Document ID: EPA-HQ-OEI-2003-0016-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2003-03-11T05:00Z

1
SUPPORTING
STATEMENT
1.
IDENTIFICATION
OF
THE
INFORMATION
COLLECTION
The
Environmental
Protection
Agency
(
EPA)
requests
an
extension
of
its
approval
for
information
collection
activities
associated
with
Conflicts
of
Interest
(
COI),
Rule
no.
1.
The
collection
of
this
information
is
essential
to
ensure
that
the
Agency
can
effectively
identify,
prevent
and
mitigate
conflicts
of
interest
in
its
contracting
program.
EPA
Control
no.
for
this
collection
is
1550.05.
OMB
ICR
no.
is
2030­
0023.

Conflict
of
interest
requirements
pertain
to
Agency
contractors
who
are
hired
to
perform
efforts
on
behalf
of
the
Superfund
program.
Because
of
the
nature
of
these
contracts,
the
Agency
must
be
concerned
with
not
only
reviewing
conflicts
prior
to
award,
but
also
with
identifying
ongoing
and
future
conflicts
of
interest.
EPA
requires
immediate
notification
of
actual
or
potential
conflicts
of
interest,
and
the
submission
of
either
annual
or
work
assignment
related
certifications
concerning
disclosures
of
conflicts
of
interest.
The
Agency
also
imposes
some
limitations
on
a
contractor's
ability
to
enter
into
a
contract
for
outside
work
which
poses
a
high
risk
of
conflict
with
work
performed
for
EPA
or
that
may
endanger
EPA
enforcement
action.

Superfund
work
may
be
performed
at
multiple
sites
under
any
given
contract.
All
sites
may
not
be
known
and/
or
identified
prior
to
contract
award.
Potentially
responsible
parties
(
PRPs)
may
not
have
been
identified
at
time
of
award
either.
Yet,
it
is
important
that
the
Agency
ensure
that
Superfund
contractors
do
not
have
a
business
relationship
with
PRPs
which
could
endanger
the
Agency's
standing.
Once
PRPs
are
identified
for
specific
sites,
the
Agency
attempts
to
recover
costs
expended
for
cleanup
either
through
consent
agreements
or
litigation.
Conflicts
of
interests
on
the
part
of
the
Superfund
contractor
could
jeopardize
our
litigation.

The
information
covered
by
this
request
is
submitted
to
EPA
contracting
officers.
The
contracting
officers
and
advisers
will
use
such
information
to
evaluate
conflicts
and
to
make
determinations
that
will
mitigate
and
prevent
conflicts
of
interest
in
Agency
contracts.
The
original
submissions
will
be
kept
by
contracting
officers
in
the
official
contract
files,
and
other
information
will
be
maintained
by
the
Office
of
Acquisition
Management
(
OAM)
conflict
of
interest
staff.

2.
NEED
FOR
AND
USE
OF
THE
COLLECTION
a)
NEED/
AUTHORITY
FOR
THE
COLLECTION
Federal
Acquisition
Regulation
(
FAR)
Subpart
9.5
defines
an
organizational
conflict
of
interest
as
existing
when
"
because
of
other
activities
or
relationships
with
other
persons,
a
person
is
unable
or
potentially
unable
to
render
impartial
assistance
or
advice
to
the
Government,
or
the
person's
objectivity
in
performing
the
contract
work
is
or
might
be
otherwise
impaired,
or
a
person
has
an
unfair
competitive
advantage."
FAR
Subpart
9.5
further
limits
the
award
of
2
contracts
to
parties
when
organizational
conflicts
of
interest
exist,
unless
an
agency
head
or
designee
determines
such
a
contract
may
be
in
the
Government's
best
interest.
Our
information
collection
is
required
no
only
to
fulfill
the
requirements
of
FAR
Subpart
9.5,
but
to
protect
the
Agency
and
its
mission
from
harm
due
to
contractors'
conflicts
of
interest.
Our
information
collection
request
also
includes
provisions
tailored
to
the
special
needs
of
the
Superfund
program.

EPA
is
responsible
for
leading
the
nation's
efforts
to
protect
and
clean
up
the
environment.
This
includes
the
development
of
environmental
standards,
control
of
toxic
substances,
the
cleanup
of
hazardous
wastes,
as
well
as
enforcement
of
applicable
laws
and
regulations.
The
EPA
is
charged
with
implementing
and
enforcing
the
Comprehensive
Environmental
Response,
Compensation,
and
Liability
Act
of
1980
(
CERCLA)
(
42
U.
S.
C.
9601­
9657),
commonly
known
as
"
Superfund,"
which
consists
of
Public
Law
96­
510
(
Dec.
11,
1980)
and
the
amendments
made
by
subsequent
enactments.
CERCLA
provides
for
liability,
compensation,
cleanup
and
emergency
response
for
hazardous
substances
released
into
the
environment
and
the
cleanup
of
hazardous
waste
disposal
sites.
Because
EPA
has
the
dual
responsibility
of
cleanup
and
enforcement
and
because
its
contractors
are
often
involved
in
both
activities,
it
is
imperative
that
EPA
contractors
are
free
of
conflicts
so
as
not
to
prejudice
CERCLA
response
and
enforcement/
cost
recovery
actions.

b)
USE
AND
USERS
OF
THE
DATA
EPA
contracting
officers
and
advisers
(
technical
experts,
legal
advisors
and
conflict
of
interest
staff)
carefully
review
and
analyze
disclosures
of
actual
or
potential
conflicts
of
interest
and
contractor
requests
to
enter
into
future
contracts
that
may
prejudice
our
enforcement
actions.
Contracting
officers
make
their
determinations
regarding
these
disclosures
and
requests,
for
the
purpose
of
mitigating
or
preventing
conflicts
of
interest
in
our
contracting
program
and
protecting
our
enforcement
actions.
EPA
staff
will
use
the
conflict
of
interest
plan
and
certifications
as
a
means
to
ensure
contractors
are
complying
with
EPA's
requirements
for
detecting
and
avoiding
conflicts
of
interest.

Contracting
officers
document
their
determinations
in
the
official
contract
files.
This
is
also
where
they
retain
the
original
information
collected.
In
addition,
records
of
conflict
of
interest
determinations
are
maintained
by
OAM's
conflict
of
interest
staff.

In
general,
the
information
collected
and
the
determinations
made
will
be
used
by
the
Agency
to
ensure
that
contractors
and
EPA
are
adequately
addressing
conflict
of
interest
concerns,
and
that
the
Agency
is
making
determinations
consistent
with
the
exercise
of
common
sense,
good
judgment,
and
sound
discretion,
to
protect
its
programs.
3
3.
THE
RESPONDENTS
AND
THE
INFORMATION
REQUESTED
a)
RESPONDENTS/
SIC
CODES
Respondents
to
this
information
collection
activity
are
Agency
contractors
and
some
of
the
subcontractors
and
consultants
who
work
for
our
prime
contractors
on
Superfund
contracts.
The
number
of
EPA
prime
contractors,
subcontractors
and
consultants
who
will
be
required
to
provide
information
under
this
collection
is
165.

Note:
we
have
excluded
subcontractors
and
consultants
that
perform
nondiscretionary
technical
or
engineering
services,
such
as
well
drilling,
fence
erecting,
plumbing,
utility
hookups,
security
guard
services,
or
electrical
services,
because
the
risk
to
the
Agency
of
significant
conflicts
of
interest
with
these
types
of
work
is
minimal.
We
considered
exempting
additional
non­
discretionary
services,
but
we
believe
that
categorically
exempting
other
classes
of
work
from
flow
down
to
subcontractor
and
consultants
would
pose
an
unacceptable
risk
of
conflict
of
interest
to
the
Agency.
However,
there
may
situations
in
which
other
activities
can
be
excluded
on
a
case
by
case
basis
and
contracting
officers
may
authorize
such
exemptions.
In
addition,
to
ensure
contractors
and
consultants
clearly
understand
they
have
the
option
to
request
a
waiver
when
they
are
performing
non­
discretionary
technical
or
engineering
services,
instructions
are
provided
in
each
of
the
limitation
of
future
contracting
clauses
which
are
included
in
the
solicitation.

The
respondents
represent
a
number
of
industries
such
as:
air
and
water
resource
and
solid
waste
management
(
SIC
#
9511);
garbage
and
refuse
collection
and
transportation
(
SIC
#
4953);
engineering
services
(
SIC
#
8711);
computer
related
services
(
SIC
#
7379)
and
other
services
(
SIC
#
8999)

b)
INFORMATION
REQUESTED
(
i)
DATA
ITEMS
Data
which
will
be
collected
from
respondents
includes
the
following
reporting
items:
(
1)
disclosure
of
actual
and
potential
personal
or
organizational
conflicts
of
interest
on
a
work
assignment
basis;
(
2)
certification
on
either
a
work
assignment
or
an
annual
basis
that
conflicts
have
been
disclosed
or
that
none
exist;
and
(
3)
requirement
for
request
for
authorization
to
enter
into
a
contract
on
certain
future
work,
cited
in
"
Limitation
of
Future
Contracting
Clauses",
that
would
pose
a
high
risk
of
conflict
of
interest
with
work
performed
for
EPA
and
that
may
impair
Superfund
work
or
jeopardize
enforcement
actions.

The
recordkeeping
requirements
associated
with
this
request
include
corporate
recordkeeping
consistent
with
a
contractor's
system
for
identifying,
mitigating,
and
preventing
conflicts
of
interest
as
described
in
its
conflict
of
interest
plan
submitted
to
EPA.
This
conflict
of
interest
recordkeeping
includes
maintaining
a
data
base
of
corporate
clients
and
contracts
in
order
4
to
identify
potential
conflicts
and
maintaining
records
of
disclosures
of
conflicts
to
demonstrate
compliance
with
a
contractor's
conflict
of
interest
plan.
NOTE:
The
term
"
data
base"
as
used
in
this
section
includes
any
system
which
permits
a
contractor
to
search
its
records
for
conflicts
of
interest
and
may
be
either
manual
and/
or
automated.
The
critical
function
of
any
data
base
is
that
it
has
the
capability
to
be
searched
to
identify
any
past,
present,
and
future
work
which
may
be
in
conflict.

(
ii)
RESPONDENT
ACTIVITIES
Respondents
will
be
required
to
be
able
to
identify
any
actual
or
potential
conflicts
of
interest
so
the
Agency
has
an
opportunity
to
prevent
or
mitigate
the
conflict
before
it
occurs.
A
compilation
of
the
information
received
from
seven
potential
respondents,
whom
the
Agency
informally
consulted,
was
used
to
develop
this
representative
sample.
In
order
for
a
respondent
to
be
able
to
identify
and
report
such
conflicts
of
interest,
it
is
anticipated
each
respondent
would
engage
in
activities
which
include:

1)
Create
information;
(
a)
the
preparation
of
a
conflict
of
interest
plan
(
CBP
=
50%)

2)
Gather
information;
(
CBP
=
80%)
(
a)
the
creation
of
a
data
base
3)
Process,
compile,
and
review
information;
(
a)
searching
data
base
and
records
(
CBP
=
25%)
(
b)
and
maintenance
of
appropriate
records
4)
Complete
written
forms
or
other
paperwork;
(
a)
the
preparation
of
annual
certifications,
or
(
b)
the
preparation
of
work
assignment
certifications
5)
Identify
a
potential
conflict
of
interest;
(
a)
making
decisions
and
notifying
EPA
(
CBP
=
10%)

6)
Record
disclose,
or
display
the
information;
and
(
CBP
=
10%)

7)
Request
approvals
prior
to
entering
into
future
contracts
that
may
have
an
actual
or
potential
conflict
of
interest;

The
above
identified
"
customary
and
usual
business
practice"
(
CBP)
efforts
were
estimated
based
on
analysis
of
all
responses
received
from
the
Superfund
contractors
(
potential
respondents)
who
were
interviewed,
experience
under
EPA
solicitations,
and
observations.
5
4.
THE
INFORMATION
COLLECTED­­
AGENCY
ACTIVITIES,
COLLECTION
METHODOLOGY
AND
INFORMATION
MANAGEMENT
(
a)
AGENCY
ACTIVITIES
The
Agency
anticipates
performing
the
information
collection
activities
listed
below,
in
conjunction
with
conflict
of
interest
requirements.
(
See
6(
b)
for
calculations
of
the
Agency's
cost
estimates.)

(
1)
Develop
conflict
of
interest
rule
or
other
collection
instrument;

(
2)
Develop
a
master
database;

(
3)
Answer
respondent
questions;

(
4)
Audit
or
review
data
submissions;

(
5)
Record
or
enter
the
submissions;

(
6)
Analyze
requests
for
confidentiality
and
provide
appropriate
protection;

(
7)
Reformat
and
distribute
the
data;
and
(
8)
Store
the
data.

(
b)
COLLECTION
METHODOLOGY
AND
MANAGEMENT
The
original
information
collected
will
go
directly
to
the
Contracting
Officer
who
has
responsibility
for
making
conflict
of
interest
determinations.
The
information
and
determinations
will
be
filed
in
the
specific
contract
files
as
the
official
record
of
the
Agency
decision.
Many
respondents
will
prepare
their
submissions
utilizing
a
computer
with
specialized
software.
Submissions
are
accepted
in
any
format
so
long
as
the
required
information
is
provided.
The
Agency
will
utilize
various
software
programs
to
monitor
contractor
activity
and
compliance.

(
c)
SMALL
ENTITY
FLEXIBILITY
Only
the
minimum
information
necessary
to
ensure
that
conflicts
of
interest
do
not
exist
is
requested.
Because
the
information
requested
is
vital
to
monitoring
contractor
performance
under
Agency
contracts,
separate
or
simplified
procedures
cannot
be
developed
for
small
businesses.
6
EPA
considered
alternatives
to
the
information
collection,
such
as
establishing
different
compliance
or
reporting
requirements
or
simplifying
the
requirements
for
small
entities.
EPA
also
considered
exempting
small
entities
from
all
or
part
of
the
rule.
However
separate
or
further
simplified
requirements
are
not
practical,
because
the
stated
objectives
cannot
be
met
under
such
alternatives.
An
undisclosed
conflict
of
interest
poses
the
same
risk
to
EPA
whether
it
is
a
conflict
involving
a
large
or
small
business
contractor.
EPA
believes
the
information
collection,
along
with
other
established
internal
controls
within
the
Agency,
will
prevent
conflicts
of
interest
that
may
jeopardize
future
actions.

Although
the
information
collection
requirements
for
small
and
large
business
are
the
same,
we
anticipate
that
the
burden
will
be
less
for
small
businesses
because
they
generally
have
less
complex
organizational
structures
and
less
data
to
maintain
and
search
than
large
businesses.

It
is
estimated
that,
currently,
approximately
75
small
entities
are
performing
contracts
and
subcontracts
covered
by
this
collection.
It
is
impossible
to
estimate
the
number
of
small
businesses
that
ultimately
will
receive
EPA
Superfund
contracts
or
serve
as
subcontractors
or
consultants
under
these
contracts,
and
thereby
be
affected
by
this
rule.

(
d)
COLLECTION
SCHEDULE
AND
EFFECT
OF
LESS
FREQUENT
COLLECTION
This
information
collection
requires
contractors
to
certify,
either
when
work
assignments
are
received
or
on
an
annual
basis,
that
no
conflicts
of
interest
exist
or
that
all
such
conflicts
have
been
disclosed.

The
annual
certification
provision
requires
contractors
to
certify
that
no
conflicts
of
interest
exist
or
that
all
have
been
reported.
This
is
a
minimal
requirement
necessary
to
ensure
that
contractors
are
complying
with
our
disclosure
requirements
in
order
that
we
may
protect
the
Superfund
program
from
conflicts
that
may
jeopardize
our
contract
and
enforcement
actions.

Regarding
work
assignment
certification,
the
collection
does
not
require
a
set
schedule
for
the
notification
of
conflicts
and
certification
regarding
disclosure.
Instead,
the
collection
requires
disclosure
of
conflicts
and
certification
of
no
conflicts
on
a
work
assignment
basis.
Contractors
are
already
required
to
report
all
conflicts.

This
requirement
for
reporting
on
a
work
assignment
basis
is
essential
because
most
Superfund
contracts
are
performed
at
multiple
sites
and
there
is
little
or
no
advance
notice
of
where
such
work
will
be
assigned
because
of
our
changing
cleanup
priorities.
Therefore,
a
contractor
is
in
a
better
position
to
identify
his
conflicts
or
potential
contracts
when
a
work
assignment
is
placed
compared
to
when
the
contract
is
awarded.
We
are
unable
to
further
reduce
this
requirement
without
handicapping
our
ability
to
ensure
that
the
Superfund
program
is
not
vulnerable
to
conflicts
of
interest
that
may
impair
the
objectivity
of
our
contractors,
hamper
effective
cost
recovery
from
polluters,
or
prejudice
enforcement
actions.
7
There
is
also
no
set
schedule
for
submission
of
requests
for
authorization
to
enter
into
a
contract
for
non­
EPA
work
cited
in
the
"
Limitation
of
Future
Contracting
Clause".
This
clause
identifies
outside
work
that
could
pose
a
significant
conflict
of
interest
with
work
performed
for
EPA
and
may
impair
EPA
contractor
performance
or
harm
enforcement
actions.
These
requests
are
required
to
be
submitted
if
and
when
a
contractor
wants
to
request
authorization
to
enter
into
such
high
risk
contracts.
Such
requests
are
essential
in
order
that
EPA
has
the
opportunity
to
protect
its
enforcement
actions
from
an
unacceptable
risk
of
prejudice
before
it
occurs.
This
is
essential
to
protecting
the
Superfund
program.

5.
NONDUPLICATION.
CONSULTATIONS
&
OTHER
COLLECTION
CRITERIA
(
a)
NONDUPLICATION
The
collection
of
information
is
not
duplicative
of
information
otherwise
accessible
to
the
Agency.
The
data
is
unique
to
each
contract
assignment
and
is
not
available
from
any
other
source.
EPA
provisions
have
the
same
general
objectives
of
identifying,
mitigating
and
avoiding
conflicts
of
interest
as
FAR
Subpart
9.5.
Note:
The
concept
of
potential
conflicts
is
well
established
in
acquisition
regulations.
It
is
included
in
FAR
Subpart
9.5
which
also
provides
examples
of
situations
involving
potential
conflicts
of
interest.

However,
unlike
the
FAR,
the
EPA
provisions
include
reporting
and
certification
requirements
to
ensure
that
actual
and
potential
conflicts
of
interest
are
reviewed
not
only
prior
to
contract
award,
but
also
during
the
period
of
contract
performance
and
after
contract
performance
to
ensure
enforcement
actions
are
not
prejudiced.
It
is
only
in
this
way
that
EPA
can
evaluate
whether
a
contractor's
work
efforts,
which
may
be
initiated
during
the
EPA
contract
performance
period
or
in
some
cases,
after
contract
completion,
may
present
an
unacceptable
risk
to
the
Agency.

(
b)
CONSULTATIONS
For
the
establishment
of
this
ICR
in
1994,
informal
consultations
were
conducted
with
seven
potential
respondents
who
currently
hold
Superfund
contracts.
The
firms
contacted
were:

Name
Phone
Affiliation
M.
Mathamel
(
703)
968­
0900)
Booz,
Allen
and
Hamilton,
Inc.,
W.
Hockersmith
(
303)
951­
2336)
Ecology
and
Environment,
Inc.
G.
Galager
(
716)
684­
8060)
Roy
F.
Weston,
Inc.
T.
Connery
(
202)
646­
6889)
NUS
Corporation
P.
Clay
(
703)
522­
8802)
Ebasco
Services,
Inc.
R.
Fellman
(
703)
358­
8946)
ICF,
Inc.
8
Each
of
the
respondents
recognized
the
Agency's
need
to
collect
the
requested
information
and
confirmed
that
the
information
collected
is
not
generated
solely
to
respond
to
this
information
collection
activity,
but
rather,
much
of
it
is
normally
generated
in
customary
and
usual
business
practices.

(
c)
CONFIDENTIALITY
AND
SENSITIVE
QUESTIONS
Some
of
the
information
submitted
in
response
to
our
information
request
may
be
considered
confidential.
Confidential
Business
Information
will
be
protected
from
release,
and
will
be
disclosed
only
to
the
extent
consistent
with
prudent
business
practices,
confidentiality
regulation
40
CFR
2.201,
and
other
current
regulations.

This
information
collection
complies
with
the
Privacy
Act
of
1978
and
0MB
Circular
A­
108,
as
revised
and
incorporated
into
0MB
Circular
A­
130.
We
have
identified
no
sensitive
questions.

(
d)
Public
notice
required
prior
to
ICR
Submission
to
OMB:
The
Federal
Register
document
required
under
5
CFR
1320.8(
d),
soliciting
comments
in
this
collection
of
information
was
published
on
May
1,
2000.
No
comments
were
received.

6.
ESTIMATING
THE
BURDEN
AND
COST
OF
THE
COLLECTION
(
a)
ESTIMATING
THE
RESPONDENT
BURDEN
AND
COSTS
(
i)
General
Notes
Respondent
burden
in
complying
with
the
COI
information
collection
is
broken
down
into
the
following
five
tasks.
Each
task
will
be
separately
addressed
in
the
narrative,
and
the
all
tasks
will
be
summarized
in
table
at
the
end
of
this
section:

1.
Prepare
Conflict
of
Interest
Plan
(
one­
time
burden)
2.
Create
Data
Base
(
one­
time
burden)
3.
Storage
and
Maintenance
of
Records
(
recurring
burden)
4.
Search
Data
Base
Records
for
Possible
COI
(
recurring
burden)
5.
Identify
Potential
COI,
Record
Decision,
and
Notify
EPA
of
the
Decision.
(
recurring
burden)

As
indicated,
tasks
1
and
2
above
represent
one­
time
efforts
on
the
part
of
respondents.
Tasks
3,
4,
and
5
are
ongoing
and
represent
the
continuing
burden
to
respondents
under
this
collection.

Inasmuch
as
this
is
the
second
renewal
of
the
information
collection
request
on
conflict
of
interest
data,
and
EPA
has
collected
COI
information
for
the
past
6
years,
most
9
EPA
contractors
have
already
implemented
system
changes
and
developed
a
conflict
of
interest
plan.
Many
of
the
one
time
costs/
burdens
discussed
in
previous
clearance
requests
have
been
allocated
to
earlier
time
periods
and
are
no
longer
relevant
to
this
renewal.
Still
other
one
time
costs,
such
as
COI
plan
development
(
task
1),
and
creation
of
a
database
(
task
2),
were
discussed
in
prior
requests
and
continue
to
apply
to
year
one
of
this
request.
EPA's
initial
request
for
information
collection
clearance,
which
was
submitted
six
years
ago,
utilized
a
seven
year
period
to
allocate
one
time,
non­
recurring
costs
associated
with
COI
plan
development
and
database
creation.
The
seven
year
period
was
chosen
because
most
Agency
Superfund
contracts
average
seven
years.
Now
that
six
years
out
of
the
seven
have
passed,
and
burden
hours
for
the
first
six
years
were
covered
in
EPA's
initial
clearance
and
first
renewal,
only
one
year
of
the
original
allocation
of
one­
time
costs
remains
and
is
applicable
to
this
request.
After
one
year,
any
burden
associated
with
tasks
1
and
2
will
only
be
incurred
by
new
contractors
and
subcontractors
who
have
not
had
a
prior
contract
with
EPA.

The
customary
and
usual
business
practices
(
CBP)
in
this
ICR
are
based
on
knowledge
of
the
business
practices
of
anticipated
respondents
and
from
a
review
of
information
received
from
Superfund
contractors
(
potential
respondents)
who
provided
data
in
response
to
our
consultations.
In
our
burden
calculations,
the
CBP
is
subtracted
from
the
overall
total
burden
to
show
the
new
estimated
burden
anticipated
for
this
requirement.
The
calculations
for
CBP
are
described
below
for
each
category
of
effort.

EPA
anticipates
that
any
cost
incurred
in
complying
with
this
information
collection
request
will
be
chargeable
to
Government
contracts
under
the
provisions
of
FAR
Part
31.

(
ii)
Labor
Costs
(
I)
Prepare
Conflict
of
Interest
(
COI)
Plan.
(
Non­
recurring
one­
time
effort)
In
it's
intimal
request,
EPA
estimated
1,170
hours
per
plan
as
a
non­
recurring
one­
time
cost,
because
once
contractors
have
prepared
a
COI
Plan,
it
will
only
be
necessary
to
update
and/
or
modify
it.
As
previously
discussed,
these
1170
hours
were
allocated
over
a
seven
year
period,
six
of
which
were
covered
under
previous
clearances.
Therefore,
a
total
168
hours
remain
from
the
original
estimate.
We
applied
a
CPB
factor
of
50%,
resulting
in
84
burden
hours
directly
attributable
to
this
collection.
The
84
hours
are
allocated
among
labor
categories
in
the
same
manner
as
the
original
hours:
25%
Management,
50%
Technical,
and
25%
Clerical.

Additionally,
we
continue
to
utilize
the
estimate
of
1,170
hours
per
plan
for
any
new
contractors
and
subcontractors
who
have
not
previously
done
business
with
EPA,
and
the
original
CBP
of
50%.
This
results
in
an
estimate
of
585
hours
for
15
10
respondents,
or
a
total
of
8775
hours.
In
order
to
allocate
the
8775
hours
across
the
original
150
respondents
plus
the
projected
15
new
respondents,
we
have
divided
the
8775
hours
by
165
to
arrive
at
an
average
53
hours
per
respondent.

BURDEN:
84
hours
+
53
hours
=
137
hours
(
2)
Create
Data
Base.
(
Non­
recurring
one­
time
effort)
Our
estimate
of
700
hours
reflects
EPA's
best
estimate
based
on
information
received
from
respondents.
The
CPB
for
this
line
item
is
80%,
resulting
in
total
hours
of
140.
This
line
item
is
also
a
non­
recurring
one­
time
burden,
and
as
with
task
one
above,
six
of
the
original
seven
burden
years
have
elapsed,
and
of
the
original
140
hours
attributable
to
this
task,
20
remain
chargeable
to
this
collection
request.

Also,
as
described
in
task
1
above,
the
Agency
anticipates
approximately
15
new
contractors
or
subcontractors
to
fall
under
the
COI
rules
in
any
given
year.
Therefore,
our
estimate
includes
140
hours
per
response
for
new
respondents.
This
equates
to
140
hours
times
15
respondents
or
2100
hours.
In
order
to
allocate
the
2100
hours
across
all
165
respondents,
we
have
divided
2100
by
165
to
arrive
at
13
hours
per
response.

BURDEN:
20
hours
+
13
hours
=
33
hours
(
3)
Storage
and
Maintenance
of
Records.
The
estimate
of
1,100
hours
reflects
EPA's
best
estimate
based
on
information
received
from
respondents.
The
CBP
for
this
line
item
is
80%
and
reflects
the
observation
that
contractors
maintain
records
pertaining
to
conflict
of
interest
in
conjunction
with
their
private
work.
Therefore,
a
total
of
220
hours
of
storage
and
maintenance
of
records
activity
is
associated
with
this
collection
request.

BURDEN:
220
hours
(
4)
Search
Data
Base
Records
for
Possible
COI
This
total
burden
estimate
is
based
on
the
assumptions
that
an
average
EPA
contractor
will
process
approximately
75
work
assignments
per
year,
and
contractors
who
do
not
have
three
years
of
records
to
search
will
require
less
effort
than
those
who
do
have
three
years
of
records
to
search.
It
is
also
estimated
that
of
the
75
work
assignments
issued,
approximately
16%
will
be
for
the
same
site
in
which
a
previous
work
assignment
has
been
issued
under
the
contract.
Therefore,
the
total
burden
estimate
for
searching
data
base
records
is
based
on
an
average
of
63
work
assignments
(
75
less
16%
=
63).
The
average
time
required
to
perform
each
search
is
estimated
to
be
14
hours.
The
estimate
of
14
hours
covers
data
base
11
search
time,
including
querying
of
contractor
project
staff
as
well
as
records.
This
search
time
estimate
is
based
upon
information
received
from
respondents,
observations
of
contractors'
conflict
of
interest
systems
and
other
observations.

The
CBP
for
this
line
item
is
25%
and
reflects
the
ratio
of
work
from
private
clients
versus
work
assignments
received
from
EPA,
based
on
information
from
respondents
and
other
observations
and
is
unchanged
from
the
original
estimate.
Therefore,
the
hours
associated
with
this
collection
request
for
data
base
searches
is
10.5
hours
(
14­
25%).

BURDEN:
10.5
x
63
=
662
hours
(
5)
Identify
Potential
COI,
Record
Decision.
Execute
Work
Assignment
or
the
Annual
Certification.
and
Notify
the
EPA
of
the
Decision.
This
category
reflects
the
management
and
technical
activity
in
the
search
and
certification
effort
that
a
contractor
must
perform.
At
the
direction
of
the
contracting
officer,
the
contractor
is
required
to
submit
either
a
one
time
certification
or
individual
work
assignment
certifications.
Additionally,
as
discussed
earlier,
after
the
initial
certification,
work
assignments
to
be
performed
at
the
same
site
do
not
require
further
certification.

As
discussed
directly
above,
each
contractor
receives
approximately
75
work
assignments
per
year.
We
estimate
that
in
17.5%
of
cases,
or
13
of
the
75
work
assignments,
only
an
annual
certification
is
required.
We
estimate
that
completion
of
an
annual
certification
will
take
40
hours.
Second,
in
69.1%
of
cases,
or
52
of
the
work
assignments,
work
assignment
certifications
are
required.
We
estimate
that
completion
of
a
work
assignment
certification
will
take
6.39
hours
Finally,
in
the
remaining
13.4%,
or
10
work
assignments,
no
certification
is
required,
because
these
work
assignments
will
be
for
work
at
sites
where
there
has
been
a
previous
certification.

The
CBP
factor
for
this
task
is
very
low
because
most
of
this
effort
is
associated
solely
with
EPA
requirements.
The
estimate
of
10%
for
CBP
is
associated
with
an
identification
of
a
conflict
of
interest
on
a
private
contract
which
requires
management
attention
but
may
not
require
the
documentation
and
certification
process
required
by
EPA.

BURDEN:
13
x
40
=
520
52
x
6.39
=
332.28
852.28
hours
x
.90
=
767.05
hours
(
6)
Approval
to
Contract.
The
estimate
utilized
is
identical
to
that
provided
in
the
ICR
for
the
proposed
rule
and
for
previous
renewals.
It
is
based
upon
an
average
estimate
of
five
requests
per
respondent
per
year
with
an
associated
effort
of
30
12
hours
per
request,
or
150
hours
per
respondent.
This
review
and
approval
time
has
remained
fairly
constant
over
the
years,
and
is
not
expected
to
change
during
the
three
year
period
covered
by
this
renewal.
This
is
exclusively
a
requirement
for
the
EPA
and
therefore
no
CBP
is
assigned.

BURDEN:
150
hours
The
Annual
Respondent
Burden
is
summarized
as
follows:

Collection
Activity
Burden
Hours
Mgmt.
Tech.
Cler.
Hrs.
Cost
25%
50%
25%
$
87.50
$
43.70
$
24.00
Task
I
­
Prepare
COI
Plan
34.25
68.5
34.25
137
$
2,975
$
2,993
$
822
$
6,790
Task
2
­
Create
Data
Base
8.25
16.5
8.25
33
$
722
$
721
$
198
$
1,641
Task
3
­
Storage
and
Maintenance
55
110
55
220
of
Records
$
4,813
$
4,807
$
1,320
$
10,940
Task
4
­
Search
Data
Base
Records
165.5
331
165.5
662
for
possible
COI
$
14,481
$
14,465
$
3,972
$
32,918
Task
5
­
Identify
Potential
COI,
192
383
192
767
Record
Decision,
Certify,
Notify
$
16,800
$
16,737
$
4,608
$
38,145
Task
6
­
Approval
to
Contract
37.5
75
37.5
150
$
3,281
$
3,278
$
900
$
7,459
TOTAL
1969
$
97,893
Total
annual
respondent
burden:
1969
hours
X
165
responses
=
324,
885
hours
ii)
Capital/
Start­
up
Costs
Because
it
will
not
be
necessary
for
respondents
to
acquire
any
capital
goods
to
provide
the
requested
information,
EPA
has
estimated
no
incurred
capital/
start­
up
costs.

(
iii)
Operating
and
Maintenance
Costs
operating
and
maintenance
costs,
which
include
such
items
as
file
storage,
photo
copying,
and
postage,
are
negligible.
13
(
b)
ESTIMATING
AGENCY
BURDEN
AND
COST
The
Agency
based
it
burden
estimates
on
actual
experience
in
collecting,
reviewing,
approving,
and
storing
this
data
over
the
past
6
years.
Hours
are
annual
hours,
and
are
not
presented
on
a
per
response
basis.
Although
the
number
of
respondents
is
expected
to
increase
by
15
from
150
to
165,
the
Agency
burden
hours
should
remain
constant
as
improvements
in
the
automated
database,
and
efficiencies
in
reviewing
the
information
are
expected
to
compensate
for
the
increased
number
of
respondents.

The
table
below
indicates
the
allocation
of
Agency
burden
hours
to
various
labor
categories/
grades.
Hourly
rates
were
calculated
as
follows:

­
for
Grade
14
contracting
personnel,
an
hourly
rate
of
$
35.85
(
midpoint
on
GS­
14
schedule)
multiplied
by
a
factor
of
1.16
to
account
for
benefits,
was
utilized
for
estimating
purposes.
This
results
in
a
loaded
hourly
rate
of
$
41.59.

­
for
Grade
12
contracting
personnel,
an
hourly
rate
of
$
25.50
(
midpoint
on
GS­
12
schedule)
multiplied
by
a
factor
of
1.16
to
account
for
benefits,
was
utilized
for
estimating
purposes.
This
results
in
a
loaded
hourly
rate
of
$
29.58.

­
for
Grade
05
clerical
personnel,
an
hourly
rate
of
$
11.60
(
midpoint
on
GS­
05
schedule)
multiplied
by
a
factor
of
1.16
to
account
for
benefits,
was
utilized
for
estimating
purposes.
This
results
in
a
loaded
hourly
rate
of
$
13.46.

ANNUAL
AGENCY
BURDEN/
COST
ESTIMATES
Collection
Activity
Burden
Hours/
yr
Hrs.
Costs
GS­
14
GS­
12
GS­
05
$
41.59
$
29.58
$
13.46
1.
Answer
Respondent
Questions
100
400
0
500
$
4,159
$
11,832
$
15,991
2.
Audit
Review
Data
20
1000
0
1,020
$
832
$
29,580
$
30,412
3.
Record/
Enter
Respondent
Submissions
0
50
1,000
1,050
$
1,479
$
13,460
$
14,939
4.
Analyze
Requests
for
Confidentiality
5
25
5
35
Provide
Appropriate
Protection
$
208
$
740
$
67
$
1,015
5.
Reformat
and
Distribute
the
Data
0
100
5
105
$
2,958
$
67
$
3,025
14
6.
Store
the
Data
0
100
1,000
1,100
$
2,958
$
13,460
$
16,418
TOTAL:
125
1,675
2,010
3,810
$
5,199
$
49,547
$
27,054
$
81,800
c)
REASONS
FOR
CHANGE
IN
BURDEN
The
last
information
collection
clearance
request
approved
by
OMB
contained
207,450
hours
for
150
responses.
This
request
estimates
324,885
burden
hours
for
165
responses.
Overall,
the
respondent
burden
has
increased
by
117,435
hours.
This
increase
is
due
to
changes
in
the
methodology
for
calculation
of
burden.
There
are
also
smaller
adjustments
in
the
time
required
to
complete
and
review
each
submission.
There
are
no
program
changes
or
increases
in
the
quantity
of
information
requested.

d)
BURDEN
STATEMENT
Public
reporting
for
this
collection
of
information
is
estimated
to
average1969
hours
per
respondent
based
on
total
projected
burden
hours
(
324,885)
divided
by
the
number
of
anticipated
respondents
(
165).

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,
Office
of
Information
Collection,
Collection
Strategies
Division,
U.
S.
Environmental
Protection
Agency
(
2822),
1200
Pennsylvania
Ave
NW,
Washington,
D.
C.
20460;
and
to
the
Office
of
Information
and
Regulatory
Affairs,
Office
of
Management
and
Budget,
725
17th
Street,
NW,
Washington,
DC
20503,
Attention:
Desk
Officer
for
EPA.
Include
the
EPA
ICR
number
1550.05
and
OMB
control
number
2030­
0023
in
any
correspondence.

Burden
time
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,
to
develop,
acquire,
install
and
utilize
technology
and
systems
for
the
purpose
of
collecting,
validating,
and
verifying
information,
processing
and
maintaining
information,
and
disclosing
and
providing
information;
to
adjust
the
existing
ways
to
comply
with
any
previously
applicable
instructions
and
requirements;
to
train
personnel
to
be
able
to
respond
to
a
collection
of
information;
to
search
the
data
sources;
to
complete
and
review
the
collection
of
information;
and
to
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.