[Federal Register: March 6, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 44)]
[Notices]
[Page 10720-10721]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr06mr03-57]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[OW-2002-0069; FRL-7459-1]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request; (OMB Control No. 2040-0164, EPA ICR No. 1654.04)
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: Reporting Requirements Under
EPA's Water Alliances for Voluntary Efficiency (WAVE) Program . The ICR
describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated
burden and cost.
DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before April 7, 2003.
ADDRESSES: Follow the detailed instructions in SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Valerie Martin, Municipal Support
Division, Office of Wastewater Management, Mailcode 4204M,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 564-0623; fax number:
(202) 501-2396; e-mail address: martin.valerie@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 September 26, 2002 (67 FR 60679), EPA sought comments on
this ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received no comments.
EPA has established a docket for this ICR under Docket ID No. OW-
2002-0069, 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
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 (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
[[Page 10721]]
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: Reporting Requirements Under EPA's Water Alliances for
Voluntary Efficiency (WAVE) Program (OMB Control No. 2040-0164, EPA ICR
No. 1654.04). This is a request to renew an existing approved
collection that is scheduled to expire on March 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: EPA initially collects facility information and
thereafter annually collects water, energy, and cost savings
information from participants in the WAVE program. WAVE Partners are
commercial businesses or institutions that voluntarily agree to
implement cost-effective water efficiency measures in their facilities.
Initially the WAVE Program targeted the lodging industry, but now
includes office buildings, educational institutions and medical
facilities. Another type of participant, ``Supporters,'' works with EPA
to promote water efficiency. Supporters are equipment manufacturers,
water management companies, utilities, state and local governments, and
the like.
The purpose of the WAVE Program is pollution prevention. EPA and
the Pollution Prevention Act define pollution prevention as ``source
reduction,'' and other practices that reduce or eliminate the creation
of pollutants through increased efficiency in the use of raw materials,
energy, water, or other resources, or through protection of natural
resources by conservation. By promoting water efficiency, WAVE prevents
pollution in two basic ways. First, wastewater flows are reduced which
can increase treatment efficiency at wastewater treatment plants
resulting in reduced pollutant loads. Second, less water used means
that less energy will be used to treat, transport, and heat drinking
water and to transport and treat wastewater. To the extent that the
reduced energy use so achieved is electrical energy, power plant
emissions are reduced. Water efficiency also causes less water to be
withdrawn and helps preserve streamflow to maintain a healthy aquatic
environment; in addition, less pumping of groundwater lowers the chance
that pollutants that may be in the groundwater will be drained into a
water supply well.
EPA uses the information to maintain a profile of program
membership and to monitor the success of the program, demonstrate that
pollution prevention can be accomplished with a non-regulatory
approach, and to promote the program to potential partners.
Participation in the WAVE Program is voluntary; however, a participant
joins the program by signing and submitting a Membership Agreement and
an annual Results Report to EPA to receive and retain program benefits,
such as software and publicity. No participant is required to submit
confidential business information. EPA maintains and distributes a list
of program participants, and presents aggregated data only in its
program progress reports.
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: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average about
3 hours per Membership Agreement response, a one-time submission, and 6
hours per Results Report response, an annual submission. 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: Commercial businesses or
institutions.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 136.
Frequency of Response: Annual.
Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 389 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Cost: $28,974, includes $0 of capital
startup and O&M costs.
Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 2,167 hours in the
total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of
Approved ICR Burdens. This decrease is due to simplification of the
reporting process and more accurate projections of new participants.
Dated: February 26, 2003.
Oscar Morales,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 03-5323 Filed 3-5-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P