Document ID: EPA-HQ-OW-2019-0143-0006
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 the Clean Water Act
Posted Date: 2023-01-30T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 19 (Monday, January 30, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5874-5875]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-01785]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2019-0143; FRL-10629-01-OMS]

Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget 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) has submitted 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 2553.04 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 March 31, 
2023. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal 
Register on

[[Page 5875]]

July 19, 2022 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 March 1, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2019-0143, to 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. 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 
collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for 
Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edward Laird, Watershed Restoration, 
Assessment, and Protection Division (WRAPD), Office of Wetlands, 
Oceans, and Watersheds, Mail Code: 4503T, Environmental Protection 
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone 
number: (202) 566-2848; fax number: (202) 566-1437; email address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a proposed extension of the ICR, 
which is currently approved through March 31, 2023. 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 
(87 FR 43028) on July 19, 2022 during a 60-day comment period. This 
notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. Supporting 
documents that explain in detail the information that the EPA will be 
collecting are available in the public docket for this ICR (Docket ID 
EPA-HQ-OW-2019-0143). 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 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: $2,309,452 (per year). This action does not 
include annualized capital or operation & maintenance costs.
    Changes in estimates: There is no change of hours in the total 
estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently approved by 
OMB.

Courtney Kerwin,
Director, Regulatory Support Division.
[FR Doc. 2023-01785 Filed 1-27-23; 8:45 am]
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