[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 35 (Tuesday, February 23, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8055-8056]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-3519]



[[Page 8055]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2002-0059; FRL-9115-4; EPA ICR No. 1803.06, OMB Control No. 
2040-0185]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Drinking Water State Revolving 
Fund Program (Renewal)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 March 25, 
2010.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2002-0059 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, 
Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 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: Howard E. Rubin, Mail Code 4606M, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 564-2051; fax number: 
(202) 564-3757; 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 Monday, October 26, 2009 (74 FR 54996), 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-2002-0059, which is available for online 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/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 http://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 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: Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Program (Renewal).
    ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 1803.06, OMB Control No. 2040-0185.
    ICR Status: This ICR is currently scheduled to expire on February 
28, 2010. 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 Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Amendments of 1996 
(Public Law 104-182) authorized the creation of the Drinking Water 
State Revolving Fund (DWSRF; the Fund) program in each State and Puerto 
Rico to assist public water systems to finance the costs of 
infrastructure needed to achieve or maintain compliance with SDWA 
requirements and to protect public health. Section 1452 authorizes the 
Administrator of the EPA to award capitalization grants to the States 
and Puerto Rico which, in turn, provide low-cost loans and other types 
of assistance to eligible drinking water systems. States can also 
reserve a portion of their grants to conduct various set-aside 
activities. The information collection activities will occur primarily 
at the program level through the (1) Capitalization Grant Application 
and Agreement/State Intended Use Plan; (2) Biennial Report; (3) Annual 
Audit; and (4) Assistance Application Review. Information collected is 
needed for input into the DWSRF National Information Management System 
and the Project & Benefits Reporting System.
    (1) Capitalization Grant Application and Agreement/State Intended 
Use Plan: The State must prepare a Capitalization Grant Application 
that includes an Intended Use Plan (IUP) outlining in detail how it 
will use all the funds covered by the capitalization grant. The State 
may, as an alternative, develop the IUP in a two part process with one 
part identifying the distribution and uses of the funds among the 
various set-asides in the DWSRF program and the other part dealing with 
project assistance from the Fund.
    (2) Biennial Report: The State must agree to complete and submit a 
Biennial Report on the uses of the capitalization grant. The scope of 
the report must cover assistance provided by the Fund and all other 
set-aside activities included under the Capital Grant Agreement. States 
which jointly administer DWSRF and Clean Water State Revolving Fund 
(CWSRF) programs, in accordance with section 1452(g)(1), may submit 
reports (according to the schedule specified for each program) that 
cover both programs.
    (3) Annual Audit: A State must comply with the provisions of the 
Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996. Best management practices suggest 
and EPA recommends that a State conduct an annual independent audit of 
its DWSRF program. The scope of the report must cover the DWSRF Fund 
and all other set-aside activities included in the Capitalization Grant 
Agreement. States which jointly administer DWSRF and CWSRF programs, in 
accordance with section 1452(g)(1), may submit audits that cover both 
programs but which report financial information for each program 
separately.
    (4) Assistance Application Review: Local applicants seeking 
financial

[[Page 8056]]

assistance must prepare and submit DWSRF loan applications. States then 
review completed loan applications and verify that proposed projects 
will comply with applicable Federal and State requirements.
    As a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed by 
the President on February 17, 2009, the Drinking Water State Revolving 
Fund received an additional $2 billion in funding for assistance 
agreements for projects to be under contract or construction by 
February 17, 2010. EPA expects an estimated two-fold increase of 
respondents (in some years) due to this additional funding.
    Burden Statement: The public reporting and recordkeeping burden for 
this collection of information is estimated to average 2,410 hours per 
State and 80 hours per local respondent (including Indian Tribes and 
Alaska Native Villages) annually. 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.
    The ICR provides a detailed explanation of the Agency's estimate, 
which is only briefly summarized here:
    Estimate total number of potential respondents: 1,887 per year.
    Frequency of response: Annual (for Capitalization Grants and 
Audits), On Occasion (for Biennial reports and Loan Applications).
    Estimated total average number of responses for each respondent: 
One.
    Estimated total annual burden hours per response: 134.
    Estimated total annual burden hours: 269,797.
    Estimated total annual costs: $10,639,932, which includes $0 
capital/operation & maintenance cost.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is an increase of 72,927 hours in 
the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of 
Approved ICR Burdens. This reflects EPA's calculation of the burden 
hours resulting from a possible two-fold increase in local respondents 
and ongoing programmatic implementation needs due to additional funds 
from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009.

    Dated: February 16, 2010.
John Moses,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 2010-3519 Filed 2-22-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P