[Federal Register: December 24, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 247)]
[Notices]
[Page 78446-78447]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24de02-78]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[OW-2002-0032; FRL-7427-5]
Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission of ICR No.
0220.09 (OMB No. 2040-0168) to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment
Request
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501
et seq.), this document announces that the following Information
Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) for review and approval: Clean Water Act Section 404
State-Assumed Programs (OMB Control No. 2040-0168, EPA ICR No.
0220.09). The ICR, which is abstracted below, describes the nature of
the information collection and its estimated burden and cost.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before January 23, 2003.
ADDRESSES: Follow the detailed instructions in the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lori Williams, Office of Wetlands,
Oceans and Watersheds, Wetlands Division (4502T), Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460;
telephone number: 202-566-1376; fax number: 202-566-1349; e-mail
address: williams.lorraine@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA has submitted the following ICR to OMB
for review and approval according to the procedures prescribed in 5 CFR
1320.12. On July 16, 2002, EPA sought comments on this ICR pursuant to
5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received no comments.
EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID
No. OW-2002-0032, which is available for public viewing at the Water
Docket in the EPA Docket Center, (EPA/DC) EPA West, Room B102, 1301
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public
Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Reading
Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the Water Docket
is (202) 566-2426. An electronic version of the public docket is
available through EPA Dockets (EDOCKET) at http://www.epa.gov/edocket.
Use EDOCKET to submit or view public comments, access the index listing
of the contents of the public docket, and to access those documents in
the public docket that are available electronically. Once in the
system, select ``search,'' then key in the docket ID number identified
above.
Any comments related to this ICR should be submitted to EPA and OMB
within 30 days of this notice, and according to the following detailed
instructions:
(1) Submit your comments to EPA online using EDOCKET (our preferred
method), by e-mail to ow-docket@epa.gov, or by mail to: EPA Docket
Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 4101T, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, and
[[Page 78447]]
(2) Mail your comments to OMB at: Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Attention:
Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503.
EPA's policy is that public comments, whether submitted
electronically or in paper, will be made available for public viewing
in EDOCKET as EPA receives them and without change, unless the comment
contains copyrighted material, CBI, or other information whose public
disclosure is restricted by statute. When EPA identifies a comment
containing copyrighted material, EPA will provide a reference to that
material in the version of the comment that is placed in EDOCKET. The
entire printed comment, including the copyrighted material, will be
available in the public docket. Although identified as an item in the
official docket, information claimed as CBI, or whose disclosure is
otherwise restricted by statute, is not included in the official public
docket, and will not be available for public viewing in EDOCKET. For
further information about the electronic docket, see EPA's Federal
Register notice describing the electronic docket at 67 FR 38102 (May
31, 2002), or go to http://www.epa.gov/edocket.
Title: Information Collection Request for Clean Water Act Section
404 State-Assumed Programs (OMB Control No. 2040-0168, EPA ICR Number
0220.09). This is a request to renew an existing approved collection
that is scheduled to expire on January 31, 2003. Under the OMB
regulations, the Agency may continue to conduct or sponsor the
collection of information while this submission is pending at OMB.
Abstract: Section 404(g) of the Clean Water Act authorizes States
(and Tribes) to assume the section 404 permit program. States/Tribes
must demonstrate that they meet the statutory and regulatory
requirements (40 CFR part 233) for an approvable program. Specified
information and documents must be submitted by the State/Tribe to EPA
to request assumption. Once the required information and documents are
submitted and EPA has a complete assumption request package, the
statutory time clock for EPA's decision to either approve or deny the
State/Tribe's assumption request starts. The information contained in
the assumption request is made available to the other involved Federal
agencies (Corps of Engineers, Fish and Wildlife Service, and National
Marine Fisheries Service) and to the general public for review and
comment.
States/Tribes must be able to issue permits that comply with the
404(b)(1) Guidelines, the environmental review criteria. States/Tribes
and the reviewing Federal agencies must be able to review proposed
projects to evaluate, avoid, minimize and compensate for anticipated
impacts. EPA's assumption regulations establish recommended elements
that should be included in the State/Tribe's permit application, so
that sufficient information is available to make a thorough analysis of
anticipated impacts. These minimum information requirements are based
on the information that must be submitted when applying for a section
404 permit from the Corps of Engineers.
EPA is responsible for oversight of assumed programs to ensure that
State/Tribal programs are in compliance with applicable requirements
and that State/Tribal permit decisions adequately consider, avoid,
minimize and compensate for anticipated impacts. States/Tribes must
evaluate their programs annually and submit the results in a report to
EPA. EPA's assumption regulations establish minimum requirements for
the annual report.
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. The OMB control numbers for EPA's
regulations are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and 48 CFR chapter 15, and are
identified on the form and/or instrument, if applicable.
Burden Statement: This collection of information is separated into
three pieces. The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for
this collection of information is estimated to average 520 hours to
request program assumption, 5 hours to complete a permit application,
and 80 hours to prepare the annual report. Burden means the total time,
effort, or financial resources expended by persons to generate,
maintain, retain, or disclose or provide information to or for a
Federal agency. This includes the time needed to review instructions;
develop, acquire, install, and utilize technology and systems for the
purposes of collecting, validating, and verifying information,
processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and providing
information; adjust the existing ways to comply with any previously
applicable instructions and requirements; train personnel to be able to
respond to a collection of information; search data sources; complete
and review the collection of information; and transmit or otherwise
disclose the information.
Respondents/Affected Entities: States/Tribes, permit applicants.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 20,006.
Frequency of Response: one time to request assumption; one time
when requesting a permit; annually for the annual permit.
Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 101,360.
Estimated Total Annual Cost: $37,200 includes $0 annualized capital
or O&M costs.
Changes in the Estimates: There is a change of an additional 693
hours from the currently approved hours in the OMB Inventory of
Approved ICR Burdens; this is a math correction/adjustment.
Dated: December 17, 2002.
Oscar Morales,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 02-32388 Filed 12-23-02; 8:45 am]
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