[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 182 (Tuesday, September 21, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56424-56425]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-21186]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OA-2004-0006, FRL-7816-7]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Exploring Public and Private Preferences for 
Children's Health Risk Reduction, EPA ICR Number 2160.01

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

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 EPA is planning to submit a 
proposed Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB). This is a request for a new collection. 
Before submitting the ICR to OMB for review and approval, EPA is 
soliciting comments on specific aspects of the proposed information 
collection as described below.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before November 22, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number OA-2004-
0006, to EPA online using EDOCKET (our preferred method), by e-mail to 
[email protected], or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental 
Protection Agency, Office of Environmental Information, Mail Code 
2822T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nathalie Simon, Office of Policy, 
Economics and Innovation, Mail Code 1809T, Environmental Protection 
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone 
number: (202) 566-2347; fax number: (202) 566-2363; e-mail address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA has established a public docket for this 
ICR under Docket ID number OA-2004-0006, which is available for public 
viewing at the Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket in the 
EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution 
Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public Reading Room is 
open

[[Page 56425]]

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 Office of Environmental Information 
(OEI) Docket is (202) 566-1752. An electronic version of the public 
docket is available through EPA Dockets (EDOCKET) at http://www.epa.gov/edocket. Use EDOCKET to obtain a copy of the draft 
collection of information, 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 within 
60 days of this notice. 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: Exploring Public and Private Preferences for Children's 
Health Risk Reduction.
    Abstract: Regulations promulgated by the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency generally have as their primary purpose the safeguard 
of human health. Economic analyses of the regulations' costs and 
benefits are often required as part of the rule-making process. 
Executive Order 12866 for instance requires a benefit-cost analysis of 
every rule expected to have a significant impact of $100 million or 
more.
    Although most benefit cost analyses to date have been conducted 
using scientific and economic valuation estimates derived for adult 
populations, there is increased interest in conducting analyses by 
specific age group or life stage. Executive Order 13045, for instance, 
requires all agencies to specifically consider the effects of 
regulations on children. Advances in the scientific community have 
recently resulted in age-specific assessments of risk and exposure to 
various environmental contaminants. Similar advances are now sought in 
the economics field.
    Currently, little is known about how the public values reductions 
in risk to health for children. Only a handful of valuation estimates 
exist in the literature that are specific to populations under the age 
of 18 as noted in USEPA's Children's Health Valuation Handbook (2002). 
Nor is it evident how other risk characteristics (e.g. the type of 
risk, the uncertainty associated with the health outcome, and the 
populations affected) affect an individual's willingness to pay for 
programs to reduce these risks.
    To begin addressing these gaps, the National Center for 
Environmental Economics, in collaboration with the Office of Children's 
Health Protection, is in the process of designing a survey instrument 
to elicit willingness to pay values for cancer risk reductions to 
children and adults. Several versions of the survey instrument are 
planned so as to adequately address differences in values for these two 
populations as well as to assess differences in public and private 
scenarios.
    The purpose of the proposed ICR is to gain approval for the conduct 
of a series of cognitive (or one-on-one) interviews as part of the 
survey development process. Cognitive interviews are a crucial 
component in the survey development process as they allow survey 
developers to identify problematic approaches, terminology, and 
graphics in the survey instrument. A total of 72 interviews are 
anticipated.
    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 in 40 CFR are listed in 40 CFR part 9.
    The EPA would like to solicit comments to:
    (i) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
    (ii) Evaluate the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden 
of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of 
the methodology and assumptions used;
    (iii) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
to be collected; and
    (iv) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses.
    Burden Statement: The only burden imposed by the interviews on 
respondents will be the time required to complete the survey and answer 
interview questions. The survey developers estimate that this will 
require an average of 1.5 hours per respondent. With a total of 72 
respondents this requires a total of 108 hours. Based on an average 
hourly rate of $24.95 \1\ (including employer costs of all employee 
benefits), the survey developers expect that the average per-respondent 
cost for the pilot survey will be $37.43 and the corresponding one-time 
total cost to all respondents will be $4042.00. Since this information 
collection is voluntary and does not involve any special equipment, 
respondents will not incur any capital or operation and maintenance 
(O&M) costs.
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    \1\ Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and 
costs as a percent of total compensation: Civilian workers, total 
compensation, March 2004 (http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.t02.htm).
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    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.

    Dated: August 27, 2004.
Al McGartland,
Office Director, National Center for Environmental Economics, Office of 
Policy, Economics and Innovation.
[FR Doc. 04-21186 Filed 9-20-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P