Document ID: EPA-HQ-OEI-2006-0037-0012
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2009-10-30T04:00Z

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

IDENTIFICATION OF THE INFORMATION COLLECTION

TITLE OF THE INFORMATION COLLECTION

Information Collection Request (ICR) 2207.03, Exchange Network Grants
Progress Reports, OMB Control Number 2025-0006, covers two forms to be
used by Exchange Network Grant recipients to report semi-annual progress
and quality assurance, a stipulation of their grant award. The current
ICR expires on November 30, 2009.

(b) SHORT CHARACTERIZATION

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Environmental
Information (OEI) provides funding to EPA’s Exchange Network partners
(states, territories, and federally recognized Indian tribes) to support
the development of the Environmental Information Exchange Network
(EIEN).

As a stipulation of the award, recipients are required to submit
semi-annual and final progress reports.  EPA also requires recipients to
submit a quality assurance report within 90 days of award.  Since 2006,
EPA has used standard forms for these reports.

2.	NEED FOR AND USE OF THE COLLECTION

AUTHORITY/NEED FOR THE COLLECTION

	The authority to gather progress performance and quality assurance
information for assistantship programs is derived from   SEQ CHAPTER \h
\r 1 40 CFR Part 31, “Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants
and Cooperative Agreements to State and Local Governments.” 

	Section 31.40, Monitoring and reporting program performance, states:

“(1) Grantees shall submit annual performance reports unless the
awarding agency requires quarterly or semi-annual reports. However,
performance reports will not be required more frequently than quarterly.
 Annual reports shall be due 90 days after the grant year, quarterly or
semi-annual reports shall be due 30 days after the reporting period. The
final performance report will be due 90 days after the expiration or
termination of grant support. If a justified request is submitted by a
grantee, the Federal agency may extend the due date for any performance
report. Additionally, requirements for unnecessary performance reports
may be waived by the Federal agency.

    (2) Performance reports will contain, for each grant, brief
information on the following:

    	(i) A comparison of actual accomplishments to the objectives
established for the period. Where the output of the project can be
quantified, a computation of the cost per unit of output may be required
if that information will be useful.

    	(ii) The reasons for slippage if established objectives were not
met.

   	(iii) Additional pertinent information including, when appropriate,
analysis and explanation of cost overruns or high unit costs.”

    

Section 31.45 Quality Assurance, states:

“If the grantee's project involves environmentally related
measurements or data generation, the grantee shall develop and implement
quality assurance practices consisting of policies, procedures,
specifications, standards, and documentation sufficient to produce data
of quality adequate to meet project objectives and to minimize loss of
data due to out-of-control conditions or malfunctions.”

OEI needs these reports to ensure that grants are making progress
consistent with their work plans and that grantees have the policies,
procedures, specifications, standards, and documentation to produce data
of sufficient quality to meet project objectives.

(b) USE/USERS OF THE DATA

The information provided on Semi-Annual Report Forms will be used by the
Regional Grant Coordinators to monitor grant project development and
performance.  The reports will be attached to the applicable grantee’s
file in the Integrated Grants Management Database. The same reporting
form will also be used as the final progress report, and will be used to
rate performance for future grant awards.

The Quality Assurance Report Form will be used to ensure grantees will
use quality assurance measures outlined in the grant’s administrative
terms and conditions.

3.	NON DUPLICATION, CONSULTATIONS, AND OTHER COLLECTION CRITERIA

	(a) NONDUPLICATION

	The information a grantee provides in their semi-annual progress report
is unique to each project.  Information concerning the status of goals,
outcomes and outputs for each project is not available from any other
source.  

PUBLIC NOTICE

The notice for this collection renewal was published was published on in
the Federal Register, Volume 74, No. 111, on June 11, 2009.  We have not
received any public comments from the notice.

CONSULTATIONS

For this ICR action, we consulted with the EIEN’s ten Regional Grant
Coordinators (RGC).  The RGC’s are EPA employees, one in each of the
EPA’s ten regions, who specialize in environmental information.  The
Regional Grant Coordinators have determined that the current forms are
working well and consequence no change to the forms should be made.   

EFFECTS OF LESS FREQUENT COLLECTION

EIEN grants are usually awarded for two-year project periods.  The
Quality Assurance Form would be completed only once, no more than three
months after the award is made.  As a stipulation of the EIEN grant
award, a progress report is completed every six months and a final
report is submitted no later than three months after project completion.
Less frequent reporting could result in project mismanagement.  For some
Project Officers with many grants to manage, the semi-annual progress
report is the best opportunity to ensure the project is on schedule to
meet its goals.

GENERAL GUIDELINES

	Both the Semi-Annual Progress Report Form and the Quality Assurance
Form covered in this ICR adhere to OMB general guidelines.

CONFIDENTIALITY

No pledge of confidentiality is given for grantee responses in either
the Semi-Annual Progress Report Form or the Quality Assurance Form.

SENSITIVE QUESTIONS

No sensitive questions are asked on either the Semi-Annual Progress
Report Forms or Quality Assurance Forms.

4.	THE RESPONDENTS AND THE INFORMATION REQUESTED

RESPONDENTS/SIC CODES

Our respondents are generally employees of state, tribal, or territorial
environmental government offices.  For instance, the current grants
awarded to the state of North Carolina are managed by an employee of the
North Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

According to the 2002 NAICS codes available at www.naics.com, our
respondents would fall into one of three categories:

921150 American Indian and Alaska Native Tribal Governments

921190 Other General Government Support

924120 Administrations of Conservation Programs

INFORMATION REQUESTED

Please see attachments for specific data elements (Exhibits A and B). 
FY 2009 guidance for quality assurance plans are described in the FY
2009 Exchange Network Solicitation Notice, Appendix E which states:
“that each applicant who receives an award will be required to submit
a QAPP that is tailored to the activities in his/her particular proposal
within a specified period of time after the award is issued as a
programmatic condition of the Assistance Agreement.

(c) RESPONDENT ACTIVITIES

	As previously stated, grantees are already required to report progress
semi-annually on their projects.  EIEN grantees have been submitting
semi-annual progress reports and final reports to EPA Regional Offices
since the EIEN grant program began in 2002.  EPA implemented the
requirement to submit the Quality Assurance Form for new EIEN grants
beginning in 2006, but the measures for quality assurance in a
grantees’ project have been explained in the EIEN Solicitation Notice
since 2002.  

	According to the 1995 PRA definition of burden §3502, the only time
and effort that the forms required from grantees are:

	(A)	Reviewing instructions;

	(E)	Completing and reviewing the collection of information; and

	(F)	Transmitting through email.

 

5.	INFORMATION COLLECTED

AGENCY ACTIVITIES

	Once the semi-annual report and quality assurance report are received
by the RGC, they are attached to the grant’s file in the Integrated
Grants Management System (IGMS) database.  It is simultaneously emailed
to the national grant manager at Headquarters who may use the
information to report grant status.

COLLECTION METHODOLOGY

	This information collection is form-related.  The Semi-annual Progress
Report Form and the Quality Assurance form are the same forms used for
the last three years.

	Beginning with grants awarded in FY 2008, EPA requires, through the
administrative terms and conditions, the recipients to enter data on
line via EPA’s Central Data Exchange (CDX) system which replaces the
current paper report and emailing it to their RGC.  For those grants
awarded prior to FY 2008, the award recipient has the option of
submitting semi-annual progress reports to the EPA Regional Project
Officer electronically (i.e., through CDX) or in Microsoft Word, emailed
to their RGC.  These progress reports must be submitted within one month
of the end of the each reporting period.  The first reporting period is
from the award issuance date to March 31, 2009, and the first report
will be due to the EPA Regional Project Officer on April 30, 2009. 
Subsequent reports will be due every six months thereafter, until the
project is completed.  The RGC will upload the forms in IGMS, a Lotus
Notes database that has been used by the EPA since 2000.  To reduce
burden, EPA asks that grantees not re-write their entire semi-annual
progress report, but simply add their recent outcomes, outputs and
modified dates into their semi-annual progress report from the previous
six months. 

	Recipients of all new grants must submit the quality assurance report
Form via email within 90-says of receiving the award.

COLLECTION SCHEDULE

Table 1

FORM	SCHEDULE

Quality Assurance Report Form		Due to RGC 90 days after award of grant

Semi-Annual Progress Report Form	Due to RGC April 30 (Oct. 1- Mar. 31
period)

Due to RGC October 31 (Apr. 1 – Sept. 30 period)

6.	BURDEN ESTIMATE AND COST OF COLLECTION

ESTIMATING RESPONDENT BURDEN

The estimated hours for completing each form includes time for reviewing
instructions, completing information and transmitting through email.

Table 2

Form	Estimated Hours	Frequency per Year	Total Burden Hours

Semi-Annual Progress Reporting Form	1.5	2	3

Quality Assurance Reporting Form	1	1	1

Total	4

	(b) RESPONDENT UNIVERSE AND BURDEN

	

	At the beginning of fiscal year 2009, EPA estimates 225 grantees will
be responding to the Semi-Annual Progress Report Form.  That number is
derived from an estimate of the rolling number of “active grants.”
The number of active grants fluctuates throughout the year as projects
are completed and grants are officially awarded and closed.  Every EIEN
grant is awarded for a two-year project period. Approximately half of
the grantees from any given year request extensions for their projects
for an additional year.  Using these exceptions and including the grants
that EPA awarded in FY 2009, we estimate 225 respondents at any one
time.

	The Quality Assurance Form will be completed once by award recipients. 
These respondents are not unique; they are the same respondents who will
submit Semi-annual Progress Report Forms after the first six months of
their projects.

	EPA’s burden estimate per year is based on the government’s fiscal
year.  In one fiscal year, a respondent who receives an award in 2009
will complete one quality assurance report and two semi-annual progress
reports.

					

Total Number of Responses:			

	Semi-Annual Progress Report Forms:	225 Respondents x 2 per year = 	450

	Quality Assurance Report Form:		58 Respondents x 1 per year = 	  58

	Total =											508

		

Total Burden:

	Semi-Annual Progress Report Forms :	225 respondents x 3 hours = 		675

	Quality Assurance Report Form:		58 respondents x 1 = 			  58

	Total = 										733

	(c) ESTIMATING RESPONDENT COST

	Respondent costs consist only of labor.  There are no capital,
operating and maintenance, and annualizing capital costs incurred by
this information collection.

	

Respondent Wage Rate:			  SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1 $36.28 1 x 1.40 = $50.79

Quality Assurance Report Form:		58 Respondents x 1 hour x $50.79 = 2,946

Semi-Annual Progress Report Form:		225 Respondents x 1.5 hours x 2 per
year x $50.79 = $34,283

	Table 3 summarizes respondent costs.

Table 3

Cost	Semi Annual	Quality Assurance

Labor Cost 	$34,283	$2,946

Capital/Start-up Cost	$0	$0

Operating and Maintenance	$0	$0

Annualizing Capital	$0	$0

Total Costs	$34,283	$2,946

	

	

(d) ESTIMATING AGENCY BURDEN AND COST

	

	To estimate the cost and burden to the RGC’s, EPA assumed that each
recipient would submit three reports per year (quality assurance report
and two semi-annual reports) and that there are 225 active grants in any
single year.  The total number of hours that all of EPA’s RGC’s
review and submit both forms is 337.50 hours per year.  The 337.50 hours
per year cost the agency $17,547.  Table 4 summarizes EPA’s burden and
cost.

Table 4

Each RGC has approximately 22.5 active grants.					22.5

To review and upload one form take .5 hours.			.5

Each grantee owes the RGC three forms per year			.5 x 3	          	 x
1.5

RGCs total hours									33.75

10 RGCs										x 10

Total RGS Hours for all grants							337.50

RGC hourly rate, fully burdened*					$51.99		x 51.99

Total costs to 10 RGC for review and submit					$17,547

* The 2008 average hourly rate for General Schedule (GS) 11, Step 9
($37.14) was used to estimate burden costs for the EPA.  This was also
fully burdened (x 40 %), yielding a wage rate of $38.44.

(e) BOTTOM LINE BURDEN HOURS AND COSTS

Table 5

Total annual responses =			508		

Total burden hours for respondents = 	733* hours

Total burden hours for EPA = 		337.5 hours

Total respondent cost =			$37,229 dollars

Total EPA cost = 				$17,547 dollars

*Not all respondents complete every activity, every year.

(f) REASONS FOR CHANGE IN BURDEN

	There is no change in burden for respondents.  Additionally, there is
no change in the level of effort estimate for EPA.  Total EPA cost,
however, has increased due to increases in employee salaries since
approval of the first ICR in 2006.

(g) BURDEN STATEMENT

	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.  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 burden for the Semi-Annual Progress Report Form is based on time for
reviewing instructions, collecting the information, and entering it
on-line or preparing and emailing a Word document. For the Semi-Annual
Progress Report Form, the respondent burden is 1.5 hours.  Respondents
complete the form twice a year, thus the total annual burden is 3 hours.
 For the Quality Assurance Report Form, the annual respondent burden is
1 hour. 

	To comment on 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,
EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID Number
EPA-HQ-OEI-2006-0037 , which is available for online viewing at  
HYPERLINK "http://www.regulations.gov"  www.regulations.gov , or in
person viewing at the Office of Environmental Information Docket in the
EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution
Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C.  The EPA Docket Center 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 Reading Room is (202)
566-1744, and the telephone number for the Office of Environmental
Information Docket is (202) 566-1752.  An electronic version of the
public docket is available at www.regulations.gov.  This site can be
used to submit or view public comments, access the index listing of the
contents of the public docket, and to access those documents in the
public docket that are available electronically.  When in the system,
select “search,” then key in the Docket ID Number identified above. 
Also, you can send comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th Street, NW,
Washington, D.C. 20503, Attention: Desk Officer for EPA.  Please include
the EPA Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-OEI-2006-0037 and OMB Control Number
2025-0006 in any correspondence.

U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Exchange Network Grant Program Progress Reporting Form

for Use by Recipients of Assistance Agreements 

Please Check:

□ Semi-annual report

□ Final Report	Instructions: This form is for Exchange Network Grant
recipients to report their progress. Recipients should send these to
their regional grant project officer for spring reports by April 30 for
the period October 1-March 31.  Fall reports are due to the regional
project officer by October 31 for the period April 1-September 30.

Recipient Information: 

     

     Agency Name:	EPA Grant Number – Program Code, Number, and
Amendment Number (e.g., OS – 12345678 – 0):

	For grants awarded before 2006 Exchange Network Grant Category (i.e.,
One Stop, Readiness, Implementation, or Challenge):    

Project Manager:     

     

    Name:     

     

    Phone:

     

    Email:

	Funding Year:  

Award Amount:

Expenditures during this reporting period:

Funds Remaining:

	Reporting Period (starting and ending dates, mm/dd/yyyy):  

	Date Report Submitted (mm/dd/yyyy):   

	EPA Project Officer to Whom Report is Submitted:  

     

     Name:  

     

     EPA Region/Program:

Focus:



Progress Report Instructions:

List major goals and each goal’s outputs as described in the work
plan.  

In the “Scheduled Date” column enter the dates from the grant work
plan

In the “Completion Date” column enter the date each output completed
as of the period covered by this report

In the Outcomes column, briefly outline how the goal or output will
enhance the recipient’s ability to carry out its mission or result in
other benefits.     

Use bold type for the outputs or outcomes you achieved during the
current reporting period.    

Insert more rows if you need them by using the tab key in the last cell
of the last row.  

EXAMPLE

Goals	Outputs	Scheduled Date	Completion date	List Outcomes for Each
Goal, and, if they differ, each Output 

1. Begin flowing ambient air quality data through the Exchange Network.
1. Develop XML schema by.	. mm/yyyy	mm/yyyy	 Enhanced environmental
decision-making due to more timely access to ambient air quality data.

	2. Initiate first test data flow by mm/yyyy	mm/yyyy

Goals	Outputs	Scheduled Date	Completion date	List Outcomes for Each
Goal, and, if they differ, each Output 



Comments

Instructions: If you have had any problems during the current period
please report them here.  In accordance with 40 C.F.R. §30.51(f) and 40
C.F.R. §31.40(d), a recipient of an EPA assistance agreement must
notify EPA of any problems, delays, or adverse conditions that will
materially impair the recipient’s ability to achieve the
outputs/outcomes specified in the assistance agreement work plan.

Current problems during this reporting period:

Describe any actions your organization has taken or plans to take to
resolve the problem:

If you need help from EPA you may request it here:  

Other comments:

Definitions

Project/Program Goal:  A major objective or endpoint identified in the
assistance agreement work plan.  A work plan may include one or more
project/program goals. Use the goals as described in the assistance
agreement work plan.

Output:  A product, service, or implementation target that will be
produced or achieved during the project/program.  Outputs may be
qualitative or quantitative, but they must be measurable during the
assistance agreement funding period.  

Outcome:  Changes or benefits resulting from the successful achievement
of the project/program activities and outputs.  Outcomes may be
environmental, behavioral, health-related, or programmatic in nature,
but they must be quantitative.  Outcomes may not necessarily be
achievable within the assistance agreement funding period, and they can
be described as short-term, intermediate, or long-term:  

short-term – changes in learning, knowledge, attitudes, or skills; 

intermediate – changes in behavior, practices, or decisions; or 

long-term – changes in environmental, human health, or other
conditions.   

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) Burden Statement:  The public reporting
and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated
to average ninety minutes per response.  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
Director, Collection Strategies Division, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (2822T), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20460. 
Include the OMB control number in any correspondence.  Do not send the
completed form to this address.

U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

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□ Infrastructure Development

□ Data Exchange, Analysis and Integration	

□ Planning, Mentoring, and Training

□ Challenge

Goal	Task	Output	Outcome	Quality Assurance Measures

Instructions:     - Please submit electronically to
exchangenetwork@epa.gov within 90 days of award.

                           - For Quality Assurance Measures, please
refer to Solicitation Notice Appendix D: Quality Assurance Guidelines.

                           - For Goals, please refer to goals outlined
in your assistance agreement work plan.

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) Burden Statement:  The public reporting
and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated
to average one hour per response.  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 Director,
Collection Strategies Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(2822T), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20460.  Include
the OMB control number in any correspondence.  Do not send the completed
form to this address.

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the Bureau of Labor Statistics New Release, “Employer Costs for
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 PAGE   

 PAGE   1 

Exhibit  A

OMB No. 2025-0006

Expires xx/xx/xxxx 

 PAGE   2 

OMB No. 2025-0006

Expires xx/xx/xxxx 

 PAGE   3 

EPA Form 5300-26

Exhibit B

OMB No. 2025-0006

Expires xx/xx/xxxx 

 PAGE   1 

EPA Form 5300-27