[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 179 (Monday, September 18, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63953-63956]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-20067]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
[30Day-23-0057]
Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork Reduction Act Review
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Agency
for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has submitted the
information collection request titled ``APPLETREE Performance
Measures'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and
approval. ATSDR previously published a ``Proposed Data Collection
Submitted for Public Comment and
[[Page 63954]]
Recommendations'' notice on June 27, 2023, to obtain comments from the
public and affected agencies. ATSDR did not receive comments related to
the previous notice. This notice serves to allow an additional 30 days
for public and affected agency comments.
ATSDR 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
APPLETREE Performance Measures (OMB Control No. 0923-0057, Exp. 09/
30/2023)--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 also facilitates the
implementation of State-level programs to ensure that potential early
care and education facilities are in areas free from harmful
environmental exposures. Additionally, it motivates the recipients to
innovate and implement progressive public health interventions that can
prevent exposure to environmental contamination. Due to the local
connections and partnerships of APPLETREE recipients, there is an
enhancement in community engagement and implementation of
recommendations. 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 five-year APPLETREE cooperative agreement NOFO (No.
CDC-RFA-TS-23-0001), 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 State and local
governments or their bona fide agents. ATSDR technical project officers
(TPOs) will assist approximately 30 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.
Under this Revision, 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 nine forms
were previously approved by OMB (APPLETREE Performance Measures, OMB
Control No. 0923-0057, Expiration Date 09/30/2023). The first of these
three forms were migrated to the new information technology (IT) system
called ATSDR's Request Management Service System (ARMSS).
1. ATSDR Health Education Activity (HE) 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 into ARMSS for each health education activity at ATSDR sites.
2. ATSDR Technical Assistance Activity (TA) Form: Throughout the
budget year, this form will be used to record the routine requests made
by 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
[[Page 63955]]
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 childcare 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.
The fourth form is currently being migrated from SharePoint to
ARMSS. This transition is currently taking place.
4. ATSDR Success Story Form: Recipients will provide one success
story per quarter (four success stories total per year) that highlights
the impact of any of their programs. Recipients will report a summary,
background, intervention/action taken, and accomplishment/impact for
each story. Optionally, they may include a photo or quote.
Recipients will continue to submit the following five forms to
ATSDR via email. In the future, these forms will be moved to an
electronic system (e.g., ARMSS or REDCap) to simplify data collection.
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 the 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, an accompanying narrative of progress and
interpretation of results, optional successes, challenges, and an
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 continue to 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 continue to 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
five-year program, each recipient will report cumulative five-year
performance measures for three forms: the APR, the CSPECE Qualitative
Narrative Form, and the CSPECE Quantitative Form. This will result in
six total responses in a five-year period for each form. The estimated
annualized number of required responses is thus rounded to once per
year for these three forms (six hours divided by three years equals 1.2
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. This form gathers data on the inputs, activities,
outputs, and outcomes of the event, such as the number of soil samples
screened, the number of elevated soil samples, the number of
individuals receiving health consultations, and the number of
individuals receiving referrals. The form will be submitted to ATSDR
via email within three 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.
As part of this Revision request, the last form is new.
10. ATSDR Requests for Certified and Non-certified Public Health
Assessments and Health Consultations Form: For each environmental
health assessment, recipients will provide the request, dates, and
triage information and can associate the request with a hazardous waste
site. Site scoping and clearance information are completed for about
15% of environmental health assessments that complete ATSDR's clearance
process (i.e., certified). This information will be entered into ARMSS.
ATSDR is seeking a three-year Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)
clearance for this Revision. The total annual time burden requested is
269 hours. This reflects an increase of two hours from the previously
267 approved in 2020. ATSDR will fund 30 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
Type of respondents Form name respondents responses per response (in
respondent hrs.)
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APPLETREE Recipients............... ATSDR Health Education (HE) 30 17 4/60
Activity Form.
ATSDR Technical Assistance 30 17 4/60
(TA) Activity Form.
ATSDR Site Impact 30 3 7/60
Assessment (SIA) Form.
ATSDR Success Story Form... 30 4 30/60
APPLETREE Annual 30 1 2
Performance Report (APR)
Template.
Choose Safe Places for 30 1 1
Early Care and Education
(CSPECE) Qualitative
Narrative Form.
CSPECE Quantitative Form... 30 1 15/60
ATSDR SoilSHOP Form........ 10 1 7/60
ATSDR Recommendation Follow- 30 4 10/60
up.
ATSDR Requests............. 30 3 7/60
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[[Page 63956]]
Jeffrey M. Zirger,
Lead, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Public Health
Ethics and Regulations, Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2023-20067 Filed 9-15-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-70-P