[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 104 (Wednesday, May 29, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46392-46393]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-11764]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OARM-2016-0762; FRL-12004-01-OMS]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; General Administrative Requirements for Assistance Programs 
(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), General Administrative 
Requirements for Assistance Programs (EPA ICR Number 0938.23, OMB 
Control Number 2030-0020) 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 June 30, 2024. Public comments were previously requested via 
the Federal Register on September 28, 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 June 28, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-
OARM-2016-0762 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.
    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: Amanda Kemp, Office of Grants and 
Debarment, National Policy, Training and Compliance Division, 3903R, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, 
DC 20460; telephone number: 202-564-0209; fax number: 202-565-2470; 
email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a proposed extension of the ICR, 
which is currently approved through June 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.
    Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register 
on September 28, 2023 during a 60-day comment period (88 FR 66840). 
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: The information is collected from applicants and 
recipients of EPA assistance to monitor adherence to the programmatic 
and administrative requirements of the Agency's financial assistance 
program. The information collected is used to make awards, pay 
recipients, and collect information on how Federal funds are being 
spent. EPA needs this information to meet its Federal stewardship 
responsibilities. This ICR renewal requests authorization for the 
collection of information under EPA's General Regulation for Assistance 
Programs, which establishes minimum management requirements for all 
recipients of EPA grants or cooperative agreements (assistance 
agreements). These regulations include only those provisions mandated 
by statue or added by EPA to ensure sound and effective financial 
assistance management with respect to Disadvantaged Business Enterprise 
(DBE) utilization. The information required by these regulations will 
be used by EPA award officials to make assistance awards and assistance 
payments and to verify that the recipient is using Federal funds 
appropriately.
    Form numbers: listed in supporting statement.
    Respondents/affected entities: The primary recipients of EPA 
assistance agreements are state and local governments, Indian Tribes, 
educational institutions, and not-for-profit institutions.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Required to obtain an 
assistance agreement (40 CFR part 30, 40 CFR part 31, and 40 CFR part 
33 for awards made prior to December 26, 2014, and 2 CFR 200, 2 CFR 
1500, and 40 CFR part 33 for awards made after December 26, 2014).
    Estimated number of respondents: 9,821(total).
    Frequency of response: On occasion, quarterly, and annually.
    Total estimated burden: 302,030 hours (per year). Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $19,719,538 (per year), which includes $0 
annualized capital or operation & maintenance costs.
    Changes in the estimates: There is an increase of 207,424 hours in 
the total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently 
approved by OMB. This increase occurred for several reasons. First, EPA 
received unprecedented levels of funding to award grants under the 
American Rescue Plan (ARP), the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill (BIL), 
and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This led to a significant 
increase in number of grant applications received and awards made under 
various EPA grant programs. EPA also revised its approach to more 
accurately estimate the number of ongoing grant recipients who are 
subject to the requirements for record keeping and submittal of 
quarterly progress reports. In addition, EPA reviewed the burden 
assumptions in the ICR to ensure that they reflect the Agency's current 
experiences under its grant programs. EPA made adjustments to increase 
the burden hour estimates

[[Page 46393]]

for three of the requirements based on consultations with grant 
recipients.

Courtney Kerwin,
Director, Regulatory Support Division.
[FR Doc. 2024-11764 Filed 5-28-24; 8:45 am]
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