[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 132 (Tuesday, July 11, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39099-39101]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-10836]


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

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-SFUND-2005-0003; FRL-8194-4]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Brownfields Program--
Revitalization Grantee Reporting (Renewal), EPA ICR Number 2104.02, OMB 
Control Number 2050-0192

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)(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 to renew an existing 
approved collection. 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 August 10, 
2006.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
SFUND-2005-0003, to (1) EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our 
preferred method), by email to [email protected], or by mail to: 
EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, OSWER Docket, 
5202T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, and (2) OMB 
by mail 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: Jennifer Wilbur, Office of Solid Waste 
and Emergency Response (OSWER), Office of Brownfields Cleanup and 
Redevelopment (OBCR) 5105T, U.S. EPA Headquarters, Ariel Rios Building, 
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 
(202) 566-2756; fax number: (202) 566-2757; email 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 October 17, 2005 (70 FR 60335), EPA sought comments on this 
ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received two comments during the 
comment period, which are addressed in the ICR. Any additional comments 
on this ICR should be submitted to EPA and OMB within 30 days of this 
notice.
    EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-SFUND-2005-0003, which is available for online viewing at 
www.regulations.gov, or in person viewing at the OSWER Docket in the 
EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution 
Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA/DC Public Reading Room is open from 
8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. 
The telephone number for the Reading Room

[[Page 39100]]

is 202-566-1744, and the telephone number for the OSWER Docket is 202-
566-0276.
    Use EPA's electronic docket and comment system at 
www.regulations.gov, to submit or view public comments, access the 
index listing of the contents of the docket, and to access those 
documents in the docket that are available electronically. Once in the 
system, select ``docket search,'' then key in the docket ID number 
identified above. Please note that EPA's policy is that public 
comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper, will be made 
available for public viewing at www.regulations.gov as EPA receives 
them and without change, unless the comment contains copyrighted 
material, CBI, or other information whose public disclosure is 
restricted by statute. For further information about the electronic 
docket, go to www.regulations.gov.
    Title: Brownfields Program--Revitalization Grantee Reporting 
(Renewal).
    ICR Numbers: EPA ICR No. 2104.02, OMB Control No. 2050-0192.
    ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on August 31, 2006. 
Under OMB regulations, the Agency may continue to conduct or sponsor 
the collection of information while this submission is pending at OMB. 
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 title 40 of the CFR, after appearing in the Federal Register when 
approved, are listed in 40 CFR part 9, are displayed either by 
publication in the Federal Register or by other appropriate means, such 
as on the related collection instrument or form, if applicable. The 
display of OMB control numbers in certain EPA regulations is 
consolidated in 40 CFR part 9.
    Abstract: The Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields 
Revitalization Act (Pub. L. 107-118) (``the Brownfields Amendments'') 
was signed into law on January 11, 2002. The Act amends the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 
(CERCLA), as amended, and authorizes EPA to award grants to States, 
tribes, local governments, and other eligible entities to assess and 
clean up brownfields sites. Under the Brownfields Amendments, a 
brownfields site means real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or 
reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence 
of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. For grant funding 
purposes, EPA uses the term ``brownfields property(ies)'' synonymously 
with the term ``brownfields sites.'' The Brownfields Amendments 
authorize EPA to award several types of grants to eligible entities on 
a competitive basis.
    Under subtitle A of the Small Business Liability Relief and 
Brownfields Revitalization Act, States, tribes, local governments, and 
other eligible entities can receive assessment grants to inventory, 
characterize, assess, and conduct planning and community involvement 
related to brownfields properties; cleanup grants to carry out cleanup 
activities at brownfields properties; grants to capitalize revolving 
loan funds and provide subgrants for cleanup activities; and job 
training grants to support the creation and implementation of 
environmental job training and placement programs. Under subtitle C of 
the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act, 
State and tribes can receive grants to establish and enhance their 
response programs. The grants support activities necessary to establish 
or enhance four elements of state and tribal response programs and to 
meet the public record requirements under the statute. The four 
elements include: (a) Timely survey and inventory of brownfield sites 
in the State or in the tribal land; (b) oversight and enforcement 
authorities or other mechanisms and resources; (c) mechanisms and 
resources to provide meaningful opportunities for public participation; 
and (d) mechanisms for approval of a cleanup plan and verification and 
certification that cleanup is complete. States and tribes that receive 
funding under subtitle C must establish a public record system during 
the grant funding period unless an adequate public record system is 
already established.
    Grant recipients have general reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements as a condition of their grant that result in burden. A 
portion of this reporting and record keeping burden is authorized under 
40 CFR parts 30 and 31 and identified in the EPA's general grants ICR 
(OMB Control Number 2030-0020). EPA requires Brownfields program grant 
recipients to maintain and report additional information to EPA on the 
uses and accomplishments associated with the funded brownfields 
activities. EPA uses several forms to assist grantees in reporting the 
information and to ensure consistency of the information collected. EPA 
uses this information to meet Federal stewardship responsibilities to 
manage and track how program funds are being spent, to evaluate the 
performance of the Brownfields Cleanup and Redevelopment Program, to 
meet the Agency's reporting requirements under the Government 
Performance Results Act, and to report to Congress and other program 
stakeholders on the status and accomplishments of the grants program.
    This ICR addresses the burden imposed on grant recipients that are 
associated with those reporting and recordkeeping requirements that are 
specific to grants awarded under the Small Business Liability Relief 
and Brownfields Revitalization Act. This ICR renewal modifies the 
annual reporting and recordkeeping burden under the previous ICR. The 
modified burden reflects an increase in the number of respondents 
subject to the reporting and recordkeeping requirements, and 
improvements to the reporting forms based on EPA's experience 
implementing the grant program. Specifically, subtitle C grant 
recipients are now subject to the reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements previously established for subtitle A grant recipients. By 
using the same form to report information on grant activities, EPA is 
adopting a streamlined approach that avoids potential confusion among 
grant recipients and allows the Agency to collect and report program 
information consistently across all brownfields grants. EPA is also 
modifying the reporting form to simplify and clarify the reporting 
requirements, which will improve the accuracy of information reported 
and minimize the burden to grant recipients.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 5 
hours per response for job training grant recipients. The annual 
reporting and record keeping burden for this collection of information 
is estimated to average 1.25 hours per response for subtitle A 
assessment, cleanup, and revolving loan fund grant recipients and 
subtitle C grant recipients. 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

[[Page 39101]]

requirements which have subsequently changed; 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: Entities potentially affected by 
this action are States, tribes, local governments, and certain non-
governmental organizations that apply for and receive grants from EPA 
to support the assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment of brownfields 
properties.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 294.
    Frequency of Response: Bi-annual for subtitle C grant recipients; 
quarterly for subtitle A grant recipients.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 8,683.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $547,000 includes $0 annualized 
capital or O&M costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is an increase of 1,363 hours in 
the total estimated annual burden currently identified in the OMB 
Inventory of Approved ICR Burdens. This is a program change due to an 
expanded number of respondents from the inclusion of subtitle C grant 
recipients into the information collection.

    Dated: June 27, 2006.
Oscar Morales,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
 [FR Doc. E6-10836 Filed 7-10-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P