[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 224 (Wednesday, November 19, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69633-69634]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-27471]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0357; FRL-8742-2]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Reporting Requirements for BEACH 
Act Grants (Renewal), EPA ICR Number 2048.03, OMB Control Number 2040-
0244

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 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 December 19, 
2008.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OW-2008-0357, to (1) EPA online using http://www.regulations.gov (our 
preferred method), by e-mail to [email protected], or by mail to: EPA 
Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Water Docket (28221T), 
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: Lars Wilcut, Standards and Health 
Protection Division, Office of Science and Technology (4305T), 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 566-0447; fax number: 
(202) 566-0409; 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 July 8, 2008 (73 FR 39013), EPA sought comments on this ICR 
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-OW-2008-0357, which is available for public viewing at 
http://www.regulations.gov, or in-person viewing at the Water Docket in 
the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room 3334, 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.
    Use EPA's electronic docket and comment system at http://www.regulations.gov 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, 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, 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: Reporting Requirements for BEACH Act Grants (Renewal).
    ICR Numbers: EPA ICR No. 2048.03, OMB Control No. 2040-0244.
    ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on November 30, 2008. 
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 of 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 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: Congress passed the Beaches Environmental Assessment and 
Coastal Health (BEACH) Act in October 2000 to amend the Clean Water 
Act, in part by adding section 406, ``Coastal Recreation Water 
Monitoring and Notification.'' Section 406(b) authorizes EPA to make 
grants to States and local governments to develop and implement 
programs for monitoring and public notification for coastal recreation 
waters adjacent to beaches or similar points of access that are used by 
the public, if the State or local government satisfies the requirements 
of the BEACH Act.
    Several of these requirements require a grant recipient to collect 
and submit information to EPA as a condition for receiving the grant. 
Section 406(b) requires a grant recipient to provide the factors that 
the state or local government uses to prioritize funds and a list of 
waters for which the grant funds will be used. Section 406(b) also 
requires that a grant recipient's program be consistent with the 
performance requirements set by EPA under section 406(a); EPA needs 
information from the grant recipients to determine if the monitoring 
and notification programs are consistent with these criteria. On July 
19, 2002, EPA published the National Beach Guidance and Required 
Performance Criteria for Grants (67 FR 47540). Section 406(b) also 
requires that a grant

[[Page 69634]]

recipient submit a report to EPA that describes the data collected as 
part of a monitoring and notification program and the actions taken to 
notify the public when water quality standards are exceeded. Section 
406(c) requires a grant recipient to identify lists of coastal 
recreation waters, processes for States to delegate to local 
governments the responsibility for implementing a monitoring and 
notification program, and the content of the monitoring and 
notification program.
    The information covered by this ICR is required of States and local 
governments that seek to obtain BEACH Act funding. It allows EPA to 
properly review State and local governments' monitoring and 
notification programs to determine if they are eligible for BEACH Act 
grant funding. This information also enables EPA to fulfill its 
obligations to make this information available to the public as 
required by sections 406(e) and (g).
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 2,374 
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; 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: Environmental and public health 
agencies in coastal and Great Lakes states, territories and authorized 
tribes.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 40.
    Frequency of Response: Annual.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 94,947.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $11,928,370, includes $3,938,760 
annualized capital or O&M costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: The annual operation and maintenance 
costs increased by $188,760. This is because the estimated number of 
beaches monitored by grant recipients increased from 3,472 (estimated 
from EPA's 2003 National List of Beaches) to 3,647 (estimated from the 
2007 National Beaches Survey), a 5.0% increase.

    Dated: November 13, 2008.
John Moses,
Acting Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. E8-27471 Filed 11-18-08; 8:45 am]
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