Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; National Listing of Advisories, EPA ICR Number 1959.02, OMB Control Number 2040-0226

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that an Information Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This is a request to renew an existing approved collection. This ICR is scheduled to expire on January 31, 2004. Under OMB regulations, the Agency may continue to conduct or sponsor the collection of information while this submission is pending at OMB. This ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated burden and cost.

DATES:

Additional comments may be submitted on or before February 26, 2004.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number OW-2003-0076, to (1) EPA online using EDOCKET (our preferred method), by email to OW-docket@epa.gov, or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Water Docket (4101T), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, and (2) OMB at: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Attention: Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jeffrey D. Bigler, Program Manager, National Fish and Wildlife Contamination Program, OST/SHPD, (4305T), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 566-0389; fax number: (202) 566-0409; email address: bigler.jeff@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

EPA has submitted the following ICR to OMB for review and approval according to the procedures prescribed in 5 CFR 1320.12. On August 14, 2003, (68 FR 48605), EPA sought comments on this ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received only one comment and has addressed the comment received.

EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID No. OW-2003-0076, which is available for public viewing at the Water Docket in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the Water Docket is (202) 566-2426. An electronic version of the public docket is available through EPA Dockets (EDOCKET) at http://www.epa.gov/edocket. Use EDOCKET to submit or view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the public docket, and to access those documents in the public docket that are available electronically. Once in the system, select “search,” then key in the docket ID number identified above.

Any comments related to this ICR should be submitted to EPA and OMB within 30 days of this notice. EPA's policy is that public comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper, will be made available for public viewing in EDOCKET as EPA receives them and without change, unless the comment contains copyrighted material, CBI, or other information whose public disclosure is restricted by statute. When EPA identifies a comment containing copyrighted material, EPA will provide a reference to that material in the version of the comment that is placed in EDOCKET. The entire printed comment, including the copyrighted material, will be available in the public docket. Although identified as an item in the official docket, information claimed as CBI, or whose disclosure is otherwise restricted by statute, is not included in the official public docket, and will not be available for public viewing in EDOCKET. For further information about the electronic docket, see EPA's Federal Register notice describing the electronic docket at 67 FR 38102 (May 31, 2002), or go to http://www.epa.gov/edocket.

Title: National Listing of Advisories.

Abstract: The National Listing of Fish and Wildlife Advisories (NLFWA) Database contains information on the number of new advisories issued by each state, territory, or tribe annually. The advisory information collected identifies the waterbody under advisory, the fish or shellfish species and size ranges included in the advisory, the chemical contaminants and residue levels causing the advisory to be issued, the waterbody type (river, lake, estuary, coastal waters), and the target populations to whom the advisory is directed. This information is collected under the authority of section 104 of the Clean Water Act, which provides for the collection of information to be used to protect human health and the environment. The information is collected from the states and tribes using a Web-based electronic questionnaire or paper questionnaires if the respondents do not have access to the Web. The results of the survey are shared with states, territories, tribes, other federal agencies, and the general public through the NLFWA database and the distribution of annual fish advisories fact sheets. The responses to the survey are voluntary and the information requested is part of the state public record associated with the advisories. No confidential business information is requested.

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 are identified on the form and/or instrument, if applicable.

Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and record keeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average approximately 39 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: Administrators of Public Health and Environmental Quality Programs in 50 states, District of Columbia, 5 territories, and 36 tribal governments.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 92.

Frequency of Response: Annually.

Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 3,565.

Estimated Total Annual Cost: $109,429, includes $529 annualized capital or O&M costs.

Changes in the Estimates: There is no change in the number of hours in the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of Approved ICR Burdens.