Notice2024-24843
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Brownfields Program-Accomplishment Reporting in Assessment, Cleanup and Redevelopment Exchange System (ACRES) (Revision)
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
October 25, 2024
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), Brownfields Program-- Accomplishment Reporting in Assessment, Cleanup and Redevelopment Exchange System (ACRES) (EPA ICR Number 2104.10, OMB Control Number 2050-0192) 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 ICR, which is currently approved through March 31, 2026. This notice allows for 60 days for public comments.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 207 (Friday, October 25, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 207 (Friday, October 25, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 85197-85198]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-24843]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OLEM-2024-0477; FRL 12345-01-OLEM]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Information
Collection Request; Comment Request; Brownfields Program--
Accomplishment Reporting in Assessment, Cleanup and Redevelopment
Exchange System (ACRES) (Revision)
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to
submit an information collection request (ICR), Brownfields Program--
Accomplishment Reporting in Assessment, Cleanup and Redevelopment
Exchange System (ACRES) (EPA ICR Number 2104.10, OMB Control Number
2050-0192) 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 ICR, which is currently approved through March 31,
2026. This notice allows for 60 days for public comments.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before December 24, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-
OLEM-2024-0477, to EPA online using <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> (our preferred
method), 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: Nicole Wireman, Office of Brownfields
and Land Revitalization, (5105T), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202)
566-2649; email address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d1a6b8a3b4bcb0bfffbfb8b2bebdb491b4a1b0ffb6bea7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f6819f84939b9798d8989f95999a93b6938697d8919980">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a proposed extension of the ICR,
which is currently approved through March 31, 2026. 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.
This notice allows 60 days for public comments. Supporting
documents, which explain in detail the information that the 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> 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 PRA, EPA is soliciting
comments and information to enable it to: (i) Evaluate whether the
proposed collection of information is necessary
[[Page 85198]]
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 forms of information technology. 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: This ICR covers the collection of information from those
organizations that receive cooperative agreements, contracts, and
Targeted Brownfields Assessment (TBA) funds from EPA under the
authority of the section 104(k) of the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) as amended by the
Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development (BUILD) Act
(Pub. L. 115-141). CERCLA 104(k), as amended, authorizes EPA to award
grants or cooperative agreements and contract funding to states,
tribes, local governments, other eligible entities, and nonprofit
organizations to support the assessment and cleanup of brownfields
sites. Under section 101(39) of CERCLA, a brownfields site means real
property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be
complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous
substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Cooperative agreement recipients
(``recipients'') have general reporting and record keeping requirements
as a condition of their cooperative agreement that result in burden. A
portion of this reporting and record keeping burden is authorized under
2 CFR part 1500 and identified in the EPA's general grants ICR (OMB
Control Number 2030-0020). EPA requires Brownfields program recipients
to maintain and report additional information to EPA on the uses and
accomplishments associated with funded brownfields activities. EPA has
expanded programmatic reporting requirements to include TBA contractors
and technical assistance contractors. EPA will use several forms to
assist recipients and contractors in reporting the information and to
ensure consistency of the information collected. EPA uses this
information to meet Federal stewardship responsibilities to manage and
track how program funds are being spent, to evaluate the performance of
the Brownfields Cleanup and Land Revitalization Program, to meet the
Agency's reporting requirements under the Government Performance and
Results Act, and to report to Congress and other program stakeholders
on the status and accomplishments of the program.
Form Numbers: EPA ICR No. 2104.10, OMB Control No. 2050-0192.
Respondents/affected entities: State/local/tribal governments; Non-
Profits; Contractors.
Respondent's obligation to respond: Required to obtain or Retain
Benefits (2 CFR part 1500).
Estimated number of respondents: 2,697 (total).
Frequency of response: Varies but generally bi-annual for subtitle
CERCLA 128 recipients and quarterly for CERCLA 104(k) recipients.
Total estimated burden: 11,548 hours (per year). Burden is defined
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
Total estimated cost: $1,622,953 (per year), which includes $0
annualized capital or operation & maintenance costs.
Changes in the Estimates: There is an increase of 7,740 hours in
the total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently
approved by OMB. The increase in reporting hours and cost is due to the
introduction of electronic quarterly and annual progress reporting
forms in ACRES for six cooperative agreement types. Recipients have
always been required to submit quarterly and annual progress reports
per their cooperative agreement terms and conditions, but this is the
first time an electronic form option is available in ACRES. Including
these forms in ACRES enables several fields to be prefilled with
existing ACRES data, saving the recipient significant time compared to
completing progress reporting outside of ACRES. This reporting
enhancement will enable a larger number of respondents to use forms
under this ICR, resulting in an overall increase in the total burden
hours. Yet the electronic forms are anticipated to result in an overall
decrease in burden hours per individual respondent. With respect to
ACRES forms previously submitted as part of this ICR, recipients
interviewed during the last few years have self-reported data entry
times at half the burden hours compared to previous estimates. This can
be attributed to the tremendous improvements in the ACRES database to
streamline reporting requirements over the past several years. The new
quarterly and annual reporting forms continue such efforts and will
help ensure recipients comply with their cooperative agreement terms
and conditions.
Patricia Overmeyer,
Acting Director, Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization.
[FR Doc. 2024-24843 Filed 10-24-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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