Document ID: EPA-HQ-OEI-2011-0096-0004
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Cross-Media Electronic Reporting Rule
Posted Date: 2014-11-04T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 213 (Tuesday, November 4, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65391-65392]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-26178]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OEI-2011-0096; FRL-9918-82-OEI]

Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Cross-
Media Electronic Reporting Rule

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to 
submit an information collection request (ICR), ``Cross-Media 
Electronic Reporting Rule'' (EPA ICR No. 2002.06, OMB Control No. 2025-
0003) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and 
approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 
et seq.). Before doing so, EPA is soliciting public comments on 
specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described 
below. This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently 
approved through April 30, 2015. 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: Comments must be submitted on or before January 5, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OEI-
2011-0096, online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), by 
email to oei.docket@epa.gov, or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, 
Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460.
    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 (CBI) or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Seeh, Office of Environmental 
Information, (2823T), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-566-
1175; fax number: 202-566-1684; email address: seeh.karen@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.
    Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, EPA is soliciting 
comments and information to enable it to: (i) Evaluate whether the 
proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper 
performance of the functions of the Agency, including whether the 
information will have practical utility; (ii) evaluate the accuracy of 
the Agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of 
information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
used; (iii) enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (iv) minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on those who are to respond, including 
through the use of appropriate automated electronic, mechanical, or 
other technological collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses. EPA 
will consider the comments received and amend the ICR as appropriate. 
The final ICR package will then be submitted to OMB for review and 
approval. At that time, EPA will issue another Federal Register notice 
to announce the submission of the ICR to OMB and the opportunity to 
submit additional comments to OMB.
    Abstract: The scope of this ICR is the electronic reporting 
components of CROMERR, which is designed to: (i) Allow EPA to comply 
with the Government Paperwork Elimination Act of 1998; (ii) provide a 
uniform, technology-neutral framework for electronic reporting across 
all EPA programs; (iii) allow EPA programs to offer electronic 
reporting as they become ready for CROMERR; and (iv) provide states 
with a streamlined process--together with a uniform set of standards--
for approval of their electronic reporting provisions for all their 
EPA-authorized programs. Responses to the collection of information are 
voluntary. In order to accommodate CBI, the information collected must 
be in accordance with the confidentiality regulations set forth in 40 
CFR Part 2, Subpart B. Additionally, EPA will ensure that the 
information collection procedures comply with the Privacy Act of 1974 
and the OMB Circular 108.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: Entities that report electronically 
to EPA and

[[Page 65392]]

state or local government authorized programs; and state and local 
government authorized programs implementing electronic reporting.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Voluntary, required to obtain 
or retain a benefit (Cross-Media Electronic Reporting Rule (CROMER) 
established to ensure compliance with the Government Paperwork 
Elimination Act (GPEA)).
    Estimated number of respondents: 102,387 (total).
    Frequency of response: On occasion.
    Total estimated burden: 38,491 hours (per year). Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $2,086,380 (per year), including $1,438,861 
in annualized labor costs and $647,519 in annualized capital or 
operation & maintenance costs.
    Changes in Estimates: There is a decrease of 1,272 hours in the 
total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently 
approved by OMB. This decrease occurred primarily because there was a 
decrease in the total annual number of employees complying with 
CROMERR's identity proofing requirements. In estimating the annual 
number of employees complying with the CROMERR's identity proofing 
requirements for this ICR, EPA was able to take advantage of 
improvements in data software and hardware capabilities and thus, 
develop estimates based on actual data instead of the complex 
calculations used in the currently approved ICR. In particular, EPA was 
able to obtain actual numbers and growth rates for the annual number of 
subscriber agreements submitted to CDX over the past several years. 
These data were used to improve the estimate for the annual number of 
subscriber agreements submitted by direct reporters. EPA believes that 
the respondent estimates included in this ICR are a reasonable 
approximation of the actual respondent universe.

    Dated: October 28, 2014.
Connie Dwyer,
Director, Information Exchange and Services Division.
[FR Doc. 2014-26178 Filed 11-3-14; 8:45 am]
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