Document ID: EPA-HQ-OPPT-2018-0611-0002
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2019-08-07T04:00Z

Supporting Statement for an Information Collection Request (ICR)
                    Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)

Part A

Section 1.  Identification of the Information Collection
1(a) Title of the Information Collection:

                                                                         Title:
TSCA Existing Chemical Risk Evaluation and Management; Generic ICR for Interviews and Focus Groups
                                                                EPA ICR Number:
2584.01
                                                            OMB Control Number:
2070-NEW

                                                              Docket ID Number:
EPA-HQ-OPPT-2018-0611
                                                              EPA Form Numbers:
NONE

1(b) Short Characterization/Abstract:

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) intends to initiate a new voluntary information collection for chemical industry research involving focus groups, one-on-one interviews, and other structured discussions to provide more comprehensive and accurate information to inform the evaluation and risk management of existing chemicals as required under section 6 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). In 2016, the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21[st] Century Act (LCSA), which updated TSCA, was signed into law. Under TSCA, EPA must prioritize, evaluate, and determine risks for at least 20 chemicals at a time, and manage any unreasonable risks, all under strict statutory deadlines. Many of these chemicals may have multiple uses that fall under EPA's authority under TSCA. Under TSCA, for each chemical evaluated, EPA must evaluate hazards and exposures for each condition of use and manage, through regulations, all risks that EPA has determined to be unreasonable. 

EPA currently acquires data about chemicals under TSCA and other statutes. This information may include releases reported to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) (under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act), manufacturing (including importing) and processing information reported under the Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule (under TSCA section 8), and records of significant adverse reactions or notices of substantial risks submitted by chemical manufacturers, processors, or distributors under TSCA section 8. EPA also has authority under TSCA section 4 to require manufacturers and processors to conduct testing and submit data. EPA also uses information acquired under other statutes like the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. 

The purpose of this ICR is to help fill data gaps for EPA's risk evaluations and risk management of existing chemicals under section 6 of TSCA. EPA must gather information with sufficient detail about chemicals, including hazards, conditions of use, exposures, potentially exposed and susceptible populations, alternatives, and regulatory options in a timely fashion in order to meet TSCA's strict statutory timeframes (set forth in section 6). Therefore, EPA is seeking approval for a generic information collection request (ICR) to conduct interviews and focus groups of chemical users, processors, distributors, manufacturers (including importers), recyclers, chemical waste handlers, consumers, employees, state regulators, non-governmental organizations, and industry experts related to information collection for TSCA chemical risk evaluation and management. This generic ICR is intended to supplement currently reasonably available information on chemicals in commerce and provide support for the Agency's evaluation and regulatory activities regarding existing chemicals.

As appropriate, EPA would collect data in several ways, such as interviews and focus groups. Data collected under this generic clearance may be used in several ways during the risk evaluation and risk management processes, including establishing generic scenarios, developing models of various conditions of use of chemicals evaluated under TSCA or their alternatives, pretesting survey questions, and providing important context for publicly available information already available to EPA. This research would consist of open-ended structured discussions or interviews with individuals or small groups of individuals, and therefore can provide in-depth information. By learning more about the conditions of use, exposures, and alternatives to chemicals being evaluated or regulated, EPA would be able to more precisely and effectively carry out its mandate under TSCA to protect human health and the environment from unreasonable risks. 

Section 2.  Need for and use of the Collection
2(a)	Need/Authority for the Collection

Over the next three years, the Agency will prioritize chemicals, conduct risk evaluations, and take appropriate risk management actions to address any unreasonable risks identified from the use of numerous existing chemicals in commerce. Risk evaluation and risk management efforts under TSCA require detailed information about each chemical, including conditions of use, manufacturing (including import), processing, consumption, market for, exposure to, and potential substitutes for each chemical evaluated. Though some of this information is to a degree available to EPA through CDR, TRI, other regularly collected government data, or industry submissions under TSCA section 8(e), the currently available information is not always of sufficient completeness or detail to meet the requirements of section 6(c) or the timeframes mandated for EPA in section 6(b). 

EPA will use this generic ICR to conduct interviews and focus groups of chemical users, processors, distributors, manufacturers (including importers), recyclers, chemical waste handlers, consumers, employees, state regulators, non-governmental organizations, and industry experts who may have supplemental information and are not covered by current means of information collection. The Agency will use this information collection to inform the development of any future regulatory efforts and to integrate consistent, meaningful, and transparent information into risk evaluation and management actions. This information is critical for identifying conditions of use, conducting exposure assessments, characterizing risks, ascertaining benefits of and substitutes for each substance, estimating the economic consequences of regulation, and developing appropriate regulatory actions. Interviews and focus groups are important information-gathering tools that will allow EPA to address data gaps in current collections and more precisely and with less burden evaluate and manage risks from the use of existing chemicals evaluated under TSCA.

Some stakeholders have recommended that EPA collect more detailed information for its risk evaluations and risk management efforts. For example, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) has asked EPA to "ensure that it is using high quality representative data that are reflective of current uses for the conditions of use that are of concern." This generic ICR is designed to respond to these stakeholder comments and help EPA acquire more detailed data for its risk evaluations and risk management efforts. 

This generic ICR will support EPA's systematic review process for TSCA risk evaluations. EPA's initial work on systematic review is described in the supplemental files for the scope document for each of the first 10 chemicals evaluated for risks under TSCA section 6. The scope documents include the Strategy for Conducting Literature Searches and the Bibliography for each chemical. The systematic review process is outlined in the Application of Systematic Review in TSCA Risk Evaluations (https://www.epa.gov/assessing-and-managing-chemicals-under-tsca/application-systematic-review-tsca-risk-evaluations), including the general steps for collecting, evaluating and integrating data/information as well as specific guidance on how to assess the quality of data/information sources.

This data collection would be carried out in conjunction with other TSCA authorities under sections 4, 8, and 11, as appropriate, and would be a key part of how EPA meets its obligation under section 6 to evaluate chemicals in commerce and to address any unreasonable risks presented by these chemicals. The materials prepared for these discussions will fully conform to federal regulations  -  specifically the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), the Hawkins-Stafford Amendments of 1988 (P.L 100-297), and the Computer Security Act of 1987.

2(b)	Practical Utility/Users of the Data

EPA currently uses information on chemicals, including (but not limited to) information collected through the TRI, TSCA section 8 (including CDR), and  TSCA section 4, to (1) characterize manufacture (including import), processing, distribution, use, and disposal of chemical substances and mixtures; (2) identify possible routes of human or environmental exposure; (3) prioritize chemicals as high or low priority for risk evaluation; (4) evaluate the risks to humans, the environment, and susceptible subpopulations from these chemicals; (5) determine whether risks presented by chemicals are unreasonable; and (6) develop appropriate regulatory actions to address those risks. In general, current information sources either provide basic exposure information about large numbers of chemicals (CDR and TRI), or limited information about smaller numbers of chemicals (section 8(e)). Current information sources are important as a source of basic information to inform prioritization, and for initial risk evaluation efforts once a chemical has been prioritized and designated for risk evaluation.  Once a chemical has been selected for evaluation under TSCA, EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) proposes to conduct interviews and/or focus groups when appropriate, using this ICR to gain more detailed use and exposure information about that chemical for risk evaluation, and if necessary, information on alternatives and regulatory options for risk management. Information collected in interviews and focus groups from this generic ICR will supplement current information from CDR and TRI and provide EPA with more granular, complete, and up-to-date information about chemicals and the chemical industry, allowing EPA to more precisely evaluate and manage the risks from uses of chemicals evaluated under TSCA, especially from downstream uses. Information from interviews and focus groups will be part of EPA's comprehensive efforts to obtain information to meet its statutory obligations. 

CDR collects basic exposure-related information on the types, quantities, and uses of chemical substances produced domestically and imported into the United States. It constitutes the most comprehensive source of basic screening-level, exposure-related information on chemicals available to EPA. CDR is collected every four years from manufacturers and importers of certain chemicals  when production volumes are 25,000 pounds or greater at any single site for any year leading up to the reporting year (or 2,500 pounds if the chemical is subject to certain TSCA actions). While CDR provides valuable information on chemical manufacturing in the United States, EPA has found that the collection of additional information has been useful in understanding the details of the information submitted to CDR, as part of the characterization of the exposures expected from chemicals currently under risk evaluation. General use information is collected under CDR; however, in some instances, EPA might find that additional information is useful to conduct a detailed exposure assessment. 

TRI tracks the management of a specific list of toxic chemicals that may pose a threat to human health and the environment. U.S. facilities in different industry sectors must report annually how much of each chemical is released to the environment and/or managed through recycling, energy recovery, and treatment. EPA often uses TRI information to characterize exposure as part of the TSCA risk evaluation process.  In some instances, EPA might find additional information useful to characterize expected exposures to general population, or to occupational, consumer, and ecological populations. EPA may also want to collect additional information to better understand how exposures are distributed throughout the year and how much of these TRI-reported releases might affect workers.

Section 8(e) of TSCA requires chemical manufacturers, processors, and distributors to notify the EPA if they obtain information which reasonably supports the conclusion that the chemical they manufacture, process, or distribute presents a substantial risk of injury to health or the environment. This information may not be available for chemicals under risk evaluation or other parts of the 6(b) process.

While the information collected under this ICR could be used by OPPT, other EPA program offices are also potential users of data from this generic ICR to the extent these offices regulate chemicals and the chemical industry. Other federal agencies that regulate chemical manufacturing and use, such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), may also use the information generated by this generic ICR. Additionally, interviews and focus groups conducted under this ICR could be used to inform survey questions or concepts (the subject of Part B of this ICR). 

The information collected under this ICR will be an important part of EPA's risk evaluation and risk management processes, as required under section 6 of TSCA. In exposure assessments, data from this ICR could be used to (1) verify findings derived from modeled results and data from monitoring or enforcement activities, (2) help determine what data are needed to estimate exposures for evaluated conditions of use and (3) improve understanding of these conditions of use, allowing for more accurate characterization of risks. As part of risk management for any risks found to be unreasonable, EPA is required (under section 6(c)(2)) to, among other things, consider the costs and benefits of a proposed regulatory action and at least one alternative regulatory option, and in certain circumstances, consider, to the extent practicable, whether technically and economically feasible alternatives that benefit health or the environment will be reasonably available as a substitute. Data from this ICR will be used to help (1) determine and describe alternatives and (2) properly characterize the costs and benefits of each regulatory action and alternative actions. 

Section 3.  Non duplication, Consultations, and Other Collection Criteria
3(a)	Non duplication

Data generated from this generic ICR will assist EPA in identifying, evaluating, and managing the human health and environmental risks of chemical substances, mixtures, and categories. This voluntary collection will provide interested parties with a clear and effective way of communicating the nuances of their chemical manufacture, processing, distribution, or use practices to EPA, and will provide EPA with details of and context for already existing chemical information, which will allow for more accurate risk evaluation and more effective risk management. 

EPA has developed procedures that will be met to make sure that the information from this generic ICR pertaining to evaluation and risk management of chemicals under TSCA does not duplicate other activities or impose a burden on industry that outweighs the need for the data. These procedures are:
 utilization to the fullest extent of information already available to the Agency through databases such as those generated by CDR and TRI, and through reporting already required under TSCA; 
 consultation with other federal agencies to make sure that information requested does not duplicate information already in possession of the federal government and that EPA can gain access to that information;
 continuing use of public meeting and outreach opportunities;
 continuing evaluation of the information collection and management activities, including feedback from affected entities about burden estimates and methods for reducing burden; and
 careful management of the collected information, including appropriate dissemination within EPA to utilize all information to the fullest extent and avoid the need for additional collections.

For exposure information, the data/information collected from interviews and focus groups under this generic ICR may be used to fill important information gaps discovered during the systematic review process of risk evaluations. To avoid duplication, EPA will check a variety of exposure information sources before conducting interviews or focus groups under this generic ICR. These sources include, but are not limited to, data from other EPA offices outside of OPPT and other government sources like the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), OSHA, and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) as well as data from generally non-governmental sources like the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) and other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. OPPT will also conduct a literature search to find relevant peer-reviewed and non-peer reviewed (gray) literature such as theses, dissertations, technical reports, guideline studies, conference proceedings, publicly-available industry reports, trade association resources and government reports.  

For evaluation of alternatives, EPA will conduct an extensive review of relevant sources from the systematic review, as well as systematic search of peer-reviewed and gray literature. Interviews and focus groups from this ICR may then be used to help fulfill the requirements of TSCA Section 6(c)(2)(C) in instances where a certain type of risk management is expected, which requires that EPA consider "to the extent practicable, whether technically and economically feasible alternatives that benefit health or the environment, compared to the use so proposed to be prohibited or restricted, will be reasonably available as a substitute when the proposed prohibition or other restriction takes effect."

It is not expected that any of the information to be submitted to EPA during these interviews or focus groups is duplicative or is already in the possession of the Federal Government. The agency anticipates that proposed interviews and focus groups could be used to address the needs of the Agency and significantly improve EPA's ability to refine its analysis and to evaluate and manage risks from chemicals evaluated under TSCA.

3(b)	Public Notice Required Prior to ICR Submission to OMB

On xx xx, 2019 (xx FR xxxx), EPA sought comments on this ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received xx comments, which are available in the docket and summarized in Attachment ##, along with EPA's responses to those comments. 

EPA will also seek additional comments when the final ICR, revised to address any comments received, is submitted to OMB for review and approval. 

3(c) 	Consultations

Under 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), OMB requires agencies to consult with potential ICR respondents and data users about specific aspects of the ICR before submitting an ICR to OMB for review and approval. In accordance with this regulatory requirement, EPA submitted questions by e-mail to potential ICR respondents and data users. A copy of that email is included in Attachment ##, along with the list of individuals contacted. EPA received xx responses, which are available in the docket and summarized in Attachment ##, along with EPA's responses to the feedback that was provided.

3(d)	Effects of Less Frequent Collection

The information collection activities under this generic ICR will be ad hoc and will occur only on those occasions where information would be useful for EPA to evaluate and manage unreasonable risks of chemicals under TSCA, and the information is not in the possession of EPA after a comprehensive search of the relevant databases. As such, less frequent collection is not possible. 

3(e)	General Guidelines

Information will be collected according to the guidelines in 5 CFR 1320. Participation will be voluntary under this generic ICR. There will be complete protection of any demographic information collection from participants -- full names, phone numbers, and addresses will not be associated with responses. 

3(f)	Confidentiality

EPA is not collecting information of a sensitive or private nature.  However, respondents may claim information provided in an interview or focus group as Confidential Business Information (CBI) under section 14 of TSCA.  Please refer to TSCA § 14(b) to understand what information is not protected from disclosure. For example, TSCA § 14(a) does not prohibit the disclosure of information from health and safety studies that are submitted under TSCA.  Information on the requirements for asserting CBI claims under TSCA can be found at https://www.epa.gov/tsca-cbi/making-cbi-claims-tsca-submissions. EPA will disclose information that is covered by a claim of confidentiality only to the extent permitted by, and in accordance with, the procedures in TSCA section 14, which provide advance notice and an opportunity to object prior to public disclosure.

EPA takes stringent measures to protect CBI submitted in connection with TSCA pursuant to 40 CFR part 2 and the "TSCA CBI Protection Manual".  These procedures include security clearances and training for all staff permitted to access TSCA CBI, storage of TSCA CBI in secured areas, computer security for TSCA CBI, secure methods for creating, transferring, and destroying TSCA CBI, and advance notice of disclosure to contractors (usually via the Federal Register) where such disclosure is authorized.

In addition, each interview and focus group will fully conform to federal regulations  -  specifically the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), the Hawkins-Stafford Amendments of 1988 (P.L. 100-297), and the Computer Security Act of 1987.  

3(g) 	Sensitive Questions

No questions will be asked that are of a personal or sensitive nature.

Section 4.  The Respondents and the Information Requested
4(a)	Respondents/SIC Codes

The target population for the surveys will vary by project and chemical, but may include chemical users, processors, manufacturers (including importers), recyclers, chemical waste handlers, consumers, employees, state regulators, non-governmental organizations, and industry experts. As such, there are no typical respondent NAICS codes and the respondents will vary depending on the conditions of use of each chemical under consideration. 

4(b)	Information Requested

There are no recordkeeping requirements associated with this generic ICR and potential respondent activities and information collected will vary based on the approach taken and the nature of the information needed.

Respondents will be asked to participate in a structured (in the case of focus groups, moderated) discussion concerning a TSCA chemical (or chemicals), during which they will be asked about details about the chemical, including conditions of use, processing, consumption, market for, exposure to, and substitutes. Participation is voluntary and there will be complete protection of any demographic information collection from participants -- names, phone numbers and addresses will not be associated with responses.

Section 5.  The Information Collected  -  Agency Activities, Collection Methodology, and Information Management
5(a) Agency Activities

Agency activities associated with this information collection will include:
 Deciding who the respondents will be;
 Drafting interview and focus group scripts and accompanying materials;
 Conducting interviews and observing and moderating focus group discussions;
 Summarizing focus group results and making changes to draft materials as appropriate;
 Analyzing claims of confidentiality and providing appropriate protections; and
 Summarizing, analyzing, and storing interview and focus group responses.

5(b) Collection Methodology and Management

Focus group studies are directed group discussions that do not produce statistically valid data, but which enable skilled observers to infer the underlying views and assumptions of the group that are expressed in the discussion. To facilitate interpretation, discussions are generally recorded and videotaped so that both a visual record and written transcript of the discussion are available for review. Participants are informed in advance that the sessions will be recorded. Transcripts and video tapes will be maintained in individual project files. 

For interviews, notes will be taken and available for review.

5(c) Small Entity Flexibility

Information may be collected from small businesses or small organizations or small governmental jurisdictions as part of this information collection. None of these interviews or focus groups will be mandatory, and EPA will work to ensure flexibility for small businesses, small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions.

5(d) Collection Schedule

Focus groups and interviews will be scheduled according to the needs of individual projects. No firm schedule for this collection can be established otherwise.

Section 6.  Estimating the Burden and Cost of Collection
6(a)	Estimating Respondent Burden and Costs

Estimates of respondent burden were derived from projected interview and focus group usage over the next three years. To do this, EPA estimated the number of existing chemical risk evaluations under TSCA and the number of interviews and focus groups useful to gain information to evaluate these chemicals and develop regulatory actions to manage any unreasonable risk. The total estimated hourly burden imposed by this collection of information over the next three years for interviews and focus groups is approximately 710 hours or approximately 237 hours annually. The total burden per year is valued at approximately $18,296. There are no capital costs or operating and maintenance costs associated with this collection. There are about 238 respondents per year. This is derived by taking the approximate number of risk evaluations multiplied by the average number of interviews and focus groups per risk evaluation and again multiplying by the average number of participants per interview and focus group respectively. The total number of respondents for the 3-year collection would be about 714. 

Labor costs in this statement have been updated using the most recently available revised wage rates and information on benefits costs. These wage rates are taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Employer Costs for Employee Compensation Supplemental Tables: December 2006-December 2017 (released in March 2018) and are from private manufacturing industries. The clerical wages are taken from the BLS data for "office and administrative support." The technical wages are taken from the BLS data for "professional and related." The managerial wages are taken from the BLS data for "management, business and financial." Labor wage rates and hourly benefit costs taken from those sources have been used to calculate the labor cost to respondents, as shown below. The hourly overhead is calculated as 17 percent of the base wage. This approach is used for consistency with Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics economics practices and is based on the analysis in Wage Rates for Economic Analyses of the Toxics Release Inventory Program, Cody Rice, U.S. EPA, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Economic and Policy Analysis Branch, June 10, 2002. The 2017 hourly industry wages used for this ICR are presented in the following table.

Wage Component
Technical
Managerial
Hourly Wage Rate
$45.82
$46.59
Benefit Costs
$24.33
$22.16
Fringe and Overhead Factor
1.70
1.65
Total Hourly Cost
$77.94
$76.67

These labor costs are multiplied by the estimated burden hours per activity and added to any non-labor costs to develop total unit costs per report. 

EPA assumes that the burden of focus groups and interviews is split evenly among technical and managerial personnel. 

EPA is required to prioritize and start evaluating the risks of at least twenty existing chemicals starting in 2019, with a requirement to complete these risk evaluations within three years of beginning the risk evaluation. To support this, EPA assumes that an average of twenty interviews and two focus groups with seven participants each will be needed per risk evaluation. EPA assumes that each interview would require an average of 0.5 hours and each focus group would require 1.7 hours. The average focus group size and duration is the same as that assumed for focus groups done through the Office of Policy in their generic ICR (EPA ICR No. 2205.04). 

Table 2: Average Respondent Burden and Costs[1]
                               Type of Response
                Approximate Number of Evaluations (Three Years)
                         Average Events per Evaluation
                        Average Respondents per Event 
         Average Hours of Duration for Each Event (includes screening)
                            Total Estimated Burden
                           Over Next 3 Years (hours)
                                Total Estimated
                              Burden per Year ($)

Interviews
                                       
                                      21
                                       
                                      20
                                       
                                       1
                                       
                                      0.5
                                       
                                      210
                                       
                                    $5,411

Focus Groups
                                       
                                      21
                                       
                                       2
                                       
                                       7
                                       
                                      1.7
                                       
                                      500
                                       
                                    $12,884
Total Respondent Burden
                                      710
                                    $18,296
[1] There are no capital costs or operating and maintenance costs associated with this collection of information.

6(b)	Estimating Agency Burden and Costs

The Agency incurs costs to conduct interviews, develop focus group materials, and organize, conduct, and observe focus group discussions. These expenses will vary by specific project. The table below provides an estimate of costs per-year. EPA person-costs are estimated using an hourly rate for a GS-13 (step 5) based in Washington, DC in 2017. Time spent on each step may vary as well as the GS level of the employees involved. Contractor costs will also depend on the location of focus groups, degree of involvement in materials preparation, and whether written transcripts of each focus group are required. The estimates presented below assume that the Agency prepares all materials and that approximately 3 individuals observe each focus group. EPA assume that the contractor costs for each focus group would be half of the cost of the Office of Policy focus groups because the focus groups for TSCA existing chemicals would ask experts their observations about the chemical at issue rather than (as the Office of Policy does) asking broad questions regarding public opinion on economic subjects. The total agency burden and cost per year will be approximately $93,264.

Table 3: Estimated Average Annual Agency Burden and Costs for Focus Groups & Interviews
Task
          Costs (and Person-hours) Per Focus Group or Interview Hour
                             Total Hours and Cost

                                      EPA
                                   ($82.37/
                                     Hour)
                         Estimated Contractor Costs[1]
                                 O&M Cost
                Number of Focus Group or Interview Hours/Year.
                                Total Cost/Year
Prepare Materials for Focus Group Discussion
                                     $824
                                   (10 hrs)
                                       
                                      --
                                       
                                      --
                                       
                                      24
                                       
                                    $19,769
Organize and Conduct Focus Group Discussion
(Contractor)
                                      --
                                       
                                    $2,500
                                       
                                      --
                                       
                                      24
                                       
                                       
                                    $60,000
Observe Focus Group Discussion
                                     $247
                                    (3 hrs)
                                      --
                                      --
                                      24
                                    $1,977
Interview
                                      $82
                                    (1 hrs)
                                       
                                       
                                      140
                                    $11,518
Total
   $93,264
Notes: [1]includes recruiting respondents, meeting space, travel reimbursement for approximately 7 participants, and recording of discussion.

6(c)	Bottom Line Burden Hours and Cost Tables

EPA expects respondent hours to total 710 over the next 3 years or 237 each year. These hours will be spread over approximately 420 interviews and 42 focus groups over the next 3 yrs.

Table 5: Annual Respondent and Agency Burden and Costs

Activity
                             Total Events Per Year
                               Respondent Burden
                               Respondent Costs
                                 Agency Burden
                                 Agency Costs

                                       
                                   Per Event
                                     (Hrs)
                                 Annual (Hrs)
                                 Per Event ($)
                                  Annual ($)
                                   Per Event
                                     (Hrs)
                                 Annual (Hrs)
                                 Per Event ($)
                                  Annual ($)
Interviews
                                      140
                                      0.5
                                      70
                                      $39
                                    $5,411
                                       1
                                      140
                                      $82
                                    $11,518
Focus Groups
                                      14
                                      1.7
                                      167
                                     $920
                                    $12,884
                                      22
                                      309
                                    $5,839
                                    $81,746
                                    Totals
                                      154
                                       
                                      237
                                       
                                    $18,296
                                       
                                       
                                       
                                    $93,264

As indicated previously, since the information activities covered by this ICR do not involve recordkeeping or management and operations activities, there are no burden or costs associated with those activities.

6(f)	Reasons for Change in Burden

This ICR will cover a new collection activity.

6(g) 	Burden Statement

The annual public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 0.99 hours per response. There are no recordkeeping burdens.

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.

Section 7. 	Docket Information
The Agency has established a docket for this ICR under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OPPT-2018-0611. An electronic version of the docket is available for online viewing at http://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. The docket is also available for in person viewing at the OPPT Docket in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC). The EPA/DC Public Reading Room is located in the EPA West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA/DC 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 EPA/DC Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the Pollution Prevention and Toxics Docket is (202) 566-0280.

Section 8. 	Submitting Comments
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, follow the instructions in the Federal Register announcement to submit your comments to EPA during an open comment period and using http://www.regulations.gov. You can also send comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget. Submit comments to (1) EPA online through http://www.regulations.gov and (2) OMB via email to oira_submission@omb.eop.gov and address your comments to the OMB Desk Officer for EPA. 

In any correspondence, please be sure to include the docket ID and OMB control numbers that are listed on page 1 of this ICR. Please also remember that the docket and addresses provided here are for you to use in submitting your comments; do not submit any other information (e.g., forms, reports, etc.) to these addresses.

Section 9. 	Attachments
Attachments to the supporting statement are available in the public docket established for this ICR under docket ID no. EPA-HQ-OPPT-2018-0611. These attachments are available for online viewing at http://www.regulations.gov or can otherwise be accessed as described in this section 7 of this ICR.