Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Public Water System Supervision Program (Renewal)

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an Information Collection Request (ICR) for the Public Water System Supervision Program (EPA ICR Number 0270.48, OMB Control Number 2040-0090) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through March 31, 2023. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on December 15, 2021 during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.

DATES:

Comments may be submitted on or before April 24, 2023.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-OW-2011-0443, EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), by email to OW-Docket@epa.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.

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:

Kevin Roland, Drinking Water Infrastructure Development Division, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, (4606M), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-564-4588: fax number: 202-564-3755; email address: roland.kevin@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through March 31, 2023. An agency may neither conduct nor 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 via the Federal Register on December 15, 2021 (86 FR 71265) during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. Supporting documents, which explain in detail the information that 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.

Abstract: The Public Water System Supervision (PWSS) Program ICR examines public water systems, primacy agencies ( i.e., states and tribes with primary enforcement authority) and tribal operator certification provider burden, and costs for “cross-cutting” recordkeeping and reporting requirements ( i.e., the burden and costs for complying with drinking water information requirements that are not associated with contaminant-specific rulemakings). The following activities have recordkeeping and reporting requirements that are mandatory for compliance with the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 40 CFR parts 141 and 142: the Consumer Confidence Report Rule (CCR), the Variance and Exemption Rule (V/E Rule), General State Primacy Activities, the Public Notification Rule (PN), and Proficiency Testing Studies for Drinking Water Laboratories. The information collection activities for both the Operator Certification and the Capacity Development Program are driven by the grant withholding and reporting provisions under sections 1419 and 1420, respectively, of the Safe Drinking Water Act. The information collection for the Tribal Operator Certification Program is driven by grant eligibility requirements outlined in the Drinking Water Infrastructure Grant Tribal Set-Aside Program Final Guidelines and the Tribal Drinking Water Operator Certification Program Guidelines.

Form numbers: None.

Respondents/affected entities: New and existing public water systems and primacy agencies.

Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory for compliance with 40 CFR parts 141 and 142.

Estimated number of respondents: 146,099 (total).

Frequency of response: Varies by requirement ( i.e., on occasion, monthly, quarterly, semi-annually and annually).

Total estimated burden: 3,421,278 hours (per year). Burden is defined at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).

Total estimated cost: $208,214,000 (per year), includes $37,756,000 in operation and maintenance costs.

Changes in the estimates: There is a decrease of 222,093 hours in the total estimated annual respondent burden compared with the ICR currently approved by OMB. This decrease is a result of updating relevant baseline information for each rule with the most current and accurate information available ( e.g., public water system inventory); and updating burden to incorporate the results of consultation with stakeholders. Where appropriate and available, estimated violation and other associated rates have also been updated to reflect current information on rule compliance.