[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 188 (Friday, September 29, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67277-67278]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-21326]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OLEM-2023-0416; FRL-11354-01-OLEM]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Information 
Collection Request; Comment Request; Materials Management Information 
Collection Request

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), Materials Management 
Information Collection Request (EPA ICR Number 2789.01, OMB Control 
Number 2050-

[[Page 67278]]

NEW) 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 request 
for approval of a new collection. This notice allows for 60 days for 
public comments.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before November 28, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-
OLEM-2023-0416, 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hannah Blaufuss, Resource Conservation 
and Sustainability Division, Office of Resource Conservation and 
Recovery, 5306P, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-564-5614; email 
address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a request for approval of a new 
collection. 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.
    This notice allows 60 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.
    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 forms of information technology. 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: EPA's Office of Land and Emergency Management, Office of 
Resource Conservation and Recovery (ORCR) is charged with, among other 
responsibilities, ensuring efficient and equitable non-hazardous waste 
management. In this capacity, timely and consistent information on 
waste/materials generation, disposition and recovery is essential to 
ensure that programs, policies, and grant monies are properly targeted. 
Several statutes mandate EPA to implement grants and programs that will 
be supported by this Information Collection Request (ICR). Those 
statutes include the Save our Seas 2.0 Act (SOS 2.0) (Pub. L. 116-224), 
the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) (Pub. L. 117-58) and 
the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) 42 U.S.C. 6983. EPA 
is mandated to meet certain reporting requirements as part of the grant 
programs established in SOS 2.0 and IIJA. The creation of two new grant 
programs in ORCR requires efficiency to effectively manage the new 
work. Under this ICR, a new knowledge management system will be 
developed to manage the post-award grant reporting that is mandatory 
for grant recipients' reporting requirements under SOS 2.0 and IIJA. 
This system will assist staff in organizing quarterly reports to 
measure impact and report to Congress. Information collected under this 
ICR also will illustrate progress toward the National Recycling Goal to 
increase the nation's recycling rate to 50% by 2030 and the U.S. 2030 
Food Loss and Waste Reduction Goal to cut food loss and waste in half 
by the year 2030. This ICR encompasses EPA activities under the 
National Recycling Strategy to characterize materials management 
infrastructure, standardize measurement and increase data collection, 
and update the Facts and Figures on Materials, Wastes and Recycling 
Report. This ICR also will support activities associated with future 
strategies EPA may release as part of the series on building a circular 
economy for all, including the National Strategy to Prevent Plastic 
Pollution. To track progress on the implementation of these strategies 
and goals, EPA requires current, accurate, and evolving data on 
national waste management pathways, including recycling participation 
and food loss and waste generation rates. Without data collection, 
tracking progress relies upon predictive modelling that may be 
insufficiently accurate and precise when definitiveness is key. Lastly, 
this ICR also will support working with EPA's Office of Research and 
Development, and potentially the National Center for Environmental 
Economics, to integrate Waste Input-Output modeling and the U.S. 
Environmentally-Extended Input-Output model as the basis for future 
Facts and Figures data estimates.
    Form numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: To be determined.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: voluntary for general surveys 
and mandatory for grant recipients' per reporting requirements under 
SOS 2.0 and IIJA.
    Estimated number of respondents: To be determined.
    Frequency of response: To be determined.
    Total estimated burden: To be determined.
    Total estimated cost: To be determined.

    Dated: September 24, 2023.
Carolyn Hoskinson,
Director, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery.
[FR Doc. 2023-21326 Filed 9-28-23; 8:45 am]
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