Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Exchange Network Grants Progress Reports (Renewal)

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), “Exchange Network Grants Progress Reports (Renewal)” (EPA ICR No. 2207.08, OMB Control No. 2025-0006) 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 proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through September 30, 2021. 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 April 26, 2021.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OEI-2006-0037; FRL—9982-33-OEI online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), by email to oira_submission@omb.eop.gov, 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:

Edward Mixon or Dipti Singh, Information Exchange Services Division, Office of Information Management, Office of Mission Support (2823T), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-566-2142 or 202-566-0739 respectively; email address: mixon.edward@epa.gov or singh.dipti@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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) Eevaluate 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 automated electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses. 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: Under the U.S. EPA National Environmental Information Exchange Network (NEIEN) Grant Program, EPA collects information from the NEIEN grantees on assistance agreements that EPA has awarded. Specifically, for each project, EPA proposes to have grantees submit semi-annual reports on the progress and current status of each goal and output, completion dates for outputs, and any problems encountered. This information will help EPA ensure projects are on schedule to meet their goals and produce high quality environmental results. New award recipients will complete one Quality Assurance Reporting Form for each award. This form provides a simple means for grant recipients to describe how quality will be addressed throughout their projects. Additionally, the Quality Assurance Reporting Form is derived from guidelines provided in the NEIEN 2020 Grant Solicitation Notice.

Form Numbers: EPA Form 5300-26 (Semi-Annual Progress Report Form) and EPA Form 5300-27 (Quality Assurance Reporting Form).

Respondents/affected entities: State, tribal, and territorial environmental government offices.

Respondent's obligation to respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits (2 CFR part 200 and 2 CFR part 1500).

Estimated number of respondents: 149 total per year.

Frequency of response: Twice per year for the Semi-Annual Progress Report Form; one time per grant for the Quality Assurance Reporting Form.

Total estimated burden: 258.5 hours (per year). Burden is defined at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).

Total estimated cost: $15,765.91 (per year), includes $0 annualized capital or operation & maintenance costs.

Changes in Estimates: There is a decrease of 21.5 hours in the total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently approved by OMB. This slight decrease in the burden is due to a reduction in the open Exchange Network Grants (from 172 to 149) that are expected to be active per year during the period of this ICR. The reduction in the numbers of open grants explains the small reduction (of $421) in total annual respondent costs despite inflation in labor rates.