Notice2026-03599
Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations
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
February 24, 2026
Issuing agencies
Health and Human Services DepartmentCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
Abstract
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part of its continuing effort to reduce public burden and maximize the utility of government information, invites the general public and other Federal agencies the opportunity to comment on a continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This notice invites comment on a proposed information collection project titled: National Wastewater Surveillance System for Infectious Diseases to Inform Public Health Action. Data is collected by jurisdictions and submitted to CDC for analysis and presentation for public awareness and health actions.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 36 (Tuesday, February 24, 2026)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 36 (Tuesday, February 24, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8884-8886]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-03599]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[60Day-26-1422; Docket No. CDC-2026-0266]
Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and
Recommendations
AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS).
ACTION: Notice with comment period.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part
of its continuing effort to reduce public burden and maximize the
utility of government information, invites the general public and other
Federal agencies the opportunity to comment on a continuing information
collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This
notice invites comment on a proposed information collection project
titled: National Wastewater Surveillance System for Infectious Diseases
to Inform Public Health Action. Data is collected by jurisdictions and
submitted to CDC for analysis and presentation for public awareness and
health actions.
DATES: CDC must receive written comments on or before April 27, 2026.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2026-
0266 by either of the following methods:
<bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow
the instructions for submitting comments.
<bullet> Mail: Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information Collection Review
Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road
NE, MS H21-8, Atlanta, Georgia 30329.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
and Docket Number. CDC will post, without change, all relevant comments
to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>.
Please note: Submit all comments through the Federal eRulemaking
portal (<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>) or by U.S. mail to the address listed
above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on the
proposed project or to obtain a copy of the information collection plan
and instruments, contact Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information Collection
Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton
Road NE, MS H21-8, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; Telephone: 404-639-7570;
Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2f40424d6f4c4b4c01484059"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3c53515e7c5f585f125b534a">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), federal agencies must obtain approval from
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of
information they conduct or sponsor. In addition, the PRA also requires
federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register
concerning each proposed collection of information, including each new
proposed collection, each proposed extension of existing collection of
information, and each reinstatement of previously approved information
collection before submitting the
[[Page 8885]]
collection to the OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, we
are publishing this notice of a proposed data collection as described
below.
The OMB is particularly interested in comments that will help:
1. 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;
2. 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;
3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected;
4. 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
submissions of responses; and
5. Assess information collection costs.
Proposed Project
National Wastewater Surveillance System for Infectious Diseases to
Inform Public Health Action (OMB Control No. 0920-1422, Exp. 12/31/
2026)--Revision--National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious
Diseases (NCEZID), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Background and Brief Description
The National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) was established
in 2020 at CDC and continues to serve as a public health tool to
provide wastewater surveillance for SARS-CoV-2. It has since expanded
to include wastewater surveillance for emerging infectious diseases of
public health concern such as Influenza, RSV, monkeypox virus, and
measles, and is designed to permit the rapid addition or exchange of
infectious disease targets for wastewater testing. This built-in
flexibility will allow jurisdictions to adapt wastewater surveillance
to changing public health needs, enable rapid responses to outbreaks or
emergencies, and support broad capacity to detect future infectious
disease threats.
Wastewater surveillance provides aggregated, anonymized data at the
community level to indicate RSV and influenza infection trends, measles
prevalence, and data on other infectious disease targets. This data
collection could also help inform jurisdictions early about outbreaks
leading to efficient resource allocation, providing health departments
with additional, independent surveillance data to assess community-
level infections.
CDC requests OMB approval for an additional three years and for an
estimated 453,505 annual burden hours. There are no costs to
respondents other than their time to participate.
Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average
Number of Number of burden per Annual burden
Type of respondents Form name respondents responses per response hours
respondent (in hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State, tribal, local, Component 1 Forms:... 64 2,080.......... 139/60 308,395.
territorial health <bullet> Attachment-
departments. 02_NWSS Data
Dictionary_v6.2.1_20
25-09-29_NEW.
<bullet> Attachment-
03_Wastewater_Master-
Reference-Guide_v4-2-
2.
<bullet> Attachment-
04_Component-
1_BioSample_ww_templ
ate_v1.9_NWSS.csv.
<bullet> Attachment-
05_SRA_ww_template_v
5.8_NWSS.csv.
<bullet> Attachment-
06_Component-
1_NCBI_DCIPHER_Cross
walk_DataDictionary.
csv_NEW.
<bullet> Attachment-
07_Component-1-
2_NWSS_DCIPHER_CSVBu
lkUploadTool_screens
hot.pdf.
<bullet> Attachment-
08_Component-
1_NWSS_1CDP_Wastewat
er_Data_CSV_Upload_T
emplate_v4_All
Fields_NEW.csv.
Private laboratory........... Component 1 Forms:... 1 Up to 62,400 139/60 144,560.
<bullet> Attachment- (800 samples
02_Component-1_NWSS per week plus
Data 400 sequenced
Dictionary_v5.0.0. samples per
<bullet> Attachment- week is 62,400
03 Component- annually).
1_CDC_seq_manifest_d
ata_dict.csv.
<bullet> Attachment-
04_Component-
1_BioSample_ww_templ
ate_v1.9_NWSS.csv.
<bullet> Attachment-
05_Component-
1_SRA_ww_template_v5
.7_NWSS.csv.
<bullet> Attachment-
06_Component-
1_NCBI_DCIPHER_Cross
walk_DataDictionary.
csv.
<bullet> Attachment-
07_Component-1-
2_NWSS_DCIPHER_CSVBu
lkUploadTool_screens
hot.pdf.
<bullet> Attachment-
08_Component-
1_NWSS_1CDP_Wastewat
er_Data_CSV_Upload_T
emplate_v4_All
Fields_NEW.csv.
<bullet> Attachment-
10_Component-
1_CDC_seq_manifest_d
ata_dict.xlsx.
State, tribal, local, Component 2 Forms:... 213 1.............. 155/60 550 (collection
territorial health <bullet> Sewershed only required
departments and wastewater spatial files, no once).
utilities. form required..
<bullet> Attachment-
07_Component-1-
2_NWSS_DCIPHER_CSVBu
lkUploadTool_screens
hot.pdf.
<bullet> Attachment-
09_Component-
2_NWSS_DCIPHER_Sewer
shed_Name_Crosswalk_
CSV_Upload_Template_
NEW.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Total.................... ..................... ........... ............... ........... 453,505.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 8886]]
Jeffrey M. Zirger,
Lead, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Scientific Public
Health Ethics and Regulations, Office of Science, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2026-03599 Filed 2-23-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on February 24, 2026.
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.