1 **Supporting Statement for a Request for OMB Review under**

**The Paperwork Reduction Act**
**1. IDENTIFICATION OF THE INFORMATION COLLECTION**  **1(a) Title and Number of the Information Collection**  **Title: Request for Contractor Access to**  **TSCA Confidential Business Information EPA ICR No.: 1250.**  **10 OMB Control No.:**  **2070 -**  **0075 1(b)**  **Short Characterization** The Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) procures contract support to facilitate the performance of certain duties. EPA may require contractors to handle Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Confidential Business Information (CBI ) . Each contractor employee who will use TSCA CBIin the performance of his or her duties must be authorized for access to TSCA CBI through a multi
- step proce ss. The TSCA CBIProtection Manual (EPA Publication 7700 A 2 , revised October 2003 ; see Attachment C) provides Federal and contractor employees with guidelines and operating procedures for handling TSCA CBI while performing their official duties, as well as the procedures to obtain authorization for access to TSCA CBI
. Specifically , for purposes of this information collection, contractor personnel must submit to EPA the EPA form titled “TSCA CBIAccess Request, Agreement, and Approval” (EPA Form 7740
- 6) (Attachment B )
. The In formation Management Division (I MD), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), uses EPA Form 7740
- 6 to collect information about contractor personnel so that the Agency can evaluate their suitability for access to TSCA CBI
. EPA stores the information on the OPPT Confidential Business Information Tracking Sy stem (CBI TS).
**2. NEED FOR AND USE OF THE COLLECTION**  **2(a) Need/Authority for the Collection**  This information collection request is necessary to protect information under provisions of TSCA section 14 (Attachment A ). I t is necessary for EPA to provide guidance to its employ ees, other Federal agencies and contractors on the proper handling of CBI submitted to EPA under TSCA. This information collection activity is necessary

to protect confidential information submitted to the Agency

as mandated by

TSCA section 14 and is consistent with 5 CFR 1320.6. The consequences of not collecting these data could be monumental to private industry . Under TSCA, industry

is required to submit data that may be deemed to be confidential, such as formulas and financial information related to chemicals companies plan to produce. EPA is2

obligated to protect these data as outlined by TSCA section 14. In addition, the Agency could possibly harm businesses if these data were released to competitors. The information collected by this requ est will be used to evaluate contractor personnel who will be authorized for access to TSCA CBI . Therefore the collection of information is necessary to provide the protection mandated by TSCA. **2(b) Use/Users of the Data**  The information will be mainta ined within OPPT in paper copy files and in an automated security access tracking sy stem (CBI TS, AXCON module) with access limited to the OPPT TSCA Security

Officer and Document Control Officers (DCOs) in OPPT, other parts of EPA, in Regional Offices and at contractor firms. The information will also be used to generate a monthly TSCA Authorized Access L ist for distribution to DCOs for verification of Federal and contractor employees authorized access to TSCA CBI . The information provided by contractor e mploy ees will not be released to sources who do not have a valid “need to know.” Information submitted by one contractor will not be shared with another EPA contractor. I f this information is not collected by the Agency , EPA will not be able to evaluate the suitability of its contractor employ ees for TSCA CBIaccess.
**3. NON**  **- DUPLICATION, CONSULTATIONS, AND OTHER COLLECTION**  **CRITERIA 3(a)**  **Non -**  **Duplication** No other Federal agency

or department could provide the information necessary for EPA to authorize contractor personnel for access to TSCA CBI . The data being collected are not available from any

other sources and can only be collected from individuals themselves. **3(b) Public Notice Required Prior to ICR Submission to OMB**  Prior to submission to OMB, this I CR will be made available to the public for comment through a Federal Register notice. The public will have 60 day s to provide comments. Any comments received will be given consideration when completing the supporting st atement that is submitted to OMB. **3(c) Consultations**  Under 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1) OMB requires agencies to consult with potential I CR respondents and data users about specific aspects of I CRs before submitting an original or renewal I CR to OMB for review and approval. In accordance with this regulation, EPA wil l pursue additional consultations with interested parties during the development of the renewal of this collection.3

**3(d) Effects of Less Frequent Collection**  This is a one
- time information collection, if the clearance is renewed annually . When a clearanc e lapses, then a repeat of the initial collection is required. **3(e) General Guidelines**  This information collection complies with the general guidelines found at 5 CFR 1320.5. **3(f) Confidentiality**  The information collected is stored at EPA Headqua rters in paper files and in a secured local area network, the Confidential Business Information Tracking Sy stem (CBI TS) AXCON module. Any hard
- copy information that is discarded from the sy stem is shredded. The EPA form used to collect these data contain s a Privacy Act statement that complies with the Privacy Act and OMB Circular 108. **3(g) Sensitive Questions**  There are no sensitive questions contained in this information collection.
**4. THE RESPONDENTS AND THE INFORMATION REQUESTED**  **4(a) Respondents**  **and NAICS Codes** Respondents affected by

this activity

are found mainly

under NAI CS codes 514 (Information Services) and 561 (Administrative and Support Services). **4(b) Information Requested**  (i) Data Items To complete the form, the contractor employ ee must: describe why access to TSCA CBI is necessary

for the successful performance of his or her duties under the contract; identify , by section of TSCA, the ty

pes of CBIto which access is needed; and provide personal identification information. Justification statements are provided on the form and the employee only has to designate which statement (A, B, C, D or Other) is applicable. Inaddition, the contractor must appoint an employee to serve as a liaison (DCO) between EPA and the contractor to handle issues relating to employ ee access to TSCA CBI . Contractor responsibilities for maintaining the access list are explained under Chapter 2.D.l.f of the TSCA Confidential Business Information Security Manual. Contractor DCOs must ensure that contractor employ ees read the security manual and attend a security briefing. The DCO is responsible for conducting a review, on a monthly basis, of the TSCA CBI

Authorized Access4

Li st to determine whether any names should be added to or deleted from the list or whether any employ ee’s access authority should be broadened or narrowed. Any changes to the list require approval by

the EPA Project Officer and the OPPT DCO. (ii) Respondent Activities The process that contractor employees must go through in orde r to be authorized access to TSCA CBIentails the following: (1) Read EPA Form 7740
- 6. (2) Gather required information and complete the form. (3) Submit the form to the contractor DCO for processing, compilation and review. (4) The contractor DCO files an in
- house reference copy of the form. (5) The contractor DCO forwards the form to the EPA Project Officer (or Delivery Order Project Officer) for signature and to forward on to the OPPT DCO for further review and processing. (6) The contractor employee v iews the TSCA CBI security video.
**5. THE INFORMATION COLLECTED**  **- AGENCY ACTIVITIES, COLLECTION**  **METHODOLOGY, AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT 5(a)**  **Agency Activities --**  **Inventory** The contractor DCO forwards the EPA Form 7740
- 6 submitted by a contractor employ ee to the EPA Project Officer. The Project Officer then signs the form (Section V) and forwards the form to the OPPT DCO. OPPT DCO staff review the form for completeness. The form is processed by

the DCO staff and appropriate authorizing signature s are obtained; the OPPT DCO is the final approval authority . The information on the form is then entered into the CBI TS AXCON module. The information is retained within OPPT in paper copy files. The information is entered into CBI TS with access limite d to the OPPT Security Staff and other Agency

and Regional Office DCOs. Current plus one y ear of contractor information is maintained in the paper files. Paper files are destroy ed by shredding after a contractor employee has relinquished his/her access. **5(b) Collection Methodology and Management**  Once processed within OPPT, each EPA Form 7740
- 6 is reviewed by an EPA Project Officer and the OPPT DCO, and the data are entered into CBI TS. The monthly TSCA CBI Access List, which acts as a quality check on data entry

accuracy , is produced, published and distributed to TSCA DCOs. There is no public access to the TSCA CBI Authorized Access L ist, nor to any

of the information stored in the CBI TS AXCON module.5

CBI TS is housed on a secured L ocal Area Network with OPPT internal access only . The sy stem is available to CBI
- cleared users exclusively
. **5(c) Small Entity Flexibility**  All contractors regardless of company size are treated in the same manner. The collection process is simple and straightforward and can be completed quickly
. **5(d) Collection Schedule**  The information is collected once per each individual contractor employee requesting access authorization to TSCA CBI , provided there is no lapse in clearance and the individual does not relinquish hi s or her TSCA CBIaccess authorization.
**6. Estimating the Burden and Cost of the Collection**  **6(a) Estimating Respondent Burden**  Eligible contractors were directly contacted in the development of earlier versions of this IC R to determine the amount of time that would be required by them to complete the tasks outlined in section 3 of this I CR. Because the requirements for this I CR h ave not changed from the time the earlier estimates were made, the same estimates are used in this analy sis. Currently 20 companies are under contract to EPA and have a need to clear employees for access to TSCA CBI . Those firms have a total of 303 such employ ees cleared for access for an average of about 15 CBIcleared employ ees per firm. The per
- employ ee burdens are given in table 6.1 and the total annual respondent burden is shown in table 6.2. In previous I CRs, the breakdown of employ ees among man agerial, technical and clerical employ ees was approximately 33%, 58% and 9% respectively . This same breakdown was used in this analy sis resulting in an estimate of 100 managerial, 176 technical, and 27 clerical employees. The total annual burden for all firms is estimated to be **483** hours.6

**Table 6.1: EMPLOYEE BURDEN ESTIMATES**
**Collection Activities Per Em**  **ployee Burden Hours** Management Technical Clerical 1.Contractor employee can either view the TSCA CBI security video; complete the TSCA CBI On
- line Briefing via the EPA Intranet; or use the supplied CD
- ROM for those the cannot access the intranet 0 .5 000 0 .5 000 0 .5 000
2. Read EPA Form 7740
- 6 0.1630 0.1630 0.1630 3. Gather required information and complete form. 0.2240 0.1975 0.5280 4. Contractor Document Control Officer processes, compiles and reviews form. 0.0961 0.0367 1.5480 5. Store, file, or maintain copy of form for in
- house reference. 0.1089 0.0086 3.0190 6. Complete written form, obtain signatures, forward to EPA Information Management D ivision 0.2275 0.0558 0.971 **Table 6.2: TOTAL ANNUAL RESPONDENT (CONTRACTOR) BURDEN ESTIMATES**

**Collection Activities Burden Hours (per year)**  **Total Hours**  Management Technical Clerical 1.Contractor employee can either view the TSCA CBI security video; complete the TSCA CBI On
- line Briefing via the EPA Intranet; or use the supplied CD
- ROM for those the cannot access the intranet. 50.0 88.0 13.5 151.5

2. Read EPA Form 7740
- 6 16.3 2 8 .7 4.4 49.4 3. Gather required information and complete form. 22.4 34.8 14.3 71.4 4. Contractor Document Control Officer processes, compiles and reviews form. 9.6 6.5 41.8 57.9 5. Store, file, or maintain copy of form for in
- house reference. 10.9 1.5 81.5 93.9 6. Complete written form, obtain signatures, forward to EPA Information Management Division. 22.7 9.8 26.2 58.8 Totals 132.0 169. 3 181.7 482.9 **6(b) Estimating Respondent Costs**  Respondent hourly

costs in this I CR have been updated using the data sources that have been used for this purpose in the past. The underlying data come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employ er Costs for Employ ee Compensation Supplementary Tables: Dece mber 2006

– December 2012 , US Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 12, 2013 (BLS 2013, accessed March 28, 2013). Total hourly

cost estimates include wages, fringe benefits, and overhead. The wage7

and fringe benefit numbers are from the BLS data, and the ove rhead allowance is calculated at 17% of the hourly

wage. Category Hourly wage Fringe benefits Overhead Total hourly cost Managerial $43. 95 $ 21.46 $7. 47 $ 72.88 Technical $ 38.53 $ 19.31 $6. 55 $ 64.39 Clerical $17. 64 $ 8.87 $ 3.00 $ 29.51 Estimated total annual costs to the respondents are equal to **$25,875** and are presented in table 6.3. There are no capital costs for the contractors associated with this collection. **Table 6.3: ANNUAL RESPONDENT (CONTRACTOR) COST ESTIMATES** Labor category Hourly cost Number of clearances Labor hours Labor Cost Total Managerial $ 72.88 1 00 132.0 $ 9,617 Technical $ 64.39 176 169.2 $ 10,897 Clerical $ 29.51 27 181.7 $ 5,361 Totals 482.9 $ 25,875 **6(c) Estimating Agency Burden and Cost**  The costs and burdens to the Federal Government are presented in the table 6.4. The Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics bases its burden hour estimates on prior experience in gathering and processing information associated with other information col lections. Hourly wages for clerical support are based upon the salary for a GS
- 7, step1 ($20.22). Hourly costs for managerial and technical support are based upon the salary for GS
- 15, step 1 ($59.30) and GS

12, step 1 ($35.88), respectively . The hourly rates were taken from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s 2013 General Schedule for workers with the Washington DC locality pay ment (Table 2013
- DCB). These hourly estimates were then multiplied by 1.6 to account for benefits (EPA Instructions for P reparing Information Collection Requests, 1992). The hourly cost estimates adjusted for benefits are $94.88 for managers, $57.41 for technical workers, and $32.35 for clerical workers. Also included is an estimated $6,500 cost for equipment. The total co st to the Agency

to maintain the collection sy stem is $58,830 per annum and the total Agency burden is estimated at 1172 hours.8 **Table 6.4: ANNUAL AGENCY BURDEN/COST ESTIMATES**
**Collection Activities Burden Hours (per year)**  **Total Hours**  **Total Cost** Management @ $94.88 Technical

@ $57.41 Clerical

@ $32.35 1. Read EPA Form 7740
- 6 35.5 40.0 18.5 94.0 $6,263 2. Gather required information and complete form. 16.5 44.5 122.0 162.5 $8,067 3. EPA Document Control Officer processes, compiles and reviews form. 19.0 44.5 175.0 238.5 $10,019 4. Complete written form and obtain appropriate signatures. 18.0 12.5 47.0 77.5 $3,946 5. Store, file or maintain copy of form for in
- house reference. 5.0 30.5 160.5 196.0 $7,418 6. DCO forw ards form to Information Management Division 2.5 0.0 50.5 53.0 $1,871 7. Systems operations 5.0 150.0 175.0 330.0 $14,747 (labor), $6,500 (equipment) Totals 101.5 322.0 748.5 1,172.0 $58,830 **6(d) Total Burden Estimates**  Table 6.5 display s the annual burdens and costs borne by respondents and EPA, respectively , associated with preparing, filing and reviewing a reporting form resulting from this information collection.

**Table 6.5. TOTAL COST AND BURDEN SUMMARY**

**Annual Burden Hours Annual Costs**  Industry 482.9 $25,875 Agency 1,172.0 $58,830 **6(e) Reasons for Change in Burden**  The estimated annual burden to contractors has decreased by 1 18 hours (from 601 hours to 483 hours) in total estimated respondent burden compared with that identified in the information collection most recently approved by

OMB. This reflects a decrease in the number of contractor employees that needed clearance. This decrease represents an adju stment. Also, the costs to the industry respondents decreased by $4,378, again reflecting the decline in the number of employees needing clearance.9

**6(f) Burden Statement**  The annual public burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1.6 hours per response
. Burden is defined in 5 CFR 1320.3(b). An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of informatio n unless it display s a currently

valid OMB control number. The OMB control number for this information collection appears on page 1 of this document . The OMB control numbers for EPA’s regulations in title 40 of the CFR, after appearing in the Federal Reg ister , are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and included on the related collection instrument or form, if applicable. The Agency

has established a public docket for this I CR under Docket I D No. EPA
- HQ
OPPT
- 20 13
- 0459 , which is available for online viewing at www.regulations.gov, or in
- person viewing at the Pollution Prevention and Toxics Docket in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC). The EPA/DC Public Reading Room is located in the EPA West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Const itution Ave., N.W., Washington, DC. The EPA/DC 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 EPA/DC Public Reading Room is (202) 566
- 1744, and the telephone number f or the Pollution Prevention and Toxics Docket is (202) 566
- 0280. You may submit comments regarding 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. Submit your comments, referencing Docket I D No. EPA
- HQ
- OPPT
- 20 13
- 0459 and OMB Control No. 2070
- 0075 , to (1) EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), or by mail to: Pollution Prevention and To xics Docket, Environmental Protection Agency Docket Center (EPA/DC), Mailcode: 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20460, and (2) OMB by mail to: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Attentio n: Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20503.10

**ATTACHMENTS TO THE SUPPORTING STATEMENT**  Attachments to the supporting statement are available in the public docket established for this IC R under docket identification number EPA
- HQ
- OPPT
- 20 13
- 0 45 9 . These attachments are available for online viewing at www.regulations.gov or otherwise accessed as described in section 6(f) of the supporting statement. **Attachment A:** Section 14 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2613)

– Disclosure

of data. Available elec tronically at : http://www.access.gpo.gov/uscode/title15/chapter53_subchapteri_.html **Attachment B:** EPA Form EPA Form 7740
- 6

- TSCA CBIAccess Request, Agreement, and

Approval
. Available electronically at: http://www.epa.gov/oppt/itc/pubs/tscacbitesting/appendix_a.pdf **Attachment C** : TSCA Confidential Business Information Security Manual . A vailable electronically

at : http://www.epa.gov/oppt/pubs/tsca
- cbi
- protection
- manual.pdf