[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 23 (Wednesday, February 4, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6075-6076]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-02200]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA HQ-OA-2008-0701; FRL-9922-48-OA]


Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Focus 
Groups as used by EPA for Economics Projects (Renewal)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to 
submit an information collection request (ICR), ``Focus Groups as used 
by EPA for Economics Projects (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR No. 2205.15, OMB 
Control No. 2090-0028) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act 
(PRA). Before doing so, EPA is soliciting public comments on specific 
aspects of the proposed information collection as described below. This 
is a proposed renewal of the ICR, which is currently approved through 
June 30, 2015. 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 April 6, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OA-
2008-0701, online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), by 
email to [email protected], 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: Nathalie Simon, Office of Policy, (MC 
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, WJC 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: EPA is seeking renewal of a generic ICR for the conduct 
of focus groups and protocol interviews (hereafter jointly referred to 
as focus groups) related to economics projects. Over the next three 
years, the Agency anticipates embarking on a number of survey 
development efforts associated with a variety of economics projects 
including those related to valuation of ecosystems, children's health 
risks, mortality risk reductions, improvements to coastal waters 
including the Chesapeake Bay, to name a few. Focus groups are an 
important part of any survey development process, allowing researchers 
to directly gauge what specific issues are important to the public and 
providing a means for explicitly testing draft survey materials. These 
focus groups will allow the Agency to gain a more in-depth 
understanding of the public's attitudes, beliefs, motivations and 
feelings regarding specific issues and will provide valuable 
information regarding the quality of draft survey instruments.
    The information collected in the focus groups may be used to 
develop and improve economics-related surveys. To the extent that these 
surveys are ultimately successfully administered, they will serve to 
expand the Agency's understanding of benefits and costs of a variety of 
actions and could provide the means to quantitatively assess the 
effects of others. Participation in the focus groups will be voluntary 
and the identity of the participants will be kept confidential.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: Individuals.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Voluntary.
    Estimated number of respondents: 2,066 (total).
    Frequency of response: Once.
    Total estimated burden: 1,359 hours (per year). Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b)
    Total estimated cost: $41,356 (per year), includes $0 annualized 
capital or operation & maintenance costs.
    Changes in Estimates: There is no change in the total estimated 
respondent burden compared with the ICR currently approved by OMB.


[[Page 6076]]


    Dated: January 27, 2015.
Joel Beauvais,
Associate Administrator, Office of Policy.
[FR Doc. 2015-02200 Filed 2-3-15; 8:45 am]
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