[Federal Register: July 6, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 128)] [Notices] [Page 36400-36401] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr06jy98-35] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [FRL-6121-1] Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Regional Compliance Assistance Program Evaluation 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 the following Information Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval: Agency Generic Information Collection Request: Regional Compliance Assistance Program Evaluation, EPA ICR No. 1860.01. 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 August 5, 1998. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Sandy Farmer at EPA by phone at (202) 260-2740, by email at farmer.sandy@epamail.epa.gov, or download off the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/icr and refer to EPA ICR No. 1860.01. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: Agency Generic Information Collection Request: Regional Compliance Assistance Program, (EPA ICR No. 1860.01). This is a new collection. Abstract: Since EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) was formed three years ago, there has been an increased focus on the use of compliance assistance as an appropriate tool to assist the regulated community in improving its compliance. In particular, OECA has focussed its compliance assistance on small business and small communities that have not had much exposure to traditional enforcement and therefore may not be fully aware of their compliance obligations. Compliance assistance consists of information and technical assistance provided to the regulated community to help it meet the requirements of environmental law. First and foremost, compliance assistance ensures that the regulated community understands its obligations by providing clear and consistent descriptions of regulatory requirements. The bulk of OECA's compliance assistance activities are undertaken in our regional offices. Regional compliance assistance activities commonly include: hotlines, workshops/seminar/ trainings, compliance guides (e.g., plain language explanations of regulations, videos), and on-site visits. Since compliance assistance is a rather new tool for OECA, we are very interested in learning about its effectiveness. In particular, we are interested in learning about the ``outcome'' of compliance assistance on a continuum of potential outcomes. The continuum includes determining the ``reach'' of activity within the intended audience; determining their ``satisfaction'' with the activity; and determining what ``behavioral changes'' they make as a result of the activity. The purpose of this generic ICR is to enable OECA to collect data on the program effectiveness of their compliance assistance program so that we can begin to understand which of our various types of compliance assistance activities are most effective as well as to obtain anecdotal information on the outcomes of these assistance efforts. Moreover, since measuring the impact of compliance assistance is a new activity for OECA, we are also interested in experimenting with different types of measurement methods (e.g., comment cards, mailed surveys, phone surveys) to better direct our program evaluation program. Moreover, we are interested in learning if this data can be obtained using generalizable methods and will be supporting our measurement activities with analysis in this area. In each instance we will be measuring whether or not the compliance assistance activity is meeting its intended goal. Typical goals for compliance assistance activities include: informing the regulated community of their compliance obligations (e.g., plain-language guides); assisting the regulated community in their understanding of complex federal and/or state requirements (e.g., section 215 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act asks EPA to undertake demonstration projects with states to develop compliance assistance tools that integrate state and federal rules); and motivating behavioral change (e.g., pollutants reduced, permits adopted) from on-site visits, and in-depth workshops/trainings. This activity is being undertaken to assist EPA in its implementation of the National Performance Measures Strategy that was finalized on December 22, 1997. None of the information collected by this action results in or requests [[Page 36401]] sensitive information of any nature from the states. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it display 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 April 21, 1998. No comments were received. Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average .125 hours per response. 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. Respondents/Affected Entities: Businesses receiving compliance assistance from EPA. Estimated Number of Respondents: 465,489. Frequency of Response: Sporadic. Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 19,470 hours. Estimated Total Annualized Cost Burden: $218,090. 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 following addresses. Please refer to EPA ICR No. 1860.01 in any correspondence. Ms. Sandy Farmer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, OPPE Regulatory Information Division (2137), 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460; and Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20503. Dated: June 25, 1998. Joseph Retzer, Director, Regulatory Information Division. [FR Doc. 98-17811 Filed 7-2-98; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560-50-P