[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 81 (Monday, April 27, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23362-23364]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-08793]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[30Day-20-1175]


Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork Reduction Act Review

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has submitted the information 
collection request titled ``Environmental Public Health Tracking 
Network (Tracking Network)'' to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for review and approval. CDC previously published a ``Proposed 
Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations'' 
notice on February 10, 2020 to obtain comments from the public and 
affected agencies. CDC received three comments related to the previous 
notice. This notice serves to allow an additional 30 days for public 
and affected agency comments.
    CDC will accept all comments for this proposed information 
collection project. The Office of Management and Budget is particularly 
interested in comments that:
    (a) 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;
    (b) Evaluate the accuracy of the agencies estimate of the burden of 
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    (c) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected;
    (d) 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; and
    (e) Assess information collection costs.
    To request additional information on the proposed project or to 
obtain a copy of the information collection plan and instruments, call 
(404) 639-7570. Comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function. Direct 
written comments and/or suggestions regarding the items contained in 
this notice to the Attention: CDC Desk Officer, Office of Management 
and Budget, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503 or by fax to (202) 
395-5806. Provide written comments within 30 days of notice 
publication.

Proposed Project

    Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (Tracking Network) 
(OMB Control No. 0920-1175, Exp. 04/30/2020)--Revision--National Center 
for Environmental Health (NCEH), Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    In September 2000, the Pew Environmental Health Commission issued a 
report entitled ``America's Environmental Health Gap: Why the Country 
Needs a Nationwide Health Tracking Network.'' In this report, the 
Commission documented that the existing environmental health systems 
were inadequate and fragmented and recommended a ``Nationwide Health 
Tracking Network for disease and exposures.'' In response to the 
report, Congress appropriated funds in the fiscal year 2002's budget 
for the CDC to establish the National Environmental Public Health 
Tracking Network (Tracking Network).
    Continuously since 2008, and at the national level, the program 
collects data from (1) other CDC programs such as the National Center 
for Health Statistics, (2) other federal agencies such as the 
Environmental Protection Agency, (3) publicly accessible systems such 
as the Census Bureau, and (4) funded and unfunded state and local 
health departments (SLHD). These data are integrated into and 
disseminated from the Tracking Network and used for analyses which can 
inform national programs, interventions, or policies; guide further 
development and activities within the Tracking Program; or advance the 
practice and science of environmental public health tracking. The 
Tracking Program also collects information from funded SLHD to monitor 
their progress related to their funding and for program evaluation. 
This information collection request (ICR) is focused on data and 
information gathered by the Tracking Program from SLHD. The CDC 
requests a three-year approval to revise the ``Environmental Public 
Health Tracking Network (Tracking Network)'' (OMB Control No. 0920-
1175; Expiration Date 04/30/2020). Specifically, CDC seeks to make the 
following changes:
    1. For Tracking Data, minor changes are requested for the Radon 
Testing Form--removed 33 elements and added four elements.
    2. For Program Data, minor changes are requested for the following 
instruments:
    a. EPHT Work Plan--added ten keyword questions.
    b. Public Health Action Report--added four questions.
    c. Performance Measurement Strategy Report--removed two questions/
elements and reduce reporting to once a year.
    d. Communication Plan Template and Guide--streamlined template for 
more efficient reporting.
    e. Partnership Plan Template and Guide--partnership plan was 
separated from communication plan for clarity.
    f. Website Analytics Template--created an excel reporting template 
with one cell for each question.
    3. Add four respondents to the 26 SLHDs currently funded to account 
for the data voluntarily received from unfunded SLHDs and to allow for 
potential program growth over the next three years.

[[Page 23363]]

    4. Increase the annualized number of responses from 598 in to 628 
(net increase 30 responses) and the annualized time burden from 20,244 
to 21,860 hours (net increase 1,616 hours).
    The three-year approval will allow CDC to continue collecting 
health, exposure, and hazard data for environmental health surveillance 
as well as program monitoring information from funded SLHD through the 
current five-year cooperative agreement--``Enhancing Innovation and 
Capabilities of the Environmental Public Health Tracking Network'' 
(CDC-RFA-EH17-1720).
    The Tracking Network provides the United States with accurate and 
timely standardized data from existing health, exposure, and hazard 
surveillance systems and supports ongoing efforts within the public 
health and environmental sectors. The goal of the Tracking Network is 
to improve health tracking, exposure and hazard monitoring, and 
response capacity. When such data are available, the Tracking Program 
obtains data from national or public sources in order to reduce the 
burden on SLHD. When data are not available nationally or publicly, the 
Tracking Program relies on funded SLHD to obtain and submit these data 
to the Tracking Network. Data from unfunded SLHD are accepted but not 
requested or solicited.
    Data submitted annually by SLHD to the Tracking Program include: 
(1) Birth defects prevalence, (2) childhood lead blood levels, if a 
SLHD does not already report such data to CDC, (3) community drinking 
water monitoring, (4) emergency department visits, (5) 
hospitalizations, and (6) radon testing. The Tracking Program receives 
childhood lead blood levels data from CDC's Childhood Lead Poisoning 
Prevention Program (under the Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning 
Surveillance System [HHLPSS--OMB Control No. 0920-0931, expiration date 
5/31/2021]). A metadata record, a file describing the original source 
and collection procedures for the data being submitted, is also 
submitted with each dataset (one per dataset for a total of six 
metadata records per year) using the Tracking Program's metadata 
creation tool.
    Standardized extraction, formatting, and submission processes are 
developed in collaboration between CDC and SLHD for each dataset. 
Additions or modifications to these standardized datasets will also be 
developed collaboratively in order to improve the accuracy, 
completeness, efficiency, or utility of data submitted to CDC. Such 
changes will occur at most once a year. Examples of changes to data 
processes may include: (1) Addition of new variables or outcomes, (2) 
updates to case definitions, (3) modifications to temporal or spatial 
aggregation, and (4) changes in formatting for submission. As required, 
the Tracking Network will submit future additions and modifications as 
nonsubstantive change requests or revision ICRs.
    Over the past three years, these data have been
     Used to calculate standardized measures for environmental 
health surveillance.
     Integrated into the Tracking Network and disseminated to 
the public via the Tracking Network's National Public Portal at http://ephtracking.cdc.gov/showHome.action.
     Queried 577,058 times via the Tracking Network's National 
Public Portal.
    Conduct analyses such as
     A review of air and water quality differences between 
rural and urban counties.
     The development of standardized sub-county geographies for 
disseminating health data.
     An analysis of the short-term associations between air 
pollution and respiratory emergency department visits across all age 
groups.
    The Tracking Program also collects program monitoring information 
from funded SLHD. In addition to standard reporting required by CDC's 
Procurement and Grants Office, the Tracking Program also collects 
information from funded SLHD for the purposes of program evaluation and 
monitoring. This information includes an Environmental Public Health 
Tracking Workplan Template, a Performance Measurement Strategy Report, 
a Communication Plan, a Partnership Plan, and a website Analytics 
Template. Each of these forms are collected annually as documents 
emailed to the Tracking Program. A public health action (PHA) report is 
submitted at least once and up to four times a year via email to the 
Tracking Program as funded SLHD have PHA to report.
    Over the past three years, these data were used to identify funded 
SLHD in need of additional technical assistance, identify common 
challenges and successes, improve communication between funded SLHD and 
CDC, and to monitor funded SLHD compliance with funding requirements.
    There are no costs for the respondents other than their time. The 
total estimated time burden is 21,860 hours. This estimate includes the 
time it takes to extract the data from the original data source(s), 
standardize and format the data to match the corresponding Tracking 
Network data form, and submit the data to the Tracking Network. In some 
cases, the data at the source are centralized and easily extracted. In 
other cases, like for radon data, the data are not. In those cases, the 
number of hours for extracting and standardizing the data is much 
greater.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                     Number of      Avg. burden
          Type of respondent                    Form name            Number of     responses per   per response
                                                                    respondents     respondent       (in hrs.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State and local health department.....  Birth defects prevalence              22               1              80
                                        Childhood lead blood                  18               1              80
                                         levels.
                                        Community drinking water              30               1             100
                                         monitoring.
                                        Emergency department                  30               1              80
                                         visits.
                                        Hospitalizations........              30               1              80
                                        Radon testing...........              18               1             100
                                        Metadata records........              30               6              20
                                        EPHT Work Plan..........              30               1              40
                                        Public Health Action                  30               4              20
                                         Report.
                                        Performance Measurement               30               1              20
                                         Strategy Report.
                                        Communications plan.....              30               1              20
                                        Partnership plan........              30               1              20
                                        Website analytics.......              30               2               1
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[[Page 23364]]

Jeffrey M. Zirger,
Lead, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Scientific 
Integrity, Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2020-08793 Filed 4-24-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4163-18-P