Document ID: EPA-HQ-OW-2002-0009-0026
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2003-03-21T05:00Z

1
SUPPORTING
STATEMENT
Section
1:
Identification
of
the
Information
Collection
1(
a)
Title
of
the
Information
Collection
QUESTIONNAIRE
FOR
NOMINEES
FOR
THE
ANNUAL
NATIONAL
CLEAN
WATER
ACT
RECOGNITION
AWARDS
(
WASTEWATER
MANAGEMENT
EXCELLENCE
AWARDS)

1(
b)
Short
Characterization/
Abstract
This
questionnaire
is
developed
to
collect
information
for
the
Environmental
Protection
Agency's
(
EPA)
National
Clean
Water
Act
Recognition
Awards
Program,
formerly
the
National
Wastewater
Management
Excellence
Awards
Program.

In
1985,
the
EPA
established
the
Operations
and
Maintenance
(
O&
M)
awards
program
to
provide
a
positive
incentive
for
compliance
with
the
National
Pollutant
Discharge
Elimination
System.
Because
of
the
successes
of
the
O&
M
Awards
program,
in
1986
the
EPA
established
the
Beneficial
Biosolids
Use
awards
(
formerly
Sludge
awards).
In
1990
the
EPA
established
the
Combined
Sewer
Overflow
(
CSO)
and
Storm
Water
(
SW)
Management
awards
programs.
The
questionnaire
provides
the
mechanism
for
the
applicant
to
demonstrate
outstanding
and
innovative
management
practices.
The
Pretreatment
awards
program
is
covered
by
ICR
(
OMB
Control
No.
2040­
0009,
EPA
ICR
No.
0002.09),
approved
through
September
30,
2003.

The
respondent
will
read
the
instructions
for
completing
the
questionnaire.
The
respondent
will
use
existing
files,
planning
and
progress
reports,
and
institutional
memory
to
complete
the
questionnaire.
Based
on
the
instructions
provided
with
the
questionnaire,
the
respondent
will
compile
the
requested
information.
The
requested
design
and
operating
information
should
be
readily
available
from
wastewater
treatment
facility
or
pollution
abatement
program
operating
records.
The
data
collection
will
include
flow,
permit,
operating
and
environmental
data.

The
information
collection
will
be
used
by
the
respective
awards
program
in
the
Office
of
Water,
Office
of
Wastewater
Management
to
evaluate
and
determine
which
pollution
abatement
achievements
should
be
recognized.
Based
on
the
collection,
national
panels
will
evaluate
the
nominee's
efforts
and
recommend
finalists.
As
currently
structured,
the
O&
M
awards
program
has
nine
categories
to
recognize
municipal
achievements
based
on
plant
flows
and
treatment
level;
the
Biosolids
awards
program
has
four
categories
which
recognize
municipal
biosolids
operations,
technology
and
research
achievements,
and
public
acceptance.
The
O&
M
and
Biosolids
awards
programs
may
have
regional
and
State
O&
M
recognition
programs.
The
CSO
awards
program
has
one
category
which
recognizes
municipal
programs,
and
the
SW
awards
program
has
two
categories
which
recognize
municipal
and
industrial
programs.
National
second
place
category
2
winners
may
also
be
recognized.
Additionally,
nominated
activities
may
sometimes
receive
an
honorable
mention.
The
National
Clean
Water
Act
Recognition
Awards
(
formerly
National
Wastewater
Management
Excellence
Awards)
are
presented
annually
at
an
EPA
Ceremony.

Total
estimated
burden
for
this
collection
is
2800
hours
and
$
79,200.
The
cost
to
the
Federal
government
is
$
170,240
per
year.

Section
2:
Need
for
and
Use
of
the
Collection
2(
a)
Need/
Authority
for
the
Collection
Section
501(
e)
of
the
Clean
Water
Act,
as
amended
(
copy
attached)
authorizes
a
program
to
recognize
municipalities
and
industries
that
demonstrate
outstanding
technological
achievements,
innovative
processes,
devices
or
other
outstanding
methods
in
their
waste
treatment
and
pollution
abatement
programs.
Recognition
is
made
through
EPA's
National
Clean
Water
Act
awards
program.
The
program
also
heightens
public
awareness
of
the
contributions
wastewater
treatment
facilities
and
programs
make
to
clean
water,
and
encourages
public
support
for
effective
operations
and
maintenance.
The
design,
operating,
and
environmental
compliance
information
of
the
wastewater
treatment
facility
or
pollution
abatement
programs
is
needed
to
complete
the
questionnaire.

2(
b)
Practical
Utility/
Users
of
the
Data
Section
3:
Non­
duplication,
Consultations,
and
Other
Collection
Criteria
3(
a)
Non­
duplication
The
design,
operating,
and
environmental
compliance
information
needed
to
complete
the
questionnaire
is
not
immediately
available
in
the
data
base
or
files
of
a
State
or
Federal
office.
If
such
data
is
available,
it
may
exist
in
an
outdated
report
or
data
base
which
cannot
be
timely
or
readily
cross­
referenced
to
the
requested
data.
Outstanding
and
innovative
program
accomplishments
must
be
provided
from
the
wastewater
management
facilities
and
programs
as
it
is
not
available
from
any
other
source.

3(
b)
Public
Notice
Required
Prior
to
ICR
Submission
to
OMB
A
copy
of
the
Federal
Register
Notice
is
attached.
No
comments
were
received.

3(
c)
Consultations
The
program
is
in
its
fifteenth
year
of
making
awards.
EPA
strives
to
minimize
the
burden
on
all
respondents,
especially
small
communities/
businesses.
Each
year
comments
are
provided
by
the
award
recipients,
selection
panel,
and
State
and
Regional
EPA
personnel.
EPA
asks
the
3
Regional
and
State
personnel
to
assist
the
respondents
where
necessary
in
completing
the
questionnaire.
Regions
also
ensure
that
the
nominees'
environmental
compliance
records
are
reviewed
and
approved
before
they
complete
the
questionnaire.

EPA
managers
solicit
feedback
on
its
questionnaire
from
non­
Federal
panelists
and
from
past
municipal
winners
in
a
very
informal
manner.
EPA
managers
also
receive
indirect
comments
from
Regional
EPA
employees,
who
also
are
in
contact
with
municipal
and
industrial
entities
and
State
officials.
Positive
and
negative
feedbacks
are
both
evaluated.
Feedback
from
the
States
facility
operators
is
that
the
national
application
form
for
awards
is
complex
and
is
a
significant
burden
for
the
plant
staff.
In
order
to
improve
participation,
some
Regions
use
a
short
form
to
get
the
facilities
into
the
award
process
for
local,
State
and
Regional
competition.
Once
the
facilities
have
been
selected
for
nomination
to
the
national
competition,
they
complete
the
questionnaire
to
compete
for
the
national
award.
The
questionnaire
is
revised
if
the
burden
on
the
respondent
is
determined
to
unnecessarily
outweigh
the
information
being
requested
to
evaluate
achievement.

3(
d)
Effects
of
Less
Frequent
Collection
If
the
collection
is
conducted
on
a
less
frequent
basis
the
merits
and
goals
of
the
program
would
be
seriously
impacted.
Recognition
awards
are
held
annually.
The
information
collection
schedule
is
contained
in
the
respondent's
questionnaire
instructions.
The
respective
awards
program
sends
out
its
questionnaire
and
instructions
in
December/
January
of
each
year.
The
completed
questionnaire
is
received
by
Headquarters
in
May/
June,
and
the
panel
reviews
the
questionnaires
in
June/
July.

3(
e)
General
Guidelines
This
information
collection
request
is
consistent
with
guidelines
contained
in
5
CFR
1320.5(
d)(
2).

3(
f)
Confidentiality
No
confidential
information
is
involved
for
this
collection
activity.

3(
g)
Sensitive
Questions
The
questionnaire
does
not
request
any
information
that
would
be
of
a
sensitive
nature.

Section
4:
The
Respondents
and
the
Information
Requested
4
4(
a)
Respondents/
SIC
Codes
The
Standard
Industrial
Classifications
(
SIC)
for
the
respondents
effected
by
this
information
collection
activity
are
as
follows:

4952
­
Sewerage
Systems
4953
­
Refuse
Systems
8221
­
Colleges,
Universities,
Professional
Schools
8711
­
Engineering
Services
8734
­
Testing
Laboratories
9511
­
Air
and
Water
Resource
and
Solid
Waste
Management
(
Administration
of
Environmental
Quality)

4(
b)
Information
Requested
i)
Data
items,
including
record
keeping
requirements
The
requested
design
and
operating
information
should
be
readily
available
from
facility
operating
records.
The
information
collection
will
include
flow,
permit,
operating,
and
environmental
compliance
data.

ii)
Respondent
Activities
To
be
considered
for
National
Clean
Water
Act
Recognition
Awards
the
respondent
will
voluntarily
complete
the
questionnaire
and
provide
design,
operating
and
environmental
information
about
their
facility
or
program.
The
respondents
will
read
the
instructions
for
completing
the
questionnaire.
The
respondent
will
use
existing
files
when
possible,
planning
and
progress
reports,
and
institutional
memory
to
complete
the
questionnaire.
A
copy
of
the
questionnaires
for
2000
is
attached.

Section
5:
The
Information
Collected
 
Agency
Activities,
Collection
Methodology,
and
Information
Management
5(
a)
Agency
Activities
The
completed
questionnaire
is
reviewed
by
State/
Regional
officials,
as
appropriate,
prior
to
forwarding
them
to
Headquarters.
Not
all
States
have
awards
programs.
After
the
questionnaire
is
received
in
headquarters,
they
are
provided
to
the
respective
review
panels
consisting
of
representatives
from
EPA's
headquarters
and
regions,
state
water
pollution
control
agencies
or
affiliated
associations
for
consideration
of
a
national
award.
The
panels
make
recommendations
to
EPA.
All
nominees
complete
a
series
of
compliance
screenings.
National
nominees
are
invited
to
an
EPA
awards
ceremony
for
presentation
of
an
engraved
plaque
in
recognition
of
their
outstanding
and
innovative
technological
achievements.
First
place
winners
5
also
receive
plant
flags.

The
EPA
Headquarters
releases
the
names
of
the
municipalities
and
industries
to
be
recognized,
and
summaries
of
awards
justifications
may
be
published
in
reports,
news
articles,
journals,
and
Federal
Register
Notice.

5(
b)
Collection
Methodology
and
Management
The
regions
may
use
electronic
mail
and
computer
disks
as
much
as
possible
to
transmit
completed
questionnaires
and
other
information
to
Headquarters.
All
nominees
are
screened
for
environmental
compliance
by
the
State
and
EPA.
Data
quality
information
will
be
retrieved
from
the
Agency's
Permit
Compliance
System,
other
environmental
reports,
and
professional
knowledge
of
the
facility
or
program.

5(
c)
Small
Entity
Flexibility
This
information
collection
activity
does
not
concern
a
rulemaking.
EPA
is
currently
developing
a
regulation
for
the
program.
However,
EPA
strives
to
minimize
the
burden
on
all
respondents,
especially
small
communities/
businesses.
EPA
Regions
and
States
ensure
Regional
nominees
review
the
nominee's
environmental
compliance
records
before
the
nominee
is
asked
to
complete
the
questionnaire.
Depending
on
the
respective
program,
Regions
and
States
may
be
available
to
assist
respondents
to
answer
the
questionnaire
to
compete
for
the
national
award.
The
questionnaire
is
shortened
or
revised
if
the
burden
on
the
respondent
appears
to
unnecessarily
outweigh
the
information
requested.

5(
d)
Collection
Schedule
The
information
collection
schedule
is
contained
in
the
respondents'
questionnaire.
The
respective
awards
program
manager
sends
out
the
questionnaire
and
instructions
in
December/
January
of
each
year.
The
completed
questionnaire
is
received
by
Headquarters
in
May/
June,
and
the
panel
reviews
the
questionnaire
in
June/
July.
Recognition
awards
are
held
annually
in
October
at
an
EPA
awards
ceremony.

Section
6:
Estimating
the
Burden
and
Cost
of
the
Collection
The
total
number
of
respondents
is
estimated
to
be
200,
including
130
for
the
O&
M
program,
45
for
the
Biosolids
program,
10
for
the
CSO
program,
and
15
for
the
SW
program.
The
responses
are
collected
once
annually.
The
respondents
reporting
burden
of
8
person
hours
per
response
is
estimated
to
be
1600
hours
and
a
cost
of
$
46,000.
The
States'
review
burden
of
6
person
hours
per
response
is
1200
hours
and
a
cost
of
$
33,200.
Not
all
States
have
awards
programs.
Total
estimated
burden
for
this
collection
is
2800
hours
and
$
79,200.
The
cost
to
the
Federal
government
is
$
170,240
per
year.
An
explanation
follows:
6
COLLECTION
BURDEN
FOR
200
RESPONDENTS
(
A
link
from
EPA's
ICR
page
to
"
http://
stats.
bls.
gov/
news.
release/
ecec.
t02.
htm"
provided
hourly
rates
for
Civilian
workers,
by
occupational
and
industry
group,
March
1999,
Salary
plus
50%
overhead
burden.)

Activity
No.
of
Respon­
dents
No.
Person
Hours
Cost
Per
Hour
Total
Annual
Labor
Cost
Manager
reads
instructions
and
search
existing
data
sources
200
2
$
36
$
14,400
Staff
gathers
information
and
complete
the
questionnaire
200
5
$
28
$
28,000
Administrative
support
prepares
forms
200
1
$
18
$
3,600
TOTAL
8
­­­
$
46,000
8
person
hours
x
200
respondents
=
1600
burden
hours
at
a
cost
of
$
46,000.

ESTIMATED
REVIEW
BURDEN
OF
STATES
PER
RESPONSE
(
A
link
from
EPA's
ICR
page
to
"
http://
stats.
bls.
gov/
news.
release/
ecec.
t02.
htm"
provided
hourly
rates
for
Civilian
workers,
by
occupational
and
industry
group,
March
1999,
Salary
plus
50%
overhead
burden.)
Not
all
States
have
awards
programs.

Activity
No.
of
Respondents
No.
Person
Hours
Cost
Per
Hour
Total
Annual
Labor
Cost
Management
review
200
1
$
36
$
7,200
Staff
review/
verify
data
and
make
nominations
for
awards
200
4
$
28
$
22,400
Administrative
Support
200
1
$
18
$
3,600
TOTAL
6
­­­
$
33,200
6
person
hours
x
200
respondents
=
1200
burden
hours
at
a
cost
of
$
33,200.
7
SUMMARY
OF
FEDERAL
SALARIES
Activity
Person
Hours
Estimated
Cost
Per
Hour
Total
Annual
Cost
EPA
HQ
and
Regional
(
Branch
Chiefs)
(
Average
hourly
rate
of
GS­
15,
Step
10
plus
50%
overhead
burden)
10
$
79.00
$
790
EPA
HQ
and
Regional
(
Program
Managers)
(
Average
hourly
rate
of
GS­
13,
Step
1
plus
50%
overhead
burden)
3000
$
50.00
$
150,000
EPA
HQ
and
Regional
(
Typing
Support)
Average
hourly
rate
of
GS­
8,
Step
5
plus
50%
overhead
burden)
50
$
26.00
$
1,300
TOTAL
3060
$
155.00
$
152,090
SUMMARY
OF
FEDERAL
TRAVEL
TO
NATIONAL
AWARDS
CONFERENCE
Activity
No
of
Travelers
Estimated
Cost
Per
Traveler
Total
Annual
Cost
O&
M
Awards
1
$
1,000
$
1,000
Biosolids
Awards
1
$
1,000
$
1,000
Storm
Water
Awards
1
$
1,000
$
1,000
Combined
Sewer
Overflow
Awards
1
$
1,000
$
1,000
TOTAL
4
$
4,000
$
4,000
FEDERAL
RECOGNITION
AWARDS
COST
SUMMARY
Activity
(
Includes
Pretreatment)
No.
of
Items
Cost
Per
Item
Total
Annual
Cost
Regional
O&
M
Award
Plaques
(
2
per
region)
20
$
25
$
500
National
awards
plaques
60
$
25
$
1,500
National
awards
certificates
60
$
15
$
900
National
first
place
awards
flags
25
$
450
$
11,250
TOTAL
165
$
515
$
14,150
8
AGGREGATE
BURDEN
FOR
RESPONDENTS
AND
STATES
ACTIVITIES
8
hrs/
response
x
200
respondents
=
1600
total
hourly
burden
6
hrs/
States
processing
of
response
x
200
respondents
=
1200
total
hourly
burden
2800
total
burden
hours
6(
f)
Reasons
for
change
in
burden
Information
collection
activity
for
the
National
Clean
Water
Act
Recognition
Awards
Program
(
formerly
National
Wastewater
Management
Excellence
Awards
Program)
currently
has
OMB
approval
for
2800
burden
hours.
We
predict
that
the
burden
for
the
next
three
years
should
remain
the
same.

6(
g)
Burden
Statement
The
public
reporting
burden
for
respondents
is
estimated
to
average
8
hours
per
response
per
year.
For
State
respondents,
the
reporting
burden
is
estimated
to
average
6
hours
per
response
per
year.
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.

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,
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
and
OMB
control
number
in
any
correspondence.