Justification

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery”

(OMB Control Number: 2030-0051; EPA ICR Number: 2434.265)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: LISS Partnership DEI/EJ Readiness Survey

PURPOSE: Funded through the Clean Water Act (through EPA), the Long Island Sound Study (LISS) is a cooperative effort involving researchers, regulators, user groups and other organizations and individuals who work together to protect and improve the health of the Sound – as described in the LISS Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan (CCMP). Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Environmental Justice (EJ) principles and practices are becoming increasingly important to the LISS CCMP. The purpose of the LISS Partnership DEI/EJ Readiness Survey is to gain insights into current use of DEI/EJ principles and practices in the LISS Partnership and training needed to achieve DEI/EJ aspects of LISS CCMP goals. EPA will use survey results to identify specific recommendations for training for LISS Partnership Team members.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

LISS Partnership Team members (n~120)

LISS partners include a wide range of regional, state, and local agencies, academic institutions, and other organizations. The LISS Partnership Team consists of LISS-funded staff whose workplans include implementing portions of the LISS CCMP, LISS committee members, and LISS workgroup members—a total of about 120 individuals. These individuals hold a variety of positions within their organizations, such as branch chief, program director, biologist (or other scientist), analyst, engagement or communications specialist, and professor. Within the LISS Partnership, their roles include co-chair or member of one or more LISS committees. These LISS Partnership Team members (about 120 individuals) constitute the universe of respondents for the LISS Partnership DEI/EJ Readiness Survey.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form [ ] Customer Satisfaction Survey

[ ] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software) [ ] Small Discussion Group

[ ] Focus Group [X] Other: DEI/EJ Readiness Survey

To assist review, please provide answers to the following question:

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected?
   [ ] Yes [X] No

2. If Yes, is the information that will be collected included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [ ] No

3. If Applicable, has a System or Records Notice been published? [ ] Yes [ ] No

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? [ ] Yes [X] No

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden Hours
State, local, or tribal governments	120	15 minutes	30
Totals	120	15 minutes	30

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $70,000. This estimate is based on the sum of (1) the portion of contractor funding expected to be spent on the survey, and (2) costs for federal government staff work at 2024 loaded rates for Region 1 (using Boston as the proxy for Region 1). Specifically, the annual cost is estimated as follows (then rounded up to the nearest $5,000):

(Contractor Funding for Survey) + (2 employees)(10 hours/employee)(Grade 10, Step 1 Rate)(1.6) +
(8 employees)(2 hours/employee)(Grade 10, Step 1 Rate)(1.6) +
(1 employee)(5 hours/employee)(Grade 13, Step 1 Rate)(1.6)

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents

1. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe?

[X] Yes [ ] No

If the answer is yes, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan)? If the answer is no, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them?

EPA has a list of all LISS Partnership Team members (see description of respondents above). The Agency will send the survey to all members in this universe (no sampling).

Administration of the Instrument

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[X] Web-based or other forms of social media

[ ] Telephone

[ ] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [ ] Yes [X] No

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collection is voluntary.

2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.

3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal agencies.

4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.

5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.

6. The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the future.

Name: Bessie Wright

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