[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 205 (Wednesday, October 24, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60358-60359]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-20937]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-AO-2007-0408, FRL-8486-9]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Regulatory Pilot Projects 
(Renewal); EPA ICR No. 1755.08; OMB Control No. 2010-0026

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 November 23, 
2007.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-AO-
2007-0408 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, OA Docket, EPA Docket Center, 
Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code 2822T, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Avenue, 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: Gerald Filbin, Office of Policy, 
Economics, and Innovation, (1807T), Environmental Protection Agency, 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 
202-566-2182; fax number: 202-566-2220; 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.

[[Page 60359]]

On June 15, 2007 (72 FR 33218), EPA sought comments on this ICR 
pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received no comments during the 
comment period. 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-AO-2007-0408, which is available for online viewing at 
www.regulations.gov, or in person viewing at the Office of the 
Administrator Docket in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room 
3334, 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, and the telephone number for the Office of the 
Administrator Docket is 202-566-0219.
    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, Confidential Business 
Information (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: Regulatory Pilot Projects (Renewal).
    ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 1755.08, OMB Control No. 2010-0026.
    ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on October 31, 2007. 
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: This is an information collection request renewal that 
will allow for the continued solicitation of proposals for innovative 
pilot projects and to allow EPA to continue its commitments to monitor 
the results of previous and ongoing pilot tests of regulatory 
innovation. The renewal of this ICR is important as it will allow the 
Agency to measure performance outcomes of regulatory innovation 
piloting and to assess the broader applicability of those pilot 
projects. The ICR is also necessary to allow EPA to identify State and 
Tribal co-regulators as well as additional regulated entities who are 
interested in partnering with EPA in innovative pilot projects, 
allowing the Agency to continue its commitment to innovation and 
regulatory flexibility with facilities, communities, and states in 
achieving environmental results. The renewal of this ICR will allow EPA 
to continue to receive and work with project sponsors on proposals for 
innovation. Responses related to Project XL are voluntary, as are any 
responses by state environmental agencies to EPA's request for input 
for the design of the annual competition. States seeking funding for an 
environmental regulatory innovation project must submit a project 
proposal in the annual competition (see http://www.epa.gov/innovation/stategrants) to receive a grant award and submittal of a proposal does 
not automatically guarantee an assistance agreement between EPA and a 
state for the purpose of implementing an innovation project. In 
requiring the submittal of a proposal in competition, EPA is adhering 
to its own policies on competition (EPA 5700.7) and performance 
measurement (EPA 5700.8). Similarly, states implementing innovative 
regulatory pilot tests in projects funded by a State Innovation Grant 
are required to report on progress during the operation of a project 
and to provide a final project report summarizing outcomes and major 
findings of each project. EPA's policy on performance measurement in 
assistance agreements is an implementation outcome under the Government 
Performance and Results Act (GPRA sections 1115(a)(4) and 1116(c)). 
EPA's innovation piloting efforts are multi-media in nature and include 
programs authorized under the full range of authorizing legislation 
(e.g., the Clean Air Act, section 103(b)(3) (42 U.S.C. 7403(b)(3)) the 
Clean Water Act, section 104(b)(3) (33 U.S.C. 1254(b)(3)); the Solid 
Waste Disposal Act, section 8001 (42 U.S.C. 6981); the Toxics 
Substances Control Act, section 10 (15 U.S.C. 2609); the Federal 
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, section 20 (7 U.S.C. 
136r); and the Safe Drinking Water Act, sections 1442 (a) and (c) (42 
U.S.C. 1(a) and (c)).
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 6 
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 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: States and regulated entities 
participating in EPA regulatory pilot projects.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 1252.
    Frequency of Response: Occasionally, quarterly, and/or annually.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 7748 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $331,460. This includes an estimated 
labor cost of $331,460 and an estimated cost of $0 for capital 
investment or maintenance and operational costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is an increase of 6,860 hours in 
the total estimated respondent burden compared with that identified in 
the ICR currently approved by OMB. This increase reflects the need to 
collect information on project performance and outcomes in the form of 
quarterly reporting and final project reporting for current and future 
projects that is not addressed in previous ICRs.

    Dated: October 17, 2007.
Sara Hisel-McCoy,
Acting Director, Collection Strategies Division.
 [FR Doc. E7-20937 Filed 10-23-07; 8:45 am]
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