information

Project. The ICR describes the nature of

the information collection and its

expected burden and cost; where

appropriate, it includes the actual data

collection instrument.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on

or before June 1, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Contact Sandy Farmer at EPA by phone

at (202) 260–2740, by email at

farmer.sandy@epamail.epa.gov, or

download off the Internet at http://

www.epa.gov/icr and refer to EPA ICR

No. 1802.01

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Compliance Information Project

(CIP); EPA ICR No. 1802.01. This is a

new collection.

Abstract: The purpose of the CIP is to

test creative new strategies for

identifying compliance information

which, to date, EPA or the States may

have failed to capture or utilize. Sources

of such information may include

unutilized studies or reports, produced

by States, private parties, or other

government agencies, and observations

by field personnel which, for one reason

or another, escape our traditional

methods for collecting and documenting

information. The CIP is designed to

channel such unidentified or unutilized

compliance information to the

personnel who design and implement

our information, targeting, and planning

systems to fill gaps in the Agency’s or

the States’ databases, guide us to

previously unidentified compliance

problems, enhance our ability to

describe our successes, or help us in

other ways.

Non-Federal respondents will be State

compliance and enforcement personnel,

especially field inspectors and persons

who manage inspectors. Through the

CIP, the Agency will conduct field

personnel roundtable interviews in each
24176 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 84 / Friday, May 1, 1998 / Notices

of the ten EPA Regions, and invite one

or two representatives from each State

to participate along with Regional

personnel. At the request of the States

which participated in the pilot

roundtable in Region III, the Agency

will provide the interview questions in

the form of a questionnaire to each of

the participants in advance of the

roundtable so that each participating

organization may prepare for the

roundtables and afterwards prepare

detailed written responses. The Agency

will conduct the roundtables as a group

discussion of the questionnaire topics

with managers and/or inspectors from

the Region and each of the states in the

Region. Participants will then return to

their states, distribute the questionnaire

across media organizations, complete

written responses to the questionnaire,

and then forward the responses to EPA.

State involvement and participation is

essential if the CIP is to succeed.

Consultation and coordination with

each State participating in the round

table process is an integral part of the

overall project design. Each

participating State will receive

opportunities to comment on all aspects

of the Project, including the design and

the content of our discussion questions

and work products, and how the new

information is used. EPA has extended

similar opportunities for involvement to

the Environmental Council of States and

all of the major State environmental

associations. Initial responses to the

Project from the States have been

positive. In general, the States appear to

share EPA’s interest in exploring for

new sources of compliance information.

The States will receive access to all of

the compliance information gathered by

EPA through the Project, whether from

federal, state, or non-governmental

sources.

Responses to the information

collection request are voluntary and not

required to obtain or retain any benefit.

The Agency will ask persons who

participate in the CIP not to refer to

specific persons, facilities, or cases by

name, nor collect, as part of this project,

references to specific persons, facilities,

or cases in any form, unless such

information is already in the public

record. The Agency will not, and in fact

will be unable to, use compliance

information collected through the CIP to

form compliance conclusions, rank or

index performance of specific persons,

facilities, or cases. The Agency will not

ask for, nor collect, any confidential

business information (CBI). All

information submitted to the Agency for

which a claim of confidentiality is made

will be safeguarded. An 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.

The OMB control numbers for EPA’s

regulations are listed in 40 CFR part 9

and 48 CFR Chapter 15. The Federal

Register document required under 5

CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting comments on

this collection of information was

published on 12/30/97. No comments

were received.

Burden Statement: The annual public

reporting and recordkeeping burden for

this collection of information is

estimated to average 117 hours per

responding entity. Burden means the

total time, effort, or financial resources

expended by 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, install,

and utilize technology and systems for

the purposes of collecting, validating,

and verifying information, processing

and maintaining information, and

disclosing and providing information;

adjust the existing ways to comply with

any previously applicable 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.

Respondents/Affected Entities: States.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

50.

Frequency of Response: 1.

Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden:

5,850 hours.

Estimated Total Annualized Cost

Burden: $260,667.

Send comments on the Agency’s need

for this information, the accuracy of the

provided burden estimates, and any

suggested methods for minimizing

respondent burden, including through

the use of automated collection

techniques to the following addresses.

Please refer to EPA ICR No. 1802.01 in

any correspondence.

Ms. Sandy Farmer, U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, OPPE Regulatory

Information Division (2137), 401 M

Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460;

and

Office of Information and Regulatory

Affairs, Office of Management and

Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for

EPA, 725 17th Street, NW,

Washington, DC 20503.

Dated: April 27, 1998.

Joseph Retzer,

Director, Regulatory Information Division.

[FR Doc. 98–11660 Filed 4–30–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[ER–FRL–5491–3]

Environmental Impact Statements;

Notice of Availability

Responsible Agency: Office of Federal

Activities, General Information (202)

564–7167 OR (202) 564–7153.

Weekly receipt of Environmental Impact

Statements Filed April 20, 1998

Through April 24, 1998

Pursuant to 40 CFR 1506.9.

EIS No. 980142, Final EIS, AFS, ID,

Sandpoint Noxious Weed Control

Project, Implementation, Proposing to

control noxious weeds on 46 sites,

Idaho Panhandles National Forests,

Sandpoint Ranger District, Bonner

County, ID, Due: June 01, 1998,

Contact: Betsy Hammet (208) 263–

5111.

EIS No. 980143, Draft EIS, OSM, TN,

Fall Creek Falls Petition Evaluation

Document, Implementation, Designate

the Land as Unsuitable for Surface

Coal Mining Operation, Van Buren

and Bledsoe Counties, TN, Due: July

30, 1998, Contact: Sam K. Bae (202)

208–2633.

EIS No. 980144, Final EIS, FRC, WA,

Skagit River Basin Hydroelectric

Projects, Eight Projects—(FERC. No.

10100) (FERC. No. 4437) (FERC. No.

4376) (FERC. No. 9787) (FERC. No.

10311) (FERC. No. 6984) and FERC

No. 10269 and No. 10416)

Construction and Operation,

Licensing, Whatcom and Skagit

Counties, WA, Due: June 01, 1998,

Contact: Gordon Warren (202) 219–

2836.

EIS No. 980145, Legislative Draft, COE,

WA, Howard A. Hanson Dam (HHD

Additional Water Storage (AWS)

Phase I Project, Construction and

Operation, Green River Basin, Pierce

and King Counties, WA, Due: June 15,

1998, Contact: Ms. Kris Loll (206)

764–3548.

EIS No. 980146, Draft Supplement, AFS,

SD, Anchor Hill Mine Expansion

Project in Gilt Edge Mine, Additional

Information and Clarification, Plan-ofOperations, Approval Black Hills

National Forest, SD, Due: June 15,

1998, Contact: Don Murray (605) 578–

2744.

EIS No. 980147, Final EIS, USN, CA,

Mare Island, Naval Shipyard Disposal

and Reuse, Implementation, City of

Valley, Solano County, CA, Due: June

01, 1998, Contact: Jerry Hemstock

(650) 244–3023.