[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 10 (Friday, January 15, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4066-4067]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-00899]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OEI-2011-0096; FRL-10018-48-OMS]


Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Cross-
Media Electronic Reporting Rule (Renewal)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to 
submit an Information Collection Request (ICR), ``Cross-Media 
Electronic Reporting Rule'' (EPA ICR No. 2002.08, OMB Control No. 2025-
0003) 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 
extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through August 31, 
2021. 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 March 16, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OEI-
2011-0096, 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: Shirley Miller or Dipti Singh, 
Information Exchange Services Division, Office of Information 
Management, Office of Mission Support (2823T), Environmental Protection 
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone 
number: 202-566-2908 or 202-566-0739 respectively; email address: 
[email protected] or [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 scope of this ICR is the electronic reporting 
components of the Cross-Media Electronic Reporting Rule (CROMERR), 
which is designed to: (i) allow EPA to comply with the Government 
Paperwork Elimination Act of 1998; (ii) provide a uniform, technology-
neutral framework for electronic reporting across all EPA programs; 
(iii) allow EPA programs to offer electronic reporting as they become 
ready for CROMERR; and (iv) provide states with a streamlined process--
together with a uniform set of standards--for approval of their 
electronic reporting provisions for all their EPA-authorized programs. 
Responses to the collection of information are voluntary. In order to 
accommodate CBI, the information collected must be in accordance with 
the confidentiality regulations set forth in 40 CFR part 2, subpart B. 
Additionally, EPA will ensure that the information collection 
procedures comply with the Privacy Act of 1974 and the OMB Circular 
108.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: Entities that report electronically 
to EPA and state or local government authorized programs; and state and 
local government authorized programs implementing electronic reporting.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Voluntary, required to obtain 
or retain a benefit (CROMERR was established to ensure compliance with 
the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA)).
    Estimated number of respondents: About 119,800 (total).
    Frequency of response: On occasion.
    Total estimated burden: About 77,000 hours (per year). Burden is 
defined at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).

[[Page 4067]]

    Total estimated cost: about $3,979,500 (per year), includes 
$586,300 annualized capital or operation & maintenance costs.
    Changes in Estimates: The annual respondent burden estimate in the 
currently approved CROMERR ICR (EPA ICR Number 2002.07) is 86,554 
hours. The annual respondent burden estimate for this ICR (EPA ICR 
Number 2002.08) is anticipated to be about 77,000 hours. This 
represents a decrease of 9,554 hours in the total estimated respondent 
burden compared with the ICR currently approved by OMB.
    The decrease in respondent burden can be attributed primarily to 
three reasons. First, even though the annual number of registrants with 
EPA's electronic document receiving system (i.e., the Central Data 
Exchange (CDX)) has increased over the past three years, the actual 
number of registrants under the e-Manifest system was lower than 
projected in the currently approved ICR. As a result, there is a net 
decrease in the number of registrants. Second, over the past three 
years, the Agency made improvements to CDX to enhance efficiencies in 
end-user registration, integration, and Help Desk support. These 
improvements resulted in reduced burden to respondents. Third, as a 
result of technological improvements, the Agency now is able to obtain 
real world data via google analytics on the frequency and amount of 
time a respondent spends accessing CDX web pages and features. Based on 
this information, EPA has revised the burden estimates associated with 
some of the CDX registration and identity proofing activities. The 
Agency believes that these revised burden estimates more accurately 
reflect the resources spent by respondents conducting electronic 
reporting activities under CROMERR, and for states gaining approval of 
their electronic reporting provisions for all their EPA-authorized 
programs. The overall change in respondent burden is considered an 
``adjustment,'' because it results from changes in the respondent 
universe and hourly burden estimates used in the development of the 
ICR.

    Dated: January 6, 2021.
Jennifer Campbell,
Director, Office of Information Management, Office of Mission Support.
[FR Doc. 2021-00899 Filed 1-14-21; 8:45 am]
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