This change to
the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) Program ICR, to
implement provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
of 2009 (ARRA), is approved. This change transfers 271,520 hours of
burden from Emergency ICR 2030-0046, which expires on Sept 30,
2009, to this ICR, and approves EPAs collection of 5 additional
data items required by EPA to meet the requirements of ARRA that
were not previously approved under this ICR. These are: Last
Construction Contract Executed (Date); Construction Start Date;
Construction Completed Date; Is Project Green Infrastructure; and
Green Infrastructure Amount. The additional burden primarily
reflects the increase in grant applicants and awards expected as a
result of ARRA, as well as accounting for the new reporting
requirements. Additionally, OMB notes that EPA is providing States
with the options of entering information required under ARRA
Section 1512 into the DWSRF Project Benefits Reporting System
(PBRS). This option provides states with an ARRA data entry
mechanism to improve data quality and consistency of reported
information. Once the information is entered in PBRS, States can
download a spreadsheet formatted for direct upload into
FederalReporting.gov. However, since recipients are required to
submit the Section 1512 data directly to FederalReporting.gov,
States will need to submit those data on their own accord on a
quarterly basis beginning in October 2009 as stipulated in the
final OMB reporting guidance. The collection of Section 1512 data
in FederalReporting.gov is separately authorized by OMB control
number 0430-0004. This option (to report 1512 data to PBRS and
download a spreadsheet formatted for FederalReporting.gov) is
purely voluntary; States wishing to use some other method of
reporting to FederalReporting.gov are free to do so. It is indended
merely to assist States in their 1512 reporting. OMB understands
that when EPA renews this collection (which expires on 2/28/2010),
the above listed items will be incorporated into the supporting
statement for the ICR. Additionally, EPA will include these
specific items in the two requests for public comment that precede
the submission of the ICR to OMB.
Inventory as of this Action
Requested
Previously Approved
02/28/2010
02/28/2010
02/28/2010
3,213
0
1,556
468,390
0
196,870
0
0
0
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)
Amendments of 1996 (Public Law 104-182) authorized the creation of
the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) program in each
State and Puerto Rico to assist public water systems to finance the
costs of infrastructure needed to achieve or maintain compliance
with SDWA requirements and to protect public health. Section 1452
authorizes the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) to award capitalization grants to the States and
Puerto Rico who, in turn, provide low-cost loans and other types of
assistance to eligible drinking water systems. States can also
reserve a portion of their grants to conduct various set-aside
activities. The information collection activities will occur
primarily at the program level through the (1) Capitalization Grant
Application and Agreement/State Intended Use Plan; (2) Biennial
Report; (3) Annual Audit; and (4) Assistance Application Review.
Information collected is needed for input into the DWSRF National
Information Management System.
Justification for increase:
This increase is due to the ARRA increase in grants that was
previously approved under an Emergency ICR (OMB #2030-0046) that
expires 09/30/2009.
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.
1803j07 final.doc
Safe Drinking Water Act State Revolving Fund Programs - Application Review