[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 196 (Tuesday, October 13, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52486-52488]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-24458]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OECA-2009-0494; FRL-8966-8]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Tips and Complaints Regarding Environmental 
Violations; EPA ICR No. 2219.03, OMB Control No. 2020-0032

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

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 EPA is planning to 
submit a request to renew an existing approved Information Collection 
Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This ICR is 
scheduled to expire on 2/28/2010. Before submitting the ICR to OMB for 
review and approval, EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of 
the proposed information collection as described below.

[[Page 52487]]


DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before December 14, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OECA-2009 0494, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected]
     Mail: The Enforcement and Compliance Docket and 
Information Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 28221 T, 
1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460.
     Hand Delivery: 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room 3334, 
Washington, DC 20460. Such deliveries are only accepted during the 
Docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be 
made for deliveries of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ECA-
2009-0494. EPAs policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site 
is an ``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your 
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of 
your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without 
going through http://www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be 
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is 
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you 
submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name 
and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any 
disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA 
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid 
the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of 
any defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA's public 
docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Le Desma; Legal Counsel 
Division; Office of Criminal Enforcement, Forensics and Training; 
Environmental Protection Agency, Building 25, Box 25227, Denver Federal 
Center, Denver, CO 80025; telephone number: (303) 462-9453; fax number: 
(303) 462-9075; e-mail address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

How Can I Access the Docket and/or Submit Comments?

    EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-OECA 2009-0494, which is available for online viewing at 
http://www.regulations.gov, or in person viewing at the Enforcement and 
Compliance Docket and Information Center 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 
Enforcement and Compliance Docket and Information Center is (202) 564-
1927.
    Use http://www.regulations.gov to obtain a copy of the draft 
collection of information, submit or view public comments, access the 
index listing of the contents of the docket, and to access those 
documents in the public docket that are available electronically. Once 
in the system, select ``search,'' then key in the docket ID number 
identified in this document.

What Information Is EPA Particularly Interested in?

    Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, EPA specifically 
solicits comments and information to enable it to:
    (i) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
    (ii) Evaluate the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden 
of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of 
the methodology and assumptions used;
    (iii) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
to be collected; and
    (iv) Minimize the burden of the collection of information to those 
who respond, including through the use of appropriate automated 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses. In particular, EPA is requesting comments from 
very small businesses (those that employ less than 25) on examples of 
specific additional efforts that EPA could make to reduce the paperwork 
burden for very small businesses affected by this collection.

What Should I Consider When I Prepare My Comments for EPA?

    You may find the following suggestions helpful for preparing your 
comments:
    1. Explain your views as clearly as possible and provide specific 
examples.
    2. Describe any assumptions that you used.
    3. Provide copies of any technical information and/or data you used 
that support your views.
    4. If you estimate potential burdens or costs, explain how you 
arrived at the estimate that you provide.
    5. Offer alternative ways to improve the collection activity.
    6. Make sure to submit your comments by the deadline identified 
under DATES.
    7. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, be sure to identify the docket 
ID number assigned to this action in the subject line on the first page 
of your response. You may also provide the name, date, and Federal 
Register citation.

What Information Collection Activity or ICR Does This Apply to?

Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OECA-2009-0494

    Affected entities: Entities potentially affected by this action are 
general members of the public who choose to voluntarily supply a tip or 
complaint regarding a suspected violation of environmental law.
    Title: Tips and Complaints Regarding Environmental Violations ICR 
numbers: EPA ICR No. 2219.03, OMB Control No. 2020-0032.
    ICR status: This ICR is currently scheduled to expire on 2/28/2010. 
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 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), after appearing 
in the Federal Register when approved, 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. The display of OMB control

[[Page 52488]]

numbers in certain EPA regulations is consolidated in 40 CFR Part 9.
    Abstract: EPA tips and complaints Webform is intended to provide an 
easy and convenient means by which members of the public can supply 
information to EPA regarding suspected violations of environmental law. 
The decision to provide a tip or complaint is entirely voluntary and 
use of the Webform when supplying a tip or complaint is also entirely 
voluntary.
    Those persons that provide tips need not supply contact information 
or other personal identifiers. Those who do supply such information, 
however, should know that this information may be shared by EPA with 
appropriate administrative, law enforcement, and judicial entities 
engaged in investigating or adjudicating the tip or complaint.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average one-
half hour per response. Burden means the total time, effort, or 
financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, 
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 of 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.
    It is expected that a total of 630 people will complete the tips 
and complaints form each month, for a total of 7,560 people per year. 
Given that people typically arrive at the form with all of the 
information needed to complete the form, EPA expects that the form will 
take no more than 30 minutes to complete. Accordingly, EPA expects that 
the total annual burden hours will be approximately 3,780. EPA does not 
anticipate any capital or start-up costs associated with completion of 
this form.
    EPA also does not anticipate that, in the usual case, burden hours 
associated with the tips and complaint form will translate into actual 
labor costs; EPA expects relatively few tips or complaints to be 
submitted as part of an employee's official duties. For this reason, 
EPA believes that the relevant ``labor costs'' associated with the form 
are best calculated as the wage opportunity cost to people of the 
form's estimated burden hours. The wage opportunity cost of the burden 
hours associated with this form can be estimated by multiplying the 
total number of burden hours by the average national hourly wage 
reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). BLS reports the 
average hourly wage in July 2007 to have been $19.88 per hour; 
accordingly, the total wage opportunity cost associated with the tips 
and complaints form would be approximately $75,146 per annum.

Are There Changes in the Estimates From the Last Approval?

    There is an increase of 1980 hours in the total estimated 
respondent burden compared with that identified in the ICR currently 
approved by OMB. This increase reflects the fact that tips and 
complaints are being filed at a higher rate than originally 
anticipated, a strong indication of the success of this program. There 
has been no change in the information being reported or the estimated 
burden per respondent.

What Is the Next Step in the Process for This ICR?

    EPA will consider the comments received and amend the ICR as 
appropriate. The final ICR package will then be submitted to OMB for 
review and approval pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.12. At that time, EPA will 
issue another Federal Register notice pursuant to 5 CFR 
1320.5(a)(l)(iv) to announce the submission of the ICR to OMB and the 
opportunity to submit additional comments to OMB. If you have any 
questions about this ICR or the approval process. please contact the 
technical person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

    Dated: September 24, 2009.
Cynthia Giles,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Enforcement and Compliance 
Assurance.
[FR Doc. E9-24458 Filed 10-9-09; 8:45 am]
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