Water Quality Certification Regulations (Proposed Rule)

Forms and Documents

Document Name	Status
2603ss06.docx Supporting Statement A	2022-06-13

IC Document Collections

IC ID	Document Title	Status
254222	Tribes obtaining TAS	New
237204	Certifying Authorities	Modified
237203	Project Proponents	Modified

ICR Details

OMB Control No: 2040-0295	ICR Reference No: 202206-2040-001
Status: Received in OIRA	Previous ICR Reference No: 202007-2040-001
Agency/Subagency: EPA/OW	Agency Tracking No: 2603.06
Title: Water Quality Certification Regulations (Proposed Rule)
Type of Information Collection: Revision of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Regular	Date Submitted to OIRA: 06/14/2022

	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	36 Months From Approved	07/31/2023
Responses	154,006	194,000
Time Burden (Hours)	861,274	931,000
Cost Burden (Dollars)	7,466	8,000,000

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Abstract: The information collected under section 401 is used by certifying authorities and EPA to evaluate potential water quality impacts from federally licensed or permitted projects. When states or tribes with TAS act as the certifying authority, the primary collection of this information is performed by the Federal agencies issuing the licenses or permits or the states and tribes acting as certifying authorities. When EPA acts as the certifying authority or evaluates potential neighboring jurisdiction impacts, the information is collected by EPA. Information collected directly by EPA under section 401 in support of the section 402 NPDES program is already captured under existing ICR No. 0229.255 (OMB Control No. 2040-0004). The information collected under section 518(e) is used by EPA to determine whether a tribe is eligible for TAS for section 401 or section 401(a)(2). Information collected directly by EPA under section 518(e) in support of the process for tribes to obtain TAS for CWA section 303(c) and section 401 simultaneously is already captured under existing ICR No. 0988.14 (OMB Control No. 2040-0049). The proposed revisions clarify the nature of the information project proponents must include in a request for section 401 certification. They also contain a pre-filing meeting request requirement for project proponents which may be waived or shortened by a certifying authority. The proposed revisions also provide tribes with the ability to obtain TAS solely for either section 401 or section 401(a)(2). Total annual burden for respondents (project proponents and certifying authorities and tribes applying for TAS) are anticipated to be 861,274 hours with the associated annual labor costs being approximately $47 million. EPA expects that these proposed revisions will provide additional transparency in the certification modification and section 401(a)(2) contexts. EPA expects these proposed revisions to provide greater clarity regarding section 401 requirements, to reduce the overall preparation time spent by a project proponent on certification requests, and to reduce the review time for certifying authorities. EPA solicits comment on whether there are ways it can increase clarity, reduce the information collection burden, or improve the quality or utility of the information collected, or the information collection process itself, in furtherance of goals and requirements of section 401.

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Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 33 USC 1341 Name of Law: Clean Water Act
  

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

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Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
2040-AG12	Proposed rulemaking	87 FR 35318	06/09/2022

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Federal Register Notices & Comments

Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

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Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 3

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Certifying Authorities
Project Proponents
Tribes obtaining TAS

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ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Request	Previously Approved	Change Due to New Statute	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA
Annual Number of Responses	154,006	194,000	0	6	-40,000	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	861,274	931,000	0	774	-70,500	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	7,466	8,000,000	0	7,466	-8,000,000	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: Yes

Burden Increase Due to: Changing Regulations

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: There is a decrease in the estimated burden, number of respondents, and number of responses when compared to the estimates presented in the existing collection. These changes are due to refinements in how the estimates are calculated in addition to: (1) a decrease in the average number of annual licenses and permits issued that are used in the low estimate (56,700 as reported in Table 1 vs. 63,000 in the existing collection) and (2) a decrease in the high estimate of annual certification requests (97,000 as reported in Table 2 and Table 5 vs. 131,000 in the existing collection) from incorporating values provided in pre-proposal input letters. EPA reviewed pre-proposal input letters to compile suitable data for the number of responses and burden per response, where appropriate. The previous ICR for this collection (2603.05) included an estimate of $8M in average annual non-labor costs for the CWA section 401 fees that project proponents pay to certifying authorities when submitting certification requests. Upon further consideration, the Agency determined that CWA section 401 fees represent a transfer from project proponents to certifying authorities that should not be attributed to this collection as respondent costs. That cost has therefore been removed in this ICR.

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Annual Cost to Federal Government: $155,960

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     No

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

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Common Form ICR:  No

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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:

(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;

(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;

(c) It reduces burden on small entities;

(d) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous language that is understandable to respondents;

(e) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices;

(f) It indicates the retention periods for recordkeeping requirements;

(g) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8 (b)(3) about:

(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;

(h) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected.

(i) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable); and

(j) It makes appropriate use of information technology.

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.

Certification Date: 06/14/2022

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