[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 35 (Wednesday, February 21, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13079-13080]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-03457]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OEJECR-2024-0072; FRL-11749-01-OEJECR]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Information 
Collection Request; Comment Request; Environmental Justice CPS and G2G 
Programs: Post-Award Reporting and Public Outreach Information 
Collections

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), Environmental Justice 
CPS and G2G Programs: Post-Award Reporting and Public Outreach 
Information Collections (EPA ICR Number 2807.01, OMB Control Number 
2035-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 April 22, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-
OEJECR-2024-XXXX, to EPA 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: Aarti Iyer, Office of the Chief 
Financial Officer, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; email address: [email protected]; 
phone: 202-564-0214.

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: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) makes 
competitive financial assistance awards to support projects that tackle 
environmental and public health challenges across the country. This is 
accomplished by working directly with community-based nonprofit 
organizations (CBOs) and state, local, territorial, and tribal 
governments that have strong ties to the communities in which they are 
working. To help get resources and funding to underserved and 
overburdened communities EPA offers the Environmental Justice 
Collaborative Problem Solving (EJCPS) and Environmental Justice 
Government to Government (EJG2G) cooperative agreement programs, which 
are designed to address multi-statute environmental and/or public 
health issues. The EJCPS and EJG2G grantees will operate in cooperative 
agreements with EPA in their efforts to collaborate

[[Page 13080]]

and partner with other stakeholders to develop solutions that will 
significantly address environmental and/or public health issue(s) in 
communities disproportionately burdened by environmental harms and 
risks. With this Information Collection Request (ICR), EPA seeks 
authorization to collect information to track progress made by the 
EJCPS and EJG2G grantees and their partnerships. Collection of this 
information enables EPA to assess and manage these two programs, which 
ensures responsible stewardship of public funds; rigorous evidence-
based learning and improvement; and transparent accountability to the 
American public. This ICR also requests authorization for the grantees 
to collect input and insights from communities who seek to benefit from 
project services, as well as stakeholders who have valuable experience 
and expertise in community engagement and empowerment. These 
information collections will enable the grantees to document local 
priorities, needs, and norms to ensure that they develop useful and 
relevant projects and training services. Furthermore, feedback about 
these services will enable the grantees to conduct self-assessments to 
identify best practices and areas for improvement.
    Form numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: Recipients of financial assistance 
awards from the EJCPS and EJG2G programs; stakeholders; community 
members.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory for grant recipients 
as per reporting requirements included in EPA regulations 2 CFR parts 
200 and 1500, and voluntary for public outreach information collections 
via surveys and focus groups.
    Estimated number of respondents: 186 grantees and approximately 
7,000 members of the public.
    Frequency of response: One work plan, two semi-annual progress 
reports per year the grant is active; one final report. Variable 
numbers of surveys and focus groups per year.
    Total estimated burden: 24,699 hours per year.
    Total estimated cost: $835,759 per year.
    Changes in the estimates: This is a new collection; therefore there 
is no change in burden.

Jacob Burney,
Director, Grants Management Division, Office of Community Support, 
Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights.
[FR Doc. 2024-03457 Filed 2-20-24; 8:45 am]
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