[Federal Register: June 13, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 114)]
[Notices]               
[Page 31913-31914]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13jn01-58]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6995-9]

 
Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Reporting Requirements under EPA's National 
Wastewater Operator Training and Technical Assistance Program

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 
et seq.), this document announces that the following Information 
Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management

[[Page 31914]]

and Budget (OMB) for review and approval: National Wastewater Operator 
Training and Technical Assistance Program, EPA ICR Number 1977.01. The 
ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected 
burden and cost; where appropriate, it includes the actual data 
collection instrument.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before July 13, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Send comments, referencing EPA ICR No. 1977.01 to the 
following addresses: Sandy Farmer, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, Collection Strategies Division (Mail Code 2822), 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; and to Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB), Attention: Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For a copy of the ICR contact Sandy 
Farmer at EPA by phone at (202) 260-2740, by E-mail at 
farmer.sandy@epamail.epa.gov, or download off the Internet at http://
www.epa.gov/icr and refer to EPA ICR No. 1977.01. For technical 
questions about the ICR, contact Curt Baranowski at 202-564-0636 in the 
U.S. EPA, Office of Wastewater Management, Municipal Assistance Branch 
(Mail Code 4204-M), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 
20460.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Affected entities: Entities potentially 
affected by this action are state and local governments, state and 
county colleges, and those organizations which provide training 
assistance through the Clean Water Act 104(g)(1) Program to municipal 
wastewater treatment plants.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 48.
    Frequency of Response: Biannually and annually.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 336.
    Estimated Total Annualized Capital, O & M Cost Burden: $0.
    Title: National Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator Training and 
Technical Assistance Program. This non-rule ICR is a new collection.
    Abstract: The Wastewater Operator Training Program provides on-site 
technical assistance to municipal wastewater treatment plants. 
Information will be collected from the network of forty-eight 104(g)(1) 
training centers set up throughout the United States. The information 
will be collected to identify the facilities assisted, the different 
types of assistance the program provides and the environmental outcomes 
and benefits of the assistance provided by the program. The information 
will be collected and submitted on either an annual or semi-annual 
basis. A database and spreadsheet have been developed for this purpose. 
This ICR will be used by EPA for the technical and financial management 
of the 104(g)(1) Program. The 104(g)(1) Program training centers shall 
participate in the information collection, due to the fact that it is a 
mandatory grant condition. All information in the data system will be 
made public upon request.
    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. The 
Federal Register document required under 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting 
comments on this collection of information, was published on January 
30, 2001. No comments were received.
    Burden Statement: The average annual burden hours to each 104(g)(1) 
training center grantee will be 7 hours, for a total of 336 hours per 
year. Data will be collected on an annual basis, in May of each year, 
for the database collection, and data for the spreadsheet information 
collection will be conducted on a semi-annual basis, in May and 
November of each year. Reporting requirements will be included as grant 
conditions, so it is expected that 100% of the 104(g) training centers 
will respond to this collection request. All forty-eight (48) training 
centers and EPA have the necessary equipment, desk-top computers and 
software, to collect and manage this information. There will be no 
additional start-up or maintenance costs associated with this project 
to perform this information collection request. 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.
    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 addresses listed above. Please 
refer to EPA ICR No. 1977.01 in any correspondence.

    Dated: Dated: June 1, 2001.
Oscar Morales,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 01-14900 Filed 6-12-01; 8:45 am]
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