[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 105 (Friday, May 31, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25256-25257]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-11350]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-SFUND-2012-0104; FRL-9994-61-OMS]


Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and 
Approval; Comment Request; Brownfields Program--Accomplishment 
Reporting (Renewal)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an 
information collection request (ICR), Brownfields Program--
Accomplishment Reporting (EPA ICR Number 2104.07, OMB Control Number 
2050-0192), to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and 
approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. This is a 
proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through July 
31, 2019. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal 
Register on February 8, 2019 during a 60-day comment period. This 
notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. A fuller 
description of the ICR is given below, including its estimated burden 
and cost to the public. 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: Additional comments may be submitted on or before July 1, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-
SFUND-2012-0104, to (1) EPA 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, and (2) OMB via email 
to [email protected]. Address comments to OMB Desk Officer 
for EPA.
    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: Kelly Gorini, Office of Brownfields 
and Land Revitalization, (5105T), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 
566-1702; fax number: (202) 566-1476; 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.
    Abstract: This ICR covers the collection of information from those 
organizations that receive cooperative agreements from EPA under the 
authority of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, 
and Liability Act (CERCLA) as amended by the Brownfields Utilization, 
Investment, and Local Development (BUILD) Act (Pub. L. 115-141). 
CERCLA, as amended, authorizes EPA to award grants or cooperative 
agreements to states, tribes, local governments, and other eligible 
entities to support the assessment and cleanup of brownfields sites. 
Under the Brownfields Amendments, a brownfields site means real 
property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be 
complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous 
substance, pollutant, or contaminant. For funding purposes, EPA uses 
the term ``brownfields property(ies)'' synonymously with the term 
``brownfields sites.'' The Brownfields Amendments authorize EPA to 
award several types of cooperative agreements to eligible entities on a 
competitive basis.
    Under subtitle A of the Small Business Liability Relief and 
Brownfields Revitalization Act, states, tribes, local governments, and 
other eligible entities can receive assessment cooperative agreements 
to inventory, characterize, assess, and conduct planning and community 
involvement related to brownfields properties; cleanup cooperative 
agreements to carry out cleanup activities at brownfields properties; 
multipurpose cooperative

[[Page 25257]]

agreements to conduct activities allowed under both assessment and 
cleanup cooperative agreements; cooperative agreements to capitalize 
revolving loan funds and provide subgrants for cleanup activities; 
area-wide planning cooperative agreements to develop revitalization 
plans for brownfields; and environmental workforce and development job 
training and placement programs. Under subtitle C of the Small Business 
Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act, states and tribes 
can receive cooperative agreements to establish and enhance their 
response programs through the four elements and meet the public record 
requirements under the statute. Cooperative agreement recipients 
(``recipients'') have general reporting and record keeping requirements 
as a condition of their cooperative agreement that result in burden. A 
portion of this reporting and record keeping burden is authorized under 
2 CFR part 1500 and identified in the EPA's general grants ICR (OMB 
Control Number 2030-0020). EPA requires Brownfields program recipients 
to maintain and report additional information to EPA on the uses and 
accomplishments associated with funded brownfields activities. EPA uses 
several forms to assist recipients in reporting the information and to 
ensure consistency of the information collected. EPA uses this 
information to meet Federal stewardship responsibilities to manage and 
track how program funds are being spent, to evaluate the performance of 
the Brownfields Cleanup and Land Revitalization Program, to meet the 
Agency's reporting requirements under the Government Performance 
Results Act, and to report to Congress and other program stakeholders 
on the status and accomplishments of the program.
    Form Numbers: 6200-03, 6200-04, 6200-14, 6200-17.
    Respondents/affected entities: State/local/tribal governments; Non-
Profits.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Required to obtain or Retain 
Benefits (2 CFR part 1500).
    Estimated number of respondents: 5,438 (total).
    Frequency of response: Bi-annual for subtitle C recipients; 
quarterly for subtitle A recipients.
    Total estimated burden: 5,765 hours (per year). Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $667,181 (per year), includes $0 annualized 
capital or operation & maintenance costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is an increase of 1,888 hours in 
the total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently 
approved by OMB. This increase is partially the result of adding the 
new Program Activity Levels Form for 128(a) recipients to fill out 
annually. The remainder of the burden increase is the result of an 
overall increase in wages and the large increase in the number of 
responses submitted to ACRES annually due to more grants being awarded. 
Even with this increase, respondents indicated that improvements in the 
ACRES reporting system and increased familiarity with the program lead 
to a lower burden per individual entry.

Courtney Kerwin,
Director, Regulatory Support Division.
[FR Doc. 2019-11350 Filed 5-30-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P