Attachment 7 -Consultation

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Kinn, Alison
Sleasman, Katherine; EPP
your input re: EPA EPP Program Framework Information Collection Request
Tuesday, March 08, 2022 12:56:04 PM
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EPP Framework ICR Consultation Questionaire_3-2022.doc

Hello, 

On March 1, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a notice in the Federal
Register (87 FR 11462) announcing that EPA intends to submit an existing Information Collection
Request (ICR) to Office of Management and Budget (OMB). In compliance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act, this document announces the availability of and solicits public comment on the ICR
entitled “Assessment of Environmental Performance Standards and Ecolabels for Federal
Procurement” and identified by EPA ICR No. 2516.04 and OMB Control No. 2070-0199. This is a
reinstatement of a previously issued ICR entitled “Assessment of Environmental Performance
Standards and Ecolabels for Federal Procurement.” This ICR is being reinstated to assess standards
and ecolabels per EPA’s Framework for the Assessment of Environmental Performance Standards
and Ecolabels for Federal Purchasing, formerly referred to as the Guidelines. EPA’s goal in
developing this Framework is to create a transparent and consistent approach to selecting product
environmental performance standards and ecolabels for inclusion in EPA’s Recommendations of
Specifications, Standards, and Ecolabels for Federal Purchasing.

In addition to the public comment requested by the notice in the Federal Register, OMB regulations
at 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1) require agencies to consult with potential respondents and data users about
specific aspects of an ICR. As part of this required consultation, I am contacting you to solicit your
input through the attached questionnaire.

If you have any comments in response to the questions attached, or with respect to any other part
of this ICR, please respond by return e‐mail by COB on March 24, 2022 or submit your comment to
the docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2014-0838 via ww.regulations.gov. EPA will consider those responses, as
well as any public comment received in response to the Federal Register notice identified above, in
preparing a final document for OMB   review.

Thank you for your time,
Alison

Alison Kinn Bennett - Senior Advisor
Sustainable Marketplace | Green Building | Recommendations of Specifications, Standards, and Ecolabels |
Pollution Prevention Financing
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Sustainability & Pollution Prevention Branch - Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics
7409M - 1200 Pennsylvania Ave, NW - Washington, DC 20460
office: 202-564-8859  mobile: 202-834-1512
[email protected]
Pronouns I use: she, her, hers

Consultation Questions for ICR Renewals
EPA ICR No. 2516.04 and OMB Control No. 2070-0199
(1)

Publicly Available Data
$
$

(2)

Frequency of Collection
$

$
(3)

Per the Supporting Statement, EPA will call for volunteer standard and ecolabel
organizations to submit information and will phase assessments by purchase
category based on Administration priorities and available resources over the next
three years.
Do you have suggestions for the appropriate frequency of initial information
collection and/or reassessment per the Framework?

Clarity of Instructions
$
$

(4)

Is the data that the Agency seeks available from any public source, or already
collected by another office at EPA or by another agency?
If yes, where can you find the data? (Does your answer indicate a true
duplication, or does the input indicate that certain data elements are available, but
that they don’t meet our data needs very well?)

The ICR is intended to require that respondents provide certain data so that the
Agency can utilize them.
Based on the instructions (regulations, PR Notices, etc.), is it clear what
respondents are required to do and how to submit such data? If not, what
suggestions do you have to clarify the instructions?

Burden and Costs
$
$
$

$

Are the labor rates accurate?
The Agency assumes there is no capital cost associated with this activity. Is that
correct?
Bearing in mind that the burden and cost estimates include only burden hours and
costs associated with the paperwork involved with this ICR, e.g., the ICR does not
include estimated burden hours and costs for conducting studies, are the estimated
burden hours and labor rates accurate? If you provide burden and cost estimates
that are substantially different from EPA’s, please provide an explanation of how
you arrived at your estimates.
Are there other costs that should be accounted for that may have been missed?

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