[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 47 (Tuesday, March 11, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11544-11546]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-5745]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OW-2002-0060; FRL-7463-8]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission of EPA ICR 
No. 0234.08 (OMB No. 2080-0021 to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request

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

[[Page 11545]]

approval: Performance Evaluation Studies of Water and Wastewater 
Laboratories (OMB Control No. 2080-0021, EPA ICR No. 0234.08) The ICR, 
which is abstracted below, describes the nature of the information 
collection and its estimated burden and cost.

DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before April 10, 
2003.

ADDRESSES: Follow the detailed instructions in the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ed Glick, Standards and Risk 
Management Division, Office of Ground Water and Drinking (Mail Code 
140), United States Environmental Protection Agency, USEPA Facilities, 
West Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45268; telephone number: 
(513) 569-7939; fax number: (513) 569-7191; e-mail address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA has submitted the following ICR to OMB 
for review and approval according to the procedures prescribed in 5 CFR 
1320.12. On July 8, 2002 (67 FR 45112), EPA sought comments on this ICR 
pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). No comments were received.
    EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID 
No. OW-2002-0060, which is available for public viewing at the Water 
Docket in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room B102, 1301 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public 
Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Reading 
Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the Water Docket 
is (202) 566-2426. An electronic version of the public docket is 
available through EPA Dockets (EDOCKET) at http://www.epa.gov/edocket. 
Use EDOCKET to submit or view public comments, access the index listing 
of the contents of the public docket, and to access those documents in 
the public docket that are available electronically. Once in the 
system, select ``search,'' then key in the docket ID number identified 
above.
    Any comments related to this ICR should be submitted to EPA and OMB 
within 30 days of this notice, and according to the following detailed 
instructions: (1) Submit your comments to EPA online using EDOCKET (our 
preferred method), by e-mail to [email protected], or by mail to: EPA 
Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 4101T, 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460, and (2) Mail your 
comments to OMB at: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Attention: Desk Officer for EPA, 
725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503.
    EPA's policy is that public comments, whether submitted 
electronically or in paper, will be made available for public viewing 
in EDOCKET as EPA receives them and without change, unless the comment 
contains copyrighted material, CBI, or other information whose public 
disclosure is restricted by statute. When EPA identifies a comment 
containing copyrighted material, EPA will provide a reference to that 
material in the version of the comment that is placed in EDOCKET. The 
entire printed comment, including the copyrighted material, will be 
available in the public docket. Although identified as an item in the 
official docket, information claimed as CBI, or whose disclosure is 
otherwise restricted by statute, is not included in the official public 
docket, and will not be available for public viewing in EDOCKET. For 
further information about the electronic docket, see EPA's Federal 
Register notice describing the electronic docket at 67 FR 38102 (May 
31, 2002), or go to http://www.epa.gov/edocket.
    Title: Performance Evaluation Studies of Water and Wastewater (OMB 
Control No. 2080-0021, EPA ICR Number 0234.08). This is a request to 
renew an existing approved collection that is scheduled to expire on 
February 28, 2003. Under the OMB regulations, the Agency may continue 
to conduct or sponsor the collection of information while this 
submission is pending at OMB.
    Abstract: Performance Evaluation (PE) studies provide an objective 
demonstration that participating laboratories are capable of producing 
valid data for monitored pollutants. Participation in the Water 
Pollution (WP) studies that relate to wastewater analyses and Water 
Supply (WS) studies that relate to drinking water analyses are only 
mandated by the USEPA for those laboratories that receive federal funds 
to perform these analyses. However, states that certify laboratories 
for drinking water and wastewater analyses also often require 
successful participation in these studies for certification. 
Participation in the Discharge Monitoring Report-Quality Assurance 
(DMR-QA) studies is mandatory for those designated wastewater 
dischargers who are conducting self-monitoring analyses required under 
a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. EPA 
initiated these studies and originally administered them as part of the 
Agency's mandate to assure the quality of environmental monitoring 
data. Subsequently, all of these studies have been privatized. Private 
sector companies manufacture and distribute samples to the 
participating laboratories who then will submit their analytical 
results to these PE vendors for evaluation. The PE vendors then send 
evaluations of the submitted data to the laboratory and any other 
designated certifying/accrediting authority.
    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, and are 
identified on the form and/or instrument, if applicable.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and record keeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 9.7 
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: Laboratories and PE Vendors.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 17,168.
    Frequency of Response: Annually.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 167,348 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $8,252,000, which includes $0 
annualized capital/startup costs and $2,921,000 annual O&M costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: (1) Agency burden has been completely 
transferred to private sector. PE venders. (2) The PE Studies WSM and 
DMRQA TOX are no longer considered a part of this information 
collection, reducing the number of respondents and their corresponding 
burdens. (3) Participation in the DMR-QA PE study has decreased from an 
estimated average of 7000 to 6489 since the last renewal of this ICR, 
while the estimated average number of analytes measured in this study

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increased from 9 to 14. (4) Participation in the WP PE study has 
increased from an estimated average of 5800 to 6470, and the average 
number of analytes decreased from 27 to 25. (5) The average number of 
analytes per participant in the WS PE study increased from 30 to 33. 
(6) The average cost per analyte charged by the PE venders was updated 
since the previous renewal of this ICR.

    Dated: February 26, 2003.
Oscar Morales,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 03-5745 Filed 3-10-03; 8:45 am]
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