[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 185 (Thursday, September 24, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57605-57607]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-24198]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2002-0059; FRL-9934-63-OW]


Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Safe 
Drinking Water Act State Revolving Fund Program

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to 
submit an information collection request (ICR), ``Safe Drinking Water 
Act State Revolving Fund Program'' (EPA ICR No. 1803.07, OMB Control 
No. 2040-0185) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review 
and approval in accordance with the

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Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (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 in this renewal notice. 
This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved 
through December 31, 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 November 23, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2002-0059, 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: Nick Chamberlain, Drinking Water 
Protection Division, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, 4606M, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-564-1871; fax number: 202-
564-3754; 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: The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Amendments of 1996 
(Pub. L. 104-182) authorized the creation of the Drinking Water State 
Revolving Fund (DWSRF; the Fund) program in each state and Puerto Rico 
to assist public water systems to finance the costs of infrastructure 
needed to achieve or maintain compliance with SDWA requirements and to 
protect public health. SDWA section 1452 authorizes the Administrator 
of the EPA to award capitalization grants to the states and Puerto Rico 
which, in turn, provide low-cost loans and other types of assistance to 
eligible drinking water systems. States can also reserve a portion of 
their grants to conduct various set-aside activities. The information 
collection activities will occur primarily at the program level through 
the (1) Capitalization Grant Application and Agreement/State Intended 
Use Plan; (2) Biennial Report; (3) Annual Audit; (4) Assistance 
Application Review; and (5) DWSRF National Information Management 
System and the Projects and Benefits Reporting System.
    (1) Capitalization Grant Application and Agreement/State Intended 
Use Plan: The state must prepare a Capitalization Grant Application 
that includes an Intended Use Plan (IUP) outlining in detail how it 
will use all the funds covered by the capitalization grant. The state 
may, as an alternative, develop the IUP in a two part process, with one 
part identifying the distribution and uses of the funds among the 
various set-asides in the DWSRF program and the other part dealing with 
project assistance from the Fund.
    (2) Biennial Report: The state must agree to complete and submit a 
Biennial Report on the uses of the capitalization grant. The scope of 
the report must cover assistance provided by the Fund and all other 
set-aside activities included under the Capital Grant Agreement. States 
which jointly administer the DWSRF and the Clean Water State Revolving 
Fund (CWSRF) programs, in accordance with section 1452(g)(1), may 
submit reports (according to the schedule specified for each program) 
which cover both programs.
    (3) Annual Audit: A state must comply with the provisions of the 
Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996. Best management practices suggest 
and EPA recommends that a state conduct an annual independent audit of 
its DWSRF program. The scope of the report must cover the DWSRF Fund 
and all other set-aside activities included in the Capitalization Grant 
Agreement. States which jointly administer the DWSRF and the CWSRF 
programs, in accordance with SDWA section 1452(g)(1), may submit audits 
that cover both programs but which report financial information for 
each program separately.
    (4) Assistance Application Review: Local applicants seeking 
financial assistance must prepare and submit DWSRF loan applications. 
States then review completed loan applications and verify that proposed 
projects will comply with applicable federal and state requirements.
    (5) DWSRF National Information Management System (DWNIMS) and the 
Projects and Benefits Reporting System (PBR): To ensure that funds are 
being used in an expeditious and timely manner for eligible projects 
and expenses, states must annually enter state-level financial data 
into DWNIMS and quarterly enter project-level data into PBR.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: Entities affected by this action are 
states and local governments.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Required to obtain or retain a 
benefit per the Safe Drinking Water Act Section 1452(g)(1).
    Estimated number of respondents: 2,015 (total).
    Frequency of response: Varies by requirement (i.e., quarterly, 
semi-annually and annually).
    Total estimated burden: 269,800 hours (per year). Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $10,639,925 (per year).
    Changes in Estimates: The EPA expects a decrease in the total 
estimated respondent burden hours compared with the ICR currently 
approved by OMB. The currently approved ICR includes increased burden 
from additional Congressional program

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appropriations from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), 
which nearly doubled burden in some years. Inflation will offset some 
of the decrease achieved by removing ARRA burden from this ICR.

    Date: September 17, 2015.
Peter Grevatt,
Director, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water.
[FR Doc. 2015-24198 Filed 9-23-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P