This Information Collection Request (ICR) is approved for 6 months and represents the expansion of the number of respondents associated with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) for several existing collections of information, as described below. In addition, this ICR covers additional data elements specifically required by and necessary for compliance with the ARRA if such are not covered explicitly under the pre-existing collections of information discussed below.
Specifically, this ICR approves the expansion of the respondent burden for information already approved to be collected under the following OMB numbers:
(a). Clean Water State Revolving Fund: OMB No. 2040Â0118 and OMB No. 2030-0020, ÂGeneral Administrative Requirements for Assistance Programs.Â
(b). Drinking Water State Revolving Fund: OMB No. 2040-0185, and OMB No. 2030-0020, ÂGeneral Administrative Requirements for Assistance Programs.Â
(c). Brownfields: OMB No. 2050-0192, and
OMB No. 2030-0020, ÂGeneral Administrative Requirements for Assistance Programs.Â
(d). Diesel Emissions Reduction Act:
OMB No. 2030-0020, ÂGeneral Administrative Requirements for Assistance Programs.Â
(e). Superfund Cooperative Agreement:
OMB No. 2030-0020, ÂGeneral Administrative Requirements for Assistance Programs.Â
(f). Leaking Underground Storage Tank Enforcement and Cleanup Program:
OMB No. 2030-0020, ÂGeneral Administrative Requirements for Assistance Programs.Â
In addition, this ICR authorizes the collection of the following additional data elements, as authorized by the ARRA.
Section 1512 of the AA specifies that agencies must collect the following information from funds recipients on a quarterly basis:
Â(A) the name of the project or activity;
(B) a description of the project or activity;
(C) an evaluation of the completion status of the project
or activity;
(D) an estimate of the number of jobs created and
the number of jobs retained by the project or activity;
and
(E) for infrastructure investments made by State and
local governments, the purpose, total cost, and rationale
of the agency for funding the infrastructure investment
with funds made available under this Act, and name of
the person to contact at the agency if there are concerns
with the infrastructure investment.
(4) Detailed information on any subcontracts or subgrants
awarded by the recipient to include the data elements required
to comply with the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency
Act of 2006 (Public Law 109Â282), allowing aggregate
reporting on awards below $25,000 or to individuals, as prescribed
by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.Â
Section 1511 of the ARRA specifies the following:
ÂWith respect to covered funds made available to State or local
governments for infrastructure investments, the Governor, mayor,
or other chief executive, as appropriate, shall certify that the infrastructure
investment has received the full review and vetting
required by law and that the chief executive accepts responsibility
that the infrastructure investment is an appropriate use of taxpayer
dollars. Such certification shall include a description of the investment,
the estimated total cost, and the amount of covered funds
to be used, and shall be posted on a website and linked to the
website established by section 1526.Â
This ICR does not authorize the collection of any other information not specified above. If the agency believes additional information is necessary to administer programs under the ARRA, it must submit a new or amended ICR request. This collection will be valid for six (6) months. If the EPA decides to continue use of the collection past the approved emergency request clearance time period, it must resubmit to OMB under the normal PRA clearance process.
table that charts list comparision
Inventory as of this Action
Requested
Previously Approved
09/30/2009
6 Months From Approved
16,425
0
0
757,504
0
0
0
0
0
This is a request for emergency clearance for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to collect information under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Act and the Implementing Guidance from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) include several provisions that require EPA to collect information from the public. Key provisions include the following:
- Recovery Act funding must be tracked and accounted for separately from other sources of funds, as provided by Sections 1.5 and 5.1 of the Implementing Guidance. In accordance with these provisions, EPA intends to enter into new, continuation, or renewal agreements with recipients of Recovery Act funds, so that these funds can be tracked and accounted for separately. This will result in incremental respondent activity and burden for establishing the agreements and complying with existing administrative requirements for the agreements post-award.
- Recipients of Federal funding are required to report specified information to the Federal agency providing the award 10 days after the end of each calendar quarter, as provided by Section 2.9 of the Implementing Guidance. EPA intends to implement this requirement by asking recipients to submit quarterly progress reports.
- Agencies are encouraged to undertake additional steps, beyond standard practice, to mitigate the unique implementation risks associated with Recovery Act funding, as provided in Section 5.3 of Implementing Guidance. Certain recipients may be asked to participate in such audits or investigations of their programs.
- Finally, agencies are required to conduct evaluations of their existing programs and modify them as needed to address the needs and risks of Recovery Act funding.
EPA is requesting an emergency clearance to enable it to fulfill the requirements and implementation schedules of the Act and Implementing Guidance. For example, the Implementing Guidance requires that, starting immediately, agencies must ensure all award documents and related communications include the clauses and provisions necessary to ensure award recipients are legally obligated and prepared to meet their reporting requirements under the Act. Without an emergency clearance, EPA would be unable to fulfill this requirement for immediate implementation.
This is a new ICR. The burden to respondents results from the requirements of the Act and Implementing Guidance for EPA to collect specified information from recipients of assistance agreements funded under the Act. Information must be submitted to EPA on a quarterly basis or as needed. EPA has taken steps to minimize burden on recipients, including consultation with potential recipients on their expectations and needs for burden reduction
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
Updated Stimulus ICR Supporting Statement 3-11-09.doc
Information Collections from Non-Profit Organizations