Document ID: EPA-HQ-OA-2006-0278-0015
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2012-11-07T05:00Z

SECTION I:  PART A OF THE SUPPORTING STATEMENT	
      
1. 	IDENTIFICATION OF THE INFORMATION COLLECTION			

1(a) Title and Number of the Information Collection
            
            Participation by Disadvantaged Business Enterprises in Procurement under EPA Financial Assistance Agreements (Reinstatement)
            ICR Number 2047.04, OMB Number 2090-0030

1(b) Short Characterization

      EPA currently requires an entity to be certified in order to be considered a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) or Woman Business Enterprise (WBE) under EPA's Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program for its financial assistance programs. EPA currently requires an entity to first try to become certified by a federal agency (e.g., the Small Business Administration (SBA), or the Department of Transportation (DOT)), or by a State, locality, Indian Tribe or independent private organization so long as their applicable criteria match those under Section 8(a)(5) and (6) of the Small Business Act and applicable implementing regulations. EPA only certifies firms that cannot get certified by one of these entities. Accordingly, EPA, working through Contractors ("EPA Private Certifiers"), may certify some MBE and WBE contractors. To qualify as an MBE or WBE under EPA's programs an entity must establish that it is owned and/or controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals who are of good character and are citizens of the United States. 

      EPA also requires that financial assistance agreement recipients require its prime contractor to provide EPA Form 6100 -  2 -- DBE Program Subcontractor Participation Form to all of its DBE subcontractors. EPA Form 6100 - 2 gives a DBE subcontractor the opportunity to describe the work the DBE subcontractor received from the prime contractor, how much the DBE subcontractor was paid and any other concerns the DBE subcontractor might have, for example reasons why the DBE subcontractor believes it was terminated by the prime contractor. DBE subcontractors may send completed copies of EPA Form 6100 - 2 directly to the appropriate EPA DBE Coordinator.  The requirements to complete these forms are intended to prevent any ``bait and switch'' tactics at the subcontract level by prime contractors which may circumvent the spirit of the DBE Program
      
      EPA is revising the contract administration forms associated with the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program: EPA Form 6100 - 2 - DBE Program Subcontractor Participation Form, 6100 - 3 - DBE Program Subcontractor Performance Form, and 6100 - 4 - DBE Program Subcontractor Utilization Form. 
      
      Since the EPA DBE Rule was codified on May 27, 2008, EPA has only certified two firms. Consequently, there are no proposed changes to the current EPA DBE Certification Applications: the EPA DBE Certification Application (EPA Form 6100 - 1a) (Sole Proprietorship), the EPA DBE Certification Application (EPA Form 6100 - 1b) (Limited Liability Company), the EPA DBE Certification Application (EPA 6100 - 1c) (Partnerships), the EPA DBE Certification Application (EPA Form 6100 - 1d) (Corporations), the EPA DBE Certification Application (EPA Form 6100 - 1e) (Alaska Native Corporations), the EPA DBE Certification Application (EPA Form 6100 - 1f) (Tribally Owned Businesses), the EPA DBE Certification Application (EPA Form 6100 - 1g) (Private and Voluntary Organizations), the EPA DBE Certification Application (EPA Form 6100 - 1h) (Concerns owned by Native Hawaiian Organizations), and the EPA DBE Certification Application (EPA Form 6100 - 1i) (Concerns Owned by Community Development Corporations), as they are rarely used.

      Reporting and recordkeeping requirements for EPA's existing MBE and WBE specific provisions in 40 CFR Parts 30 and 31 are covered by existing ICR control number 2090-0030, with an expiration date of December 22, 2013. That ICR encompasses EPA's MBE/WBE Reporting Form for MBE/WBE Utilization under Federal Grants, Cooperative Agreements, and Interagency Agreements for all EPA financial assistance programs, Form 5700-52A.  That ICR is not superseded by this ICR and will remain in effect.

      MBE/WBE reporting and recordkeeping requirements for EPA's Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) Program codified in 40 CFR 35.3145(d) and (e) are covered by ICR control number 2040-0118; MBE and WBE reporting and recordkeeping requirements for EPA's Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) Program, codified in 40 CFR 35.3575(d) are covered by ICR control number 2040-0185; and MBE/WBE reporting and recordkeeping requirements for EPA's Superfund Program regulations are covered by ICR control number 2050-0179.  Those ICRs are not superseded by this ICR and will remain in effect.

        This ICR examines the respondent reporting requirements, associated hour, and cost burden of the current rule for the certification and related contract administration requirements. Increases in burden for existing ICRs resulting from the existing rule that are not certification or contract administration-related (e.g. reporting and recordkeeping) will be addressed in renewals for the existing ICRs.
      
1(c) Reinstatement Justification
      
      The following forms have been modified: EPA Forms 6100 - 2, 6100-3, and 6100-4.
      
      These forms were revised to mitigate any confusion regarding who should fill out the forms and how they should be completed. Instructions were added to each form and minor changes were made to the body of each form to make them more easily understood. The information captured on each form remains the same.
  
2.  NEED/AUTHORITY FOR THE COLLECTION

(2)(a) Need/Authority for this Collection
            
      This ICR is for the purpose of ensuring that EPA's statutory DBE procurement goal requirements are implemented in harmony with the United States Supreme Court's decision in Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena, 115 S. Ct. 2097 (1995).

      EPA's legal authorities for its DBE Program are:

Public Law 102-389, a 1993 appropriations act (42 U.S.C. §4370d) (EPA's 8% statute), which provides in pertinent part:

      "The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall, hereafter, to the fullest extent possible, ensure that at least 8 per centum of Federal funding for prime and subcontracts awarded in support of authorized programs, including grants, loans and contracts for wastewater treatment and leaking underground storage tanks grants, be made available to business concerns or other organizations owned or controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals (within the meaning of Section 8(a)(5) and (6) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. § 637 (a)(5) and(6)), including historically black colleges and universities.  For purposes of this section, economically and socially disadvantaged individuals shall be deemed to include women."

Public Law 101-549, Title X of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (42 U.S.C. §7601 note) (EPA's 10% statute), which provides in pertinent part:

      "In providing for any research relating to the requirements of the amendments made by the Clean Air Act Amendments which use funds of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall, to the extent practicable, require that not less than 10 percent of the total Federal funding for such research will be made available to disadvantaged business concerns."
      
      2(b) Practical Utility/Users of the Data
      
      The contract administration forms associated with the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program are designed to prevent unfair practices that adversely affect DBEs. The forms are to be completed by the prime contractor and submitted to either the EPA DBE Coordinator or the financial assistance agreement recipient. The data that is collected will allow EPA to monitor the contractor's DBE utilization. 
      
      
3.  NON DUPLICATION, CONSULTATIONS, AND OTHER COLLECTION CRITERIA

3(a) Non Duplication

      All of the information collected pursuant to this ICR is specific to the associated rulemaking.  To the extent MBEs and/or WBEs are certified by another Federal agency, there is no duplication of effort involved for them to become certified under this rulemaking since they are not required to obtain EPA certification under those circumstances. 

3(b) Public Notice Required Prior to ICR submission to OMB
      	In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), EPA has notified the public through the Federal Register notice on the renewal of this ICR (See 77 FR 32087, May 31, 2012).  The Docket ID No. for the notice is EPA-HQ-OA-2006-0278, and can be accessed at www.regulations.gov.   There were no comments received.

3(c) Consultations

OSBP consulted with the EPA DBE Regional Coordinators and solicited comments in June 2011 to revise the EPA Forms 6100 - 2, 6100-3, and 6100-4. The Coordinators who provided comments are as follows:

1 (CT, ME, RI, MA, NH, VT)
Larry Wells
wells.larry@epa.gov
2 (NJ, NY, PR, VI)
Michele Junker 
Peggy DeLuca
junker.michele@epa.gov
deluca.peggy@epa.gov
3 (DE, VA, MD, PA, DC, WV)
Kinshasa "Shasa" Brown- Perry
brown-perry.kinshasa@epa.gov
4 (AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN)
Charles Hayes
hayes.charles@epa.gov
5 (IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI)
Adrianne Callahan
callahan.adrianne@epa.gov
6 (AR, LA, NM, OK, TX)
Debora Bradford
bradford.debora@epa.gov
7 ( MO, NE, IA, KS)
Chester Stovall
stovall.chester@epa.gov
8 (CO, MT, WY, SD, ND, UT)
Marshell Pullman
pullman.marshell@epa.gov
9 (AZ, HI,CA, NV)
Tiffanie Pang
Joe Ochab
pang.tiffanie@epa.gov
ochab.joe@epa.gov
10 (AK, ID, OR, WA)
Greg Luchey
luchey.greg@epa.gov
EPA Headquarters
Al Demarcki
demarcki.al@epa.gov
Research Triangle Park, NC
Jerry Dodson
dodson.jerry@epa.gov
Cincinnati
Billy Oden
oden.billy@epa.gov

 	OSBP also consulted with Wendy Waskins (wendy.waskin@des.nh.gov) at the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and Jan Bevins (jan.bevins@metc.state.mn.us) at the Metropolitan Council (Minnesota) and their feedback was considered as the revised forms were created.
      
      EPA also consulted with the EPA DBE Coordinators on the DBE Certification Applications (6100-1a, -1b, -1c, -1d, -1e, -1f, -1g, -1h-, -1i) in July 2011. There were no suggested changes relates to these forms.

3(d)   Effects of Less Frequent Collection  
  
      This rule does not impose any additional reporting and recordkeeping requirements on MBE/WBE achievements that are not already covered by existing ICR 2030-0020 which covers "MBE/WBE Utilization under Federal Grants, Cooperative Agreements, and Interagency Agreements," EPA Form 5700-52A.  To the extent additional burden is imposed, EPA will adjust the burden hours when its existing Grants, Cooperative Agreements and Interagency Agreements ICR 2030-0020 is renewed as well as when the other ICRs which encompass MBE/WBE reporting and recordkeeping are renewed.  The certification information collection activities are activity based.  No lower frequency of filing an affidavit regarding an entity's status under section 33.210(a) is possible.

      The requirement under section 33.302(e) for a recipient to provide EPA Form 6100-2 DBE Program Subcontractor Participation Form to all DBE subcontractors giving them the opportunity to describe the work they received from the prime contractor, how much the DBE subcontractor was paid, and any other concerns the DBE Subcontractor might have, is activity based.
 
      The requirement under section 33.302(f) for a recipient to require its prime contractor to have any anticipated DBE subcontractors complete EPA Form 6100-3 DBE Subcontractor Performance Form is activity based.

      The requirement under section 33.302(g) for a recipient to require its prime contractor to complete and submit EPA Form 6100-4  DBE Program Subcontractor Utilization Form as part of the prime contractor's bid or proposal package is activity based.

      The requirement under section 33.201 for an EPA financial assistance recipients' MBE or WBE prime or subcontractor to be certified under EPA's DBE Program is activity based.

      3(e) General Guidelines

      This rulemaking is consistent with OMB's General Guidelines.

      3(f) Confidentiality

      Information gathered as part of the certification process that may reasonably be regarded as proprietary or other confidential business information will be safeguarded from disclosure to unauthorized persons, consistent with applicable Federal, State and local law.  EPA has regulations concerning confidential business information.  See 40 CFR Part 2 Subpart B.

      3(g) Sensitive Questions

      The requirements do not involve information of a sensitive nature.

4.  THE RESPONDENTS AND THE INFORMATION REQUESTED
      
4(a) Respondents/NAICS Codes

      The respondents to this collection are entities in the fields of construction, equipment, services and supplies, who are intend on being prime contractors or subcontractors on EPA funded projects. The respondents include:

Category of respondents                       		NAICS Code

Architectural, engineering and 
other related services	5413                          
Architectural services (designing
and planning the development of land)	541320

Remediation services and 
other waste management services	56291

Hazardous waste treatment and disposal   		562211
        
Testing laboratories	541380

Wastewater remediation	562211

Construction equipment
(wholesale)	421810

Construction engineering 
services	541330

Computer peripheral equipment	421430

Computer systems design
programming services	541511

Computer systems design services	541512

Highway and street construction							
(Includes roadwork)	234110

All other heavy construction	234990

Water sewer and pipeline
construction						234910					

Water treatment equipment			
(wholesale)	421850

Environmental consulting	541620

Management consulting services	541618

Soil testing	562910

Water, supply and irrigation
systems (water filtration)	221310

Sewage treatment facilities	221320

Hazardous waste treatment and
disposal	562211

Long distance trucking of waste	56211

Office supplies	453210

Office machinery and equipment
rental or leasing	532420

4(b) Information Requested

      (i) Data Items, Including Recordkeeping Requirements

      Information requested as a result of this revision relate to the forms which are required if there are DBE subcontractors involved in a procurement under sections 33.302(e), (f) and (g).  

      EPA currently certifies the following types of: 1. disabled American-owned firms under EPA's 10% statute; 2. private and voluntary organizations controlled by individuals who are socially and economically disadvantaged under EPA's 10% statute; 3. women-owned businesses under EPA's 8% and 10% statutes who cannot get certified under DOT or SBA size criteria (EPA does not have size criteria) or by a State Government, Indian Tribal Government or independent private organization consistent with EPA's 8% or 10% statute as applicable; 4. DBE owned or controlled businesses under EPA's 8% statute (note-SBA and DOT require a DBE to be owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.  (as does EPA's 10% statute)); and 5. Entities which are certified under criteria which are inconsistent with EPA's DBE program criteria.  It is important to note that to qualify as an MBE or WBE under EPA programs an entity must establish that it is owned and/or controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals who are of good character and citizens of the United States.

       An entity may apply directly to EPA, or through an EPA Private Certifier, to be certified as an MBE or WBE.  EPA's Regional Offices will provide further information and required application forms to any entity interested in becoming certified by EPA.

      (ii)  Respondent Activities
      
      EPA currently uses separate "EPA DBE Certification Application" forms depending on the entity seeking to be certified (EPA Form 6100-1a for sole proprietorships, EPA Form 6100-1b for limited liability companies, EPA Form 6100-1c for partnerships, EPA Form 6100-1d for corporations, EPA Form 6100-1e for Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs), EPA Form 6100-1f for Tribally owned concerns, EPA Form 6100-1g for private and voluntary organizations owned by individuals who are socially and economically disadvantaged, EPA Form 6100-1h for concerns owned by Native Hawaiian organizations, and EPA Form 6100-1i for concerns owned by community development corporations).  This approach is consistent with the approach taken by SBA in its SDB certification program. The information will be used to evaluate the MBE and/or WBE status of applicants.  
 
      EPA Form 6100-2 - DBE Program Subcontractor  Participation Form, under section 33.302(e), gives a subcontractor the opportunity to describe the work the subcontractor received from the prime contractor, how much the subcontractor was paid and other concerns the subcontractor might have, for example reasons why the subcontractor believes it was terminated by the prime contractor.  The information is used to evaluate whether prime contractors have tried to game the system by using "bait and switch" tactics in representing they would use MBE/WBE subcontractors without actually doing so; the information will also be used to determine whether any changes in EPA oversight are needed.

      EPA Form 6100-3 - DBE Subcontractor Performance Form, under section 33.302(f), and EPA Form 6100-4 - DBE Program Subcontractor Utilization Form under section 33.302(g), are intended to prevent any "bait and switch' tactics at the subcontract level by prime contractors which may circumvent the spirit of the DBE Program.

5.  	THE INFORMATION COLLECTED-AGENCY ACTIVITIES, COLLECTION, METHODOLOGY, AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT 

      The following section discusses how EPA or an EPA Private Certifier collects and manages the information received from respondents.

5(a) Agency Activities

      EPA reviews certification applications to determine whether an entity is owned and/or controlled by one or more individuals claiming disadvantaged status. EPA or an EPA Private Certifier advises each applicant, within 15 days, whenever practicable, after receipt of an application, whether the application is complete and suitable for evaluation, and if not, what additional information or clarification is required, in accordance with Section 33.205(b).  EPA makes its certification decision within 30 days of receipt of a complete application package, whenever practicable, in accordance with Section 33.205(b).

      EPA will safeguard confidential business information in accordance with 40 CFR Part 2, Subpart B, "Confidentiality of Business Information."

5(b) Collection Methodology and Management
      
      EPA uses the forms to evaluate MBE/WBE certifications. Similar forms, consisting of separate forms for corporations, partnerships, limited liability corporations, sole proprietorships, Alaska Native Corporation (ANC) owned concerns, and Tribally owned concerns, were approved by OMB, ICR control Number 3245-0317, for SBA's SDB certification program. EPA also uses a separate form for private and voluntary organizations owned by individuals who are socially and economically disadvantaged because they are a separately designated group under EPA's 10% statute whose structure as organizations is different from the other types of entities being certified. EPA is also uses separate forms for concerns owned by Native Hawaiian Organizations and Community Development Corporation-owned concerns because these entities may be certified under SBA's 8(a) Business Development Program. EPA's 8% statute is tied to Section 8(a)(5) and (6) of the Small Business Act.  These EPA forms are patterned along the lines of the other EPA certification forms being submitted.  EPA will store the data in OSDBU's office space.  This collection of information does not involve the use of automated, electronic, mechanical or other forms of technological collection which permits electronic submission of responses.

5(c) Small Entity Flexibility

      EPA's DBE Program is aimed at providing contracting opportunities for small businesses owned and/or controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, among others (e.g., historically black colleges and universities) (HBCUs).  EPA believes that the effect of the rule on small entities, including small government jurisdictions, is minimal. Additionally, under this rule, small entity recipients use State Agency negotiated MBE/WBE goals if such recipients solicit bids/offers from a substantially similar geographic market as that State Agency. Accordingly, EPA believes the economic impact of this rule on small entities is minimal.

      In EPA's view, this rule does not affect the total funds or business opportunities available to small businesses that seek to work under EPA financial assistance programs.  

      EPA is unaware of any data which would enable the Agency at this time to measure the distributive effects of the rulemaking proposal on various types of small entities.  In the preamble to the rule, EPA stated that the agency continues to be interested in the potential impacts of the rule on small entities and welcomes comments on issues related to such impacts, including comments related to the financial and time burden associated with the requirements (including actual hours and dollars).    

      5(d) Collection Schedule

      Once certified by EPA, an entity will generally remain on EPA's list of certified MBEs and WBEs for a period of three years from the date of its certification.  To remain on EPA's list after three years, an entity would have to submit a new application and receive a new certification.

6.  	ESTIMATING THE BURDEN AND COST OF THE COLLECTION

6(a) Estimating Respondent Burden for Affected MBEs/WBEs

      Table 6-1 presents the estimated respondent burden and costs for the information collection activities associated with this rule.

      A conservative (high cost) scenario estimate is presented for the number of respondents as well as their burdens and costs. Each of EPA's 12 grant-making offices (10 regions, headquarters, and Cincinnati) reported on their 5700-52A forms, "MBE/WBE Utilization under Federal Grants, Cooperative Agreements, and Interagency Agreements", the number of MBEs/WBEs utilized in procurement under these agreements. The total number of tribal MBEs/WBEs is unknown since fewer than 10% of tribes submitted reports. In the absence of more complete information, this analysis assumes that the total number of tribal MBEs/WBEs is equal to the total number of MBEs/WBEs reported by all grant and loan recipients. The number of MBEs/WBEs needing to be certified under affected tribal programs is likely to be smaller than the 3,208 reported by grant and loan recipients. Likewise, information on the number of affected MBEs/WBEs in the five Insular areas is not available. The analysis assumes the number of affected MBEs/WBEs for each Insular area is equal to the average number of affected MBEs/WBEs per State, which is 63 MBEs/WBEs.  

      As seen in Table 6-1, the total number of affected MBEs/WBEs expected to incur costs to certify is 6,731 in the next three years of the program. This is believed to be a conservative number, because many of these same MBEs/WBEs will already be certified, e.g., by Small Business Administration (SBA) or Department of Transportation (DOT) programs, and would therefore not be required to incur additional expenses to be certified under this rule. In addition, it is expected that a substantial number of MBEs/WBEs participate in more than one procurement issued under the variety of related government grant and loan programs. In these cases, the MBEs/WBEs would not be required to incur the same costs to be recertified, since they would have already met the requirements under a separate procurement. Therefore, for purposes of calculating the total costs for the three-year period covered by the ICR, we assume that the cost estimated for the past three years is a suitable estimate for the total cost to MBEs/WBEs required to certify over the next three year-period of the ICR. The average annual burden and costs are estimated by spreading the first year cost over the three-year period of the ICR, yielding a total annual average burden of 56,092 hours and $2,916,767 in costs.

      The burden hours and costs of filling out MBE/WBE certification forms for this rule are also likely to be lower than these estimates because the numbers are derived from information provided by the DOT's ICR estimates for certification in its analysis of burden hours (25 hours per certification) and costs ($1,300 per certification) under 49 CFR Part 26. EPA's certification forms are more similar to the SBA's Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) Certification Application Forms (OMB control number 3245-0317). The SBA forms were expected to take three hours to complete. Also, a certified MBE/WBE would have to file an annual affidavit affirming that no changes in circumstances had occurred which would have affected the entity's status as an MBE or WBE. It is estimated that this would take about 30 minutes to complete. Therefore, allowing for the three hours for the EPA certification application forms, and the half-hour to complete the annual affidavit, the total time that might be required to complete the information collection activities associated with this rule will be considerably less than the 25 hours necessary to complete the DOT certification requirements. Nevertheless, in order to provide a conservative estimate of the burden in the ICR of the rule, the analysis uses the 25 hour and $1,300 cost estimate derived from the DOT analysis.

Table 6-1. Total Labor Burden and Costs to MBE/WBE for Certification under State, Tribal and Insular Funding Programs

Activities

  Total Estimated Burden and Cost for the Three Year Period ICR is Effective

                   Average Annual Estimated Burden and Cost

                   Number of Affected MBE & WBE entities

                                Number of Hours

                                    Dollars

                     Number of Affected MBE/ WBE entities

                                Number of Hours

                                    Dollars

MBE & WBEs under grant & loan programs

                                                                           3208
                                                                               

                                                                         80,200
                                                                      (25*3208)

                                                                     $4,170,000
                                                                  (3208*$1,300)

                                                                          1,069

                                                                         26,733

                                                                     $1,390,133

MBE & WBE under Tribal funded programs

                                                                           3208
                                    (same as State total; ~ 6 per tribal govt.)

                                                                         80,200
                                                                      (25*3208)

                                                                     $4,170,400
                                                                  (3208*$1,300)

                                                                          1,069

                                                                         26,733

                                                                     $1,390,133

MBE & WBE under Insular funded Programs

                                                                            315
                                                                         (5*63)

                                                                          7,875
                                                                       (25*315)

                                                                       $409,500
                                                                   (315*$1,300)

                                                                            105

                                                                          2,625

                                                                       $136,500

Total Labor Burden and Costs for MBE & WBE

                                                                          6,731

                                                                        168,275

                                                                     $8,750,300

                                                                          2,244

                                                                         56,092

                                                                     $2,916,767

Average Annual Labor Burden and Cost per MBE & WBE

                                                                       25 hours

                                                                         $1,300

Key Assumptions:

 All affected MBEs/WBEs have not already been certified by another eligible institution [likely to result in an overestimate of burden and cost].

 No additional MBEs/WBEs seek certification within the next three year period for the ICR [likely to result in an underestimate of burden and cost].

 Number of burden hours to complete certification forms (25 hours) is significantly greater than the estimate developed for SBA form (3 hours) [likely to result in an overestimate of burden and cost].

6(b) Estimating all Grant Recipient Burden and Costs and Loan Recipient Burden and Costs

      The Agency has used a conservative set of assumptions to calculate the costs to all EPA grant and loan recipients that will have to perform an availability analysis to meet the requirements of the rule.  To estimate the number of affected recipients, the Agency used information assembled for the total number of grant and loan recipients receiving $250,000 or more from EPA over recent representative years.  We used data from Fiscal Year 1999 for affected governments and non-governmental entities receiving grants, and Fiscal Year 2000 for affected governmental and non-governmental entities receiving loans. Using burden and cost data provided on sample availability analyses prepared by State government agencies, we estimated the median cost of an availability analysis used to comply with the rule would require 265 burden hours at a cost of $5,300 (using an average labor cost of $20 per hour).

      Table 6-2 provides the burden and cost estimates for affected grant and loan recipients.  We assume that States, Tribes and Insular governments will develop their availability analyses once over the next three-year period of the ICR. Hence, there are no affected recipients in years two and three. For non-governmental grant recipients affected by this rule, we believe 325 will need to prepare an availability analysis in the first year. However, we expect that in the second and third years only half as many will need to prepare one.  

      We expect the number of loan recipients needing to prepare an availability analysis in the third year (822) to remain at that level in years two and three, for a combined total of 2,466 and $13,069,800 over the next three-year period of the ICR.

      The total labor burden and cost estimates for preparing an availability analysis for grant and loan recipients are 836,137 hours and $16,722,749 over the next three-year period of the ICR.	

      In addition to the availability analysis, recipients also have contract administration requirements under the rule. The forms listed below have been modified to include instructions which should mitigate confusion and decrease the amount of time it takes to complete each form.  Consequently, each contract administration form is   now expected to take approximately 10 minutes to complete.  

      1) DBE Program Subcontractor Participation Form,
      2) DBE Program Subcontractor Performance Form, and
      3) DBE Program Subcontractor Utilization Form.

	In addition, a recipient has to review the existing list of HUBZone contractors maintained by the SBA and attempt to solicit such companies as part of the recipient's good faith efforts.  It is estimated that this process will take 30 minutes to complete.  A recipient is also required to create and maintain a bidders list.  This requirement would take approximately15 minutes to complete.  Recordkeeping requirements of the rule take approximately 30 minutes. Therefore approximately one hour and fifty-five minutes would be required to complete these information collection activities.   We conservatively estimate that the additional two hours would be necessary for each grant and loan recipient each year of the ICR.  The annual average burden and cost of the rule are estimated to be 278,713 hours and $5,574,250 as a consequence of the rule. 

 Table 6-2. Total Labor Burden and Costs to Affected Grant and Loan Recipients

Activities

  Total Estimated Burden and Cost for the Three Year Period ICR is Effective

                        Average Annual Burden and Cost

                         Number of Affected Recipients

                                Number of Hours

                                    Dollars

                         Number of Affected Recipients

                                Number of Hours

                                    Dollars

Grants Recipients:
States, Tribes, & Insular govt

                                                                         Year 1

                                                                            161

                                                                        42,665 
                                                                      (265*161)

                                                                       $853,300

                                                                             54

                                                                         14,222

                                                                       $284,433

                                                                      Years 2+3

                                                                              0

                                                                              0

                                                                              0
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               

                                                                      Sub-Total

                                                                            161

                                                                         42,665

                                                                       $853,300
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               

Grants Recipients: Non-Government

                                                                         Year 1

                                                                            325

                                                                        86,125 
                                                                      (265*325)

                                                                     $1,722,500

                                                                            163
                                                                               
                                                                               

                                                                         43,107

                                                                       $862,133
                                                                               

                                                                      Years 2+3

                                                                            163

                                                                         43,195
                                                                      (265*163)

                                                                       $863,900
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               

                                                                      Sub-Total

                                                                            488

                                                                        129,320

                                                                     $2,586,400
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               

Loan Recipients: SRF- drinking & wastewater; Brownfields

                                                                         Year 1

                                                                            822

                                                              217,830 (265*822)

                                                                     $4,356,600

                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                            822

                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                        217,830

                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                     $4,356,600

                                                                      Years 2+3

                                                                           1644

                                                                        435,660
                                                                     (265*1644)

                                                                     $8,713,200
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               

                                                                      Sub-Total

                                                                           2466

                                                                        653,490

                                                                    $13,069,800
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               

All recipients - other activities

                                                                      Years 1-3

                                                                           2293

                                                                         10,662
                                                            (2293*1.55hrs*3yrs)

                                                                       $213,249

                                                                            764

                                                                           3554

                                                                        $71,080

Total Labor Burden and Cost for Grant and Loan Recipients

                                                                         Year 1

                                                                          1308 

                                                                        346,620

                                                                     $6,932,400

                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                          1,803

                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                        278,713

                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                     $5,574,250

                                                                      Years 2+3

                                                                           1807

                                                                        478,855

                                                                     $9,577,100
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               

                                                                          Total

                                                                           5408

                                                                        836,137

                                                                    $16,722,749
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               
 Scenario if all affected Governments bear these burdens and costs in the same (i.e., first) year.
   * Average annual labor burden per availability analysis: 155 hours
   * Average annual cost per availability analysis: $3,092

Key Assumptions:
 Some percent of government entities will already have a suitable availability analysis [likely to result in an overestimate of burden and cost].

 Some percent of non-governmental entities will use States' availability analyses [likely to result in an overestimate of burden and cost].

 The number of new non-governmental grant recipients and all loan recipients seeking aid in the second and third years is assumed to be the same as in the first year.

6(c) Estimating Agency Burden and Cost

      An estimate of the annual EPA burden and costs associated with the rule is provided in Table 6-3. We have developed an estimate of the number and type of staff necessary to administer the monitoring and reporting requirements in the rule. Program management and administrative support staff will be required to administer the program at EPA. The total estimated cost of all labor, benefits and overhead for the Agency is 24,960 hours and $970,551 for the next three-year period the ICR is in effect. The average annual burden is 8,320 hours and the cost is $323,517. 

Activities

  Total Estimated Burden and Cost for the Three Year Period ICR is Effective

                        Average Annual Burden and Cost

                                Number of Hours

                                    Dollars

                                     Hours

                                    Dollars

Staff; wages and benefits; and overhead

                                                                               
                                                                         24,960

                                                                               
                                                                       $970,551

2,080 (1 Program Manager)
6,240 (1 SEE L-II 
                     Support)
                                                        + benefits (0.6* wages)
                                                    + overhead (0.2*staff cost)

                                                                       $104,852
                                                                               
                                                                        $74,880
                                                                       $107,839
                                                                        $35,946

                                                                               
                                                                               

                                                                          Total

                                                                          8,320

                                                                       $323,517

Total Labor Burden and Cost for Agency

                                                                         24,960

                                                                       $970,551

                                                                          8,320

                                                                       $323,517

                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               

Key Assumptions:

 Total number of EPA employees and SEE program enrollees required is constant over time.

 No extra enforcement costs estimated.
                                                
6(d) Total Burden and Costs

      Table 6-4 summarizes the total estimated annual burden and cost of the rule.  We estimate that the rule will require 334,804 hours and cost $8,491,016, estimated annually, with all costs attributed to labor hours required to meet the requirements of the rule, since there are no start-up/operation and maintenance costs. We estimate the average annual labor burden for an availability analysis to be 265 hours and the wage rate to be $20 an hour based on Virginia's estimated wage rate for preparing an availability analysis. Over the next three years of the  rule, the total number of labor burden is estimated to be 1,004,412 hours with total costs of $25,473,049.  Since the certifications and availability analyses both are designed to have a three-year useful life, they can be reused by these institutions without having to incur new costs to participate in the grant and loan programs covered under the rule.  Because of the many other conservative assumptions used to generate the information underlying the analysis, we believe that these total burden and cost estimates will be higher than those that will be actually incurred as a result of the rule.
      

           Table 6-4. Total Labor Burden and Costs for DBE  Program

Respondents

    Total Estimated Burden and Cost for Three Year Period ICR is Effective

                        Average Annual Burden and Cost

                             Number of Respondents

                              Total Burden Hours

                                  Total Cost

                             Number of Respondents

                              Total Burden Hours

                                  Total Cost

MBE/WBE

                                                                          6,731

                                                                        168,275

                                                                     $8,750,300

                                                                          2,244

                                                                         56,092

                                                                     $2,916,767

Grant and Loan Recipients

                                                                          5,408

                                                                        836,137

                                                                    $16,722,749

                                                                          1,803

                                                                        278,712

                                                                     $5,574,250
                                                                               

                                                                          TOTAL

                                                                         12,139

                                                                      1,004,412

                                                                    $25,473,049

                                                                          4,046

                                                                       334,804 

                                                                     $8,491,016
                                 Agency Costs
EPA
                                                                              1
                                                                         24,960
                                                                       $970,551
                                                                              1
                                                                          8,320
                                                                       $323,517

 
6(e) Bottom Line Burden Hours and Cost Tables
                  (i) Respondent Tally
                        Annual Burden: 334,804 hours per year
                        Annual Costs: $8,491,016 per year
                        
                  (ii) The Agency Tally
                        Annual Burden: 8,320 hours per year
                        Annual Costs: $323,517 per year
      		
6(f) Reasons for Change in Burden

Changes in Total Labor Burden and Costs to Affected Grant and Loan Recipients: The total number of affected recipients, total number of hours and total cost have increased from ICR 2047.02. There was an increase of 10,662 total estimated burden hours and an increase of $213,249 in cost.
This change was due to a new burden estimate for the revised forms (EPA Forms 6100 - 2, 6100-3, and 6100-4) and a finding of a previous miscalculations. These new burden estimates do not reflect an actual increase in any of the above-mentioned categories. ICR 2047.02 failed to include the number of affected recipients, burden hours and cost from the "All recipients-other activities" category in the total burden calculations. For this category, the total number of burden hours actually decreased from 13,758 to 10,662 hours over a three-year period for all recipients-other activities due to the changes made to the contract administration forms. The total cost also decreased in the same category from $275,160 to $213,249.

Changes in Agency Burden and Cost: The total estimated cost of all labor, benefits and overhead for the Agency decreased from 36,192 hours to 24,960 hours for the next three-year period the ICR is in effect. This results in a decrease in Agency cost from $1,884,320 to $970,551 for the same three-year period. This is due to a decrease in the number of staff needed to administer the program.

 6(g) Burden Statement
The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average about 83 hours per response.  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.     

 	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-OA-2006-0278, which is available for online viewing at www.regulations.gov, or in person viewing at the OEI 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 OEI 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-OA-2006-0278 and OMB Control Number 2090-0030 in any correspondence.