[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 227 (Monday, November 28, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71290-71291]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-6591]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OW-2005-0006, FRL-8002-9]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Willingness To Pay Survey for 
Section 316(b) Phase III Cooling Water Intake Structures: Instrument, 
Pre-Test, and Implementation; EPA ICR Number 2155.02

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 an Information Collection 
Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for review and approval. This is a request for a new collection. 
This ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its 
estimated burden and cost.

DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before December 28, 
2005.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number OW-2005-
0006, to (1) EPA online using EDOCKET (our preferred method), by e-mail 
to [email protected], or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental 
Protection Agency, Water Docket, EPA West, Mail Code 4101T, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, and (2) 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erik Helm, Office of Science and 
Technology, Mail Code 4303T, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-
566-1066; fax number: 202-566-1054; 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 June 9, 2005, (70 FR 33746), EPA sought comments on this 
ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA has addressed the comments 
received.
    EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID 
number OW-2005-0006, which is available for public viewing at the Water 
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 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. 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,

[[Page 71291]]

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: Willingness to Pay Survey for section 316(b) Phase III 
Cooling Water Intake Structures: Instrument, Pre-test, and 
Implementation
    Abstract: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is in the 
process of developing new regulations to provide national performance 
standards for controlling impacts from cooling water intake structures 
(CWIS) for Phase III facilities under section 316(b) of the Clean Water 
Act (CWA). Phase III under Clean Water Act section 316(b) regulations 
applies to facilities that withdraw water for cooling purposes from 
rivers, streams, lakes, reservoirs, estuaries, oceans, or other waters 
of the United States, and that are either existing electrical 
generators with cooling water intake structures that are designed to 
withdraw 50 million gallons of water per day (MGD) or less, or existing 
manufacturing and industrial facilities. The regulation also 
establishes section 316(b) requirements for new offshore oil and gas 
extraction facilities. EPA has previously published final section 
316(b) regulations that address new facilities (Phase I) on December 
18, 2001 (66 FR 65256) and existing large power producers (Phase II) on 
July 9, 2004 (69 FR 41576). See 40 CFR part 125, subparts I and J, 
respectively.
    As required under Executive Order 12866, EPA is conducting economic 
impact and cost-benefit analyses for the section 316(b) regulation for 
Phase III facilities. Comprehensive, estimates of total resource value 
include both use and non-use values, such that the resulting total 
social benefit estimates may be compared to total social cost. Many 
public comments on the proposed section 316(b) regulation for Phase II 
facilities and the Phase II Notice of Data Availability suggested that 
a properly designed and conducted stated preference, or contingent 
valuation (CV), survey would be the most appropriate and acceptable 
method to estimate the non-use benefits of the rule. Stated preference 
survey methodology is the generally accepted means to estimate non-use 
values. To assess public policy significance or importance of the 
ecological gains from the section 316(b) regulation for Phase III 
facilities, EPA proposes to conduct a stated preference study to 
measure non-use benefits of reduced fish losses at CWIS due to the 
regulation.
    The survey will ask respondents to choose how they would vote, if 
presented with two different hypothetical regulatory options 
characterized by (a) changes in annual impingement and entrainment 
losses of fish and other organisms, (b) effects on long-term fish 
populations, (c) effects on recreational and commercial catch, and (d) 
an unavoidable cost of living increase for the respondent's household. 
Respondents will be allowed to ``vote'' for one of the presented 
regulatory options, or to choose not to vote for either option. The 
survey will also ask respondents to answer questions about their 
reasons for voting, their level of concern about various policy issues, 
and their affiliations and recreational activities.
    Survey subjects will be randomly selected from a representative 
national panel of respondents maintained by Knowledge Networks, an 
online survey company. Subjects will be asked to complete a web-based 
questionnaire. Participation in the survey is voluntary. Additionally, 
EPA will conduct non-response follow-up interviews with 600 
individuals, and will use statistical techniques to correct for 
unobserved heterogeneity in the survey data.
    To assist in the development of this stated preference survey, EPA 
previously obtained approval from the Office of Management and Budget 
to conduct a series of twelve focus groups with a total of 96 
respondents (see EPA ICR number 2155.01, OMB number 2040-0262.
    EPA received several comments on the proposed ICR for this survey. 
Many comments provided specific reasons why the survey might 
overestimate or underestimate willingness to pay to prevent fish 
losses. Almost all of these comments have been addressed through the 
focus groups and cognitive interviews, which have helped the Agency to 
improve the survey.
    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 and are identified on 
the form and/or instrument, if applicable.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 41 
minutes per respondent. 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: Individuals greater than 18 years of 
age/households.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 5,000.
    Frequency of Response: Once.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 3,383 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $59,919. EPA estimates that there will 
be no capital or O&M costs.

    Dated: November 16, 2005.
Oscar Morales,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
 [FR Doc. E5-6591 Filed 11-25-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P