2048ss05 - Revised BEACH ICR

The Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act amends the Clean Water Act (CWA) in part and authorizes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to award BEACH Act Program Development and Implementation Grants to coastal and Great Lakes states, tribes, and territories (collectively referred to as states) for their beach monitoring and notification programs. The grants will assist those states to develop and implement a consistent approach to monitor recreational water quality; assess, manage, and communicate health risks from waterborne microbial contamination; notify the public of pollution occurrences, and post beach advisories and closures to prevent public exposure to microbial pathogens. To qualify for a BEACH Act Grant, a state must submit information to EPA documenting that its beach monitoring and notification program is consistent with 11 performance criteria outlined in the National Beach Guidance and Required Performance Criteria for Grants, 2014 Edition. For EPA to award a BEACH Act Grant, a state must document that its coastal monitoring and notification program includes or will include the following:

Risk-based beach evaluation and classification
Tiered monitoring plan
Methods and assessment procedures
Monitoring report submission
Delegation of monitoring responsibilities
Public notification and risk communication plan
Actions to notify the public
Notification report submission
Delegation of notification responsibilities
Preparation and submittals of schedules for adoption of new or revised WQS and identification and use of a beach notification threshold
Public evaluation of program

All beach program information will be collected by EPA’s Office of Science and Technology, stored in the Beach Database, and displayed on EPA’s Beaches website for use by the public, state environmental and public health agencies, and EPA.

2. Need for and Use of the Collection

2(a) Need/Authority for the Collection

The BEACH Act (Public Law 106-284) established a grant program to assist marine coastal and Great Lakes states in implementing a uniform monitoring and notification program for their coastal recreational waters. As a condition of receipt of a BEACH Act Grant, states must show evidence of meeting the 11 performance criteria and the conditions under the BEACH Act. Therefore, a state applying for a grant must submit information on its programs to its EPA Regional Coordinator to document that its program is consistent with the performance criteria.

2(b) Practical Utility/Users of the Data

Data will be used by EPA, state and local environmental and public health agencies, and the public. EPA will use the information submitted by a state to determine whether the state’s program is consistent with the performance criteria and the BEACH Act. State and local environmental and public health agencies will use the data as an indicator of program performance, and the public will use the data as reference to make informed decisions before going to the beach. The information provided by each state will also be used to report the status of beach monitoring and notification programs nationwide. A state must implement measures to notify EPA of the results of its water quality sampling. Therefore, these data will be used to create and maintain a national database of water quality trends, advisories, and closings.

3. Non-duplication, Consultations, and Other Collection Criteria

3(a) Non-duplication

The information requested from the states is required for receipt of a BEACH Act Grant and is not available from other sources. EPA has made every reasonable attempt to ensure that the beach monitoring and notification data and information requested through the BEACH Act Grant Program is not already available through less burdensome mechanisms.

3(b) Public Notice Required Prior to ICR Submission to OMB

EPA published the first Federal Register notice for this ICR on October 13, 2015 (80 FR 61419) requesting comment from the public on this ICR. No comments were received.

3(c) Consultations

EPA consulted with the following state beach coordinators, asking them to compare EPA’s average national state burden estimates with their state’s experience: Donalea Dinsmore (Wisconsin), Vanessa Curran (Massachusetts), Debby Sargeant (Washington) and Craig Davis (Texas). Based on these comments, the proposed costs (September 2015) were adjusted for these final estimates. The result is (as compared to the 2011 estimates) no significant increase (4 hours of 2400) in labor hours but an increase in O&M costs. Specifically, the labor hours associated with quality control processes and EPA notification hours were decreased based on implementation of automated processes (Massachusetts and Wisconsin comments). The O&M cost of sampling was increased from $30 to $35 per sample based on comments from Washington and Massachusetts. Texas commented that the labor hours appeared appropriate.

3(d) Effects of Less Frequent Collection

The requirement for a state to submit its monitoring and notification data is a statutory requirement under the BEACH Act. The frequency and format of such submittal is at the Administrator’s discretion [see CWA section 406(b)(B)(3)]. Since 2003, EPA has required states to submit their monitoring and notification data annually. However, to provide more up-to-date information to the public on the state of their beaches, the Agency is encouraging more frequent reporting. The Agency continues to expect state grant performance reports annually.

3(e) General Guidelines

The BEACH Act Grant Program will be conducted in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act [Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) section 1320.5(d)(2)] and will adhere to OMB’s general guidelines for information collections.

3(f) Confidentiality

Measures to ensure the confidentiality of the collected beach monitoring and notification data are not necessary because the information submitted by the respondents is public information.

3(g) Sensitive Questions

No information of sensitive nature will be collected as a result of this ICR.

4. The Respondents and the Information Requested

4(a) Respondents

Information collected by EPA under the BEACH Act will be submitted by environmental and public health agencies in coastal and Great Lakes states, territories, and tribes.

4(b) Information Requested

EPA is requiring states to provide information on how a beach monitoring and notification program is consistent with the following 11 performance criteria, developed from the BEACH Act and summarized in Table 1.

Table 1. BEACH Act Grant performance criteria summary

Category	Performance criteria	Requirement	BEACH Act section
Evaluation and Classification	1	Risk-based beach evaluation and classification	406(b)(2)(A)(ii-iv) 406(c)(1)
Monitoring	2	Tiered monitoring plan	406(c)(3
	3	Methods and assessment procedures	406(c)(4)
	4	Monitoring report submission	406(b)(3)(A), (B)
	5	Delegation of monitoring responsibilities	406(c)(2)
Public Notification and Prompt Risk Communication	6	Public notification and risk communication plan	406(c)(7)
	7	Actions to notify the public	406(c)(5)
	8	Notification report submission	406(b)(3)(A), (B)
	9	Delegation of notification responsibilities	406(c)(2)
Implementation Schedules	10	Preparation and submittals of schedules for adoption of new or revised WQS and identification and use of a beach notification threshold	406(a)(1)(A) and (B); 406(b)(2)(A)(i)
Public Evaluation	11	Public evaluation of program	406(b)(2)(A)(v)

Risk-based beach evaluation and classification process

A state must develop a risk-based beach evaluation and classification process and apply it to their coastal recreation waters. A state must describe the factors used in its evaluation and classification process and explain how its beaches are ranked using this process. The process must result in a list of beaches in the state’s beach program.

Tiered monitoring plan

A state must develop a tiered monitoring plan that can adapt to changing conditions and adequately protect public health. The plan must adequately address the frequency and locations and methods of monitoring and assessment of coastal waters.

Methods and assessment procedures

A state must develop a detailed methods and assessment procedures plan.

Monitoring report submission

A state must develop a mechanism to collect and report monitoring data in timely reports.

Delegation of monitoring responsibilities

A state must describe any delegation that they have made, or intend to make, to local governments to administer the beach monitoring program.

Public notification and risk communication plan

A state must develop public notification and risk communication plans.

Actions to notify the public

A state must give notice to the public that the coastal recreation waters are not meeting or are not expected to meet applicable water quality standards for pathogens and pathogen indicators.

Notification report submission

A state must compile their notification actions in timely reports submitted to EPA.

Delegation of notification responsibilities

A state must describe any delegation of notification responsibilities that they have made, or intend to make, to local governments to administer the beach notification program.

Adoption of new or revised WQS and identification and use of a beach notification threshold

A state must develop and implement schedules leading to adoption of new or revised WQS, or submit a request for a waiver, and for the identification and use of an appropriate beach notification threshold, including any support for an alternative threshold.

Public evaluation of program

A state must provide the public with an opportunity to review the program through public notice and an opportunity to comment.

5. The Information Collected-Agency Activities, Collection Methodology, and Information Management

5(a) Agency Activities

The BEACH Act Grant Program will be administered by EPA Headquarters and EPA Regional Offices, which have planned for and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management of the grant program. EPA is conducting the following activities in administering the BEACH Act grants:

EPA Headquarters is to monitor state programs annually to ensure compliance with the performance criteria.
EPA Regions are to monitor state programs annually to ensure compliance with the performance criteria.
EPA Regions and EPA Headquarters are to provide miscellaneous support to the states.
EPA Regions are to revise work plans and update the Quality Management Plan.
EPA Regions are to perform technical review of a Quality Assurance Project Plan and Grants Management Plan.
Regions are to ensure that a Quality Assurance Project Plan is complete before implementation.

5(b) Collection Methodology and Management

EPA created the Beach Advisory and Closing Online Notification (BEACON) system to meet the BEACH Act requirement that EPA establish and maintain a publicly available database of pollution occurrences for coastal recreation waters. Jurisdictions must report their water quality monitoring data (i.e., results of bacterial monitoring tests) and notification data (i.e., warnings to the public of contaminated beaches) to EPA at least annually or at a frequency required by the EPA Administrator. The eBEACHES system is set up so that states can directly transmit electronic data from their databases to EPA. EPA’s Central Data Exchange System receives the data electronically and automatically sends them to different EPA data systems: water quality data go to STORET, beach notification data go to PRAWN, and beach location data go to WATERS. All of these data can then be accessed by the public through BEACON. Electronic reporting is intended to achieve data collection efficiencies and reduce the possibility of data input error.

It is the state’s responsibility to conduct ongoing data analysis, including performing data quality assurance/quality control to check for anomalies in the data that might be related to data entry or laboratory errors. Data quality review and analysis will include continuous analysis of laboratory results, pollution occurrence events, public notification, and review of all program data. The data collected under the BEACH Act Grant Program will be used for program performance evaluation to determine if a state program is consistent with the National Beach Guidance and Required Performance Criteria for Grants, 2014 Edition to analyze pollution occurrences at beaches across the nation and report to Congress on the status of the nation’s recreation waters.

5(c) Small Entity Flexibility

Measures to assist small entities are not applicable because the respondents for the BEACH Act Grant Program are state government agencies. However, EPA may make a grant to a local government for implementing a monitoring and notification program only if, after the 1-year period beginning on the date of publication of performance criteria, EPA determines that the state is not implementing a program that meets the performance criteria.

5(d) Collection Schedule

A state must show evidence documenting its compliance with the 11 performance criteria as listed in the Federal Register and the National Beach Guidance and Required Performance Criteria for Grants, 2014 Edition to be eligible for a BEACH Act Grant.

6. Estimating the Burden and Cost of the Collection

6(a) Estimating Respondent Burden

The BEACH Act requires states to devote time and resources to implement a monitoring and notification program to meet the performance criteria outlined in the National Beach Guidance and Required Performance Criteria for Grants, 2014 Edition. To develop burden estimates, EPA estimated the number of hours that will be required by states to adhere to the following performance criteria:

• Risk-based beach evaluation and classification

• Tiered monitoring plan

• Methods and assessment procedures

• Monitoring report submission

• Delegation of monitoring responsibilities

• Public notification and risk communication plan

• Actions to notify the public

• Notification report submission

• Delegation of notification responsibilities

•Preparation and submittal of schedules for the adoption of new or revised WQS and identification and use of a beach notification threshold

• Public evaluation of program

The Agency estimated that implementing a monitoring and notification program in accordance with the 11 performance criteria will take an annual average of 91,276 hours and $11,353,146 O&M for all 38 respondents.

The following assumptions were made for this ICR on the basis of data collected by EPA and consultations with respondents listed in section 3(c):

The average beach (monitoring) season was assumed to be 26 weeks.
The average number of samples collected per week at each monitored beach during the beach season was assumed to be 2 samples.
The average cost of sample analysis was assumed to be $35 per sample.
The frequency of reporting to EPA is assumed to be quarterly.

6(b) Estimating Respondent Cost

The annual cost for a state to implement the performance criteria necessary to comply with the BEACH Act Grant Program are attributed to labor costs and O&M costs. The total cost burden over 3 years for the 38 states is estimated to be $46,359,924 which consists of $12,300,486 in labor costs and $34,059,438 in O&M costs.

Labor Costs

To develop labor costs, EPA multiplied the number of hours that will be required to implement the beach program by the state employee hourly rate to generate a cost estimate. Because labor rates vary so widely among the state government personnel involved in implementing a state monitoring and notification program, EPA used an average loaded hourly rate that is representative of the average salary for a managerial and technical state employee as listed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for full-time state and local government workers in the May 2014, National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates. The managerial salary (state government Management 11-0000 median) is calculated as the hourly rate of $40.51 multiplied by an overhead factor of 1.6 ($64.82). The technical salary (19-4000 Life, Physical and Social Science Technicians) is calculated as $22.74 multiplied by an overhead factor of 1.6 ($36.38). Table 2 presents an estimate of the burden that state governments will incur to meet each performance criterion outlined in the National Beach Guidance and Required Performance Criteria for Grants, 2014 Edition. The table identifies the activities to be performed by the state, the associated hours required for each activity, and the labor cost for each activity. Annual totals are presented at the end of Table 2.

Operation and Maintenance Costs

In addition to labor costs, the states and territories incur O&M costs associated with the analytical fees and shipping for the water quality samples. Non-labor costs for the 38 states are solely attributed to the laboratory fees that will be charged for analysis and to shipping charges for sending the sample bottles to the appropriate laboratory.

Table 2. Individual respondent 3-year state burden hours
Performance criterion	State activity	3-year		3-year		Total
		managerial burden		technical burden		3-year burden
		Total burden per activity (hours)	Total labor cost $64.82/hour (dollars)1	Total burden per activity (hours)	Total labor cost $36.38/hour (dollar) 1	Total burden per activity (hours)	Total labor cost
							(dollars)

1 - Risk-based Beach Evaluation and Classification Process	Identify factors used to evaluate and rank beaches.	3	$194	18	$655	21	$849
	Identify state or tribal coastal recreation waters.	2	$130	180	$6,548	182	$6,678
	Notify EPA at least annually if the list of beaches changes significantly because of revised beach rankings or changes to monitoring and notification requirements and considerations.	40	$2,593	240	$8,731	280	$11,324
	Provide for public review of the risk-based rank and classification.	10	$648	150	$5,457	160	$6,105
	Performance Criterion 1 total	55	$3,565	588	$21,391	643	$24,956
2 - Tiered Monitoring Plan	Adequately prioritize, in the tiered monitoring plan, the frequency, locations, and methods of monitoring and assessment of coastal waters.	100	$6,482	400	$14,552	500	$21,034
	Provide for public review of the tiered monitoring plan.	20	$1,296	120	$4,366	140	$5,662
	Develop appropriate quality control policies and procedures and submit adequate quality management plans and quality assurance project plans to EPA for approval.	300	$19,446	60	$2,183	360	$21,629
	Performance Criterion 2 total	420	$27,224	580	$21,101	1000	$48,325
3 - Methods and assessment procedures	Submit to EPA methods for characterizing water quality relative to human health in coastal recreation areas.	50	$3,241	250	$9,095	300	$12,336
	Provide documentation of the performance of methods other than those that EPA recommended or approved or validated.	40	$2,593	200	$7,276	240	$9,869
	Identify and submit to EPA procedures for assessing short-term increases in fecal indicator bacteria densities that indicate risk to human health in coastal recreation waters.	50	$3,241	200	$7,276	250	$10,517
	Performance Criterion 3 Total	140	$9,075	650	$23,647	790	$32,722
4 - Monitoring report submission	Make monitoring data available to the public, including posting on a website.	300	$19,446	1440	$52,387	1,740	$71,833
	Report monitoring data to EPA at least annually or a frequency that the EPA administrator determines. Reported data must be consistent with EPA reporting requirements. (See EPA grant website)	600	$38,892	600	$21,828	1,200	$60,720
	Performance Criterion 4 Total	900	$58,338	2040	$74,215	2940	$132,553
5 - Delegation of monitoring responsibilities	If a state delegates monitoring responsibilities to local governments, the states grant recipient must describe the process that the state follows.	6	$389	40	$1,455	46	$1,844
	Performance Criterion 5 Total	6	$389	40	$1,455	46	$1,844
6 - Public notification and risk communication plan	Identify measures to notify EPA and local governments (if applicable) when indicator bacteria levels exceed a beach notification threshold.	2	$130	40	$1,455	42	$1,585
	Identify measures to notify the public when a beach notification threshold has been exceeded by posting a sign or functional equivalent.	2	$130	40	$1,455	42	$1,585
	Identify measures that inform the public of the potential risks associated with water contact activities in the coastal recreation waters that do not meet applicable WQS.	2	$130	40	$1,455	42	$1,585
	Provide for public review of the public notification and risk communication plan.	2	$130	50	$1,819	52	$1,949
	Performance Criterion 6 Total	8	$520	170	$6,184	178	$6,704
7 - Actions to notify the public	Promptly issue a public notification for exceedance of the beach notification threshold when there is no reason to doubt the accuracy of the sample.	100	$6,482	600	$21,828	700	$28,310
	If there is a reason to doubt the accuracy of the first sample, the state agency may resample before issuing a notification.	100	$6,482	200	$7,276	300	$13,758
	Performance Criterion 7 Total	200	$12,964	800	$29,104	1000	$42,068
8 - Notification Report Submission	States and tribes must report to EPA at least annually, or at a frequency the EPA Administrator determines, on the occurrence, nature, location, pollutants involved, and extent of any exceedances of any WQS for pathogens and pathogen indicators.	120	$7,778	72	$2,619	192	$10,397
	Performance Criterion 8 Total	120	$7,778	72	$2,619	192	$10,397
9 - Delegation of notification responsibilities	States must identify any local governments to which they have delegated responsibility for implementing a notification program and describe the process by which the state may delegate such authority.	6	$389	18	$655	24	$1,044
	Performance Criterion 9 Total	6	$389	18	$655	24	$1,044
10 – Adoption of new or revised WQS and identification and use of a beach notification threshold	Develop and implement two separate schedule to adopt new or revised WQS by FY 2016 and to identify and use a beach notification threshold by FY 2016.	300	$19,446	100	$3,638	400	$23,084
	Before identification and use of a new beach notification threshold, continue to make beach notification decisions using the existing threshold based on the currently applicable WQS, e.g., SSM.	0	$0	0	$0	0	$0
	Performance Criterion 10 Total	300	$19,446	100	$3,638	400	$23,084
11 - Public evaluation of program	Provide an opportunity for the public to comment on the: Beach evaluation and classification process; Sampling design and monitoring plan; and Public notification and risk communication plan. [Already accounted for under 1, 2 and 6.]	0	$0	0	$0	0	$0
	Performance Criterion 11 Total	0	$0	0	$0	0	$0
Total		2,155	$139,688	5,058	$184,009	7,213	$323,697
Annual Total		718	$46,563	1,686	$61,336	2,404	$107,899

The O&M costs were calculated as an average for the 6,238 coastal and Great Lakes beaches identified in EPA’s BEACON database (the most recent version available) for the 38 states and territories eligible to participate in the BEACH Act Grant Program. EPA obtained laboratory fees and shipping costs from testing labs and estimated the cost to be $35 per sample. The cost for each state was calculated using the equation below:

6,238 beaches × 2 samples (twice per week) x 26 week season × $35/sample = $298,767/state

38 states

EPA estimates an annual O&M cost of $298,767 per state, an annual total O&M cost of $11,353,146 for all 38 states, and a total O&M cost of $34,059,438 for 38 states over 3 years.

6(c) Estimating Agency Burden and Cost

The BEACH Act requires EPA to devote time and resources to manage the grant program.EPA administers BEACH Act grants according to the EPA grant regulations at 40 CFR part 31 and the statutory requirements in Clean Water Act section 406.

EPA regional offices have the lead responsibility for providing grant application packages and administering the grants. After EPA makes the yearly BEACH Act grant funding available, each EPA region sends a “funding opportunity letter” to each of the 38 jurisdictions eligible under the Clean Water Act for a beach grant. The jurisdictions apply for the grant by electronically submitting grant application materials to their EPA Region through the grants.gov website. The Regions work closely with the jurisdictions eligible for the grants providing any assistance necessary. The program has awarded all funds to all jurisdictions every since the grants were first authorized under the Clean Water Act.

There is no beach program regulation associated with these grants; however, the Beach program is governed by the Recreational Water Quality Criteria, revised in 2012, and the grant guidance, National Beach Guidance and Required Performance Criteria for Grants (EPA-823-B-14-001) which was revised in 2014. Copies of those documents can be found in the ICR docket. Chapter 2 of the National Beach Guidance addresses the 11 performance criteria that a grantee’s program must be consistent with in order to be eligible for a grant. The remaining chapters discuss specific requirements for each criterion in more detail. For example, Section 4.5 discusses submitting monitoring data to EPA’s STORET system and Section 5.5 discusses submitting notification data to EPA’s PRAWN system.

To develop burden estimates, EPA estimated the number of hours that will be required to administer the program. The Agency estimates that it will take approximately 85 hours per respondent to review and process the applications, monitor respondent programs, and provide miscellaneous support. When multiplied by 38 respondents, the annual Agency burden is 3,240 hours to administer the program and a total Agency burden of 9,720 hours over 3 years. EPA employee costs were estimated assuming a GS-12 Step 1 federal employee earning $61,486 per year and a $29.56 hourly rate plus a 1.6% overhead rate. That is, $29.56 x 1.6 = $47.30. The labor rate was obtained using 2015 salary tables provided by the Office of Personnel Management.

Table 3 presents an estimate of the burden that EPA will incur to manage the BEACH Act Grant Program for years 1 through 3 of this ICR. The annual totals are presented at the bottom of the table.

Table 3. Total Agency burden hours per activity over 3 years

Activities	Agency burden hours	Agency burden dollars
EPA Headquarters to monitor state programs annually to ensure compliance with the performance criteria.	1,510	$71,423
EPA Regions to monitor state programs annually to ensure compliance with the performance criteria.	2,137	$101,080
EPA Headquarters and EPA Regions to provide miscellaneous support to states.	1,513	$71,565
EPA Regions to revise work plans and update beach monitoring and notification program procedures.	1,298	$61,395
EPA Regions to perform technical review on Quality Assurance Project Plan and Grants Management Plan, DQOs and SOPs prior to implementation.	3,262	$154,293
Total over 3 years	9,720	$459,756
Annual total	3,240	$153,252

6(d) Estimating the Respondent Universe and Total Burden and Costs

Table 4 presents an estimate of the total respondent burden and costs expected for the BEACH Act Grant Program. The total annual respondent burden is expected to be 91,276 hours and $11,353,146 O&M costs. There are no start-up costs.

Table 4. Annual respondent burden and cost

Performance Criteria	Respondent Hours/year	Respondent labor cost/year	O&M cost/year	Number of respondents/year	Total hours/year	Total cost/year
1	214	$8,319	$0	38	8,132	$316,109
2	333	$16,108	$0	38	12,654	$612,117
3	263	$10,907	$0	38	9,994	$414,479
4	980	$44,184	$0	38	37,240	$1,679,005
5	15	$615	$0	38	570	$23,357
6	59	$2,235	$0	38	2,242	$84,917
7	333	$14,023	$0	38	12,654	$532,861
8	64	$3,466	$0	38	2,432	$131,695
9	8	$348	$0	38	304	$13,224
10	133	$7,695	$0	38	5,054	$292,397
11	0	$0	$0	38	0	$0
Total	2,402	$107,899	$11,353,146	38	91,276	$4,100,161

6(e) Bottom Line Burden Hours and Cost Tables

Table 5 presents an estimate of the total annual State and Agency burden and costs expected for the BEACH Act Grant Program. As shown in Table 5, the annual burden for the Agency and 38 states, tribes, and territories with coastal recreation waters is 94,516 hours and $15,606,560 including O&M costs.

Table 5. Total annual respondent and Agency burden and costs

Annual	Burden (hours)	Burden cost	O&M cost	Total cost
38 states	91,276	$4,100,162	$11,353,146	$15,453,308
Agency	3,240	$153,252	$0	$153,252
Total	94,516	$4,253,414	$11,353,146	$15,606,560

6(f) Reasons for Change in Burden

There is an increase of 2,464 hours in the total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently approved by OMB. This is primarily due to one additional tribe having qualified for a BEACH grant. However, the net burden per respondent is similar because respondents have become more efficient in their reporting of data and information over the past several years due to EPA improvements to the eBEACHES data system. The annual O&M costs for all respondents increased from $3,943,080 to $11,353,146 for all states. That is because the number of beaches monitored and reported by grant recipients increased significantly from 3,651 (estimated from the 2010 Annual Swimming Season Report) to 6,238 (estimated from the EPA database, BEACON). EPA maintained its estimate of two samples collected each week per monitored beach; however, EPA increased the sample cost of $30 per sample to $35 and the estimated average beach season length of 18 weeks to 26 weeks based on the beach seasons reported by states in the BEACON database as well as in grant applications.

6(g) Burden Statement

The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 91,276 hours. Burden means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or provide information to or for a federal agency. That includes the time needed to review instructions; develop, acquire, install, and use technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, and verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; adjust the existing ways to comply with any previously applicable instructions and requirements; train personnel to be able to respond to a collection of information; search data sources; complete and review the collection of information; and transmit or otherwise disclose the information. 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. The OMB control numbers for EPA’s regulations are listed in 40 CFR Part 9 and 48 CFR Part 15.

To comment on the Agency’s need for this information, the accuracy of the provided burden estimates, and any suggested methods for minimizing respondent burden, including the use of automated collection techniques, EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2015-0641, which is available for public viewing at the Water Docket in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Water Docket is (202) 566-2426. An electronic version of the public docket is available through Regulations.gov at http://www.regulations.gov/. To submit or view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the public docket, and to access those documents in the public docket that are available electronically, use the Regulations.gov website. Once there, click search, then key in the docket ID number identified above. Also, you can send comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget via [email protected], Attention: Desk Office for EPA. Please include the EPA Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2015-0641 and OMB control number 2040-0244 in any correspondence.

See the accompanying Federal Register notice for instructions to provide comments on the Agency’s need for this information, the accuracy of the provided burden estimates, and any suggested methods for minimizing respondent burden, including the use of automated collection techniques.

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2048ss05 - Revised BEACH ICR