[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 246 (Monday, December 23, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70547-70549]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27556]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry

[60Day-20-0057; Docket No. ATSDR-19-0009]


Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

AGENCY: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), 
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice with comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), 
as part of its continuing effort to reduce public burden and maximize 
the utility of government information, invites the general public and 
other Federal agencies the opportunity to comment on a proposed and/or 
continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995. This notice invites comment on a proposed 
information collection project titled ``APPLETREE Performance 
Measures,'' which ATSDR will use to manage its next three-year 
cooperative agreement program under Notice of Funding Opportunity 
(NOFO) No. CDC-RFA-TS20-2001.

DATES: ATSDR must receive written comments on or before February 21, 
2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. ATSDR-
2019-0009 by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information Collection Review 
Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road 
NE, MS-D74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and Docket Number. ATSDR will post, without change, all relevant 
comments to Regulations.gov.
    Please note: Submit all comments 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 Jeffrey M. Zirger, 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 the OMB for approval. To 
comply with this requirement, we are publishing this notice of a 
proposed data collection as described below.
    The OMB is particularly interested in comments that will help:
    1. 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;
    2. 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;
    3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and
    4. 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 
submissions of responses.
    5. Assess information collection costs.

Proposed Project

    APPLETREE Performance Measures (OMB Control No. 0923-0057, Exp. 07/
31/2020)--Revision--Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 
(ATSDR).

Background and Brief Description

    The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) seeks 
to build and sustain the capacity to evaluate exposures to hazardous 
waste across the country. Releases from hazardous waste sites are a 
major source of harmful exposures in homes, schools, workplaces, and 
communities. These exposures are often complex and may be difficult to 
identify and control. Hazardous waste sites may involve various toxic 
substances, exposure pathways, and health impacts. ATSDR's primary goal 
is to keep communities safe from harmful exposures and related 
diseases. To accomplish this goal, the agency works closely with 
partnering agencies to evaluate exposures at hazardous waste sites, 
educate communities, and seek new ways to better protect public health.
    ATSDR's Partnership to Promote Local Efforts to Reduce 
Environmental Exposure (APPLETREE) Program is critical to ATSDR's 
success in accomplishing its mission in communities nationwide. ATSDR's 
recipients will use APPLETREE funding to advance ATSDR's primary goal 
of keeping communities safe from harmful environmental exposures and 
related diseases. APPLETREE gives recipients the resources to build 
their capacity to assess and respond to site-specific issues involving 
human exposure to hazardous substances in the environment. APPLETREE 
helps recipients identify exposure pathways at specific sites; educate 
affected communities about site contamination and potential health 
effects; make recommendations to prevent exposure; review health 
outcome data to evaluate potential links between site contaminants and 
community health outcomes. APPLETREE facilitates the implementation of 
state-level programs to ensure that potential early care and education 
facilities are in areas free from harmful environmental exposures. It 
also encourages recipients in the innovation of progressive public 
health interventions that prevent exposures to environmental 
contamination. Because of APPLETREE recipients' local connections and 
partnerships, community engagement and implementation of 
recommendations is improved. This program is authorized under Sections 
104(i)(15) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, 
and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended by the Superfund 
Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) of 1986 [42 U.S.C. 
9604(i)(15)].
    Under the next three-year APPLETREE cooperative agreement (NOFO No. 
CDC-RFA-TS20-2001), eligible applicants include federally recognized 
American Indian/Alaska Native tribal governments; American Indian/
Alaska native tribally designated organizations; political subdivisions 
of states (in consultation with states); and

[[Page 70548]]

state and local governments or their bona fide agents. ATSDR technical 
project officers (TPOs) will assist approximately 25 APPLETREE 
recipients to address site-specific issues involving human exposure to 
hazardous substances. Key capacities include identification of human 
exposure pathways at ATSDR sites, education of affected communities and 
local health professionals about site contamination and potential 
health effects; making appropriate recommendations to prevent exposure; 
reviewing health outcome data to evaluate potential links between site 
contaminants and community health; and documenting the effects of 
environmental remediation on health.
    This is a revision of an information collection request (ICR) 
titled ``APPLETREE Performance Measures,'' previously approved under 
OMB Control No. 0923-0057 (expiration date 07/31/2020). ATSDR will 
continue to collect information related to recipient activities, and 
the process and outcome performance measures outlined by the 
cooperative agreement program. Information will be used to monitor 
progress toward program goals and objectives, and for program quality 
improvement. The first five forms were previously approved by OMB 
(``APPLETREE Performance Measures'' under OMB Control No. 0923-0057, 
expiration date 07/31/2020). The first three forms, formerly reported 
in SharePoint, will be migrated to a new information technology (IT) 
system called ATSDR's Request Management System (ARMS).
    1. ATSDR Health Education Activity Tracking (HEAT) Form: For each 
environmental health assessment and health education activity conducted 
at ATSDR sites, APPLETREE Recipients shall quantitatively assess and 
report efforts to educate community members about site recommendations 
and health risks using indicators to assess community understanding of 
site findings about health risks and community understanding of agency 
recommendations to reduce health risks. This information will be 
entered in to the ATSDR HEAT system for each activity at ATSDR sites.
    2. ATSDR Technical Assistance (TA) Activity Form: Throughout the 
budget year, this form will be used to record the routine requests made 
of the recipients and their program responses. These responses do not 
evaluate environmental data and do not make health calls, but are 
monitored by ATSDR as part of the recipients' performance.
    3. ATSDR Site Impact Assessment (SIA) Form: For each environmental 
health assessment and health education activity conducted at ATSDR 
sites, recipients shall estimate and report the number of people 
protected from exposure to toxic substances at each site where 
implementation of agency recommendations has taken place and at each 
child care center where safe siting guidelines have been implemented. 
To the extent possible, recipients shall estimate and report the 
disease burden prevented due to the implementation of site 
recommendations and safe siting guidelines.
    Recipients will continue to submit the following form to ATSDR via 
SharePoint:
    4. ATSDR Success Story Form: Recipients will provide one success 
story per quarter (four success stories total per year) that highlights 
an impact of any of their programs. Recipients will report a brief 
summary, background, intervention/action taken, and accomplishment/
impact for each story. Optionally, they may include a photo or quote.
    Recipients will submit the following five forms to ATSDR via email. 
As part of the revision request, the last four forms are new.
    5. APPLETREE Annual Performance Report (APR) Template: Recipients 
will continue to provide an APR each year and at the end of the funding 
cycle, which summarizes their annual and funding cycle performances, 
respectively. APRs will be due in December of each year to coincide 
with the CDC Grants Management annual reports to reduce overall 
reporting burden and the final report will be due at the end of the 
funding cycle. The purpose of the performance reports will be to assess 
Partners based on performance measures and evaluation projects. The 
reports should include a summary of performance measures, results of 
any evaluation projects, accompanying narrative of progress and 
interpretation of results, optional successes, challenges, and updated 
work plan. These reports will be entered into a Microsoft Word form.
    6. Choose Safe Places for Early Care and Education (CSPECE) 
Qualitative Narrative Form: Recipients will now provide a narrative 
report of their CSPECE Programs to document descriptive details of 
their state's landscape, program plan, program implementation, and 
results that cannot be captured through numbers. Recipients will 
complete and submit the narrative once a year as a supplement with 
their APRs in a Microsoft Word form.
    7. CSPECE Quantitative Form: Recipients will also now provide data 
on their CSPECE Programs to quantify aspects of their program such as 
children reached, target audiences educated, early care and education 
programs referred and screened, and recommendations implemented. To 
supplement their APRs, recipients will complete and submit a Microsoft 
Excel form once a year as a supplement with their APRs.
    In addition to the required annual reporting, at the end of the 
three-year program, each recipient will report cumulative three-year 
performance measures for three forms: The APR, the CSPECE Qualitative 
Narrative Form, and the CSPECE Quantitative Form. This will result in 
four total responses in a three-year period for each form. The 
estimated annualized number of required responses is thus rounded to 
once per year for these three forms, as 4 hours divided by three years 
equals 1.33 hours per year.
    8. ATSDR SoilSHOP Form: SoilSHOPs are not a required activity; 
however, if conducted, a recipient will need to complete the ATSDR 
SoilSHOP Form in Word. This form gathers data on the inputs, 
activities, outputs, and outcomes of the event, such as the number of 
soil samples screened, number of elevated soil samples, number of 
individuals receiving health consultations, and number of individuals 
receiving referrals. The form should be provided back to ATSDR via 
email within two weeks of the SoilSHOP completion.
    9. ATSDR Recommendation Follow-up Form: For each environmental 
health assessment, recipients will provide an update on the status of 
acceptance and implementation of all recommendations to understand 
whether and how recommendations have been implemented, and the 
subsequent impact on communities. Recipients will complete a Microsoft 
Excel reporting form annually on the anniversary date of the release of 
each health assessment. Initially recipients will provide to ATSDR via 
email, but the form will be migrated into the ARMS system in the 
future.
    ATSDR is seeking a three-year Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) 
clearance for this revision information collection request. The total 
annual time burden requested is 240 hours. This reflects a reduction in 
requested time burden compared to the 272 hours previously approved in 
2017. This revision also requests approval for an increase in the 
annual number of responses from 1,575 in 2017, to 1,685 in this current 
request. ATSDR will

[[Page 70549]]

continue to fund 25 recipients. Recipient reporting is required to 
receive funding under the APPLETREE cooperative agreement.

                                                            Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                                                                              Average
                                                                                             Number of       Number of      burden per     Total burden
              Type of respondents                               Form name                   respondents   responses  per   response  (in    (in hours)
                                                                                                             respondent       hours)
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APPLETREE Recipients...........................  ATSDR Health Education Activity                      25              37            3/60              47
                                                  Tracking (HEAT) Form.
                                                 ATSDR Technical Assistance (TA)                      25              15            5/60              32
                                                  Activity Form.
                                                 ATSDR Site Impact Assessment (SIA) Form              25               4            7/60              12
                                                 ATSDR Success Story Form...............              25               4           30/60              50
                                                 APPLETREE Annual Performance Report                  25               1               2              50
                                                  (APR) Template.
                                                 Choose Safe Places for Early Care and                25               1               1              25
                                                  Education (CSPECE) Qualitative
                                                  Narrative Form.
                                                 CSPECE Quantitative Form...............              25               1           15/60               6
                                                 ATSDR SoilSHOP Form....................              10               1            7/60               1
                                                 ATSDR Recommendation Follow-up Form....              25               4           10/60              17
                                                                                         ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total......................................  .......................................  ..............  ..............  ..............             240
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Jeffrey M. Zirger,
Lead, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Scientific 
Integrity, Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2019-27556 Filed 12-20-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4163-18-P