Extension without change of a currently approved collection
No
Regular
07/31/2023
Requested
Previously Approved
36 Months From Approved
07/31/2023
154,000
194,000
860,500
931,000
0
8,000,000
This Information Collection Request
(ICR) describes the estimated cost and burden associated with 40
CFR part 121, the regulations that implement Clean Water Act (CWA)
section 401. Under section 401, a federal agency may not issue a
permit or license that may result in any discharge into waters of
the United States unless the certifying authority where the
discharge would originate issues a section 401 water quality
certification verifying that the discharge will comply with certain
water quality requirements or waives the certification requirement.
Certifying authorities are states, tribes with treatment as a state
(TAS) authorization, and in limited circumstances, EPA. CWA section
401 requires project proponents to submit project-specific
information to certifying authorities. Certifying authorities may
act on project-specific information by either granting, granting
with conditions, denying, or waiving section 401 certification. To
demonstrate it has acted on the certification request, the
certifying authority must provide a decision document to the
relevant federal licensing or permitting agency. If the certifying
authority fails or refuses to act on a certification request within
a reasonable period of time (which shall not exceed one year) after
receipt, the requirement to obtain certification is waived. EPA is
also responsible for coordinating input from certain neighboring or
downstream states and tribes affected by a discharge from a
federally licensed or permitted project under section 401(a)(2).
Information collected directly by EPA under section 401 in support
of the section 402 permit program is already captured under an
existing ICR (OMB Control Number 2040-0004, EPA ICR Number 0229.22)
and therefore is not included in this analysis. On June 9, 2022,
EPA proposed a new rule to revise the regulations at 40 CFR part
121. 87 FR 35318 (June 9, 2022). EPA submitted a revised ICR, EPA
ICR Number 2603.06, which received conditional approval from OMB.
EPA anticipates it will finalize its rulemaking in 2023.
Accordingly, EPA is providing this renewal to ensure no lapse in
coverage while the new rule is finalized.
There is an overall 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. EPA
removed consideration of CWA section 401 fees since they represent
a transfer from project proponents to certifying authorities.
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.
2603ss07.docx
Certifying Authorities