Notice2024-27729
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Exchange Network Grants Progress Reports (Renewal)
Primary source
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Published
November 27, 2024
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an information collection request (ICR), Exchange Network Grants Program (EPA ICR Number 2207.09, OMB Control Number 2025-0006) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through November 30, 2024. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on September 19, 2024 during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 229 (Wednesday, November 27, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 229 (Wednesday, November 27, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 93575-93576]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-27729]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OEI-2006-0037; FRL-12444-01-OMS]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Exchange Network Grants Progress Reports (Renewal)
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an
information collection request (ICR), Exchange Network Grants Program
(EPA ICR Number 2207.09, OMB Control Number 2025-0006) to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with
the Paperwork Reduction Act. This is a proposed extension of the ICR,
which is currently approved through November 30, 2024. Public comments
were previously requested via the Federal Register on September 19,
2024 during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an
additional 30 days for public comments.
DATES: Comments may be submitted on or before December 27, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID Number EPA ICR
Number 2207.09, OMB Control Number 2025-0006 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.
Submit written comments and recommendations to OMB for the proposed
information collection within 30 days of publication of this notice to
<a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>. Find this particular information
collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for
Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin McGown, Environmental Protection
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; email address:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4a27292d253d24642f3823240a2f3a2b642d253c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d1bcb2b6bea6bfffb4a3b8bf91b4a1b0ffb6bea7">[email protected]</span></a>.
[[Page 93576]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a proposed extension of the ICR,
which is currently approved through November 30, 2024. 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.
Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register
on September 19, 2024 (89 FR 76826) during a 60-day comment period.
This notice allows for an additional 30 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>.
Abstract: The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of
Mission Support provides funding via grants to EPA's Exchange Network
partners (states, territories, and federally recognized Indian tribes)
to support the development of the Exchange Network (EN). The EN
facilitates the sharing of environmental data, especially through
shared and reusable services; streamlines data collection and exchanges
to improve timeliness for decision making; increases the quality and
access to environmental data; reduces burden and costs for co-
regulators and the regulated community; supports better decisions on
environmental and health issues; and increases capacity for
environmental data management for tribes and U.S. territories. As part
of the terms and conditions of the EN grant program, recipients are
required to submit the following forms: (i) Semi-Annual Progress
Reports (EPA Form 5300-26) twice annually throughout the lifetime of
the project, Final Progress Report (EPA Form 5300-26) within 120
calendar days after the period of performance end date, and the IT
Component and Project Registration Form, at the time of grant close-
out. The information gathered on items (i) and (ii) help EPA to ensure
that projects are on schedule to meet identified project goals and
produce high quality environmental outputs. The registration form (item
iii) provides a detailed summary of the completed project and any
developed/reused IT components; this information is made available to
future applicants to inform the development of their proposed projects,
promote the reuse of technologies, and connect to potential project
partners and mentors.
Form Numbers: 5300-26.
Respondents/affected entities: Employees of state, tribal, or
territorial environmental government offices.
Respondent's obligation to respond: Required to obtain or retain a
benefit (2 CFR part 200, ``Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost
Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards).
Estimated number of respondents: 223 (149 semi-annually for the
semi-annual progress report form; 38 annually for the IT Component and
Project Registration Form, and 38 annually for the Final Progress
Report Form).
Frequency of response: EPA assumes that each grant recipient will
submit two Semi-Annual Progress Report Forms each year the grant is
active. In addition, the grantees will submit the Final Progress Report
to RENC no later than 120 days after the grant performance period end
date. At this time, the IT Component and Project Registration Form will
likewise be submitted.
Total estimated burden: 493 hours (per year). Burden is defined at
5 CFR 1320.03(b).
Total estimated cost: $29,530 (per year), includes $0 annualized
capital or operation & maintenance costs.
Changes in the Estimates: There is a slight decrease of 15 (493
hours in 2024 vs 508 hours in 2021) hours in the total estimated
respondent burden as compared with the ICR currently approved by OMB.
The number of open active grants each year was estimated at 149, which
matches the 2021 estimate, as the number of new assistance agreements
has remained consistent since 2021. Estimates for the Final Progress
Reporting Form is also very similar to the 2021 estimate, with only a
slight increase in the number of expected closed-out grants (from 36 in
2021 to 38 in 2024). This slight increase reflects an expectation for
more EN assistance agreements to close out in the upcoming years, as
projects which were initially delayed due to workplace changes
associated with COVID-19 are now being completed. The slight decrease
in burden hours for respondents can be attributed primarily to the
retiring of the Quality Assurance Reporting Form, which was previously
required within 90 days of each new assistance agreement. There was a
new form added for this ICR, which was not present in the 2021 version.
The IT Component and Project Registration Form is a fillable PDF form,
that is submitted by the grantee to their Regional Exchange Network
Coordinator (RENC) at the time of grant close-out. As this form is due
at the time of grant close-out, the estimated number matches the
estimated number of Final Progress Reports (38). This new form is
estimated to take 2 hours to complete, which is a decrease of 0.6
compared to the retired Quality Assurance Reporting Form.
Courtney Kerwin,
Director, Regulatory Support Division.
[FR Doc. 2024-27729 Filed 11-26-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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