Document ID: EPA-HQ-OECA-2006-0557-0002
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2006-08-31T04:00Z

Emergency
Clearance
Request
Office
of
Enforcement
and
Compliance
Assurance
Tips
&
Complaints
Web
Form
EPA
ICR
#
2219.01
Program
Contact:
Michael
LeDesma
Office
of
Enforcement
and
Compliance
Assurance
(
OECA)
(
303)
462­
9453
The
Office
of
Compliance
and
Enforcement
Assurance
(
OECA)
of
the
U.
S.
Environmental
Protection
Agency
(
EPA
or
Agency)
is
seeking
approval
for
a
tips
and
complaints
web
form
that
allows
members
of
the
public
to
report
environmental
violations.
Previously,
EPA
had
a
similar
web
form
available
that
was
exempt
from
the
PRA
because
it
posed
only
open­
ended,
non­
directive
questions.
The
new
web
form
is
more
directive
and
has
proven
much
more
effective
at
eliciting
the
information
needed
to
evaluate
a
tip
or
complaint.
The
clarity
of
the
questions
posed
by
the
new
form
and
the
form's
ease
of
use
have
also
resulted
in
a
significant
increase
in
the
numbers
of
tips
and
complaints
received.
However,
OECA
has
realized
that
the
new
form
requires
OMB
approval.
In
order
not
to
interrupt
the
ongoing
collection
of
tips
and
complaints
regarding
violations
that
may
threaten
human
health
or
the
environment,
the
Agency
is
seeking
emergency
approval
of
the
collection
under
5
C.
F.
R.
§
1320.13.

Emergency
clearance
of
the
current
tips
and
complaints
form
is
needed
to
avoid
possible
public
harm
and
likely
disruption
in
the
collection
of
usable
information.
Under
the
statutes
that
EPA
is
charged
to
administer,
apprehending
violators
and
responding
to
ongoing
environmental
violations
is
central
to
the
Agency's
mission.
EPA's
criminal
enforcement
program,
and,
to
a
lesser
extent,
its
civil
enforcement
program
are
highly
dependent
on
tips
and
complaints
from
concerned
citizens
and
members
of
the
regulated
community.
Moreover,
the
new
OECA
tips
and
complaints
web
form
has
proven
much
more
effective
at
eliciting
tips
than
predecessor
forms.
The
new
form
has
also
proven
more
effective
at
eliciting
the
information
needed
to
quickly
and
accurately
evaluate
the
allegations
than
the
form's
lessdirective
predecessors.
Accordingly,
the
Agency
is
concerned
that,
in
the
absence
of
an
emergency
clearance,
the
Agency
would
not
receive
or
be
able
to
properly
evaluate
many
tips
and
complaints.
These
complaints
may
pertain
to
criminal
violations
and/
or
violations
that
pose
an
ongoing
threat
to
human
health
or
the
environment.

The
new
OECA
tips
and
complaints
form
greatly
enhances
the
quality
and
usability
of
the
information
collected
while
simultaneously
minimizing
burden
on
tippers.
Submission
of
a
tip
or
complaint
is
entirely
voluntarily
and
may
be
done
anonymously.
The
form
is
a
"
smart"
form
in
that
each
of
the
questions
posed
by
the
form
is
intended
to
elicit
a
piece
of
information
that
is
needed
to
route,
evaluate,
or
investigate
the
allegation
 
no
extraneous
information
is
collected.
Radio
buttons
and
check
boxes
are
used,
where
appropriate,
to
make
the
form
easier
to
complete.
The
form
is,
nonetheless,
flexible
enough
to
allow
tippers
to
provide
whatever
information
they
deem
relevant.
Our
experience
with
the
form
to
date
indicates
that
it
is
much
less
burdensome
than
its
less­
directive
predecessors
because
tippers
need
not
parse
through
instructions
or
examples
to
determine
what
information
the
Agency
deems
relevant.
Indeed,
the
success
of
the
new
form
is,
itself,
strong
evidence
that
it
effectively
minimizes
burden
while
simultaneously
maximizing
the
usability
of
the
collected
information.

The
Agency
estimates
that
there
will
be
about
1200
users
of
the
web
form
annually
and
on
the
average
it
should
take
about
30
minutes
to
complete
it.
Total
annual
burden
for
the
web
form
should
be
about
600
hours.

Attachments:
OMB
83­
I
Form
Printout
of
current
OECA
tips
and
complaints
web
form.