[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 14 (Monday, January 23, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3263-3264]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-1182]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0357; FRL 9510-5]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; BEACH Act Grant Program (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 February 22, 
2012.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2008-0357, to (1) EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred 
method), by email 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: 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; email 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.

[[Page 3264]]

On September 20, 2011 (76 FR 58266), 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 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: BEACH Act Grant Program (Renewal).
    ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 2048.04, OMB Control No. 2040-0244.
    ICR Status: This ICR is currently scheduled to expire on January 
31, 2012. 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 Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health 
(BEACH) Act amends the Clean Water Act (CWA) in part and authorizes the 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to award BEACH Act Program 
Development and Implementation Grants to coastal and Great Lakes 
states, tribes, and territories (collectively referred to as states) 
for their beach monitoring and notification programs. The grants will 
assist those states to develop and implement a consistent approach to 
monitor recreational water quality; assess, manage, and communicate 
health risks from waterborne microbial contamination; notify the public 
of pollution occurrences; and post beach advisories and closures to 
prevent public exposure to microbial pathogens. To qualify for a BEACH 
Act Grant, a state must submit information to the EPA documenting that 
its beach monitoring and notification program is consistent with nine 
performance criteria outlined in the National Beach Guidance and 
Required Performance Criteria for Grants. For the EPA to award a BEACH 
Implementation Grant, a state must document that its coastal monitoring 
and notification program includes or will include the following:
     A risk-based beach evaluation and classification plan.
     A sampling design and monitoring implementation plan.
     Monitoring report submission and delegation procedures.
     Methods and assessment procedures.
     A public notification and risk communication plan.
     Measures to notify the EPA and local governments.
     Measures to notify the public.
     Notification report submission and delegation procedures.
     Public evaluation of the program.
    Beach program information will be collected by the EPA's Office of 
Science and Technology and the applicable EPA regions. All information 
except the monitoring and notification reports will be stored in the 
applicable regions. The monitoring and notification information will be 
stored in the eBEACHES Database and displayed on the EPA's Beaches Web 
site for use by the public, state environmental and public health 
agencies, and the EPA.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 2,400 
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: State environmental and public 
health agencies in coastal or Great Lakes regions.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 37.
    Frequency of Response: Submitting monitoring and notification 
reports: quarterly; all other reporting: Annual.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 88,800.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $11,463,626. This includes an 
estimated burden cost of $7,520,546 and an estimated cost of $3,943,080 
for maintenance and operational costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 6,147 hours in the 
total estimated respondent burden compared with that identified in the 
ICR currently approved by OMB. This decrease is primarily due to a 
reduction in the estimated number of respondents, as the three tribes 
who had previously been expected to apply for grants have not done so. 
EPA expects that no new jurisdictions will become eligible for BEACH 
Act grant in the next three years. There is a slight increase in the 
per respondent burden due to EPA's expectation that states will 
voluntarily report monitoring and notification data more frequently in 
order to improve public health protection at beaches through increased 
timeliness of water quality results at beaches nationwide. However the 
burden of this increased frequency is somewhat offset by increased 
efficiency in reporting due to technological improvements to data 
systems such as eBEACHES.

John Moses,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 2012-1182 Filed 1-20-12; 8:45 am]
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