2018-00574. Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Confidential Financial Disclosure Form for Special Government Employees Serving on Federal Advisory Committees at the U.S. Environmental Protection ...

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Environmental Protection Agency has submitted an information collection request (ICR), “Confidential Financial Disclosure Form for Special Government Employees Serving on Federal Advisory Committees at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Renewal)” (EPA ICR No. 2260.06, OMB Control No. 2090-0029) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through February 28, 2018. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on August 21, 2017 during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. A fuller description of the ICR is given below, including its estimated burden and cost to the public. 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:

Additional comments may be submitted on or before February 15, 2018.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-OA-2010-0757, to (1) EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), by email to [e-mail], or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460, and (2) OMB via email to [e-mail]. Address comments to OMB Desk Officer for EPA.

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:

Megan Moreau, Office of Resources, Operations and Management, Federal Advisory Committee Management Division, Mail Code 1601M, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-564-5320; fax number: 202-564-8129; email address: [e-mail].

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.

Abstract: The purpose of this information collection request is to assist the EPA in selecting federal advisory committee members who will be appointed as Special Government Employees (SGEs), mostly to the EPA's scientific and technical committees. To select SGE members as efficiently and cost effectively as possible, the Agency needs to evaluate potential conflicts of interest before a candidate is hired as an SGE and appointed as a member to a committee. Agency officials developed the “Confidential Financial Disclosure Form for Special Government Employees Serving on Federal Advisory Committees at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,” also referred to as Form 3110-48, for greater inclusion of information to discover any potential conflicts of interest as recommended by the Government Accountability Office.

Form numbers: EPA Form 3110-48.

Respondents/affected entities: Candidates for appointment to serve as SGEs on EPA federal advisory committees.

Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory in order to serve as a SGE on an EPA federal advisory committee (5 CFR 2634.903).

Estimated number of respondents: 500 (total).

Frequency of response: Once, Annually, On occasion.

Total estimated burden: 500 hours (per year). Burden is defined at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).

Total estimated cost: $56,000 (per year), includes $0 annualized capital or operation & maintenance costs.

Changes in the Estimates: There is an increase of 250 hours in the total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently approved by OMB. This change is due to an increase in the estimated number of respondents.

Courtney Kerwin,

Director, Regulatory Support Division.