[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 62 (Thursday, March 30, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16913-16914]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-7884]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6568-2]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Information Collection Request for the State 
Water Quality Program Management Gap Analysis

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: Information Collection 
Request for the State Water Quality Program Management Gap Analysis; 
EPA ICR No.1945.01. 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 May 1, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For a copy of the ICR 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. 1945.01. For technical 
information about the collection contact Carol Crow at (202) 260-6742.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Information Collection Request for the State Water Quality 
Program Management Gap Analysis; EPA ICR No. 1945.01. This is a new 
collection.
    Abstract: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in partnership 
with States, is conducting the State Water Quality Management Gap 
Analysis (Gap Analysis) to help enumerate current and future funding 
needs and to help identify innovative strategies for reducing resource 
gaps. To gather preliminary information in a short time frame, the Gap 
Analysis was divided into two phases. Phase I consisted of the 
development of an initial, national estimate of the resource gap faced 
by water quality management programs to provide a general idea of the 
magnitude of the resource gap faced by States.
    Phase II of the Gap Analysis involves developing a detailed, 
activity-based workload model to provide a common framework and 
consistent methodology for States and EPA to estimate what it costs the 
States to meet the objectives of the Clean Water Act (CWA). In order to 
complete the model, EPA's Office of Wastewater Management (OWM) needs 
to gather data on the resources needed

[[Page 16914]]

by each State for water quality management activities.
    This is a one time collection effort by OWM and responses to this 
ICR are voluntary. The collection is necessary to develop a detailed 
activity-based workload model that will provide an estimate of the 
resource needs facing water quality management programs, both for 
individual States and the nation. EPA will use the collected 
information to estimate resource needs for water quality management 
activities.
    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 January 13, 
2000 (65 FR 2162); no comments were received.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 
180.15 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: State Water Quality Management 
Programs.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 20.
    Frequency of Response: Once.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 3603 hours.
    Estimated Total Annualized Cost Burden (non-labor costs): $0.
    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. 1945.01 in any correspondence.

Ms. Sandy Farmer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of 
Environmental Information, Collection Strategies Division (2822), 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW, 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 22, 2000.
Oscar Morales,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 00-7884 Filed 3-29-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P