[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 89 (Wednesday, May 8, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26773-26774]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-10932]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-ORD-2013-0282; FRL-9810-6]


Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; 
Willingness To Pay Survey for Santa Cruz River Management Options in 
Southern Arizona

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to submit an 
information collection request (ICR), ``Willingness To Pay Survey for 
Santa Cruz River Management Options in Southern Arizona'' (EPA ICR No. 
2484.01, OMB Control No. 2080-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.). Before doing so, EPA is 
soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the proposed 
information collection as described below. This is a request for 
approval of a new collection. 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: Comments must be submitted on or before July 8, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-
2013-0282 online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), or 
by mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail 
Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460.
    EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the 
public 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: Matthew A. Weber, Environmental 
Protection Agency, Western Ecology Division, 200 SW. 35th St., 
Corvallis, OR 97333; telephone number: 541-754-4315; fax number: 541-
754-4799; 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

[[Page 26774]]

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.
    Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, EPA is soliciting 
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 on those who are to 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. 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. At that time, EPA will issue another Federal Register notice 
to announce the submission of the ICR to OMB and the opportunity to 
submit additional comments to OMB.
    Abstract: The USEPA Office of Research and Development is 
investigating public values for scenarios of change for perennial 
reaches of the effluent-dominated Santa Cruz River, Arizona. These 
values will be estimated via a willingness to pay mail survey 
instrument. There are two effluent-dominated perennial reaches 
considered in the survey. A ``South'' reach starts at an outfall in Rio 
Rico, AZ, and flows northward through Tumac[aacute]cori National 
Historical Park. A ``North'' reach is fed by two outfalls in northwest 
Tucson, Arizona, flows northwest through Marana, AZ. For each of the 
South and North reaches, two different scenarios of change are 
considered. The first is a reduction in flow length, and associated 
decreases in cottonwood-willow riparian forest, a rare forest type in 
the region. The second is an increase in water quality to allow full 
contact recreation, such as submersion, at normal flow levels. The 
baseline flow length and forest acreages, as well as the acreages of 
forest that would be associated with reduced flow lengths, are derived 
from natural science research. For the survey, a choice experiment 
framework is used with statistically designed tradeoff questions. 
Options to maintain flow length and forest, or increase effluent water 
quality, are posed as increases in a yearly household tax. Each choice 
question allows a zero cost ``opt out'' option. The choice experiment 
is designed to allow isolation of the public value of each marginal 
change for each reach. A few additional questions to further understand 
respondent choice motivations, as well as their river-related 
recreation behavior, are also included. Several pages of background 
introduce the issue to respondents. A small number of sociodemographic 
questions are included to gauge how well the sample respondents 
represent the target population. Samples of the two major metropolitan 
areas in southern Arizona, Phoenix and Tucson, will receive the survey. 
The primary reason for the survey is public value research. The Santa 
Cruz River is a case study of a waterway highly impacted by human 
modifications. However it still represents potentially valuable 
ecological commodities such as rare riparian habitat and recreational 
opportunities for the regional population. The survey results may also 
be informative to local decision-makers considering Santa Cruz River 
management options. Water scarcity in the region raises periodic 
debates on the best uses of effluent. All survey responses will be kept 
confidential.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: The target respondents for this 
survey are representatives 18 yrs or older of households in the two 
most populated urban areas of Arizona, the Phoenix metro area, and the 
Tucson metro area. A sample of household representatives 18 yrs or 
older in each metro area will be contacted by mail following multiple 
contact protocol in Dillman (2009). A response rate of 30% will be 
targeted. To increase response rates from the sample, several contacts 
will be used, including a prenotice to all recipients, a reminder 
postcard, and followup mailing as needed.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Voluntary.
    Estimated number of respondents: The target responses from the 
Phoenix and Tucson metro areas is 250 households each, or 500 
households total.
    Frequency of response: One-time response.
    Total estimated burden: For a typical respondent, a conservative 
estimate of their time to review and respond to survey questions is 30 
minutes. Assuming the target of 500 people total respond to the survey, 
the burden is 250 hours.
    Total estimated cost: The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 
average wage rates for some metropolitan areas, with the most recent 
data being May 2011 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2011). The average 
hourly wage for all occupations in the Phoenix metro area was $21.61, 
or an average cost per participant of $10.81. The average hourly wage 
for all occupations in the Tucson metro area was $20.55, or an average 
cost per participant of $10.28. Assuming 250 participants in each metro 
area fill out the survey, the total estimated respondent labor cost is 
$5,270. This would be a one-time expenditure of their time.
    Changes in Estimates: This is the first notice, there is no change 
in estimates at this time.

    Dated: April 19, 2013.
Thomas Fontaine III,
Western Ecology Division Director.
[FR Doc. 2013-10932 Filed 5-7-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P