[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 43 (Friday, March 5, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10658-10660]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-5491]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6238-4]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; National Water Quality Inventory Reports

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 
and Budget (OMB) for review and comment: National Water Quality 
Inventory Reports (Clean Water Act sections 305(b), 303(d), 314(a), and 
106(e)); OMB Control No. 2040-0071, expires June 30, 1999. The ICR 
describes the nature of the information collection and its expected 
cost and burden; where appropriate, it includes the actual data 
collection instrument.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before April 5, 1999.


[[Page 10659]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Sandy Farmer at EPA by phone 
at (202) 260-2740, by email at [email protected], or 
download off the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/icr and refer to EPA 
ICR No. 1560.05.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: National Water Quality Inventory Reports (Clean Water Act 
sections 305(b), 303(d), 314(a), and 106(e)); OMB Control No. 2040-
0071, EPA ICR No. 1560.05, expires June 30, 1999. This is a request for 
extension of a currently approved collection.
    Abstract: Section 305(b) of the Clean Water Act (Public Law 92-500, 
33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.; most recently amended in 1987 by Public Law 
100-4) requires each State to prepare and submit a biennial water 
quality report to the EPA Administrator. Regulations for water quality 
monitoring, planning, management and reporting are found in 40 CFR part 
130. Each 305(b) report includes such information as a description of 
the quality of waters of the State; an analysis of the extent to which 
these waters provide for the protection and propagation of a balanced 
population of shellfish, fish, and wildlife, and allow recreational 
activities in and on the water; recommendations for additional action 
necessary to achieve such uses; an estimate of the environmental impact 
and economic and social costs as well as the economic and social 
benefits of such achievement; and a description of the nature and 
extent of nonpoint sources of pollutants and recommendations as to 
programs needed to control each category of such sources.
    Under the CWA section 314(a)(2), States must incorporate 
information regarding Clean Lakes into the 305(b) reports. States are 
to include the following: an identification and classification 
according to trophic condition of all publicly owned lakes; a 
description of the methods to control sources of pollution and restore 
these lakes; methods to mitigate the harmful effects of high acidity; a 
list and description of publicly owned lakes for which uses are known 
to be impaired; and an assessment of the status and trends of water 
quality in lakes.
    Section 303(d)(1) of the CWA requires States to identify and rank 
water-quality limited waters which will not meet State water quality 
standards after implementation of required controls, such as, 
technology-based point source controls.
    Section 106(e) requires States to include information on monitoring 
activities implemented to evaluate the quality of navigable waters and 
ground water in the 305(b) reports.
    Reporting under sections 305(b) and 314 is thus required of the 50 
States. Reporting activities under section 303(d) may be submitted as 
part of the 305(b) report or may be submitted under separate cover. 
Other respondents (Territories, River Basin Commissions) also prepare 
305(b) reports to document the quality of their waters to EPA, 
Congress, and the public and, in some cases, to meet grant conditions.
    The 305(b) reporting process is an essential component of the EPA 
water pollution control program. EPA's Office of Water uses the 305(b) 
reports as the principal information source for assessing nationwide 
water quality, progress made in maintaining and restoring water 
quality, and the extent of remaining water pollution problems. EPA 
prepares the National Water Quality Inventory Report to Congress and 
evaluates impacts of EPA's water pollution control programs with the 
information and data supplied in the 305(b) reports and the 
corresponding national database, the EPA Waterbody System. The Office 
of Water uses the Report to Congress to target persistent and emerging 
water quality problems with new initiatives and to improve or eliminate 
ineffective programs.
    EPA uses the information submitted under section 314 to evaluate 
and to report on trends in the status of lake water quality reports 
issued by the section 314 Clean Lakes Program. The Agency also uses 
this information for a variety of other purposes including to assist in 
the management of lake projects funded under both sections 314 and 319 
of the Clean Water Act.
    Under section 303(d), EPA must review and approve or disapprove the 
State lists of water-quality limited waterbodies still requiring total 
maximum daily loads (TMDLs). Section 303(d) of the CWA establishes the 
TMDL process to provide for more stringent water-quality based controls 
when required Federal, State or local controls are inadequate to 
achieve State water quality standards. TMDLs encourage a holistic view 
of water quality problems considering all contributions and instream 
water quality and provide a method to allocate those contributions to 
meet water quality standards.
    EPA is currently developing proposed revisions to the TMDL program 
regulations and, as part of that effort, will determine whether it 
needs to prepare a new ICR based on the proposed regulatory revisions. 
While at this time, EPA believes that it is likely that a new ICR will 
be needed, no final decision will be made and the Agency will continue 
to undertake the necessary analyses needed to make such a final 
decision.
    During 1998, EPA worked with its partners on the development of 
Clean Water Action Plan Unified Watershed Assessments (UWA). EPA and 
its partners are looking into whether these assessments should be 
updated in the future. If the UWA are updated and are subject to ICR 
requirements, EPA will conduct a complete burden analysis.
    The next 305(b) reports and 303(d) lists are due to EPA in April 
2000. EPA has published guidelines on the types of information 
requested of respondents in their 305(b) reports. The current edition 
is Guidelines for the Preparation of the Comprehensive State Water 
Quality Assessments (305(b) Reports) and Electronic Updates: Report 
Contents, EPA841-B-97-002A, and Guidelines for the Preparation of the 
Comprehensive State Water Quality Assessments (305(b) Reports) and 
Electronic Updates: Supplement, EPA841-B-97-002B (For further 
information or a copy call: Susan Holdsworth at EPA, (202) 260-4743).
    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 11/13/98 
(63 FR 63470): one comment was received. The commentors recommend that 
EPA increase the estimate of the burden associated with State 
preparation of 305(b) reports . . . because the States are not properly 
preparing the 305(b) reports. . .''and that EPA increase its activities 
to improve the quality of State 305(b) reports. In response, EPA is 
addressing the concern that the level of detail and the 
comprehensiveness of 305(b) reports varies among states. These efforts 
include the use of financial incentives and the dissemination of 
guidance, training and technology. Preliminary results indicate these 
efforts are successfully improving the 305(b) reporting process. In 
addition, EPA did review its calculation of burden and identified an 
error in the calculation. When revising the estimate of burden to 
reflect 2-year rather than 5-year reporting cycle, EPA did not 
recalculate the burden associated with the ground water portion of the 
assessments. Correction of this error increased the estimate of burden 
hours.

[[Page 10660]]

    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 4164 
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: States, the District of Columbia, 
Territories, and River Basin Commissions.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 59.
    Frequency of Response: Reports every 2 years as required by the 
CWA; annual electronic updates of water quality assessment data is 
encouraged in 1999 and 2001 and the burden of this activity is included 
in this renewal request.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 245,676 hours.
    Estimated Total Annualized Cost: $0.00.
    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. 1560.05 and OMB Control No. 2040-0071 in any 
correspondence.

Ms. Sandy Farmer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, OP 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: March 1, 1999.
Richard T. Westlund,
Acting Director, Regulatory Information Division.
[FR Doc. 99-5491 Filed 3-4-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P