[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 144 (Wednesday, July 28, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40868-40869]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-19269]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6409-1]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; EPA Office of Site Remediation Enforcement 
Program Evaluation ICR

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 approval: EPA Office of Site 
Remediation Enforcement Program Evaluation ICR, EPA ICR Number 1890.01. 
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 27, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sandy Farmer at EPA by phone at (202) 
260-2740, by email at [email protected], or download a copy of the 
ICR off the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/icr and refer to EPA ICR No. 
1890.01.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: EPA Office of Site Remediation Enforcement Program 
Evaluation ICR, EPA ICR Number 1890.01. This is a new collection.
    Abstract: During the last 3-5 years, EPA's Office of Site 
Remediation Enforcement (OSRE), in conjunction with EPA's Office of 
Emergency and Remedial Response (OERR), has been implementing a series 
of Administrative Reforms in the Superfund program. These reforms are 
an effort to make Superfund a faster, fairer, and more efficient 
program for all parties involved. With 3-5 years of implementation past 
for a number of these reforms, OSRE is interested to learn how well 
these Administrative Reforms have worked and whether they have achieved 
their stated intentions in the eyes of the external stakeholders whom 
the reforms were intended to impact. The purpose of this ICR is to 
enable OSRE to collect data on the effectiveness of Superfund 
Administrative Reforms so that we can understand which of the reforms 
are most effective, as well as to obtain anecdotal and statistically 
valid information on the outcomes of the reforms.
    With each of the information collections described in this ICR, 
OSRE will be measuring whether or not the Administrative Reform is 
meeting its intended goal, such as speeding site study and cleanup and 
reducing private party transaction costs. Typical goals of the 
Administrative Reforms include: increasing the efficiency of reaching 
settlements with parties at Superfund sites; reducing transaction costs 
for parties at Superfund sites; increasing the fairness of enforcement 
actions at Superfund sites; and facilitating the reuse of Superfund 
sites.
    OSRE is planning to conduct program evaluations of up to 15 
Superfund policies and Superfund reform initiatives. Eight of these 
reform initiatives are known and listed below. An additional seven 
program evaluations will take place as part of these information 
collections, but the exact topics are not known at this time. The eight 
known program evaluations are:

(1) Orphan Share Compensation
(2) Unilateral Administrative Order Administrative Reform
(3) Effective Oversight Management Administrative Reform
(4) Expedited Settlements Reform
(5) De Minimis Settlements
(6) PRP Response Costs and PRP Transaction Costs
(7) Reuse of Superfund and Brownfield Sites
(8) Disbursement of Response Costs to PRPs Performing Work from Special 
Accounts.

    Information will be collected through a series of mail, telephone, 
and on-line survey questionnaires. Responses to these information 
collection requests are voluntary and one-time efforts.
    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 March 19, 
1999 (64 FR 13573); no comments were received.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 2.86 
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; State, Local or Tribal 
Governments.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 10,520.
    Frequency of Response: One time only.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 9,994 hours.
    Estimated Total Annualized Capital, Operating/ Maintenance Cost 
Burden: $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.1890.01 in any correspondence.

Ms. Sandy Farmer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of 
Policy, 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.


[[Page 40869]]


    Dated: July 22, 1999.
Joseph Retzer,
Director, Regulatory Information Division.
[FR Doc. 99-19269 Filed 7-27-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-U