[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 74 (Monday, April 18, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-9298]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: April 18, 1994]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-4863-2]

 

Agency Information Collection Activities Under OMB Review

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 notice announces that the Information Collection Request 
(ICR) abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes the nature 
of the information collection and its expected cost and burden.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before May 18, 1994.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, or to obtain 
a copy of the ICR, contact Sandy Farmer at EPA, (202) 260-2740.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Office of Research and Development

    Title: Laboratory Performance Evaluation Studies for Water Analyses 
(EPA No. 0234.05; OMB No. 2080-0021). This ICR requests an extension to 
an existing information collection.
    Abstract: Pursuant to the Safe Drinking Water Act (Public Law 93-
523) 40 CFR parts 141 through 142, and the Federal Water Pollution 
Control Act Amendments of 1972 (Public Law 92-500), the EPA's 
Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory (EMSL-CIN) must conduct 
performance evaluation (PE) studies on laboratories that routinely 
analyze several types of water samples. There are three types of PE 
studies that are conducted:

    (1) Water Pollution (WP) Studies, which provide EPA with 
information on laboratories producing critical data for regulatory 
purposes, and to support the wastewater certification programs 
administered by many States;
    (2) Discharge Monitoring Report-Quality Assurance (DMR-QA) Studies, 
which provide EPA with an objective estimate of the analytical 
capability of laboratories performing self-monitoring analyses, as 
required in major National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System 
(NPDES) permits; and
    (3) Water Supply (WS) Studies, which support the drinking water 
laboratory certification program administered by the States.
    On a routine basis, EMSL-CIN will distribute samples containing 
concentrations of chemical that are unknown to the receiving 
laboratory. The laboratory analyzes the samples and reports their 
results by completing the appropriate EPA form and returning it to 
EMSL-CIN for evaluation. EMSL-CIN sends each laboratory a copy of their 
performance evaluation that includes the data they submitted to EMSL-
CIN, the true values of the related study and PE limits, and an 
evaluation for each reported value.
    The results are used by EPA, State, and private laboratory 
personnel to identify and correct analytical deficiencies of 
laboratories, thereby improving the data quality of their monitoring 
operations. WP and WS study results can be decisive in the laboratory 
certification process, and DMR-QA study results are used to target 
NPDES laboratories with apparent analytical problems for on-site 
inspection by EPA or State regulatory personnel.
    Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this collection of 
information is estimated to average 8 hours per response including the 
time for reviewing instructions, searching existing information 
sources, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.
    Respondents: Businesses or other for-profit organizations, non-
profit institutions, small businesses or organizations, State and local 
organizations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 17,700.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Frequency of Collection: Semiannually for WP and WS Studies, 
annually for DMR-QA Studies.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 141,550.
    Send comments regarding the burden estimate, or any other aspect of 
this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing the 
burden, to:

Sandy Farmer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Information Policy 
Branch (2136), 401 M Street, SW., Washington, DC 20460.

and

Tim Hunt, Office of Management and Budget, Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20530.

    Dated: April 8, 1994.
Paul Lapsley,
Director, Regulatory Management Division.
[FR Doc. 94-9298 Filed 4-15-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-F