Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Annual Public Water Systems Compliance Report
| Published date | 13 March 2024 |
| Record Number | 2024-05285 |
| Citation | 89 FR 18407 |
| Court | Environmental Protection Agency |
| Section | Notices |
Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 50 (Wednesday, March 13, 2024)
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 13, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18407-18408]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-05285]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OECA-2020-0020; FRL-11769-01-OECA]
Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Annual
Public Water Systems Compliance Report
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to submit an
information collection request (ICR), ``Annual Public Water System
Compliance Report'' (EPA ICR No. 1812.08, OMB Control No. 2020-0020) to
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. Before doing so, the EPA
is soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the proposed
information collection as described below. This is a proposed extension
of the ICR, which is currently approved through November 30, 2024. 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 May 13, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OECA-
2020-0020 online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), by
email to [email protected], or by mail to: EPA Docket Center,
Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania
Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460. The 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 or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Raquel Taveras, Monitoring, Assistance
and Media Programs Division, Office of Compliance, MC-2227A,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington,
DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 564-9651; email address:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a proposed extension of the ICR,
which is currently approved through November 30, 2024. 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.
This notice allows 60 days for public comments. Supporting
documents, which explain in detail the information that the 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
http://www.epa.gov/dockets.
Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paper Reduction Act, the
EPA is soliciting 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 forms of information technology. The 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. At that time, the 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: Section 1414(c)(3)(A) of the Safe Drinking Water Act
(SDWA) provides that each state (a term that includes states,
commonwealths, tribes and territories) that has primary enforcement
authority under the SDWA shall prepare, make readily available to
[[Page 18408]]
the public, and submit to the Administrator of EPA, an annual report of
violations of national primary drinking water regulations in the state.
These Annual State Public Water System Compliance Reports are to
include violations of maximum contaminant levels, treatment
requirements, variances and exemptions, and monitoring requirements
determined to be significant by the Administrator after consultation
with the states. To minimize a state's burden in preparing its annual
statutorily required report, the EPA issued guidance that explains what
section 1414(c)(3)(A) requires and provides model language and
reporting templates. The EPA also annually makes available to the
states a computer query that generates for each state (from information
states are already separately required to submit to EPA's national
database on a quarterly basis) the required violations information in a
table consistent with the reporting template in the EPA's guidance.
Form Numbers: None.
Respondents/affected entities: Entities that are potentially
affected by this action are states that have primacy enforcement
authority and meet the definition of ``state'' under the SDWA.
Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory under section 1414
(c)(3)(A) of SDWA.
Estimated number of respondents: 55 (total).
Frequency of response: Annually.
Total estimated burden: 4,400 hours (per year). Burden is defined
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
Total estimated cost: $730,000 (per year), includes $0 annualized
capital or operation & maintenance costs.
Changes in Estimates: There is no change in burden from the most
recently approved ICR as currently identified in the OMB Inventory of
Approved Burdens. This is due to two considerations. First, the
regulations have not changed over the past three years and are not
anticipated to change over the next three years. Second, the growth
rate for this industry is very low or non-existent, so there is no
significant change in the overall burden. Since there are no changes in
the regulatory requirements and there is no significant industry
growth, there are also no changes in the capital/startup or operation
and maintenance (O&M) costs. There is a slight increase in costs, which
is wholly due to the use of updated labor rates. This ICR uses labor
rates from the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report (December
2023) to calculate respondent burden costs.
Loren Denton,
Director, Monitoring Assistance and Media Programs Division, Office of
Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2024-05285 Filed 3-12-24; 8:45 am]
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