[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 43 (Friday, March 5, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10658-10660]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-5491]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-6238-4]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request; National Water Quality Inventory Reports
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 the following Information
Collection Request (ICR)has been forwarded to the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) for review and comment: National Water Quality
Inventory Reports (Clean Water Act sections 305(b), 303(d), 314(a), and
106(e)); OMB Control No. 2040-0071, expires June 30, 1999. The ICR
describes the nature of the information collection and its expected
cost and burden; where appropriate, it includes the actual data
collection instrument.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before April 5, 1999.
[[Page 10659]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Sandy Farmer at EPA by phone
at (202) 260-2740, by email at farmer.sandy@epamail.epa.gov, or
download off the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/icr and refer to EPA
ICR No. 1560.05.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: National Water Quality Inventory Reports (Clean Water Act
sections 305(b), 303(d), 314(a), and 106(e)); OMB Control No. 2040-
0071, EPA ICR No. 1560.05, expires June 30, 1999. This is a request for
extension of a currently approved collection.
Abstract: Section 305(b) of the Clean Water Act (Public Law 92-500,
33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.; most recently amended in 1987 by Public Law
100-4) requires each State to prepare and submit a biennial water
quality report to the EPA Administrator. Regulations for water quality
monitoring, planning, management and reporting are found in 40 CFR part
130. Each 305(b) report includes such information as a description of
the quality of waters of the State; an analysis of the extent to which
these waters provide for the protection and propagation of a balanced
population of shellfish, fish, and wildlife, and allow recreational
activities in and on the water; recommendations for additional action
necessary to achieve such uses; an estimate of the environmental impact
and economic and social costs as well as the economic and social
benefits of such achievement; and a description of the nature and
extent of nonpoint sources of pollutants and recommendations as to
programs needed to control each category of such sources.
Under the CWA section 314(a)(2), States must incorporate
information regarding Clean Lakes into the 305(b) reports. States are
to include the following: an identification and classification
according to trophic condition of all publicly owned lakes; a
description of the methods to control sources of pollution and restore
these lakes; methods to mitigate the harmful effects of high acidity; a
list and description of publicly owned lakes for which uses are known
to be impaired; and an assessment of the status and trends of water
quality in lakes.
Section 303(d)(1) of the CWA requires States to identify and rank
water-quality limited waters which will not meet State water quality
standards after implementation of required controls, such as,
technology-based point source controls.
Section 106(e) requires States to include information on monitoring
activities implemented to evaluate the quality of navigable waters and
ground water in the 305(b) reports.
Reporting under sections 305(b) and 314 is thus required of the 50
States. Reporting activities under section 303(d) may be submitted as
part of the 305(b) report or may be submitted under separate cover.
Other respondents (Territories, River Basin Commissions) also prepare
305(b) reports to document the quality of their waters to EPA,
Congress, and the public and, in some cases, to meet grant conditions.
The 305(b) reporting process is an essential component of the EPA
water pollution control program. EPA's Office of Water uses the 305(b)
reports as the principal information source for assessing nationwide
water quality, progress made in maintaining and restoring water
quality, and the extent of remaining water pollution problems. EPA
prepares the National Water Quality Inventory Report to Congress and
evaluates impacts of EPA's water pollution control programs with the
information and data supplied in the 305(b) reports and the
corresponding national database, the EPA Waterbody System. The Office
of Water uses the Report to Congress to target persistent and emerging
water quality problems with new initiatives and to improve or eliminate
ineffective programs.
EPA uses the information submitted under section 314 to evaluate
and to report on trends in the status of lake water quality reports
issued by the section 314 Clean Lakes Program. The Agency also uses
this information for a variety of other purposes including to assist in
the management of lake projects funded under both sections 314 and 319
of the Clean Water Act.
Under section 303(d), EPA must review and approve or disapprove the
State lists of water-quality limited waterbodies still requiring total
maximum daily loads (TMDLs). Section 303(d) of the CWA establishes the
TMDL process to provide for more stringent water-quality based controls
when required Federal, State or local controls are inadequate to
achieve State water quality standards. TMDLs encourage a holistic view
of water quality problems considering all contributions and instream
water quality and provide a method to allocate those contributions to
meet water quality standards.
EPA is currently developing proposed revisions to the TMDL program
regulations and, as part of that effort, will determine whether it
needs to prepare a new ICR based on the proposed regulatory revisions.
While at this time, EPA believes that it is likely that a new ICR will
be needed, no final decision will be made and the Agency will continue
to undertake the necessary analyses needed to make such a final
decision.
During 1998, EPA worked with its partners on the development of
Clean Water Action Plan Unified Watershed Assessments (UWA). EPA and
its partners are looking into whether these assessments should be
updated in the future. If the UWA are updated and are subject to ICR
requirements, EPA will conduct a complete burden analysis.
The next 305(b) reports and 303(d) lists are due to EPA in April
2000. EPA has published guidelines on the types of information
requested of respondents in their 305(b) reports. The current edition
is Guidelines for the Preparation of the Comprehensive State Water
Quality Assessments (305(b) Reports) and Electronic Updates: Report
Contents, EPA841-B-97-002A, and Guidelines for the Preparation of the
Comprehensive State Water Quality Assessments (305(b) Reports) and
Electronic Updates: Supplement, EPA841-B-97-002B (For further
information or a copy call: Susan Holdsworth at EPA, (202) 260-4743).
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. The
Federal Register document required under 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting
comments on this collection of information was published on 11/13/98
(63 FR 63470): one comment was received. The commentors recommend that
EPA increase the estimate of the burden associated with State
preparation of 305(b) reports . . . because the States are not properly
preparing the 305(b) reports. . .''and that EPA increase its activities
to improve the quality of State 305(b) reports. In response, EPA is
addressing the concern that the level of detail and the
comprehensiveness of 305(b) reports varies among states. These efforts
include the use of financial incentives and the dissemination of
guidance, training and technology. Preliminary results indicate these
efforts are successfully improving the 305(b) reporting process. In
addition, EPA did review its calculation of burden and identified an
error in the calculation. When revising the estimate of burden to
reflect 2-year rather than 5-year reporting cycle, EPA did not
recalculate the burden associated with the ground water portion of the
assessments. Correction of this error increased the estimate of burden
hours.
[[Page 10660]]
Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 4164
hours per response. 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.
Respondents/Affected Entities: States, the District of Columbia,
Territories, and River Basin Commissions.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 59.
Frequency of Response: Reports every 2 years as required by the
CWA; annual electronic updates of water quality assessment data is
encouraged in 1999 and 2001 and the burden of this activity is included
in this renewal request.
Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 245,676 hours.
Estimated Total Annualized Cost: $0.00.
Send comments on the Agency's need for this information, the
accuracy of the provided burden estimates, and any suggested methods
for minimizing respondent burden, including through the use of
automated collection techniques to the following addresses. Please
refer to EPA ICR No. 1560.05 and OMB Control No. 2040-0071 in any
correspondence.
Ms. Sandy Farmer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, OP Regulatory
Information Division (2137), 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460;
and
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and
Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th Street, NW,
Washington, DC 20503.
Dated: March 1, 1999.
Richard T. Westlund,
Acting Director, Regulatory Information Division.
[FR Doc. 99-5491 Filed 3-4-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
