[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 34 (Tuesday, February 23, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10952-10953]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-03632]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OEI-2006-0037; FRL--10019-01-OMS]


Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; 
Exchange Network Grants Progress Reports (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), ``Exchange Network 
Grants Progress Reports (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR No. 2207.08, OMB Control 
No. 2025-0006) 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 September 30, 
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 April 26, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OEI-
2006-0037; FRL--9982-33-OEI 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: Edward Mixon 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: 202-566-2142 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) Eevaluate 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: Under the U.S. EPA National Environmental Information 
Exchange Network (NEIEN) Grant Program, EPA collects information from 
the NEIEN grantees on assistance agreements that EPA has awarded. 
Specifically, for each project, EPA proposes to have grantees submit 
semi-annual reports on the progress and current status of each goal and 
output, completion dates for outputs, and any problems encountered. 
This information will help EPA ensure projects are on schedule to meet 
their goals and produce high quality environmental results. New award 
recipients will complete one Quality Assurance Reporting Form for each 
award. This form provides a simple means for grant recipients to 
describe how quality will be addressed throughout their projects. 
Additionally, the Quality Assurance Reporting Form is derived from 
guidelines provided in the NEIEN 2020 Grant Solicitation Notice.
    Form Numbers: EPA Form 5300-26 (Semi-Annual Progress Report Form) 
and EPA Form 5300-27 (Quality Assurance Reporting Form).
    Respondents/affected entities: State, tribal, and territorial 
environmental government offices.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Required to obtain or retain 
benefits (2 CFR part 200 and 2 CFR part 1500).
    Estimated number of respondents: 149 total per year.
    Frequency of response: Twice per year for the Semi-Annual Progress 
Report Form; one time per grant for the Quality Assurance Reporting 
Form.
    Total estimated burden: 258.5 hours (per year). Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $15,765.91 (per year), includes $0 annualized 
capital or operation & maintenance costs.
    Changes in Estimates: There is a decrease of 21.5 hours in the 
total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently 
approved by OMB. This slight decrease in the burden is due to a 
reduction in the open Exchange Network Grants (from 172 to 149) that 
are expected to be active per year during the period of this ICR. The

[[Page 10953]]

reduction in the numbers of open grants explains the small reduction 
(of $421) in total annual respondent costs despite inflation in labor 
rates.

    Dated: January 27, 2021.
Jennifer Campbell,
Director, Office of Information Management.
[FR Doc. 2021-03632 Filed 2-22-21; 8:45 am]
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