2023-00972. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Survey To Improve Economic Analysis of Surface Water Quality Changes (New)

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an information collection request (ICR), “Survey to Improve Economic Analysis of Surface Water Quality Changes” (EPA ICR Number 2588.01, OMB Control Number 2090-NEW) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. This is a request for approval of a new collection. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on September 29, 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 February 21, 2023.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments to EPA, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OA-2019-0292 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. 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:

Chris Moore, AO/OP/NCEE, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-566-2348; fax number: 202-566-2448; email address: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This is a request for approval of a new collection. 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.

Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on September 29, 2021, during a 60-day comment period (86 FR 53960). This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. 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: Researchers and analysts in EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD), Office of Water (OW), and National Center for Environmental Economics (NCEE) are collaborating to improve EPA's ability to perform benefit cost analysis on changes in surface water quality (lakes, rivers, and streams). We are requesting approval to conduct a survey that will provide data critical to that effort. A number of non-market valuation methods can be used to estimate the economic benefits of improving environmental quality, but they often require more time and resources than federal agencies have to complete the regulatory impact analysis. Benefit transfer can provide reasonably accurate estimates of economic benefits under certain conditions with fewer resources and far less time. Federal agencies rely on benefit transfer often when analyzing the economic impacts of environmental regulation. In conducting benefit cost analyses of surface water regulations, however, it has become apparent that there is a lack of data on some features of policy analysis that have forced analysts to make assumptions about the relationships between a number of factors. This information collection is necessary to provide insight on those relationships and improve the EPA's and other federal agencies' ability to perform benefit transfer in regulatory analysis.

Analysts in the Office of Policy, the Office of Water, and the Office of Research and Development have begun work on an integrated hydrological and economic model that will be capable of estimating benefits for a wide range of surface water regulations. The data collected with this survey will inform that effort. Analysts elsewhere in the EPA and other federal agencies may also be able to use the results of this study to improve benefit transfer in other applications. The survey will be administered electronically to a probability-based internet panel. An internet-based survey mode provides several advantages in efficiency and accuracy over other collection modes. It is also necessary to meet several of our research objectives described in the ICR Supporting Statement. Participation in the survey will be voluntary and the identity of the participants will be kept confidential.

Form numbers: EPA Form 5800-078, A Survey on Water Quality in Rivers, Lakes, and Streams.

Respondents/affected entities: Eligible respondents for this survey will be U.S. civilian, non-institutionalized individuals, age 18 years and older.

Respondent's obligation to respond: Voluntary.

Estimated number of respondents: 6120 (total).

Frequency of response: One-time collection.

Total estimated burden: 2,040 hours.

Total estimated cost: $637,122. There are no capital or operation and maintenance costs associated with this collection.

Changes in the estimates: This is a new collection. The survey is a one-time data collection activity.

Courtney Kerwin,

Director, Regulatory Support Division.