[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 13, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18407-18408]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-05285]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OECA-2020-0020; FRL-11769-01-OECA]


Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Annual 
Public Water Systems Compliance Report

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to submit an 
information collection request (ICR), ``Annual Public Water System 
Compliance Report'' (EPA ICR No. 1812.08, OMB Control No. 2020-0020) to 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. Before doing so, the 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 November 30, 2024. 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 May 13, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OECA-
2020-0020 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. The 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 or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Raquel Taveras, Monitoring, Assistance 
and Media Programs Division, Office of Compliance, MC-2227A, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, 
DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 564-9651; email address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a proposed extension of the ICR, 
which is currently approved through November 30, 2024. 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 Paper Reduction Act, the 
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. The 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, the 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: Section 1414(c)(3)(A) of the Safe Drinking Water Act 
(SDWA) provides that each state (a term that includes states, 
commonwealths, tribes and territories) that has primary enforcement 
authority under the SDWA shall prepare, make readily available to

[[Page 18408]]

the public, and submit to the Administrator of EPA, an annual report of 
violations of national primary drinking water regulations in the state. 
These Annual State Public Water System Compliance Reports are to 
include violations of maximum contaminant levels, treatment 
requirements, variances and exemptions, and monitoring requirements 
determined to be significant by the Administrator after consultation 
with the states. To minimize a state's burden in preparing its annual 
statutorily required report, the EPA issued guidance that explains what 
section 1414(c)(3)(A) requires and provides model language and 
reporting templates. The EPA also annually makes available to the 
states a computer query that generates for each state (from information 
states are already separately required to submit to EPA's national 
database on a quarterly basis) the required violations information in a 
table consistent with the reporting template in the EPA's guidance.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: Entities that are potentially 
affected by this action are states that have primacy enforcement 
authority and meet the definition of ``state'' under the SDWA.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory under section 1414 
(c)(3)(A) of SDWA.
    Estimated number of respondents: 55 (total).
    Frequency of response: Annually.
    Total estimated burden: 4,400 hours (per year). Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $730,000 (per year), includes $0 annualized 
capital or operation & maintenance costs.
    Changes in Estimates: There is no change in burden from the most 
recently approved ICR as currently identified in the OMB Inventory of 
Approved Burdens. This is due to two considerations. First, the 
regulations have not changed over the past three years and are not 
anticipated to change over the next three years. Second, the growth 
rate for this industry is very low or non-existent, so there is no 
significant change in the overall burden. Since there are no changes in 
the regulatory requirements and there is no significant industry 
growth, there are also no changes in the capital/startup or operation 
and maintenance (O&M) costs. There is a slight increase in costs, which 
is wholly due to the use of updated labor rates. This ICR uses labor 
rates from the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report (December 
2023) to calculate respondent burden costs.

Loren Denton,
Director, Monitoring Assistance and Media Programs Division, Office of 
Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2024-05285 Filed 3-12-24; 8:45 am]
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