99-29584. Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Valuing Inland Water Quality Improvements

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 218 (Friday, November 12, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61632-61633]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-29584]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6474-3]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Valuing Inland Water Quality Improvements

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 EPA is planning to submit the 
following proposed Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB): Valuing Inland Water Quality 
Improvements (ICR number 1914.01). 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 11, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Dr. Alan Carlin, Office of Policy and Reinvention, Mail Code 
2172, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC 20460, e-
mail [e-mail], phone [phone], FAX [phone]. The 
survey as it will be received by subjects can be obtained without 
charge by mailing or e-mailing a request to Jason Bell listed below. Be 
sure to include name, address, telephone number, e-mail if

[[Page 61633]]

available, and delivery preference (diskette by mail, or e-mail 
delivery of the survey). A file containing the survey can also be 
downloaded from the following Website under What's New: http://
www.epa.gov/economics.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jason Bell, Fuqua School of Business, 
Duke University, Durham, NC 27708-0120, phone [phone], fax 919-
684-8742, e-mail [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Affected entities: Entities potentially affected by this action are 
individuals who agree to participate in the survey. Participation is 
voluntary and subjects will be compensated for their time and effort. 
Recruiting will be done by Consumer Pulse, in a manner described in the 
abstract below.
    Title: Valuing Inland Water Quality Improvements (EPA ICR number 
1914.01).
    Abstract: The purpose of this project is to develop economic 
benefit values for water quality improvements for lakes, rivers, and 
streams. These estimates are of substantial academic interest since 
past studies have been based on a water quality ladder, which is 
believed not to be as scientifically valid a construct for assessing 
water quality. The estimates may also be useful to the Agency in 
complying with the requirements of Executive Order 12866 requiring 
cost-benefit analysis of major Federal regulations. This project will 
explore how valuations are affected by use of the current EPA approach 
of specifying different dimensions of water quality such as swimming, 
fishing, and broader aquatic ecological effects. The findings will be 
pertinent to economists studying water quality changes, particularly 
with respect to the task of assessing benefit values for water quality 
policies. We will use data collected with the survey in determining the 
value of water quality improvements to households in the United States. 
We plan to recruit subjects randomly across the United States through 
telephone recruiting. Subjects will be asked to complete a computer 
survey from a disk, which will be mailed to them. Subjects without 
convenient access to a personal computer will be referred to a national 
commercial facility with computer access nearest their home for the 
purpose of completing the survey. Subjects will return the survey disk 
by mail when completed. Participation in the survey is voluntary. 
Respondents will have to expend time, effort, and in many cases travel 
expense to participate in the study. Avoiding bias in the sample 
towards individuals and groups who can more easily take the survey is 
an important concern. As a result, we will compensate subjects for 
their time (and travel if necessary) to avoid the selection bias that 
might otherwise result. This survey is innovative both in terms of the 
survey methodology and the substantive economic focus. On both of these 
dimensions the survey is breaking new ground. To maximize the research 
value of the survey, we will proceed iteratively. The version of the 
survey available now will undergo at least two pre-tests after OMB 
approves the ICR. These pretests will be designed to identify 
programming complications arising from the nature of the survey, as 
well as survey questions that can be refined to promote greater clarity 
and convergence in the iterative choice process used. The final 
structure of the survey will depend on how people respond to the draft 
questions. For example, on any initial pairwise choice question, the 
researchers seek to present an initial tradeoff where half of subjects 
to choose each alternative, in order to maximize convergence on 
tradeoff rates in the least possible number of iterative questions. 
After the pre-tests are completed, recruiting will proceed as described 
above. 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. We 
solicit comment on all aspects of the questionnaire, and specifically 
solicit comment on the following issues:
    (i) 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) 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) The quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be 
collected; and
    (iv) Minimization of 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 total national burden estimate for all parts 
of the questionnaire process is 3170 hours. It should be emphasized, 
however, that this is extremely uncertain given the new proposed 
approach to be used and the highly experimental nature of the survey. 
The burden estimates are based on administration of 2800 completed 
questionnaires and an assumed response rate of 70 percent. We estimate 
that each subject will require, on average, one minute to refuse to 
participate in the phone recruiting process, 10 minutes to respond 
favorably to the phone recruiting process, 30 minutes to complete the 
survey, and another 10 minutes to mail the completed survey disk in a 
provided envelope. We estimate that as many as half of the sample may 
not have access to a personal computer in the home or at work. For 
these subjects, an additional 15 minutes are estimated if using a 
neighbor's computer (assumed to be one-sixth of the completed sample), 
or an additional 30 to 60 minutes round trip to a national commercial 
facility with computer access if necessary (assumed to be one-third of 
the completed sample). Given these assumptions, the total burden for 
the survey in terms of participant time (3170 hours) valued at $13.18 
(the average hourly earnings for May 1999 according to the Bureau of 
Labor Statistics) is estimated to be $41,781 prior to the payment of 
the proposed compensation. We stress again that participation by 
subjects in the survey is voluntary and that subjects will be 
compensated for their time and effort. 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: August 24, 1999.
Brett Snyder,
Director, Economy and Environment Division.
[FR Doc. 99-29584 Filed 11-10-99; 8:45 am]
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