[Federal Register: November 4, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 213)]
[Notices]
[Page 67163-67165]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr04no05-42]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[OA-2005-0004, FRL-7993-8]
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request; Focus Groups as Used by EPA for Economics Projects,
EPA ICR Number 2205.01
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
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 EPA is planning to submit a
proposed Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB). This is a request for a new collection.
Before submitting the ICR to OMB for review and approval, EPA is
soliciting comments on specific aspects of the proposed information
collection as described below.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before January 3, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number OA-2005-
0004, to EPA online using EDOCKET (our preferred method), by e-mail
oei.docket@epa.gov, or by mail to: Environmental Protection Agency, EPA
Docket Center (EPA/DC), Office of Environmental Information, Mail Code
2822T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nathalie Simon, Office of Policy,
Economics and Innovation, Mail Code 1809T, Environmental Protection
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone
number: 202-566-2347; fax 202-566-2363; e-mail address:
simon.nathalie@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA has established a public docket for this
ICR under Docket ID number OA-2005-0004, which is available for public
viewing at the Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket in the
EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution
Avenue, 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
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Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the Office
of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket is (202) 566-1752. An
electronic version of the public docket is available through EPA
Dockets (EDOCKET) at http://www.epa.gov/edocket. Use EDOCKET to obtain
a copy of the draft collection of information, 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 within
60 days of this notice. 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, confidential business
information (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: Focus Groups as used by EPA for Economics Projects.
Abstract: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking
approval for a generic information collection request (ICR) for the
conduct of focus groups and protocol interview (hereafter jointly
referred to as focus groups) related to economics projects. Over the
next three years, the Agency anticipates embarking on a number of
survey development efforts associated with a variety of economics
projects including those related to valuation of ecosystems, children's
health risks, improvements to coastal waters, and invasive species to
name a few. Focus groups are an important part of any survey
development process, allowing for researchers to directly gauge what
specific issues are important to the public and providing a means for
explicitly testing draft survey materials. Through these focus groups,
the Agency will be able to gain a more in-depth understanding of the
public's attitudes, beliefs, motivations and feelings regarding
specific issues and will provide valuable information regarding the
quality of draft survey instruments.
The information collected in the focus groups will be used to
develop and improve economics-related surveys. To the extent that these
surveys are ultimately successfully administered, they will serve to
expand the Agencies understanding of benefits and costs of a variety of
actions and could provide the means to quantitatively assess the
effects of others. Participation in the focus groups will be voluntary
and the identity of the participants will be kept confidential.
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 in 40 CFR are listed in 40 CFR part 9.
The EPA would like to solicit comments to:
(i) Evaluate 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.
Burden Statement: The only burden imposed by the focus group
interviews on respondents will be the time required to participate in
the focus groups and answer the associated questions. The Agency
estimates that for economics projects anticipated over the next three
years, 1758 participants will be needed to participate in 188 focus
groups. In most cases, the anticipated length of the focus groups is
2.0 hours per participant, with the average length per focus group
equal to 2.4 hours. Based on an average hourly rate of $25.87 \a\
(including employer costs of all employee benefits), the Agency expects
that the average per-respondent cost for the focus groups will be
$62.09 and the corresponding one-time total cost to all respondents
will be $109,151 (see table below). Since this information collection
is voluntary and does not involve any special equipment, respondents
will not incur any capital or operation and maintenance (O&M) costs.
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\a\ Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and
costs as a percent of total compensation: Civilian workers, total
compensation, March 2005 (http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.t02.htm
).
Table.--Estimated Burden to Participants
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Number of
Number of participants Average length
Office Topics to include focus groups per focus of focus group
group
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(1) (2)..................... (3) (4) (5)
Office of Policy Economics and Valuation of 48 9 2
Innovation. Improvements to Coastal
Water; Valuation of
Children's Health Risk,
Ecological Valuation,
etc.
Office of Research and Development... Valuation of 70 9 2.1
environmental
improvements; ecosystem
services, etc.
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Office of Air and Radiation..........
Office of Radiation and Indoor Air... Environmental management 6 20 4
of asthma; Indoor air
quality management in
schools and large
buildings, etc.
Office of Transportation and Air Encouraging fuel 4 9 2
Quality. efficiency through
labeling (Smartway
brand), etc.
Office of Water...................... Invasive species 60 9 3
prevention; Great
Lakes, etc.
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Total............................ ........................ 188 *1758 **2.4
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*Total needed for all focus groups [sum[col (3)*(4)]].
**Average time for all focus groups [cols. (3)*(5)/188].
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.
Dated: September 26, 2005.
Al McGartland,
Office Director, National Center for Environmental Economics, Office of
Policy, Economics and Innovation.
[FR Doc. 05-22035 Filed 11-3-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P