Document ID: EPA-HQ-OA-2019-0292-0004
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Survey to Improve Economic Analysis of Surface Water Quality Changes
Posted Date: 2023-01-19T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 12 (Thursday, January 19, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3405-3406]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-00972]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OA-2019-0292; FRL-10585-01-OMS]

Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Survey To Improve Economic Analysis of Surface Water Quality 
Changes (New)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an 
information collection request (ICR), ``Survey to Improve Economic 
Analysis of Surface Water Quality Changes'' (EPA ICR Number 2588.01, 
OMB Control Number 2090-NEW) to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act. This is a request for approval of a new collection. 
Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on 
September 29, 2021, during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows 
for an additional 30 days for public comments.

DATES: Comments may be submitted on or before February 21, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments to EPA, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-
HQ-OA-2019-0292 online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred 
method), by email to [email protected], 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.
    Submit written comments and recommendations to OMB for the proposed 
information collection within 30 days of publication of this notice to 
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information

[[Page 3406]]

collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for 
Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chris Moore, AO/OP/NCEE, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone number: 202-566-2348; fax number: 202-566-2448; email 
address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a request for approval of a new 
collection. 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.
    Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register 
on September 29, 2021, during a 60-day comment period (86 FR 53960). 
This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. 
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: Researchers and analysts in EPA's Office of Research and 
Development (ORD), Office of Water (OW), and National Center for 
Environmental Economics (NCEE) are collaborating to improve EPA's 
ability to perform benefit cost analysis on changes in surface water 
quality (lakes, rivers, and streams). We are requesting approval to 
conduct a survey that will provide data critical to that effort. A 
number of non-market valuation methods can be used to estimate the 
economic benefits of improving environmental quality, but they often 
require more time and resources than federal agencies have to complete 
the regulatory impact analysis. Benefit transfer can provide reasonably 
accurate estimates of economic benefits under certain conditions with 
fewer resources and far less time. Federal agencies rely on benefit 
transfer often when analyzing the economic impacts of environmental 
regulation. In conducting benefit cost analyses of surface water 
regulations, however, it has become apparent that there is a lack of 
data on some features of policy analysis that have forced analysts to 
make assumptions about the relationships between a number of factors. 
This information collection is necessary to provide insight on those 
relationships and improve the EPA's and other federal agencies' ability 
to perform benefit transfer in regulatory analysis.
    Analysts in the Office of Policy, the Office of Water, and the 
Office of Research and Development have begun work on an integrated 
hydrological and economic model that will be capable of estimating 
benefits for a wide range of surface water regulations. The data 
collected with this survey will inform that effort. Analysts elsewhere 
in the EPA and other federal agencies may also be able to use the 
results of this study to improve benefit transfer in other 
applications. The survey will be administered electronically to a 
probability-based internet panel. An internet-based survey mode 
provides several advantages in efficiency and accuracy over other 
collection modes. It is also necessary to meet several of our research 
objectives described in the ICR Supporting Statement. Participation in 
the survey will be voluntary and the identity of the participants will 
be kept confidential.
    Form numbers: EPA Form 5800-078, A Survey on Water Quality in 
Rivers, Lakes, and Streams.
    Respondents/affected entities: Eligible respondents for this survey 
will be U.S. civilian, non-institutionalized individuals, age 18 years 
and older.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Voluntary.
    Estimated number of respondents: 6120 (total).
    Frequency of response: One-time collection.
    Total estimated burden: 2,040 hours.
    Total estimated cost: $637,122. There are no capital or operation 
and maintenance costs associated with this collection.
    Changes in the estimates: This is a new collection. The survey is a 
one-time data collection activity.

Courtney Kerwin,
Director, Regulatory Support Division.
[FR Doc. 2023-00972 Filed 1-18-23; 8:45 am]
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