[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 26 (Thursday, February 7, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9045-9046]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-02763]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OA-2012-0033; FRL-9527-8]


Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and 
Approval; Comment Request; Willingness To Pay Survey for Chesapeake Bay 
Total Maximum Daily Load: Instrument, Pre-Test, and Implementation

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency has submitted an 
information collection request (ICR), ``Willingness to Pay Survey for 
Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load: Instrument, Pre-test, and 
Implementation'' (EPA ICR No. 2456.01, OMB Control No. 2010-NEW) to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). 
This is a request for approval of a new collection. Public comments 
were previously requested via the Federal Register (77 FR 31006) on May 
24, 2012 during a 60-day comment period, which was later extended for 
an additional 30 days (77 FR 43822). This notice allows for an 
additional 30 days for public comments. A fuller description of the ICR 
is given below, including its estimated burden and cost to the public. 
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.

DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before March 11, 
2013.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-
OA-2012-0033, to (1) EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our 
preferred method); by email to [email protected]; by fax at (202) 566-
9744; or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection 
Agency, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 
20460, and (2) OMB via email to [email protected]. Address 
comments to OMB Desk Officer for EPA.
    EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the 
public

[[Page 9046]]

docket without change including any personal information provided, 
unless the comment includes profanity, threats, information claimed to 
be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Nathalie Simon, National Center 
for Environmental Economics, Office of Policy, (1809T), Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone number: 202-566-2347; fax number: 202-566-2363; email 
address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supporting documents which explain in detail 
the information that the EPA will be collecting are available in the 
public docket for this ICR. The docket can be viewed online at 
www.regulations.gov or in person at the EPA Docket Center, EPA West, 
Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW. Washington, DC. The telephone 
number for the Docket Center is 202-566-1744. For additional 
information about EPA's public docket, visit http://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    Abstract: The Clean Water Act (CWA) directs EPA to coordinate 
Federal and State efforts to improve water quality in the Chesapeake 
Bay. In 2009, Executive Order (E.O.) 13508 reemphasized this mandate, 
directing EPA to define the next generation of tools and actions to 
restore water quality in the Bay and describe the changes to be made to 
regulations, programs, and policies to implement these actions. The 
Chesapeake Bay watershed encompasses 64,000 square miles in parts of 
six states and the District of Columbia. It is the largest estuary in 
the United States and the third largest in the world. The Chesapeake 
Bay's unique set of ecological and cultural elements has motivated 
efforts to preserve and restore its condition for more than 25 years. 
Significant progress has been made over that period however, pollution 
budgets, called Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), are necessary to 
continue progress toward the goal of a healthy Bay. The watershed 
states of New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia, Virginia, 
and Maryland, as well as the District of Columbia, have developed 
Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs) detailing the steps each will 
take to meet its obligations under the TMDL.
    As part of the next phase of this effort, EPA is undertaking an 
assessment of the costs and benefits of meeting Total Maximum Daily 
Loads (TMDLs), of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment for the Chesapeake 
Bay. As an input to the TMDL benefits study, EPA's National Center for 
Environmental Economics (NCEE) is seeking approval to conduct a stated 
preference survey to collect data on households' use of Chesapeake Bay 
and its watershed, preferences for a variety of water quality 
improvements likely to follow from pollution reduction programs, and 
demographic information. If approved, the survey would be administered 
by mail in two phases to a sample of 9,140 residents living in the 
Chesapeake Bay states, Chesapeake Bay watershed, and other east coast 
states.
    Benefits from meeting the TMDL for the Chesapeake Bay will accrue 
to those who live near the Bay or visit for recreation, those who live 
near or visit lakes and rivers in the watershed, and those who live 
further away and/or may never visit the Bay but have a general concern 
for the environment. While benefits from the first two categories can 
be measured using hedonic property value, recreational demand, and 
other revealed preference approaches, only stated preference methods 
can capture nonuse benefits (i.e., benefits to those who may never 
visit the Bay).
    Transferring estimates from other studies based in other estuaries 
is not advised as these results are unlikely to accurately or 
completely capture willingness to pay for TMDL-related improvements in 
the Chesapeake Bay Watershed given the unique character of this water 
resource and the goods and services it provides. Further, there are 
limited stated preference studies in the published literature focusing 
on the Chesapeake Bay, and no studies specifically addressing the 
environmental improvements predicted under the TMDL. This study will 
provide policy makers with additional information on the public's 
preferences for improvements to the Chesapeake Bay and lakes in the 
watershed. NCEE will use the survey responses to estimate willingness 
to pay for changes related to reductions in nitrogen, phosphorous, and 
sediment loadings to the Bay and lakes in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. 
The analysis relies on state of the art theoretical and statistical 
tools for non-market welfare analysis. The results of this study will 
inform the public and policy makers about the benefits of improvements 
to the Chesapeake Bay and lakes in the watershed. A non-response survey 
will also be administered to inform the interpretation and validation 
of survey responses. Participation in the survey will be voluntary and 
the identity of the respondents will be kept confidential to the extent 
provided by law.
    The project is being undertaken pursuant to section 104 of the 
Clean Water Act which authorizes and directs the EPA Administrator to 
conduct research into a number of subject areas related to water 
quality, water pollution, and water pollution prevention and abatement. 
This section also authorizes the EPA Administrator to conduct research 
into methods of analyzing the costs and benefits of programs carried 
out under the Clean Water Act.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: Individuals 18 years of age or older 
residing in one of 17 east coast U.S. states and the District of 
Columbia.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Voluntary.
    Estimated number of respondents: 2,742 total to full survey total 
(includes 150 from pretest and 2,592 from main survey. An additional 
770 total to non-response follow-up survey (50 from pretest and 720 
from full survey administration).
    Frequency of response: One time collection.
    Total estimated burden: 887 hours. Burden is defined at 5 CFR 
1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $20,682 (per year), includes $0 annualized 
capital or operation & maintenance costs.

John Moses,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 2013-02763 Filed 2-6-13; 8:45 am]
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