[Federal Register: May 21, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 98)]
[Notices]
[Page 27793-27796]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21my03-30]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[OW-2003-0026, FRL-7501-4]
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request; National Water Quality Inventory Reports (Clean Water
Act Sections 305(b), 303(d), 314(a), and 106(e))
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency
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 EPA is planning to submit the
following continuing Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB): National Water Quality Inventory
Reports (Clean Water Act Sections 305(b), 303(d), 314(a), and 106(e));
EPA ICR Number 1560.07, OMB Control Number 2040-0071, expiring on July
31, 2003. Before submitting the ICR to OMB for review and approval, EPA
is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the proposed information
collection as described below.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before July 21, 2003.
ADDRESSES: Follow the detailed instructions in SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Wilson, Assessment and Watershed
Protection Division, Office of Water, Mail Code: 4503T, Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460;
telephone number: 202-566-2385; fax number: 202-566-1331; e-mail
address: Wilson.John@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA has established a public docket for this
ICR under Docket ID number OW-2003-0026, which is available for public
viewing at the Water Docket in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA
West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA
Docket Center Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 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 Water Docket is (202) 566-2426. An electronic version of the public
docket is available through EPA Dockets (EDOCKET) at http://www.epa.gov/edocket.
Use EDOCKET to obtain a copy of the draft
collection of information, submit or view public comments, access the
index listing of the contents of the public
[[Page 27794]]
docket, and to access those documents in the public docket that are
available electronically. Once in the system, select ``search,'' then
key in the docket ID number identified above.
Any comments related to this ICR should be submitted to EPA and OMB
within 60 days of this notice, and according to the following detailed
instructions: Submit your comments to EPA online using EDOCKET (our
preferred method), by e-mail to ow-docket@epa.gov, or by mail to: EPA
Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Water Docket, Mail Code
4101T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460.
EPA's policy is that public comments, whether submitted
electronically or in paper, will be made available for public viewing
in EDOCKET as EPA receives them and without change, unless the comment
contains copyrighted material, CBI, or other information whose public
disclosure is restricted by statute. When EPA identifies a comment
containing copyrighted material, EPA will provide a reference to that
material in the version of the comment that is placed in EDOCKET. The
entire printed comment, including the copyrighted material, will be
available in the public docket. Although identified as an item in the
official docket, information claimed as CBI, or whose disclosure is
otherwise restricted by statute, is not included in the official public
docket, and will not be available for public viewing in EDOCKET. For
further information about the electronic docket, see EPA's Federal
Register notice describing the electronic docket at 67 FR 38102 (May
31, 2002), or go to http://www.epa.gov./edocket.
Affected entities: Entities potentially affected by this action are
States, Territories and Tribes with Clean Water Act (CWA)
responsibilities.
Title: National Water Quality Inventory Reports (Clean Water Act
Sections 305(b), 303(d), 314(a), and 106(e)). (OMB Control Number 2040-
0071; EPA ICR Number 1560.07 expiring 07/31/2003.
Abstract: Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act requires States to
identify and rank waters which cannot meet water quality standards
(WQS) following the implementation of technology-based controls. Under
section 303(d), States are also required to establish total maximum
daily loads (TMDLs) for listed waters not meeting standards as a result
of pollutant discharges. In developing the section 303(d) lists, States
are required to consider various sources of water quality related data
and information, including the section 305(b) State water quality
reports. The section 305(b) reports contain information on the extent
of water quality degradation, the pollutants and sources affecting
water quality, and State progress in controlling water pollution.
EPA's Assessment and Watershed Protection Division (AWPD) works
with its Regional counterparts to review and approve or disapprove
State section 303(d) lists and TMDLs from 56 respondents (the 50
States, the District of Columbia, and the five Territories). Section
303(d) specifically requires States to develop lists and TMDLs ``from
time to time'' and EPA to review and approve or disapprove the lists
and the TMDLs. EPA also collects State 305(b) reports from 59
respondents (the 50 States, the District of Columbia, five Territories,
and 3 River Basin commissions).
This announcement includes the reapproval of current, ongoing
activities related to 305(b) and 303(d) reporting and TMDL development
for the period of August 1, 2003 through July 31, 2006.During the
period covered by this ICR renewal, respondents will: complete their
2004 305(b) reports and 2004 303(d) lists; complete their 2006 305(b)
reports and 2006 303(d) lists; transmit annual electronic updates of
their 305(b) databases in 2003 through 2006; and continue to develop
TMDLs according to their established schedules. EPA will prepare two
biennial Reports to Congress: one in 2003 and one in 2005, and EPA will
review TMDL submissions from respondents.
The respondent community for 305(b) reporting consists of 50
States, the District of Columbia, 5 Territories (Puerto Rico, the
Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana
Islands), and 3 River Basin Commissions. The Ohio River Valley
Sanitation Commission, the Delaware River Basin Commission, and the
Interstate Sanitation Commission have jurisdiction over basins that lie
in multiple States. Indian Tribes are exempt from the 305(b) reporting
requirement, but some Tribes choose to participate as a way of
presenting assessments and water quality issues to the public and
Congress. One Tribe or Tribal Group prepared 305(b) reports in 1996 and
1997. However, since Tribal 305(b) reporting is a voluntary effort, it
is not included in the burden estimates for this ICR.
The respondent community for 303(d) activities consists of 50
States, the District of Columbia, and 5 Territories (Puerto Rico, the
Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana
Islands). Although Indian Tribes are not exempt from 303(d)
requirements, there is not a process currently in place to designate
them for this purpose. Further, very few Tribes have established water
quality standards, and EPA is currently in the process of preparing
standards where they are needed. Therefore, we assume that there would
be no burden to Indian Tribes over the period covered by this ICR for
303(d) activities.
The burden of specific activities that States undertake as part of
their 305(b) and 303(d) programs are derived from an ongoing project
among EPA, States and other interested stakeholders to develop a tool
for estimating the States' resource needs for State water quality
management programs. This project has developed the State Water Quality
Management Workload Model (SWQMWM), which estimates and sums the
workload involved in more than one hundred activities or tasks
comprising a State water quality management program. Over twenty States
have contributed information about their activities that became the
basis for the model. According to the SWQMWM, the States will carry out
the following activities or tasks to meet the 305(b) and 303(d)
reporting requirements: watershed characterization; modeling and
analysis; development of a TMDL document for public review; public
outreach; formal public participation; tracking; planning; legal
support; etc. In general, respondents have conducted each of these
reporting and record keeping activities for past 305(b) and 303(d)
reporting cycles and thus have staff and procedures in place to
continue their 305(b) and 303(d) reporting programs. The burden
associated with these tasks is estimated in this ICR to include the
total number of TMDLs that may be submitted during the period covered
by this ICR.
The biennial frequency of the collection is mandated by section
305(b)(1) of the CWA. Section 305(b) originally required respondents to
submit water quality reports on an annual basis. In 1977, the annual
requirement was amended to a biennial requirement in the CWA. EPA has
determined that abbreviated reporting for hard-copy 305(b) reports,
combined with annual electronic reporting using respondent databases,
will meet the CWA reporting requirements while reducing burden to
respondents. The biennial period with annual electronic reporting
ensures that information needed for analysis and water program
decisions is reasonably current, yet abbreviated reporting requirements
provides respondents with sufficient time to prepare the reports.
[[Page 27795]]
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 EPA would like to solicit comments 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.
Burden Statement: 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.
For current 305(b) and 303(d) reporting activities, the primary
source we use in estimating burden for tasks to be performed by States
is the State Water Quality Management Workload Model (SWQMWM), which
estimates and sums the workload involved in more than one hundred
activities or tasks comprising a State water quality management
program.
The average annual burden per respondent for current 305(b) (59
respondents) and 303(d)(56 respondents) reporting activities is 6,491
hours and the total annual burden to all respondents is 372,403 hours.
The table below displays a summary of the burden estimates.
Average of Annual Burden for 305(b) and 303(d) Reporting Activities
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Number of Total annual
Activity respondents burden
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1. Review regs and guidance for 305(b) & 59 7,434
303(d).................................
2. Plan and coordinate data acquisition 59 65,490
and compile and screen data for
assessments............................
3. Development and submission of 59 83,013
complete 305(b) report and response to
EPA comments...........................
4. Develop, review and update 303(d) 56 46,536
listing and de-listing methodology.....
5. Prepare 303(d) list (includes 56 123,648
identifying waters, setting priorities,
and schedules).........................
6. Required public outreach for 303(d) 56 14,840
list...................................
7. Submission of 303(d) list to EPA and 56 12,208
response to EPA comments...............
8. Prepare annual electronic updates.... 59 19,234
9. Implement enhanced benefit cost of 59 40,710
WQS....................................
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Total............................. .............. 413,113
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The additional burden for States to assess the costs and benefits
of achieving water quality standards depends on the level of detail and
sophistication that the States choose to provide as well as factors
such as the number of impaired waters in the State, the State's
diversity of water resources, and the intensity of use of those
resources. The estimate of the burden associated with the enhanced
benefit cost analysis, resulting in an average increase in State burden
of 690 hours annually.
We use a separate analysis to estimate the burden associated with
current TMDL development. Based on estimates of the number of TMDLs per
year (4,000), the total average current burden associated with
developing TMDLs under the current 303(d) program is estimated to be
59,409 hours per respondent, and the total annual burden for all 56
respondents is estimated to be 3,326,904 hours.
To estimate respondent costs, we applied an average fully loaded
cost per hour to the burden estimates. This fully loaded hourly labor
rate represents the total cost for obtaining an hour's worth of work,
and includes: direct salary paid, paid or accrued vacation, paid or
accrued sick leave, cost of other fringe benefits (e.g., health,
pension, etc.), general training, indirect expenses such as
professional support (e.g., clerical, accounting, supervisory, etc.),
office space, utilities, telephone service, equipment (e.g., fax
machines, basic computing needs such as hardware and software, etc.),
etc. The average annual cost to each respondent for current 305(b) and
303(d) reporting (including the enhanced benefit cost activities) is
estimated to be $298,227. The total annual costs imposed on all 59
respondents is estimated to be $17,156,583. Average annual respondent
costs for current TMDL development is estimated at $2,467,256 per
respondent and $138,166,323 for all 56 respondents.
Agency burden estimates are based on EPA's prior experience in
developing 305(b) and 303(d) guidance, preparing the Report to
Congress, providing technical support to respondents, and reviewing and
approving/disapproving 303(d) lists and TMDL submissions. The hourly
cost estimates were calculated for a technical federal position, Grade
10 Step 7 effective as of January 2003 ($22.49 per hour). The total
costs are based upon an overhead rate of 110 percent. The average
annual Agency burden for 305(b) and 303(d) reporting activities is
estimated at 9,089 hours at a cost of $456,774. The cost of the
Agency's additional burden to develop new guidance required by States
to improve their estimates of the benefits and costs of achieving WQS
is estimated at approximately $300,000 which would be incurred during
2004 and 2005. Over the 3-year period of this ICR, the annual cost
would be $100,000 which translates into a burden of 2,117 hours
annually. The annual average Agency burden and costs for TMDL review is
11,200 hours and $528,976.
Respondent Total
Annual Burden: 3,740,017 hours per year.
[[Page 27796]]
Annual Costs: $155,322,906 per year.
Agency Total
Annual Burden: 22,406 hours per year.
Annual Costs: $1,085,750 per year.
Dated: May 15, 2003.
Diane C. Regas,
Director, Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds.
[FR Doc. 03-12759 Filed 5-20-03; 8:45 am]
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