[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 79 (Tuesday, April 24, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24486-24487]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-9798]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OARM-2011-0795; FRL-9516-3]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for
Review and Approval; Comment Request; General Administrative
Requirements for Assistance Programs (Renewal); EPA ICR No. 0938.18
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)(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. The ICR, which is abstracted below, describes the
nature of the information collection and its estimated burden and cost.
DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before May 24, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OARM-
2011-0795, to (1) EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred
method), by email to oei.docket@epa.gov, or by mail to: EPA Docket
Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Environmental
Information Docket, Mail Code: 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW.,
Washington, DC 20460, and (2) OMB by mail to: 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: Alexandra Raver, Office of Grants and
Debarment, National Policy, Training and Compliance Division, Mail
Code: 3903R, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave.
NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 564-5296; fax
number: (202) 565-2470; email address: Raver.Alexandra@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 October 19, 2011 (76 FR 64942), EPA sought comments on this
ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received one comment during the
comment period, which is addressed in the ICR. Any additional comments
on this ICR should be submitted to EPA and OMB within 30 days of this
notice.
EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID
No. EPA-HQ-OARM-2011-0795, which is available for online viewing at
www.regulations.gov, or in person viewing at the Office of
Environmental Information Docket in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA
West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC. The EPA/DC
Public Reading Room is open from 8 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 Office of
Environmental Information Docket is 202-566-1752.
Use EPA's electronic docket and comment system at
www.regulations.gov, to submit or view public comments, access the
index listing of the contents of the docket, and to access those
documents in the docket that are available electronically. Once in the
system, select ``docket search,'' then key in the docket ID number
identified above. Please note that EPA's policy is that public
comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper, will be made
available for public viewing at www.regulations.gov as EPA receives
them and without change, unless the comment contains copyrighted
material, confidential business information (CBI), or other information
whose public disclosure is restricted by statute. For further
information about the electronic docket, go to www.regulations.gov.
Title: General Administrative Requirements for Assistance Programs
(Renewal).
ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 0938.18, OMB Control Number 2030-0020.
ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on April 30, 2012.
Under OMB regulations, the Agency may continue to conduct or sponsor
the collection of information while this submission is pending at OMB.
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
in title 40 of the CFR, after appearing in the Federal Register when
approved, are listed in 40 CFR part 9, are displayed either by
publication in the Federal Register or by other appropriate means, such
as on the related collection instrument or form, if applicable. The
display of OMB control numbers in certain EPA regulations is
consolidated in 40 CFR part 9.
Abstract: The information is collected from applicants/recipients
of EPA assistance to monitor adherence to the programmatic and
administrative
[[Page 24487]]
requirements of the Agency's financial assistance program. It is used
to make awards, pay recipients, and collect information on how Federal
funds are being spent. EPA needs this information to meet its Federal
stewardship responsibilities. This ICR renewal requests authorization
for the collection of information under EPA's General Regulation for
Assistance Programs, which establishes minimum management requirements
for all recipients of EPA grants or cooperative agreements (assistance
agreements). Recipients must respond to these information requests to
obtain and/or retain a benefit (Federal funds). 40 CFR part 30,
``Grants and Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education,
Hospitals and Other Non-profit Organizations,'' includes the management
requirements for potential grantees from non-profit organizations. 40
CFR part 31, ``Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and
Cooperative Agreements to State and Local Governments,'' includes the
management responsibilities for potential State and local government
grantees. These regulations include only those provisions mandated by
statute, required by OMB Circulars, or added by EPA to ensure sound and
effective financial assistance management. This renewal request also
incorporates reporting and audit requirements associated with
assistance programs funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act (ARRA) of 2009 (previously approved under Emergency ICR Number
2351.01). This ICR combines all of these requirements under OMB Control
Number 2030-0020. The information required by these regulations will be
used by EPA award officials to make assistance awards and assistance
payments and to verify that the recipient is using Federal funds
appropriately to comply with OMB Circulars A-21, A-87, A-102, A-110, A-
122, and A-133, which set forth the pre-award, post-award, and after-
the-grant requirements.
Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 24
hours per respondent. 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 which have subsequently changed; 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: Applicants and recipients of EPA
assistance agreements.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 8,391.
Frequency of Response: On occasion, quarterly or semiannually, and
annually.
Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 205,365.
Estimated Total Annual Cost: $11,071,840. This includes an
estimated labor cost of $11,071,840 and $0 for annualized capital or
O&M costs.
Changes in the Estimates: There is an increase of 70,768 hours in
the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of
Approved ICR Burdens. This increase resulted from the incorporation of
reporting and audit requirements for program areas under which grants
were funded for the ARRA, addition and elimination of some grant forms
as well as updates to the estimated number of respondents, the annual
submissions per respondent, and the burden hours for completion of the
grant forms under the ICR.
John Moses,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 2012-9798 Filed 4-23-12; 8:45 am]
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