Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Information Collection Request for Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR)
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Abstract
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), "Information Collection Request for Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR)" (EPA ICR No. 2606.03, OMB Control No. 2040-0297) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act . Before doing so, EPA is soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described below. This is a proposed extension of the LCRR ICR with additional information on the potential burden that may result from respondents (public water systems, primacy agencies, and EPA) consulting EPA's recommendations in "Guidance for Developing and Maintaining a Service Line Inventory" (August 2022, EPA 816-B-22-001) (referred to as Service Line (SL) Inventory Guidance) when seeking to comply with the requirements of the LCRR. 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. While this ICR covers a period of time following the LCRR compliance date, October 16, 2024, EPA intends to revise many parts of the LCRR through the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) prior to that compliance date. EPA intends to promulgate LCRI by October 16, 2024. EPA intends to issue an ICR that would revise the information collection to reflect the requirements under LCRI when it proposes and promulgates the LCRI.
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 140 (Monday, July 24, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 140 (Monday, July 24, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47496-47500]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-15616]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OW-2017-0300; FRL-11162-01-OW]
Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request;
Information Collection Request for Lead and Copper Rule Revisions
(LCRR)
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to
submit an information collection request (ICR), ``Information
Collection
[[Page 47497]]
Request for Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR)'' (EPA ICR No.
2606.03, OMB Control No. 2040-0297) to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act . Before doing so, EPA is soliciting public comments on
specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described
below. This is a proposed extension of the LCRR ICR with additional
information on the potential burden that may result from respondents
(public water systems, primacy agencies, and EPA) consulting EPA's
recommendations in ``Guidance for Developing and Maintaining a Service
Line Inventory'' (August 2022, EPA 816-B-22-001) (referred to as
Service Line (SL) Inventory Guidance) when seeking to comply with the
requirements of the LCRR. 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. While this ICR covers
a period of time following the LCRR compliance date, October 16, 2024,
EPA intends to revise many parts of the LCRR through the Lead and
Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) prior to that compliance date. EPA
intends to promulgate LCRI by October 16, 2024. EPA intends to issue an
ICR that would revise the information collection to reflect the
requirements under LCRI when it proposes and promulgates the LCRI.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before September 22, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2017-0300, online using <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> (our preferred method), by
email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#eba7a8b9b9ab8e9b8ac58c849d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="feb2bdacacbe9b8e9fd0999188">[email protected]</span></a>, or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental
Protection Agency, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW,
Washington, DC 20460.
EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the
public docket without change including any personal information
provided, unless the comment includes profanity, threats, information
claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amina Grant, Standards and Risk
Management Division, Office of Water, Environmental Protection Agency,
Mail Code 4607M, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460;
telephone number: 202-564-7683; email address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#551227343b217b14383c3b34153025347b323a23"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="733401121d075d321e1a1d12331603125d141c05">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supporting documents that explain in detail
the information that EPA will be collecting are available in the public
docket for this ICR. The docket can be viewed online at
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>, Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2017-0300, or in person at
the EPA Docket Center, WJC West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW,
Washington, DC. The telephone number for the Docket Center is 202-566-
1744. For additional information about EPA's public docket, visit
<a href="http://www.epa.gov/dockets">http://www.epa.gov/dockets</a>.
Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq, EPA is soliciting comments and information to
enable it to: (i) evaluate 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) evaluate 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) enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
(iv) minimize 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. EPA is also requesting comment on the
potential burden and costs associated with the non-binding voluntary
recommendations in EPA's ``Guidance for Developing and Maintaining a
Service Line Inventory,'' or SL Inventory Guidance, and the inventory
templates provided in Appendix A of the guidance document. In addition,
EPA is requesting comment on the recommendations in the SL Inventory
Guidance about how to implement the LCRR requirement that public water
systems (PWS) internally track address the locations of each service
line. EPA will consider the comments received and amend the ICR, as
appropriate. The final ICR package will then be submitted to OMB for
review and approval. At that time, EPA will issue another Federal
Register notice to announce the submission of the ICR to OMB and the
opportunity to submit additional comments to OMB.
Abstract: On January 15, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) published in the Federal Register (FR) the ``National
Primary Drinking Water Regulations: Lead and Copper Rule Revisions''
(LCRR) (86 FR 4198). In a subsequent action on June 16, 2021, EPA
published the ``National Primary Drinking Water Regulations: Lead and
Copper Rule Revisions; Delay of Effective and Compliance Dates'' (86 FR
31939), which set the new effective date for the LCRR as December 16,
2021, and the compliance date as October 16, 2024. Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) approved the initial ``Information Collection Request
for Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR)'' on July 25, 2022, and set
the renewal date as December 31, 2023. Therefore, this ICR renewal
characterizes the incremental impacts of the LCRR in terms of the
burden and costs for the three years after December 31, 2023 (January
1, 2024, through December 31, 2026). Also, this ICR modifies the
extension to the ICR titled, ``Disinfectants/Disinfection Byproducts,
Chemical, and Radionuclides Rules'' (80 FR 78224, December 16, 2015,
OMB control number 2040-0204), which estimates the burden and costs
associated with the previous Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) as well as
other rules.
In addition to the renewal of the ``Information Collection Request
for Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR),'' this ICR includes
information on the potential burden that may result from respondents
(public water systems, primacy agencies, and EPA) that choose to follow
recommendations included in EPA's ``Guidance for Developing and
Maintaining a Service Line Inventory'' (August 2022, EPA 816-B-22-001)
when seeking to comply with the inventory requirements of the LCRR over
the same three-year period of January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2026.
While this ICR covers a period of time following the LCRR compliance
date, EPA intends to revise the LCRR prior to the compliance date. EPA
intends to promulgate the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) by
October 16, 2024 and revise many rule areas of the LCRR. The following
summary of the LCRR and the estimated burden and costs associated with
this ICR renewal for the LCRR describe what would happen without
promulgation of the LCRI and is provided for the reader to understand
the information that would be collected if the LCRI is not promulgated.
However, EPA intends to promulgate the LCRI. At that time, EPA also
intends to issue a new ICR that would describe and assess the revised
burden and costs to reflect the LCRI when EPA proposes and promulgates
the LCRI.
The LCRR revised the previous version of this National Primary
Drinking Water Regulation and requires community and non-transient non-
[[Page 47498]]
community water systems to optimize corrosion control and, under
specified conditions, install source water treatment, conduct public
education, and replace lead service lines (LSLs) in the distribution
system. The LCRR also expands public education requirements for lead,
requires greater public access to information on lead, and further
emphasizes lead reduction for sensitive subpopulations by requiring
additional lead in drinking water testing at schools and child care
facilities. The LCRR is designed to identify and reduce lead exposure
at systems with elevated lead concentrations in their drinking water by
establishing a lead trigger level (TL) of 0.010 milligrams per liter
(mg/L) in addition to the lead action level (AL) of 0.015 mg/L that was
established under the previous rule (a system's lead concentration is
measured as the 90th percentile water lead level derived from a set of
samples collected at consumers taps during each monitoring period). See
the LCRR final rule Federal Register for detailed information on the
specific regulatory requirements (86 FR 4198, January 15, 2021).
Water systems required to comply with the regulation include
Federal, State, Tribal, and local governmental entities as well as
private entities. States (and Tribes) that have been granted primary
enforcement authority (i.e., primacy) for the LCR are responsible for
overseeing rule implementation by systems within their jurisdiction. In
instances where a State or Tribe does not have primacy, the EPA Region
is the primacy agency. Systems demonstrate compliance through reporting
the analytical results of collected samples, LSL statistics (both the
number of LSLs present in a system and the number of LSLs replaced
following a TLE or ALE), and other information to the primacy agency.
Systems use this data to demonstrate compliance, assess treatment
options, operate and maintain installed treatment, and communicate
water quality information to consumers served by the system. Primacy
agencies use the data to determine compliance, designate treatment to
be installed, and set enforceable operating parameters. Primacy
agencies are also required to report a subset of the data to EPA, which
uses this information to protect public health by ensuring compliance
with the LCR, measuring progress toward meeting the LCR's goals, and
evaluating the appropriateness of State and Tribal implementation
activities. The information reported by primacy agencies to EPA can be
found in the Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS).
In 2024, the first year of the LCRR ICR renewal period, which
includes the October 16, 2024 LCRR compliance date, PWSs should still
be engaged in the regulatory startup activities identified in the
original ``Information Collection Request for Lead and Copper Rule
Revisions (LCRR).'' These activities include reading and understanding
the LCRR, assigning personnel and resources for rule implementation,
attending training and receiving technical assistance from the State,
developing initial LSL inventories and submitting demonstrations for
systems that do not have lead, galvanized requiring replacement (GRR),
and unknown service lines, and conferring with primacy agencies on
initial planning for lead service line replacement (LSLR) and
preparation of an LSLR plan when lead, GRR, and unknown service lines
are present. During this same period, primacy agencies will conduct
startup activities that include adopting the rule and developing a
program to implement it, modifying their data systems, providing system
staff with training and technical assistance, providing internal staff
with training for implementation, assisting with initial LSL
inventories and reviewing initial inventories, reviewing demonstrations
of no LSLs, GRRs, and unknown lines from systems, and conferring with
systems on initial planning for LSLR and reviewing the LSLR plan.
Following the LCRR compliance date, both systems and primacy
agencies must work to implement several ongoing and additional
regulatory requirements. The resultant ICR related burden and costs
associated with these implementation activities are estimated in years
2025 and 2026 of this ICR renewal. The LCRR ICR water system activities
occurring in years 2025 and 2026 include ongoing rule implementation
and administration, lead and copper tap monitoring, corrosion control
treatment (CCT), find-and-fix, water quality parameter monitoring,
source water monitoring, LSL inventory updates, LSLR, small system
point-of-use (POU) treatment as a compliance alternative,\1\ lead
public education and outreach, public notification, and lead in
drinking water testing programs at schools and child care
facilities.\2\ During this same period, the burden and cost to primacy
agencies stems from their review and oversight of the activities
associated with each of the PWS requirements outlined above as well as
training staff and managing data systems. See the LCRR final rule
Federal Register publication for detailed information on the specific
regulatory requirements to occur in the years 2024, 2025, and 2026 (86
FR 4198, January 15, 2021). However, note that EPA intends to revise
many of the parts of LCRR through LCRI prior to the October 16, 2024,
compliance date, including a future ICR associated with the LCRI.
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\1\ The replacement of lead bearing plumbing compliance option
for small system flexibility is not costed out in this ICR or the
Economic Analysis for the Final Lead and Copper Rule Revisions. EPA
lacks the system characteristic data that would allow the Agency to
determine a small system's cost for replacement of lead-bearing
plumbing materials because of the significant variability among
systems and the plumbing materials in the buildings they serve. EPA
assumes a system would only select the replacement of lead-bearing
plumbing materials compliance option if it cost less than the three
other alternative compliance options (LSLR, CCT, and POU).
\2\ Note the degree of burden and cost associated with the
majority of these activities is dependent on sampled water lead
levels at individual systems.
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In this ICR, EPA is also assessing the potential burden and cost to
public water systems, primacy agencies, and EPA that choose to follow
the non-binding recommendations made by EPA in its ``Guidance for
Developing and Maintaining a Service Line Inventory'' (August 2022, EPA
816-B-22-001), when seeking to comply with the inventory requirements
of the LCRR over the same three-year period (January 1, 2024 through
December 31, 2026).\3\
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\3\ The SL Inventory Guidance document is not a regulation
itself nor does it change or substitute for the relevant provisions
and requirements in the Safe Drinking Water Act and LCRR. Thus, it
does not impose legally binding requirements on EPA, primacy
agencies, or the regulated community. The document does not confer
legal rights or impose legal obligations on EPA, primacy agencies,
the regulated community, or any member of the public.
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The purpose of the SL Inventory Guidance is to assist water systems
as they develop and maintain their service line inventories and to
provide primacy agencies with needed information for oversight and
reporting to EPA. The guidance covers the lifecycle of the inventory,
including inventory creation, material investigations, system
reporting, primacy agency review, public accessibility of service line
information, and service line consumer notification. In addition, the
guidance provides best practices, case studies, and templates related
to topics, such as the classification of service line materials; best
practices for service line material investigations; inventory form and
format; inventory accessibility; tools to support inventory development
and data tracking; and ways to prioritize service line investigations.
More specifically, in this ICR, EPA assessed the potential
incremental
[[Page 47499]]
burden and cost associated with the general recommendations for PWSs
to: create an initial inventory that is as thorough as possible;
provide, in the publicly accessible inventory, location identifiers for
all service lines that are sufficiently detailed to allow the
identification of a specific service line; expand inventories to
include service line subclassifications, other plumbing components such
as lead connectors, and other details such as source of information,
pipe diameter, and installation date; conduct interviews with
experienced staff and plumbers to help focus the inventory effort and
locate system records; interview neighboring water systems about
regional construction practices; consider inventory practices as
something that can be worked into the day-to-day activities of the
system rather than treated as an independent effort; consider
developing or modifying SOPs to document how they will collect service
line information during normal operations and update their inventories;
partner with plumbers and other third parties to obtain information on
service line materials; document the records they reviewed (including
information from past reviews) as a best practice and include the
source of the material classification in their inventory; and continue
to gather information on service line materials after the lines have
been classified and assess the accuracy of historical records.
The ICR also assesses the potential burden and cost impacts of the
SL Inventory Guidance recommendations associated with the LCRR
requirement to update the inventory.\4\ The guidance recommends that
PWSs begin engaging customers and conducting proactive, on-site service
line material investigations as soon as possible to improve their
inventory, verify existing records, and reduce the number of unknowns.
The service line investigative techniques discussed in the SL Inventory
Guidance include visual observation, water quality sampling, predictive
modeling, and excavation.
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\4\ The LCRR requires submission of the updated version of the
inventory on the same schedule as a system's tap sampling
monitoring, but no more frequently than annually (40 CFR
141.90(e)(3)).
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A third category of potential burden and costs that could result
from PWSs choosing to implement the guidance recommendations are those
associated with public accessibility of the inventory. In the guidance,
EPA recommends that systems select the best method for sharing the
inventory data with the public given their data sharing infrastructure,
technological capabilities, and staff limitations. Online systems could
share data in the form of interactive maps or downloadable spreadsheets
on the system's website or through other cloud-based sharing apps or
FTP/SFTP servers. For PWSs that do not have an online system to
disseminate inventory data, EPA recommends that these PWSs consider
developing such a system. Alternatively, in the guidance, EPA suggests
that information can be shared in a tabular data format in preexisting
utility mailings or newsletters.
Appendix A of the SL Inventory Guidance also provides templates to
assist primacy agencies and PWSs to standardize and potentially
simplify the inventory development and update process.\5\ For detailed
information on the SL Inventory Guidance recommendations and templates,
see <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/revised-lead-and-copper-rule">https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/revised-lead-and-copper-rule</a>.
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\5\ See EPA's website at <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/revised-lead-and-copper-rule">https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/revised-lead-and-copper-rule</a> for a downloadable,
spreadsheet version of the template that contains forms and
additional sheets for inventory tracking.
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Form Numbers: None.
Respondents/affected entities: Data associated with this ICR are
collected and maintained by PWS and State, Territorial, Tribal, and
Federal governments. Respondents include:
<bullet> Owners/operators of PWSs, who must report to their primacy
agency.
<bullet> Primacy agencies, and the EPA Regions that act as primacy
agencies for States, Territories, and Tribal lands that do not have
primacy.
The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for
privately owned PWSs is 22131. The NAICS codes for State agencies that
include drinking water programs are 92411 (Administration of Air and
Water Resources and Solid Waste Management Programs) or 92312
(Administration of Public Health Programs). Ancillary systems (systems
where providing water is ancillary to a primary business, e.g., mobile
home parks) cannot be categorized in a single NAICS code. For ancillary
systems, the NAICS code is that of the primary establishment or
industry.
Respondent's obligation to respond: This collection has both
mandatory and voluntary components. The mandatory data collection is
associated with the regulatory requirements of the LCRR. The authority
for this collection is derived from different parts of SDWA, including
the definition for a ``primary drinking water regulation'' under
section 1401(1)(D) of SDWA, which requires that a ``primary drinking
water regulation means a regulation'' that ``contains criteria and
procedures to assure a supply of drinking water which dependably
complies with such maximum contaminant levels [or treatment techniques
promulgated in lieu of a maximum contaminant level]; including accepted
methods for quality control and testing procedures to [e]nsure
compliance with such levels and to [e]nsure proper operation and
maintenance of the system . . .'' Furthermore, section 1445(a)(1)(A) of
SDWA requires that ``[e]very person who is subject to any requirement
of this subchapter or who is a grantee, shall establish and maintain
such records, make such reports, conduct such monitoring, and provide
such information as the Administrator may reasonably require by
regulation to assist the Administrator in establishing regulations
under this subchapter, in determining whether such person has acted or
is acting in compliance with this subchapter . . .'' In addition,
section 1413(a)(3) of SDWA requires primacy agencies to ``keep such
records and make such reports . . . as the Administrator may require by
regulation.''
A portion of the estimated burden and costs associated with this
ICR come from activities PWSs and primacy agencies may implement based
on the non-binding recommendations, provided in EPA's SL Inventory
Guidance, on the development and maintenance for the LCRR-required
initial LSL inventory and subsequent updates to that inventory. Based
on the recommendations and best practices included in the SL Inventory
Guidance, EPA anticipates that PWSs that choose to implement some or
all of the recommendations and best practices may achieve benefits,
such as having a more accurate service line inventory that helps
facilitate LCRR compliance, improving LSLR program efficiency and
transparency, providing greater public health protection, potentially
assisting in obtaining external funds for inventory development and
LSLR, improving asset management, and providing potential cost savings.
A more robust inventory that uses these recommendations may provide
primacy agencies with more accurate information for oversight and
reporting.
Estimated number of respondents: The total number of respondents
for this ICR is 67,712. Fifty-six of these respondents are primacy
agencies and the remaining 67,656 respondents are water systems.
Frequency of response: The estimated total net average annual
number of
[[Page 47500]]
responses is 56,055,890 (55,356,286 system responses plus 699,604
primacy agency responses).
Total estimated burden: The total net annual respondent burden
associated with this ICR is estimated to be 9,660,286 hours (per year).
Burden is defined at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
Total estimated cost: The total net annual costs are estimated to
be $641,162,423 per year.
Changes in Estimates: There is an increase between 25,592,837 and
25,809,781 hours \6\ in the total estimated respondent burden compared
with the ICR currently approved by OMB. This increase is primarily due
to the differing ICR burden estimation windows. The previous ICR
covered the first three years after the promulgation of the LCRR when
PWSs and primacy agencies should be engaged in the regulatory startup/
implementation activities identified in the original ``Information
Collection Request for Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR)'' or the
currently approved ICR. These activities include reading and
understanding the LCRR, assigning personnel and resources for rule
implementation, attending training and receiving technical assistance
from the State, developing initial LSL inventories and submitting
demonstrations that systems only have non-lead service lines (where
applicable), and conferring with primacy agencies on initial planning
for LSLR and preparing an LSLR plan when LSLs are present. During this
same period, primacy agencies should be conducing startup activities
that include adopting the rule and developing a program to implement
it, modifying their data systems, providing system staff with training
and technical assistance, providing internal staff with training for
implementation, assisting with initial LSL inventories and reviewing
initial inventories, reviewing demonstrations of only non-lead service
lines from systems, and conferring with systems on initial planning for
LSLR and reviewing the LSLR plan. This proposed ICR covers these same
activities from the currently approved ICR in the first year of this
ICR renewal period (2024), but in the next two years (2025 and 2026) of
the ICR, both systems and primacy agencies must work to implement a
number of ongoing and additional regulatory requirements including
ongoing rule implementation and administration, lead and copper tap
monitoring, corrosion control treatment, find-and-fix, water quality
parameter monitoring, source water monitoring, LSL inventory updates,
LSL replacement, small system POU treatment as a compliance
alternative, lead public education and outreach, public notification,
and lead in drinking water testing programs at schools and child care
facilities. During this same period, the burden and cost to primacy
agencies stems from their review and oversite activities associated
with this larger set of the PWS requirements for 2025 and 2026. A
relatively small increase in burden is associated with systems and
primacy agencies voluntarily following recommendations associated with
EPA's SL Inventory Guidance. Approximately 3 million hours of the total
burden increase is attributable to inventory guidance activities not
already covered by the original LCRR impact analysis.
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\6\ The currently approved ICR provided a total burden range of
3,171,076 to 3,388,020 hours. The current analysis provides only a
single high-end estimate of 28,980,857 hours.
Jennifer McLain,
Director, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water.
[FR Doc. 2023-15616 Filed 7-21-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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</html>This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.