[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 98 (Monday, May 21, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23458-23459]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-10793]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA HQ-OA-2008-0701; FRL-9977-91-OA]


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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to submit an 
information collection request (ICR), ``Focus Groups as used by EPA for 
Economics Projects (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR No. 2205.17, OMB Control No. 
2090-0028) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and 
approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. 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 September 30, 
2018. 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 July 20, 2018.

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-
566-2338 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 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking 
renewal of a generic information collection request (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 working on a number of survey 
development efforts associated with a variety of economics projects 
including those related to valuation of ecosystems, health risk 
reductions, and improvements to coastal waters, to name a few. Focus 
groups are an important part of any survey development process, 
allowing

[[Page 23459]]

researchers to directly gauge what specific issues are important to the 
public and providing a means for explicitly testing draft survey 
materials. Through these focus groups, the Agency will be able 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 will 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 Agencies 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: 1,584 (total).
    Frequency of response: Once.
    Total estimated burden: 2,745 hours (total). Burden is defined at 5 
CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $0, 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.

    Dated: May 1, 2018.
Al McGartland,
Director, National Center for Environmental Economics, Office of 
Policy.
[FR Doc. 2018-10793 Filed 5-18-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P