[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 45 (Thursday, March 7, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10404-10405]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-5450]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7154-4]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Operator Certification Guidelines and Operator 
Certification Expense Reimbursement Grants Program

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 following Information 
Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for review and approval: Operator Certification 
Guidelines and Operator Certification Expense Reimbursement Grants 
Program, OMB Control Number 2040-0236, expiration date February 28, 
2002. 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 April 8, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Send comments, referencing EPA ICR #1955.02, and OMB Control 
No. 2040-0236 to the following addresses: Susan Auby, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Collection Strategies Division (Mail 
Code 2822), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC, 20460; and to 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB), Attention: Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th Street, NW, 
Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For a copy of the ICR contact Susan 
Auby

[[Page 10405]]

at EPA by phone at (202) 260-4901, by E-mail at [email protected], or 
download off the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/icr and refer to EPA 
ICR #1955.02. For technical questions about the ICR, contact Jenny 
Jacobs, Drinking Water Protection Division (Mailcode 4606M), Office of 
Ground Water and Drinking Water, U.S. EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue 
NW., Washington, DC, 20460. Ms. Jacobs may be contacted by phone at 
(202) 564-3836 or by E-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Operator Certification Guidelines and 
Operator Certification Expense Reimbursement Grants Program (OMB 
Control Number 2040-0236; EPA ICR Number 1955.02) expiring 2/28/02. 
This is an extension of a currently approved collection.
    Abstract: This information collection is to determine if states are 
meeting the requirements of EPA's operator certification guidelines, 
which were published in the Federal Register on February 5, 1999 (64 FR 
5916). Section 1419(a) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Amendments 
of 1996 requires EPA to develop operator certification guidelines for 
state operator certification programs and to publish final guidelines 
by February 6, 1999. Pursuant to section 1419(b) of the SDWA, beginning 
two years after the date on which EPA publishes operator certification 
guidelines (February 5, 2001), EPA shall withhold 20 percent of the 
funds a state is otherwise entitled to receive under SDWA section 1452 
unless a state has adopted and is implementing a program that meets the 
requirements of EPA's operator certification guidelines. EPA is 
required under SDWA section 1419 to make an annual determination on 
whether to withhold 20 percent of a state's Drinking Water State 
Revolving Fund (DWSRF) allotment. In order to make these decisions, EPA 
must collect information from the states as required by EPA's 
guidelines. States, in turn, must collect information from water 
systems as required by their respective programs.
    SDWA section 1419(d) requires EPA to reimburse (through grants to 
states) the costs of training, including an appropriate per diem for 
unsalaried operators, and certification for persons operating community 
and nontransient noncommunity public water systems serving 3,300 
persons or fewer that are required to undergo training pursuant to 
EPA's operator certification guidelines. Prior to awarding grants to 
states, EPA will need to collect information from states to ensure that 
the state has a plan for distributing the funds to small system 
operators. 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 2/28/01 (66 
FR 12776); 1 comment was received.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and record keeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 4 
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: Owners/operator of public water 
systems, State Environmental Water Quality Agencies, State Departments 
of Health.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 68,396.
    Frequency of Response: Annually.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 302,425 hours.
    Estimated Total Annualized Capital, O&M Cost Burden: $898,000.
    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 addresses listed above. Please 
refer to EPA ICR No. 1955.02 and OMB Control No. 2040-0236 in any 
correspondence.

    Dated: February 26, 2002.
Oscar Morales,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 02-5450 Filed 3-6-02; 8:45 am]
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