[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 132 (Tuesday, July 11, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39111-39112]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-10867]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OEI-2006-0037, FRL-8195-1]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Exchange Network Grants Progress 
Report (Renewal); EPA ICR No. 2207.02, OMB Control No. 2025-0006

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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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-OEI-
2006-0037, to (1) EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred 
method), by e-mail to [email protected], or by mail to: EPA Docket 
Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Environmental 
Information Docket, Mail Code 28221T, 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: Rachel Hockfield, OEI/OIC/IESD, Mail 
Code 2823T, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., 
NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-566-0248; fax number: 
202-566-1684; 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 March 15, 2006 (71 FR 13384), EPA sought comments pursuant 
to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received no comments. 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-OEI-2006-0037 which is available for online viewing at 
http://www.regulations.gov, or in person viewing at the OEI 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 is 202-566-1744.
    EPA's electronic docket and comment system at http://www.regulations.gov can be used 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 http://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 http://www.regulations.gov.
    Title: Exchange Network Grants Progress Report (Renewal).
    ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 2207.02, OMB Control No. 2025-0006.
    ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on July 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, are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and 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.
    Abstract: This notice announces the collection of information 
related to the U.S. EPA Environmental Information Exchange Network 
(EIEN) Grant Program. The EPA Office of Environmental Information 
provides funding to EPA's Exchange Network partners: States, 
territories, and federally recognized Indian tribes to support the 
development of the EIEN. The EIEN is an Internet and-standards-based, 
secure information system that supports the electronic collection, 
exchange, and integration of data among its partners. Funding for the 
Grant

[[Page 39112]]

Program has been provided through annual congressional appropriations 
for the EPA.
    To enhance the quality and overall public benefit of the Network, 
EPA proposes to collect information from the EIEN grantees about how 
they intend to ensure quality in their projects and the environmental 
outcomes and outputs from their projects. The proposed Quality 
Assurance Reporting Form is intended to provide a simple means for 
grant recipients to describe how quality will be addressed throughout 
their projects. The Quality Assurance Reporting Form is derived from 
guidelines provided in the EIEN 2006 grant solicitation notice. As a 
stipulation of their award, grant recipients are to submit the form 
within ninety days of grant award.
    Grantees are currently required to submit semi-annual progress 
reports as a stipulation of their award. In these reports, grantees 
outline project goals, activities required to meet these goals, and 
outputs and outcomes of activities to date. At the request of numerous 
grantees, we are proposing to offer the Progress Reporting Form as a 
vehicle for collecting information. This form is easier to complete 
than an unstructured narrative, it can be used as the semi-annual and 
final report form and the information returned will be of higher 
quality and comparable.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1.5 
hours for the Semi-Annual Report Form per response and 1 hour per 
Quality Assurance Form 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 that 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: State, Tribal, and Territorial 
Environmental Offices receiving EIEN grants.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 225.
    Frequency of Response: Twice for the Semi-Annual Report Form; Once 
for the Quality Assurance Form.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 733.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $37,000 includes $0 annualized capital 
or O&M costs and $37,000 annual labor costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is an increase of 283 hours in the 
total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of 
Approved ICR Burdens. This change is due to an increase in the estimate 
to complete the Semi-annual Progress Report Form and due to the 
addition of the Quality Assurance Form.

    Dated: June 29, 2006.
Sara Hisel McCoy,
Acting Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. E6-10867 Filed 7-10-06; 8:45 am]
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