[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 237 (Tuesday, December 9, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74714-74715]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-29111]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0437; FRL-8749-3]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Public Water System Supervision 
Program (Renewal); EPA ICR No. 0270.43, OMB Control No. 2040-0090

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 January 8, 
2009.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2008-0437 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, Water Docket, MC: 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: Richard Naylor, Drinking Water 
Protection Division, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, 
(4606M), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202.564.3847; fax number: 
202.564.3755; e-mail address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA has submitted the following ICR to OMB 
for

[[Page 74715]]

review and approval according to the procedures prescribed in 5 CFR 
1320.12. On June 6, 2008 (73 FR 32325), 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-2008-0437, which is available for online viewing at 
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/DC 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 
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 www.regulations.gov.
    Title: Public Water System Supervision Program (Renewal).
    ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 0270.43, OMB Control No. 2040-0090.
    ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on December 31, 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 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 Public Water System Supervision (PWSS) Program ICR 
examines Public Water System (PWS), primacy agency, EPA, laboratories, 
and tribal operator certification provider burden and costs for 
``cross-cutting'' recordkeeping and reporting requirements (i.e., the 
burden and costs for complying with drinking water information 
requirements that are not associated with contaminant-specific 
rulemakings). These activities which have recordkeeping and reporting 
requirements that are mandatory for compliance with 40 CFR parts 141 
and 142 include the following: Consumer Confidence Reports, Variance 
and Exemption Rule, Capacity Development, General State Primacy 
Activities, Public Notification, Operator Certification/Expense 
Reimbursement Program, Tribal Operator Certification Program, 
Constructed Conveyances, and Proficiency Testing Studies for Drinking 
Water Laboratories. The information collection activities for both the 
Operator Certification/Expense Reimbursement Program and the Capacity 
Development Program are driven by the grant withholding and reporting 
provisions under Sections 1419 and 1420, respectively, of the Safe 
Drinking Water Act. Although the Tribal Operator Certification Program 
is voluntary, the information collection is driven by grant eligibility 
requirements outlined in the Drinking Water Infrastructure Grant Tribal 
Set-Aside Program Final Guidelines and the Tribal Drinking Water 
Operator Certification Program Guidelines.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 3.2 
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: New and existing public water 
systems (PWS), primacy agencies, and laboratories.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 158,113.
    Frequency of Response: varies by requirement (i.e., on occasion, 
monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, annually).
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 3,913,544.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $165.9 million includes $25.2 million 
annualized capital or O&M costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is an increase of 687,517 hours in 
the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of 
Approved ICR Burdens. This increase is primarily due to adjustments to 
burden based on consultations with drinking water associations, updated 
compliance information, and restructuring adjustments from the 
incorporation of the burden hours for Laboratory Proficiency Testing.

    Dated: December 3, 2008.
John Moses,
Acting Director, Collection Strategies Division.
 [FR Doc. E8-29111 Filed 12-8-08; 8:45 am]
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