Attachment 2 - Copy of Consultations Message Sent by EPA to Potential Respondents

ATTACHMENT 2

Copy of Consultations Message Sent by EPA to Potential Respondents

Date: 02/24/2010

From: Ron Carlson/DC/USEPA/US

To: [Addressees noted in Supporting Statement section 3(c)]

Subject: Request for assistance; renewal of "Voluntary Cover Sheet for TSCA Submissions" ICR

On October 7, 2009, EPA published a Notice in the Federal Register (74 FR 51580) titled Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Voluntary Cover Sheet for TSCA Submissions; EPA ICR No. 1780.05, OMB Control No. 2070-0156. This Notice refers to EPA's intention to request renewed Office of Management and Budget (OMB) clearance of an information collection involving the completion of a voluntary cover form that enables the Agency more easily to collect, identify, process, store, retrieve and disseminate certain information and studies that industry submits under sections 4, 6 and 8 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). A public notice and comment period for this Notice continued through December 7, 2009, during which EPA received no comments.

In addition to the public notice and comment requirement that the above Notice initiated, OMB regulations at 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1) require agencies to consult with potential respondents and data users about specific aspects of an information collection request (ICR) before submitting it to OMB for review and approval, regardless, in the case of ICR renewals, of whether changes have or have not been made to the collection activity.

As part of this required consultation, I am contacting you to solicit your input. I will also note that, if you take this opportunity to provide input, your name, affiliation, e-mail address, phone number and any information you provide (e.g., copies of e-mails) will be incorporated and attached to the ICR supporting statement, which will be a public document. In addition, the OMB Desk Examiner for the ICR in question may contact you to verify the accuracy of any comments EPA identifies in the ICR.

EPA solicits your input on the following questions:

Are the data EPA seeks under this ICR available from any public source, or already collected by another EPA office or by another agency? If so, where can the data be found?

Is it clear what is required for data submission? If not, are there any suggestions for clarifying instructions?

Would you be interested in an electronic/data submission option? What type of alternative would you be most likely to utilize – web form, diskette, CD-ROM?

For electronic submission, how should signature requirements be handled – Private Key Infrastructure, PINS and passwords, signed paper cover sheet? How does TSCA CBI affect your choice or use of an electronic medium? Would you be more inclined to submit TSCA CBI on diskette than on paper and what benefits would you realize (e.g., burden reduction, greater efficiency in compiling information, etc).

Do you agree with EPA's estimated burden and costs (the ICR addresses only the costs associated with paperwork)? Are the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) labor rates accurate? If you have any reason to consider the BLS labor rates inaccurate or inappropriate as used by EPA, explain your rationale.

You can access the Federal Register Notice, the ICR Supporting Statement, and any other information in the docket at: http://www.regulations.gov/

- in the Enter Keyword or ID search box enter "EPA-HQ-OPPT-2009-0105" and click the "Search" button

- select "Open Docket Folder" to view the contents of the docket, including the ICR Supporting Statement; documents are generally available as Word documents and/or as PDFs

Your timely response will be greatly appreciated. If you have any comments in response to the above questions, or with respect to any other part of the information collection, please respond by return e-mail by March 19, 2010. EPA will consider those responses in preparing a final document for OMB review.

Thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely yours,

Ron Carlson, Environmental Protection Specialist

Information Management Division/Office of Pollution Prevention and

Toxics/Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances

Environmental Protection Agency

Washington, DC 20460

202-564-8631