[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 167 (Friday, August 28, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52287-52289]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-21346]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[60 Day-15-0960: Docket No. CDC-2015-0073]
Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and
Recommendations
AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS).
ACTION: Notice with comment period.
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SUMMARY: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part
of its continuing efforts to reduce public burden and maximize the
utility of government information, invites the general public and other
Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or
continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995. This notice invites comment on Epidemiologic
Study of Health Effects Associated With Low Pressure Events in Drinking
Water Distribution Systems.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before October 27, 2015.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2015-
0073 by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Regulation.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: Leroy A. Richardson, Information Collection Review
Office, Centers for Disease Control and
[[Page 52288]]
Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE., MS-D74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
and Docket Number. All relevant comments received will be posted
without change to Regulations.gov, including any personal information
provided. For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to Regulations.gov.
Please note: All public comment should be submitted through the
Federal eRulemaking portal (Regulations.gov) or by U.S. mail to the
address listed above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on the
proposed project or to obtain a copy of the information collection plan
and instruments, contact the Information Collection Review Office,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE., MS-
D74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; phone: 404-639-7570; Email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-
3520), Federal agencies must obtain approval from the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of information they
conduct or sponsor. In addition, the PRA also requires Federal agencies
to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning each
proposed collection of information, including each new proposed
collection, each proposed extension of existing collection of
information, and each reinstatement of previously approved information
collection before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To
comply with this requirement, we are publishing this notice of a
proposed data collection as described below.
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; (d) ways to
minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents,
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other
forms of information technology; and (e) estimates of capital or start-
up costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services
to provide information. Burden means the total time, effort, or
financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain,
disclose or provide information to or for a Federal agency. This
includes the time needed to review instructions; to develop, acquire,
install and utilize technology and systems for the purpose of
collecting, validating and verifying information, processing and
maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; to
train personnel and to be able to respond to a collection of
information, to search data sources, to complete and review the
collection of information; and to transmit or otherwise disclose the
information.
Proposed Project
Epidemiologic Study of Health Effects Associated With Low Pressure
Events in Drinking Water Distribution Systems (OMB Control Number 0920-
0960, Expiration 3/31/2016)--Extension--National Center for Emerging
and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC).
Background and Brief Description
In the United States (U.S.), drinking water distribution systems
are designed to deliver safe, pressurized drinking water to our homes,
hospitals, schools and businesses. However, the water distribution
infrastructure is 50-100 years old in much of the U.S. and an estimated
240,000 water main breaks occur each year. Failures in the distribution
system such as water main breaks, cross-connections, back-flow, and
pressure fluctuations can result in potential intrusion of microbes and
other contaminants that can cause health effects, including acute
gastrointestinal and respiratory illness.
Approximately 200 million cases of acute gastrointestinal illness
occur in the U.S. each year, but we lack reliable data to assess how
many of these cases are associated with drinking water. Further, data
are even more limited on the human health risks associated with
exposure to drinking water during and after the occurrence of low
pressure events (such as water main breaks) in drinking water
distribution systems. A study conducted in Norway from 2003-2004 found
that people exposed to low pressure events in the water distribution
system had a higher risk for gastrointestinal illness. A similar study
is needed in the United States.
The purpose of this data collection is to conduct an epidemiologic
study in the U.S. to assess whether individuals exposed to low pressure
events in the water distribution system are at an increased risk for
acute gastrointestinal or respiratory illness. This study would be, to
our knowledge, the first U.S. study to systematically examine the
association between low pressure events and acute gastrointestinal and
respiratory illnesses. Study findings will inform the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), CDC, and other drinking water stakeholders of
the potential health risks associated with low pressure events in
drinking water distribution systems and whether additional measures
(e.g., new standards, additional research, or policy development) are
needed to reduce the risk for health effects associated with low
pressure events in the drinking water distribution system.
We will conduct a cohort study among households that receive water
from six water utilities across the U.S. The water systems will be
geographically diverse and will include both chlorinated and
chloraminated systems. These water utilities will provide information
about low pressure events that occur during the study period using a
standardized form (approximately 11 events per utility). Utilities will
provide address listings of households in areas exposed to the low
pressure event and comparable households in an unexposed area to CDC
staff, who will randomly select participants and send them an
introductory letter and questionnaire. Consenting household respondents
will be asked about symptoms and duration of any recent
gastrointestinal or respiratory illness, tap water consumption, and
other exposures including international travel, daycare attendance or
employment, animal contacts, and recreational water exposures. Study
participants may choose between two methods of survey response: A mail-
in paper survey and a web-based survey.
Participation in this study will be voluntary. No financial
compensation will be provided to study participants. The study duration
is anticipated to last 30 months. An estimated 6,750 individuals will
be contacted and we anticipate 4,050 utility customers (18 years of age
or older) will consent to participate in this study. The total
estimated annualized hours associated with this study is expected to be
548.
There are no costs to respondents other than their time.
[[Page 52289]]
Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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Number of Average burden
Type of respondents Form name Number of responses per per response Total burden
respondents respondent (in hrs.) (in hrs.)
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Households..................................... Paper-based questionnaire.............. 1,215 1 12/60 243
Households..................................... Web-based questionnaire................ 810 1 12/60 162
Utility employees.............................. Household listing...................... 6 5 3 90
Utility employees.............................. Water sample collection (grab samples). 6 3 130/60 39
Utility employees.............................. Water sample collection 6 2 30/60 6
(ultrafiltration samples).
Utility employees.............................. Low pressure event form................ 6 5 15/60 8
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Total...................................... ....................................... .............. .............. .............. 548
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Leroy A. Richardson,
Chief, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Scientific
Integrity, Office of the Associate Director for Science, Office of the
Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2015-21346 Filed 8-27-15; 8:45 am]
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