Document ID: EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0090-0149
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule
Posted Date: 2015-03-31T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 61 (Tuesday, March 31, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17042-17043]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-07360]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0090; FRL-9925-25-OW]

Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; 
Information Collection Request Renewal for the Unregulated Contaminant 
Monitoring Rule (UCMR 3)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be 
submitting the ``Information Collection Request Renewal for the 
Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 3)'' (EPA ICR No. 
2192.06, OMB Control No. 2040-0270) to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA; 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). Before doing so, EPA 
solicits public comments on specific aspects of the proposed 
information collection as described in this renewal notice. This is a 
proposed extension of the information collection request (ICR), which 
is currently approved through August 31, 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 June 1, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2009-0090, online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), by 
email to OW-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: Brenda D. Parris, Technical Support 
Center, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 26 West Martin Luther King Drive (MS 140), 
Cincinnati, Ohio 45268; telephone (513) 569-7961 or email at 
parris.brenda@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supporting documents that explain in detail 
the information that 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 www.epa.gov/dockets.
    Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, EPA requests 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. 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 Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), as amended in 1996, 
requires EPA to establish criteria for a program for public water 
systems (PWSs) to monitor not more than 30 unregulated contaminants 
every five years. Information collected under the program supports 
Agency decision making regarding whether or not to regulate particular 
contaminants in drinking water. EPA published the first group of 
contaminants in UCMR 1, in the Federal Register on September 17, 1999 
(64 FR 50556), and the second

[[Page 17043]]

group of contaminants in UCMR 2, in the Federal Register on January 4, 
2007 (72 FR 368). UCMR 3 addresses the third group of 30 contaminants 
and was published in the Federal Register on May 2, 2012 (77 FR 26071).
    UCMR 3 ``Assessment Monitoring'' began in January 2013 and 
continues through December 2015 for all large systems (those systems 
serving 10,001 to 100,000 people) and very large systems (those systems 
serving more than 100,000 people), and for a nationally representative 
sample of 800 small systems (those systems serving 10,000 or fewer 
people). The ``Screening Survey'' began in January 2013 and continues 
through December 2015 for all very large systems, 320 randomly-selected 
large systems, and 480 randomly selected small systems. ``Pre-Screen 
Testing'' began in January 2013 and continues through December 2015 for 
a sample of 800 small, undisinfected ground water systems (those 
systems serving 1,000 or fewer people).
    This notice proposes renewal of the currently approved UCMR 3 ICR, 
(OMB Control No. 2040-0270), which covers the period 2012-2014. This 
ICR renewal accounts for activities conducted during 2015-2017. The 
complete five-year UCMR 3 period of 2012-2016 overlaps with the 
applicable ICR period only during 2015 and 2016. PWSs will only be 
involved in active monitoring during 2015 (i.e., one-third of this ICR 
period).
    This information collection does not require respondents to 
disclose confidential information.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: Data associated with this ICR are 
collected and submitted by PWSs. States, territories and tribes with 
primacy to administer the regulatory program for PWSs under SDWA may 
participate in UCMR 3 implementation through a partnership agreement 
with EPA. These primacy agencies may sometimes conduct monitoring and 
maintain records.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory. The information 
collection is carried out per section 1445(a) of SDWA.
    Estimated number of respondents: There are approximately 6,351 
respondents to UCMR 3, including 2,098 PWSs that will monitor during 
the ICR years of 2015-2017; and 56 states and primacy agents.
    Frequency of response: The frequency of responses varies based on 
the respondent type. PWSs and states have a different number of 
responses. PWSs served by surface water monitor for the UCMR 
contaminants four times during a 12-month period. PWSs served by ground 
water monitor twice during a 12-month period. The number of samples 
collected by PWSs also differs based on the size of the systems, and 
the number of entry points and distribution system sample points within 
each system. The total number of responses per respondent is 2.96 over 
the three ICR years of 2015-2017, or an average of 0.99 responses per 
respondent per year.
    Total estimated burden: EPA estimates the annual labor burden per 
respondent at 8.31 hours during the ICR years of 2015-2017 for states 
and PWSs. Burden is defined at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: EPA estimates the total cost at $7.45 million 
per year during the ICR years of 2015-2017 for states and PWSs. The 
total costs include labor costs and laboratory analysis (non-labor) 
costs. EPA pays for the analytical and sample shipping costs for small 
PWSs, and the Agency collects all the Pre-Screen Testing samples for 
all PWSs.
    Changes in Estimates: There is a decrease of 68,294 hours in the 
total estimated respondent burden for states and PWSs compared with the 
existing ICR. Respondents to this renewal ICR will incur a different 
burden than those responding to the original ICR for 2012-2014 because:
     Fewer PWSs participate during the ICR period of 2015-2017 
than in 2012-2014. Only one third of the systems monitor for UCMR 3 
contaminants in 2015-2017; two-thirds of the systems have already 
monitored for UCMR 3 contaminants in 2012-2014.
     The schedule of activities for PWSs differs. Some initial 
activities were conducted by all systems during the previous ICR 
period. These activities will not take place during the second ICR 
period of 2015-2017.
     The schedule of activities differs for participating 
states. Management and support activities for states vary with the UCMR 
3 monitoring schedule. States are expected to incur less burden during 
this second UCMR 3 ICR period of 2015-2017.

    Dated: March 20, 2015.
Peter Grevatt,
 Director, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water.
[FR Doc. 2015-07360 Filed 3-30-15; 8:45 am]
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