[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 103 (Friday, May 26, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34172-34173]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-13441]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6709-9]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Revisions to the Information Collection 
Request (ICR) for the National Water Quality Inventory Reports (Clean 
Water Act Section 305(b)) and Proposed Revisions to EPA's Regulations 
Implementing Section 303(d)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 
et seq.), this document announces that an ICR for the proposed 
revisions to the Water Quality Planning and Management Regulation has 
been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review 
and approval. The ICR describes the nature of the information 
collection for the proposed regulation and its expected burden and 
cost. The ICR also revises the expected burden and costs of the current 
Section 303(d) program and for Section 305(b) reports.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before June 26, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For a copy of EPA ICR Number 1560.06 
contact Sandy Farmer at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by 
mail at Collection Strategies Division; U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency (2822); 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20460, by 
phone at (202) 260-2740, by email at [email protected], or download 
from the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/icr. For technical questions 
about this ICR, contact Richard Iovanna by phone at (202) 260-5194 or 
by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act requires States, Territories, 
and authorized Tribes to identify and rank waters which do not meet 
water quality standards following implementation of technology-based 
controls. Under section 303(d), States, Territories, and authorized 
Tribes are also required to establish total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) 
for listed waters not meeting standards as a result of pollutant 
discharges. In developing the section 303(d) lists, States, 
Territories, and authorized Tribes are required to consider various 
sources of water-quality related data and information, including the 
section 305(b) water quality reports. The section 305(b) reports 
contain information on the extent of water quality degradation, the 
pollutants and sources affecting water quality, and progress in 
controlling water pollution.
    The Clean Water Act requires EPA to review and approve or 
disapprove section 303(d) lists and TMDLs. Currently, there are 56 
respondents (the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the five 
Territories). Section 303(d) specifically requires States, Territories, 
and authorized Tribes to develop lists and TMDLs ``from time to time'' 
and EPA to review and approve or disapprove the lists and the TMDLs. 
EPA collects section 305(b) reports from 59 respondents (the 50 States, 
the District of Columbia, five Territories, and 3 River Basin 
commissions).
    The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) previously approved 
information collection authority for the submission of section 305(b) 
reports under 40 CFR 130.10(a) of the EPA Water Quality Management 
Standards under OMB Number 2040-0071. In 1992, OMB approved an addendum 
to this ICR clarifying the burden associated with preparing section 
303(d) lists of waters for inclusion in the section 305(b) reports. OMB 
reapproved the ICR for the period 1993-1995, 1996-1998, and then again 
from March 1999-April 2003 (ICR Number 1560.05, approved April 5, 
2000).

[[Page 34173]]

    Today's proposed ICR (ICR Number 1560.06, OMB Number 2040-0071) 
proposes revisions to the currently approved ICR based on changes EPA 
proposed to make to the section 303(d) regulations. These revisions 
would increase the burden to States, Territories, and authorized Tribes 
for four section 303(d) activities related to preparation of the 
section 303(d) lists: revising the listing methodology, establishing 
schedules for TMDL development, increased public participation, and 
providing the listing methodology in a new format. EPA's currently 
approved ICR for the period March 1999 through April 2003 was based on 
the burden to respondents of the current program and did not include 
consideration of the impact of the proposed regulations. The revisions 
contained in the revised ICR include the increased section 303(d) 
listing burden to States, Territories, and authorized Tribes that would 
result under the proposed regulations.
    As required by OMB's Terms of Clearance for the currently approved 
ICR, the revised ICR includes the respondent burden associated with 
developing TMDLs. This burden has not been estimated in previous ICRs, 
but can now be included due to recent advances in EPA's ability to 
estimate the cost of developing TMDLs. In this ICR, the burden for 
developing TMDLs is divided into two parts: the burden associated with 
the current TMDL regulations, and the additional burden associated with 
the new requirements for the final revisions to the TMDL regulations. 
The new requirements add two additional TMDL development tasks: 
preparation of an implementation plan, and written response to public 
comments regarding the TMDL.
    As required by OMB's Terms of Clearance for the currently approved 
ICR, the revised ICR also estimates the burden to respondents of 
providing information as required by section 305(b) on the costs and 
benefits of attaining water quality standards, and the burden to the 
Agency of providing guidance to respondents for preparing this 
information. Although this is not a new requirement, the burden of 
providing this information has not been estimated in previous ICRs, 
whether based on the effort associated with the current practices of 
respondents in providing this information or the availability of better 
guidance for developing this information.
    The revised ICR does not include the reduction in respondent burden 
resulting from the anticipated final regulations' adoption of a 4-year 
section 303(d) listing cycle instead of the current 2-year section 
303(d) listing cycle because the savings (although substantial over 
time) would likely not be realized for the period covered by this ICR. 
It also does not include the reduction in respondent burden resulting 
from EPA's March 27, 2000 rule removing the federal requirement for 
States to submit their section 303(d) lists in 2000 (skipping this 
listing cycle) because the timing of the rule's issuance makes it 
difficult to estimate the extent to which savings occurred.
    EPA has concluded that no government information collection 
activity duplicates the information requested by this revised ICR and, 
therefore, it has no other way to obtain the information. Therefore, 
these responses are mandatory. In addition to EPA, environmental groups 
will most likely use the information collected to assess the actions of 
States, Territories, and authorized Tribes. Information collected 
through the proposed activities is not confidential because all 
respondents are State agencies, Territorial agencies, and Tribes 
working entirely in a public forum. The proposed information collection 
activities do not request information of a sensitive nature from the 
State, Territorial, or Tribal respondents.
    The projected average additional cost associated with the revised 
section 303(d) rule requirements is estimated to be $218,663 per 
respondent, and the total annual cost for all 56 respondents is 
estimated to be $12,245,100 . This estimate does not include any of the 
savings that will accrue to respondents in future years resulting from 
the Agency's anticipated adoption of a 4-year section 303(d) listing 
cycle instead of the current 2-year section 303(d) listing cycle. The 
average current cost associated with developing TMDLs under the current 
section 303(d) program is estimated to be $7,653,941 per respondent, 
and the total annual cost for all 56 respondents is estimated to be 
$128,620,703. The average current cost associated with developing 
benefit cost information for the section 305(b) biennial reports is 
estimated to be $1,750, and the total annual cost for all 59 
respondents is estimated to be $103,253. The average potential 
additional cost associated with developing improved benefit cost 
information for the section 305(b) biennial reports is estimated to be 
$25,901 per respondent (depending on the level of detail and 
sophistication of the analyses), and the total annual potential 
additional cost for all 59 respondents is estimated to be $1,424,891. 
Overall, the burden associated with the new requirements amounts to a 
total of 351,504 hours at a cost of $13,669,991 and the burden 
associated with the current program requirements amounts to a total of 
3,309,950 hours at a cost of $128,723,955. 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. An Agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a 
person is not required to respond to 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.
    Comments are requested 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. Send comments on the ICR to the 
Director, Collection Strategies Division; U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency (2822); 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20460; and to 
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management 
and Budget, 725 17th St., NW, Washington, DC 20503, marked ``Attention: 
Desk Officer for EPA.'' Include the ICR number in any correspondence. 
Since OMB is required to make a decision concerning the ICR between 30 
and 60 days after May 26, 2000, a comment to OMB is best assured of 
having its full effect if OMB receives it by June 26, 2000. The final 
rule will respond to any OMB or public comments on the information 
collection requirements contained in this proposal.

    Dated: May 19, 2000
Robert H. Wayland III,
Director, Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds.
[FR Doc. 00-13441 Filed 5-25-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P