[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 104 (Wednesday, May 29, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46393-46394]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-11765]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OLEM-2023-0416; FRL-12003-01-OMS]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Materials Management (New)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an 
information collection request (ICR), Materials Management (EPA ICR 
Number 2789.01, OMB Control Number 2050-NEW) to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act. This is a request for approval of a new 
collection. Public comments were previously requested on the overall 
collection via the Federal Register on September 29, 2023, during a 60-
day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for 
public comments on this specific information request.

DATES: Comments may be submitted on or before June 28, 2024.

ADDRESSES: 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: 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 
information collection under EPA's Materials Management Generic ICR. 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 on the overall collection 
via the Federal Register on September 29, 2023 during a 60-day comment 
period (88 FR 67277). This notice allows for an additional 30 days for 
public comments. 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: Several statutes including 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) (Pub. L. 94-580) direct EPA to implement grants and programs 
promoting efficient and equitable non-hazardous waste management in the 
United States. EPA's Office of Land and Emergency Management, Office of 
Resource Conservation and Recovery (ORCR) is charged with, among other 
responsibilities, assuring that associated programs, policies, and 
grant monies are properly targeted to meet those goals. This proposed 
information collection is designed to provide ORCR with the timely and 
consistent information on waste/materials generation, disposition, and 
recovery it needs to fulfill that mission. Specifically, it will allow 
EPA to develop and use new forms and methods to support additional 
grant reporting requirements and volume resulting from recent funding 
legislation. Furthermore, the collection will allow EPA to use 
interviews, focus groups, and surveys to inform the Agency's 
understanding of methods, amounts, and economics of solid waste 
collection, management, recovery, reduction, and reuse.
    EPA is recommending that OMB provides clearance for the Agency to 
conduct this set of associated information collection activities as a 
hybrid generic ICR. As described in OMB Memo ``Paperwork Reduction 
Act--Generic Clearances'' from May 28, 2010:

    A generic ICR is a request for OMB approval of a plan for 
conducting more than one information collection using very similar 
methods when (1) the need for and the overall practical utility of 
the data collection can be evaluated in advance, as part of the 
review of the proposed plan, but (2) the agency cannot determine the 
details of the specific individual collections until a later time.

    To use a generic ICR, agencies follow the traditional ICR process 
to initially request OMB clearance for a general set of related 
information collection activities. Agencies then file subsequent 
requests (ICs) to gain clearance for specific actions on an as-needed 
basis. However, because clearance for many of the common elements (such 
as the agency's authority to collect information, the scope and 
practical utility of information to be collected, the mechanisms and 
methodologies that will be employed, and the overall estimates of 
respondent burden) are established in the initial request, the content 
of, and approval process for, individual ICs can be, to varying 
extents, abridged. Within the range of generic ICR types, hybrid 
generic ICRs require the highest level of public and OMB review--with 
each IC submission having its own public notice and 30 day comment 
period announced in the Federal Register. EPA believes that a hybrid 
generic ICR is the most appropriate model to be used in this case 
because it: (1) allows the Agency to react quickly to evolving national 
strategies and infrastructure improvement plans; (2) allows the Agency 
to apply insight gathered in initial ICs to inform the need, scope, and 
methodologies used in subsequent information collections; and, (3) 
maintains the public's and OMB's ability to apply robust scrutiny to 
all proposed collections. Given the demonstrated need for fundamental 
waste generation and management information, the evolving nature of 
these data, and the expectations for pace/progress placed on ORCR, 
pursuing individual conventional ICRs to gather the required 
information would be impractical.
    Form numbers: To be included in individual IC requests.
    Respondents/affected entities: The grant reports would be 
administered to grantees which include U.S. States and Territories, 
communities of U.S. states, federally recognized Native American 
Tribes, and intertribal consortia. Additional information collections 
used to assess waste generation and management systems across the 
country may expand that respondent universe to include, non-profit 
organizations, public-private partnerships, U.S. cities and 
municipalities, waste management and recycling facilities, and 
individuals.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Grant recipients will be 
required to submit progress and final reports according to the 
Infrastructure

[[Page 46394]]

Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) (Pub. L. 117-58). Other information 
collection activities will be voluntary.
    Estimated number of respondents: 146,345 (total).
    Frequency of response: Grant recipients are required to report on a 
quarterly basis. Other information collections will be determined on an 
activity-by-activity basis, but no more than annually.
    Total estimated burden: 15,397 hours (per year). Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $1,001,153 (per year) which assumes a 100% 
response rate, annualized capital or operation & maintenance costs are 
not expected.

Courtney Kerwin,
Director, Regulatory Support Division.
[FR Doc. 2024-11765 Filed 5-28-24; 8:45 am]
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