Document ID: EPA-HQ-OW-2015-0641-0009
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: BEACH Act Grants
Posted Date: 2019-05-31T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 105 (Friday, May 31, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25257-25258]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-11348]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2015-0641; FRL-9992-40-OMS]

Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and 
Approval; Comment Request; BEACH Act Grants (Renewal)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an 
information collection request (ICR), BEACH Act Grants (EPA ICR Number 
2048.06, OMB Control Number 2040-0244) to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act. This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is 
currently approved through July 31, 2019. Public comments were 
previously requested via the Federal Register on November 21, 2018, 
during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 
days for public comments. A fuller description of the ICR is given 
below, including its estimated burden and cost to the public. 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.

DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before July 1, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-
OW-2015-0641, to (1) EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our 
preferred method), or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental

[[Page 25258]]

Protection Agency, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 
Washington, DC 20460, and (2) OMB via email to 
oira_submission@omb.eop.gov. Address comments to OMB Desk Officer for 
EPA.
    EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the 
public docket without change including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes profanity, threats, information 
claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tracy Bone, OW, 4305T, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone number: 202-564-5257; email address: bone.tracy@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supporting documents, which explain in 
detail the information that the EPA will be collecting, are available 
in the public docket for this ICR. The docket can be viewed online at 
www.regulations.gov or in person at the EPA Docket Center, WJC 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 https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    Abstract: The Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health 
(BEACH) Act amends the Clean Water Act (CWA) in part and authorizes the 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to award BEACH Act Program 
Development and Implementation Grants to coastal and Great Lakes 
states, tribes, and territories (collectively referred to as 
jurisdictions) for their beach monitoring and notification programs. 
The grants assist those jurisdictions to develop and implement a 
consistent approach to monitor recreational water quality; assess, 
manage, and communicate health risks from waterborne microbial 
contamination; notify the public of pollution occurrences, and post 
beach advisories and closures to prevent public exposure to microbial 
pathogens. To qualify for a BEACH Act Grant, a jurisdiction must submit 
information to the EPA documenting that its beach monitoring and 
notification program is consistent with performance criteria outlined 
in the National Beach Guidance and Required Performance Criteria for 
Grants, 2014 Edition.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: Entities potentially affected by 
this action are environmental and public health agencies in coastal and 
Great Lakes states, territories, and tribes.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Required to obtain the grants 
as directed by the BEACH Act amendment to the CWA.
    Estimated number of respondents: 39 (total).
    Frequency of response: Annual; however, the Agency encourages more 
frequent reporting to provide more up- to-date information to the 
public.
    Total estimated burden: 88,569 hours (per year). Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $14,865,812 (per year), includes $11,063,780 
(per year) operation & maintenance costs. There are no capital costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 2,707 hours in the 
total respondent burden compared with the ICR currently approved by 
OMB. This decrease is due to the respondents no longer needing to 
prepare and submit schedules for the adoption of new or revised water 
quality standards (WQS) and identification and use of a beach 
notification threshold (BNT). The EPA no longer requests respondents 
submit these schedules because they are using BNTs or alternate BNTs 
and have either adopted new or revised WQS or are in the process of 
doing so. This decrease in hours is partially offset by one additional 
tribe having qualified for a BEACH grant. The total respondent cost 
decreased by $587,496. The decrease in cost is partially offset by 
slight increases in the salary rates. The O&M decreased by $289,366 due 
to a reduction in the total number of beaches. The number of beaches 
reported by the jurisdictions varies from year to year for many 
reasons. Reasons for removing beaches include the destruction of 
beaches by natural disasters, change in beach ownership, and existing 
beaches being combined within a jurisdiction's monitoring and 
notification program.

Courtney Kerwin,
Director, Regulatory Support Division.
[FR Doc. 2019-11348 Filed 5-30-19; 8:45 am]
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