[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 144 (Wednesday, July 28, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40868-40869]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-19269]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-6409-1]
Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request; EPA Office of Site Remediation Enforcement
Program Evaluation ICR
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 approval: EPA Office of Site
Remediation Enforcement Program Evaluation ICR, EPA ICR Number 1890.01.
The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its
expected burden and cost; where appropriate, it includes the actual
data collection instrument.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before August 27, 1999.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sandy Farmer at EPA by phone at (202)
260-2740, by email at farmer.sandy@epa.gov, or download a copy of the
ICR off the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/icr and refer to EPA ICR No.
1890.01.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: EPA Office of Site Remediation Enforcement Program
Evaluation ICR, EPA ICR Number 1890.01. This is a new collection.
Abstract: During the last 3-5 years, EPA's Office of Site
Remediation Enforcement (OSRE), in conjunction with EPA's Office of
Emergency and Remedial Response (OERR), has been implementing a series
of Administrative Reforms in the Superfund program. These reforms are
an effort to make Superfund a faster, fairer, and more efficient
program for all parties involved. With 3-5 years of implementation past
for a number of these reforms, OSRE is interested to learn how well
these Administrative Reforms have worked and whether they have achieved
their stated intentions in the eyes of the external stakeholders whom
the reforms were intended to impact. The purpose of this ICR is to
enable OSRE to collect data on the effectiveness of Superfund
Administrative Reforms so that we can understand which of the reforms
are most effective, as well as to obtain anecdotal and statistically
valid information on the outcomes of the reforms.
With each of the information collections described in this ICR,
OSRE will be measuring whether or not the Administrative Reform is
meeting its intended goal, such as speeding site study and cleanup and
reducing private party transaction costs. Typical goals of the
Administrative Reforms include: increasing the efficiency of reaching
settlements with parties at Superfund sites; reducing transaction costs
for parties at Superfund sites; increasing the fairness of enforcement
actions at Superfund sites; and facilitating the reuse of Superfund
sites.
OSRE is planning to conduct program evaluations of up to 15
Superfund policies and Superfund reform initiatives. Eight of these
reform initiatives are known and listed below. An additional seven
program evaluations will take place as part of these information
collections, but the exact topics are not known at this time. The eight
known program evaluations are:
(1) Orphan Share Compensation
(2) Unilateral Administrative Order Administrative Reform
(3) Effective Oversight Management Administrative Reform
(4) Expedited Settlements Reform
(5) De Minimis Settlements
(6) PRP Response Costs and PRP Transaction Costs
(7) Reuse of Superfund and Brownfield Sites
(8) Disbursement of Response Costs to PRPs Performing Work from Special
Accounts.
Information will be collected through a series of mail, telephone,
and on-line survey questionnaires. Responses to these information
collection requests are voluntary and one-time efforts.
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 March 19,
1999 (64 FR 13573); no comments were received.
Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 2.86
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: Businesses; State, Local or Tribal
Governments.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 10,520.
Frequency of Response: One time only.
Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 9,994 hours.
Estimated Total Annualized Capital, Operating/ Maintenance Cost
Burden: $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.1890.01 in any correspondence.
Ms. Sandy Farmer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of
Policy, 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.
[[Page 40869]]
Dated: July 22, 1999.
Joseph Retzer,
Director, Regulatory Information Division.
[FR Doc. 99-19269 Filed 7-27-99; 8:45 am]
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