Document ID: EPA-HQ-OECA-2009-0280-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Commentson Proposed Information Collection Request (ICR) for Annual Public Water Systems Compliance Report
Posted Date: 2009-07-02T04:00Z

[Federal Register: July 2, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 126)]
[Notices]               
[Page 31730-31732]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02jy09-50]                         

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[Docket ID Numbers EPA-HQ-OECA-2009-0280; FRL-8925-3]

 
Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments on 
Proposed Information Collection Request (ICR) for Annual Public Water 
Systems Compliance Report

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 
et seq.), this document announces that EPA is planning to submit the 
following existing, approved, continuing Information Collection Request 
(ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the purpose of 
renewing the ICRs. Before submitting the ICRs to OMB for review and 
approval, EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the 
information collections as described below in SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before August 31, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted electronically, by mail, or 
through hand delivery/courier service. Follow the detailed instructions 
as provided under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, section A.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The contact individual for the ICR is 
listed under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, section II.C.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. How Can I Access the Docket and/or Submit Comments?

1. Docket Access Instructions

    EPA has established a public docket for the ICRs listed in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, section II.B. The docket is available for 
online viewing at http://www.regulations.gov, or in person viewing at 
the Enforcement and Compliance Docket and Information Center (ECDIC), 
in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC. The EPA/DC Public Reading 
Room is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding 
legal holidays. The telephone number for the Reading Room is (202) 566-
1744, and the telephone number for the Enforcement and Compliance 
Docket and Information Center (ECDIC) docket is (202) 566-1752.
    Use http://www.regulations.gov to obtain a copy of the draft 
collection of information, submit or view public comments, access the 
index listing of the contents of the 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 in this document.

2. Instructions for submitting comments. Submit your comments by one of 
the following methods:

    1. Electronic Submission: Access http://www.regulations.gov and 
follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
    2. E-mail: docket.oeca@epa.gov.
    3. Fax: (202) 566-1511.
    4. Mail: Enforcement and Compliance Docket and Information Center 
(ECDIC), Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), 
Mailcode: 2201T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460.
    5. Hand Delivery: Enforcement and Compliance Docket and Information 
Center (ECDIC), Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket Center 
(EPA/DC), EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 
p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. Deliveries are 
only accepted

[[Page 31731]]

during the Docket Center's normal hours of operation, and special 
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.
    Direct your comments to the specific docket listed in SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION, section II.B, and reference the OMB Control Number for the 
ICR. It is EPA's policy that all comments received will be included in 
the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through http://
www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site 
is an ``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your 
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of 
your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without 
going through http://www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be 
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is 
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you 
submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name 
and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any 
disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA 
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid 
the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of 
any defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA's public 
docket, visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/
epahome/dockets.htm.

B. What Information is EPA Particularly Interested in?

    Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
(PRA), EPA is soliciting comments and information to enable it to:
    (1) Evaluate whether the proposed collections of information are 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility.
    (2) Evaluate the accuracy of the Agency's estimates of the burdens 
of the proposed collections of information.
    (3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected.
    (4) Minimize the burden of the collections of information on those 
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated 
or electronic collection technologies or other forms of information 
technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.

C. What Should I Consider When I Prepare My Comments for EPA?

    You may find the following suggestions helpful for preparing 
comments:
    1. Explain your views as clearly as possible and provide specific 
examples.
    2. Describe any assumptions that you used.
    3. Provide copies of any technical information and/or data you used 
that support your views.
    4. If you estimate potential burden or costs, explain how you 
arrived at the estimate that you provide.
    5. Offer alternative ways to improve the collection activity.
    6. Make sure to submit your comments by the deadline identified 
under DATES.
    7. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, be sure to identify the docket 
ID number assigned to this action in the subject line on the first page 
of your response. You may also provide the name, date, and Federal 
Register citation.

II. ICR To Be Renewed

A. For All ICR

    The Agency computed the burden for each of the recordkeeping and 
reporting requirements applicable to the industry for the currently 
approved ICR listed in this notice. Where applicable, the Agency 
identified specific tasks and made assumptions, while being consistent 
with the concept of the PRA.
    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 to; 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 which have subsequently changed; 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.
    The listed ICR addresses Safe Drinking Water Act information 
collection requirements which have mandatory reporting requirements. 
The requirements are mandated under Section 1414(c)(3)(A) of the Safe 
Drinking Water Act.
    An Agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to, a collection of information, unless the Agency displays 
a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA's 
regulations under Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations are 
published in the Federal Register, or on the related collection 
instrument or form. The display of OMB control numbers for certain EPA 
regulations is consolidated at 40 CFR part 9.

B. What Information Collection Activity or ICR Does This Apply to?

    In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et 
seq.), this notice announces that EPA is planning to submit a 
continuing Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB):
    (1) Docket ID Number: EPA-HQ-OECA-2009-0280.
    Title: Annual Public Water Systems Compliance Report.
    ICR Number: EPA ICR Number 1812.04, OMB Control Number 2020-0020.
    ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on June 30, 2008.

C. Contact Individuals for ICR

    (1) Annual Public Water Systems Compliance Report; Joyce Chandler 
of the Office of Compliance at (202) 564-7073; or via E-mail to: 
chandler.joyce@epa.gov; EPA ICR Number 1812.04; OMB Control Number 
2020-0020; expiration date June 30, 2008.

D. Information for Individual ICR

    (1) Annual Public Water Systems Compliance Report; Docket ID Number 
EPA-HQ-OECA-2009-0280, EPA ICR Number 1812.04; OMB Control Number 2020-
0020; expiration date June 30, 2008.
    Affected Entities: Fifty-six states (including Puerto Rico, the 
Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands, and Navajo Nation) currently have primary enforcement 
authority under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The State of Wyoming and 
the District of Columbia neither currently have primary enforcement 
authority nor are currently seeking primary authority, so the number of 
56 states is unlikely to change during the next three years.

[[Page 31732]]

    Abstract: Section 1414(c)(3)(A) of the Safe Drinking Water Act 
requires that each state (a term that includes states, commonwealths 
and territories) that has primary enforcement authority under the Act 
shall prepare, make readily available to the public, and submit to the 
Administrator of EPA, an annual report of violations of national 
primary drinking water regulations in the State. These Annual State 
Public Water System Compliance Reports are to include violations of 
maximum contaminant levels, treatment requirements, variances and 
exemptions, and monitoring requirements determined to be significant by 
the Administrator after consultation with the states. To minimize a 
state's burden in preparing its annual statutorily-required report, EPA 
issued guidance that explains what Section 1414(c)(3)(A) requires and 
provides model language and reporting templates. EPA also annually 
makes available to the states a computer query that generates for each 
state (from information states are already separately required to 
submit to EPA's national database on a quarterly basis) the required 
violations information in a table consistent with the reporting 
template in EPA's guidance.
    Affected Entities: Entities potentially affected by this action are 
states, tribes, and territories that have primary enforcement authority 
and meet the definition of ``state'' under the Safe Drinking Water Act 
(Act).
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 56.
    Frequency of Response: Annually.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 4,480 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $280,000. This includes an estimated 
burden cost of $280,000 and an estimated cost of $0 for capital 
investment or maintenance and operational costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 80 hours in the 
total estimated hour burden currently identified in the OMB inventory 
of Approved ICR Burden. This is due to the fact that the number of 
respondents included in the current approved ICR incorrectly counted 
the burden of the District of Columbia as a respondent, when that 
burden is done by EPA, not the District of Columbia. The hour burden 
for each respondent is estimated as 80 hours.
    EPA will consider any comments received and may amend any of the 
above ICR, as appropriate. Then the final ICR packages will be 
submitted to OMB for review and approval pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.12. At 
that time, EPA will issue one Federal Register notice pursuant to 5 CFR 
1320.5(a)(1)(iv) to announce the submission of the ICR(s) to OMB and 
the opportunity to submit additional comments to OMB. If you have any 
questions about any of the above or the approval process, please 
contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

    Dated: June 23, 2009.
Lisa C. Lund,
Director, Office of Compliance.
[FR Doc. E9-15683 Filed 7-1-09; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-P