[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 124 (Thursday, June 27, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38713-38714]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-15439]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OA-2012-0033; FRL-9828-7]


Additional Documents Available for Public Review Related to 
Willingness To Pay Survey for Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load: 
Instrument, Pre-Test, and Implementation; Comment Request

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency has made available for 
public review a revised Supporting Statement and additional 
documentation related to

[[Page 38714]]

its recent information collection request (ICR) submission to OMB 
entitled ``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). The additional documents, now 
available in the associated docket, are: The Peer Review Report, the 
Focus Group and Cognitive Interview Report and the Description of 
Hydrological, Biochemical, and Ecosystem Models (Attachment 17 of the 
revised Supporting Statement). These documents may provide useful 
information to interested parties regarding the development and design 
of the survey instruments proposed for this project. Full transcripts 
of the focus groups and cognitive interviews were not prepared and are 
therefore not available. Public comments were previously requested on 
the ICR via the Federal Register on May 24, 2012 during a 60-day 
comment period, which was later extended for an additional 30 days. An 
additional 30-day comment period was initiated upon submission of the 
ICR to OMB for review and consideration. This notice allows for an 
additional 30 days of public comments on the ICR in light of the 
availability of the additional documentation.

DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before July 29, 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 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: The revised Supporting Statement, the Peer 
Review Report, the Focus Group and Cognitive Interview Report and the 
Description of Hydrological, Biochemical, and Ecosystem Models are 
available in the public docket for this ICR together with other 
supporting documents made available previously which explain in detail 
the information that the EPA will be collecting. 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, willingness to pay 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 eastern 
states within 100 miles of the Atlantic Ocean.
    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 quality of the Bay. 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. 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.

    Dated: June 20, 2013.
Shelley Levitt,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Economics.
[FR Doc. 2013-15439 Filed 6-26-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P