Document ID: EPA-HQ-OW-2019-0143-0002
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Treatment of Indian Tribes in a Similar Manner as States for Purposes of Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act
Posted Date: 2019-10-30T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 210 (Wednesday, October 30, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58155-58156]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-23673]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2019-0143; FRL-10000-00-OMS]

Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and 
Approval; Comment Request; Treatment of Indian Tribes in a Similar 
Manner as States for Purposes of Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act 
(Renewal)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to 
submit an information collection request (ICR), Treatment of Indian 
Tribes in a Similar Manner as States for Purposes of Section 303(d) of 
the Clean Water Act (EPA ICR Number 2553.03; OMB Control Number 2040-
0290), to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and 
approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. This is a 
proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through 
December 31, 2019. Public comments were previously requested via the 
Federal Register on April 15, 2019 during a 60-day comment period. This 
notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comment. A fuller 
description of the ICR is given below, including its estimated burden 
and cost to the public. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a 
person is not required to respond to, a collection of information 
unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

DATES: Additional comments must be submitted on or before November 29, 
2019.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2019-0143, to (1) EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred 
method) or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection 
Agency, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 
20460, and (2) OMB via email to oira_submission@omb.eop.gov. address 
comments to OMB Desk Officer for EPA.
    EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the 
public docket without change including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes profanity, threats, information 
claimed to be Confidential Business Information, or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carol Peterson, Watershed Assessment, 
Restoration, and Protection Division, Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and 
Watersheds (4503T), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 566-1304; fax 
number: (202) 566-1331; email address: peterson.carol@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supporting documents, which explain in 
detail the information that the EPA will be collecting, are available 
in the public docket for this ICR. The docket can be viewed online at 
www.regulations.gov or in person at the EPA Docket Center, WJC West, 
Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC. The telephone 
number for the Docket Center is 202-566-1744. For additional 
information about EPA's public docket visit http://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    Abstract: In 2016, EPA issued regulations establishing a process 
for federally recognized tribes to obtain treatment in a similar manner 
as states (TAS) for purposes of administrating the water quality 
restoration provisions of Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 303(d), 
including establishing lists of impaired waters on their reservations 
and developing total maximum daily loads (TMDLs). The CWA does not 
require tribes to administer the CWA Section 303(d) program. However, 
tribes seeking to be authorized must apply for and be found eligible 
for TAS through the procedures described in the regulations.
    Section 303(d) of the CWA requires states, territories, and 
authorized tribes to identify and establish a priority ranking for 
waters that do not meet EPA-approved or promulgated water quality 
standards (WQS) following the implementation of technology-based 
controls. For waters so identified, Section 303(d) requires states, 
territories, and authorized tribes to establish TMDLs in accordance 
with their priority ranking for those pollutants the Administrator 
identified as suitable for TMDL calculation. A TMDL is the calculation 
and allocation to point and nonpoint sources of the maximum amount of a 
pollutant that a water body can receive and still meet applicable WQS, 
with a margin of safety.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: Any federally recognized tribe with 
a reservation.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Voluntary.
    Estimated number of respondents: Five.
    Frequency of response: Once for initial TAS status, thereafter 
biennially

[[Page 58156]]

for lists of impaired waters, and from time to time for TMDLs.
    Total estimated burden: 34,757 hours (per year). Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $2,003,045 (per year), which includes $12,443 
in annualized capital or operation & maintenance costs.
    Changes in Estimates: There is a decrease of 55,147 hours in the 
total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently 
approved by OMB. These decreases are due to: (1) The estimated annual 
number of respondents decreasing from twelve to five; (2) new and 
better data that parses out labor and costs per activity; and (3) TAS 
application burden and cost estimates from post-final rule, Revised 
Interpretation of Clean Water Act Tribal Provision (the previous ICR 
used pre-final rule estimates).

Courtney Kerwin,
Director, Regulatory Support Division.
[FR Doc. 2019-23673 Filed 10-29-19; 8:45 am]
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