[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 187 (Tuesday, September 27, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59696-59697]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-24814]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OEI-2006-0037; FRL-9472-3]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Exchange Network Grants Progress 
Reports (Renewal)

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 October 27, 
2011.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OEI-
2006-0037, 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, Office of Environmental 
Information Docket, Mail Code 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: Ryan Humrighouse, Information Exchange 
Services Division, Office of Information Collection (2823T), 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-566-1680; fax number: 202-
566-1684; 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 June 28, 2011 (76 FR 37811), 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-OEI-2006-0037, which is available for online viewing at 
http://www.regulations.gov, or in person viewing at the OEI 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 OEI Docket is (202) 566-1752.
    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: Exchange Network Grants Progress Reports (Renewal).
    ICR Numbers: EPA ICR No. 2207.04, OMB Control No. 2025-0006.
    ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on November 30, 2011. 
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 notice announces the collection of information 
related to the U.S. EPA National Environmental Information Exchange 
Network (NEIEN) Grant Program. The EPA Office of Environmental 
Information provides funding to EPA's Exchange Network partners 
(states, territories, and Federally recognized Indian Tribes) to 
support the development of the NEIEN. The NEIEN is an Internet and- 
standards-based, secure information system that supports the electronic 
collection, exchange, and integration of data among its partners. 
Funding for the Grant Program has been provided through annual 
congressional appropriations for the EPA.
    To enhance the quality and overall public benefit of the Network, 
EPA proposes to collect information from the NEIEN grantees about how 
they intend to ensure quality in their projects and the environmental 
outcomes and outputs from their projects. The proposed Quality 
Assurance Reporting Form is intended to provide a simple means for 
grant recipients to describe how quality will be addressed throughout 
their projects. The Quality Assurance Reporting Form is derived from 
guidelines provided in the NEIEN 2011 grant solicitation notice. As a 
stipulation of their award, grant recipients are to submit the form 
within ninety days of grant award.
    Grantees are currently required to submit semi-annual progress 
reports as a stipulation of their award. In these reports, grantees 
outline project goals, activities required to meet these goals, and 
outputs and outcomes of activities to date. At the request of numerous 
grantees, we are proposing to offer the Progress Reporting Form as a 
vehicle for collecting information. This form is easier to complete 
than an unstructured narrative; it can be used as the semi-annual and 
final report form and the information returned will be of higher 
quality and comparable.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 
hour 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.

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    Respondents/Affected Entities: State, tribal, or territorial 
environmental government offices.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 300.
    Frequency of Response: Twice per year for progress reporting; 
annually for quality assurance reporting form.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 956.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $37,370 in labor costs. There are no 
annualized capital or O&M costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is an increase of 223 hours in the 
total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of 
Approved ICR Burdens. This increase is due to an increase in the number 
of grants that are currently active and the adjustments were made 
accordingly.

    Dated: September 21, 2011.
John Moses,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 2011-24814 Filed 9-26-11; 8:45 am]
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