[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 64 (Monday, April 4, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19173-19174]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-07667]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2004-0015; FRL-9944-45-OW]


Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Clean 
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 a request to renew an existing information collection request 
(ICR), ``Clean Water State Revolving Fund Program'' (EPA ICR No. 
1391.10, OMB Control No. 2040-0118), 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 extension of the ICR, which is currently 
approved through July 31, 2016. 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 June 3, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2004-0015, 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: Mark Mylin, Municipal Support 
Division, Office of Wastewater Management, 4204M, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone number: 202-564-0607; 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, docket number EPA-HQ-OW-2004-0015. 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 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et 
seq.), EPA is soliciting comments and information to enable it to:
     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;
     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;
     enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     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.

[[Page 19174]]

    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 Clean Water State Revolving Funds (CWSRF) were 
established by the 1987 amendments to the Clean Water Act (CWA) as a 
financial assistance program for a wide range of wastewater 
infrastructure and other water quality projects. The 1987 amendments 
added Title VI to the CWA, enabling EPA to provide grants to all 50 
states and Puerto Rico to capitalize CWSRFs. The CWSRFs can provide 
loans and other forms of assistance for a wide array of projects, 
including construction of wastewater treatments facilities, green 
infrastructure projects, agricultural best management practices, and 
other water quality projects. Eligible borrowers of CWSRF funding range 
from municipalities to nonprofit organizations and other private 
entities. Recently, Title VI of the CWA was amended in 2014 by the 
Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA). Additional 
information about the CWSRFs is available at http://www.epa.gov/cwsrf/learn-about-clean-water-state-revolving-fund-cwsrf.
    This ICR renews the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Number 
2040-0118 CWSRF ICR and provides updated estimates of the reporting 
burden associated with the information collection activities. The 
updated estimates are based on EPA's most recent public consultation 
and capture the estimated impact of the WRRDA amendments.
    The individual information collections covered under this ICR are 
briefly described as follows:

Capitalization Grant Agreement/Intended Use Plan

    The Capitalization Grant Agreement is the principal instrument by 
which a CWSRF commits to manage its revolving fund program in 
conformity with the requirements of the Clean Water Act. The grant 
agreement contains or incorporates by reference the intended use plan, 
application materials, required certifications, and other documentation 
required by EPA. The intended use plan describes how a CWSRF program 
intends to use its funds for the upcoming year to meet the objectives 
of the Clean Water Act (CWA).

Annual Report

    The annual report indicates how the CWSRF has met its goals and 
objectives of the previous state fiscal year as stated in the grant 
agreement and, more specifically, in the intended use plan. The report 
provides information on loan recipients, loan amounts, loan terms, 
project categories of eligible costs, and similar data on other forms 
of assistance.

Annual Audit

    The CWA requires a CWSRF to undergo an annual audit. Though an 
audit conducted under the Single Audit Act meets this requirement, EPA 
still recommends that a CWSRF also undergo a separate independent audit 
as a best management practice. The audit must contain an opinion on the 
financial condition of the CWSRF program, a report on its internal 
controls, and a report on compliance with applicable laws and the CWA.

Clean Water National Information Management System (CWNIMS) and CWSRF 
Benefits Reporting (CBR)

    To meet the CWA objective of ``promoting the efficient use of fund 
resources,'' states must enter financial data, including project 
disbursements, into the CWNIMS database on an annual basis. This 
publicly available information is used by the EPA to assess compliance 
with the CWSRFs' mandate to use all funds in an ``expeditious and 
timely'' manner and achieve the objectives of the CWA. Project level 
data is collected on a quarterly basis using the CBR System to record 
projected environmental results from CWSRF projects.

Public Awareness Policy

    Per EPA Grants Policy Issuance (GPI) 14-02: Enhancing Public 
Awareness of EPA Assistance Agreements, CWSRF borrowers must publicize 
the EPA's involvement in project funding only up to the funding amount 
in each year's capitalization grant. The CWSRFs have various options to 
meet this requirement.
    With the exception of the public awareness policy, the respondents 
for the information collection activities are the state environmental 
departments, and/or finance agencies responsible for operating the 
CWSRFs. The public awareness policy directly impacts CWSRFs borrowers 
that are designated as recipients of federal funds. The burden 
associated with the public awareness policy may have an impact on small 
entities. However, this impact is mitigated by the fact that the CWSRFs 
have flexibility in determining which borrowers must comply with this 
requirement.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: Entities affected by this action are 
state environmental departments, and/or finance agencies responsible 
for operating the CWSRFs and eligible CWSRF borrowers.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Required to obtain or retain a 
benefit per Title VI of CWA as amended by WRRDA.
    Estimated number of respondents: 51 state environmental departments 
and/or finance agencies (per year); 393 eligible CWSRF borrowers (per 
year).
    Frequency of response: Varies by requirement (i.e., quarterly, 
semi-annually and annually).
    Total estimated burden: 57,376 hours (per year). Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $6,074,741 (per year).
    Changes in Estimates: This renewal adds two information collections 
activities not included in the previous version of the ICR. 
Specifically, the renewal includes the additional burden associated 
with the EPA requirement that the CWSRFs submit data into the CWNIMS 
and CBR databases on a recurring basis. The renewal also reflects the 
additional burden related to the recently released public awareness 
policy, directing CWSRF borrowers that receive federal funds to 
publicize EPA's role in funding the projects.
    Though these information collection activities add additional 
burden, the total estimated reporting burden under this renewal is 
significantly lower compared to the previously approved ICR. The 
estimate of the annual burden has been decreased by 748,471 hours while 
the total annual cost burden has been decreased by $17,744,006. This 
significant revision is due to the removal of the burden associated 
with CWSRF applications and ongoing ARRA reporting.

    Dated: March 25, 2016.
Sheila E. Frace,
Acting Director, Office of Wastewater Management.
[FR Doc. 2016-07667 Filed 4-1-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P