[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 187 (Thursday, September 28, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66841-66842]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-21175]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-R08-OW-2019-0404; FRL-11434-01-OMS]


Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and 
Approval; Comment Request; Filter Adoption Survey (Renewal)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an 
information collection request (ICR), Filter Adoption Survey (EPA ICR 
Number 2615.02, OMB Control Numer 2008-0003) to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act. This is a proposed extension of the ICR, 
which is currently approved through September 30, 2023. Public comments 
were previously requested via the Federal Register on February 17, 2023 
during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 
days for public comments.

DATES: Comments may be submitted on or before October 30, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID Number EPA-R08-
OW-2019-0404, to EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred 
method) 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.
    Submit written comments and recommendations to OMB for the proposed 
information collection 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Parker, Supervisor, Drinking 
Water Section A, Water Division, 8WD-DWA, Environmental Protection 
Agency Region 8, 1595 Wynkoop Street, Denver Colorado 80202-1129; 
telephone number 303-312-6664; email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a proposed extension of the ICR, 
which is currently approved through September 30, 2023. 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.
    Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register 
on February 17, 2023 during a 60-day comment period (88 FR 10325). This 
notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. 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.
    Abstract: Denver Water is a public water system that must comply 
with applicable requirements of the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR). On 
September 6, 2019, Denver Water submitted a request to EPA Region 8 for 
a variance from the optimal corrosion control treatment requirements 
under the Safe Drinking Water Act's LCR. The request proposed a multi-
pronged approach to remove lead at least as efficiently as the use of 
orthophosphate (the designated optimal corrosion control treatment) by 
employing pH and alkalinity adjustments to reduce corrosivity of the 
water, accelerated lead service line removal, and a filter program in 
which Denver Water would distribute pitcher filters to consumers that 
have a known, suspected, or possible lead service line. Under section 
1415(a)(3) of the Safe Drinking Water Act, on December 16, 2019, the 
U.S. EPA granted Denver Water a variance (2019 Variance) from the 
definition of ``optimal corrosion control treatment'' in 40 CFR 141.2. 
The 2019 Variance contained requirements to determine the efficacy of 
the filter program and a survey program was established to produce 
information to support that determination. That collection was approved 
under EPA ICR #2615.01.
    On November 30, 2022, EPA issued a new variance to replace the 
expiring 2019 variance. Denver Water, EPA and CDPHE agreed that 
beginning in 2025, a survey conducted every two years (rather than 
annually) would be sufficient to determine the efficacy of the filter 
program. EPA will use the 2025 survey results that Denver Water 
collects to determine the consumer filter adoption rate and to confirm 
that customers are using and maintaining the filters per manufacturer's 
instructions. Every second year, the filter adoption survey will be 
sent by Denver Water via postal mail to approximately 20,000 of an 
estimated 119,250 individual homes that have received a pitcher filter 
through Denver Water's filter distribution program. Surveys will be 
sent via direct mail and will include an online completion option. 
Direct mailings will be sent with a unique QR code to track which 
addresses responses have been received from. Surveys will be sent out 
in both English and Spanish.
    Furthermore, Denver Water must collect samples from filters in at 
least 50 locations in use by customers enrolled in the filter program 
who are also enrolled in Denver Water's LCR compliance tap sampling 
program. During the LCR compliance tap sampling visit, Denver Water 
will collect additional information on whether the filter is properly 
used and maintained, including but not limited to: whether the filter 
cartridge is properly installed and changed on time; whether the filter 
is being used for

[[Page 66842]]

drinking, cooking, or infant formula; and whether the filter is being 
used per manufacturer's instructions.
    Form Numbers: 6700-009.
    Respondents/affected entities: Households served by Denver Water 
that have a known, suspected, or possible lead service line or a 
galvanized line in need of replacing (per the 2022 Variance), and who 
have been distributed a pitcher filter through the filter distribution 
program.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Voluntary.
    Estimated number of respondents: 2,000 (total).
    Frequency of response: Once in 2025, then biennially.
    Total estimated burden: 323 hours (per year). Burden is defined at 
5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $22,111 (per year), which includes $667 
annualized capital or operation & maintenance costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is decrease of 947.34 hours per 
year in the total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR 
currently approved by OMB. This decrease is a result of Denver Water 
reducing their estimates of per survey burden as well as the fact that 
only one survey will be conducted in this three-year period versus 
three in the period covered by the previous ICR.

Courtney Kerwin,
Director, Regulatory Support Division.
[FR Doc. 2023-21175 Filed 9-27-23; 8:45 am]
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