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: 2434.276)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Brownfields Minimizing Displacement Technical Assistance Participant Satisfaction Survey

PURPOSE:

EPA’s Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization awarded a four-year cooperative agreement to UMass Dartmouth to provide technical assistance to brownfields communities. Through the Brownfields Revitalization Anti-Displacement Strategies (BRADS) Program, the technical assistance provider/cooperative agreement recipient will conduct research on gentrification issues and anti-displacement policies, develop guidance on anti-displacement strategies, and provide direct technical assistance to brownfield communities.

The goal of this survey is to 1) capture how technical assistance recipient communities are using the strategies and resources provided during the technical assistance and 2) identify how the BRADS Program can be improved. The information collected will be used to improve direct technical assistance and the resources created under this cooperative agreement.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: Targeted respondents are communities who have received direct technical assistance. Technical assistance recipients will vary but may include community leaders, community members, community-based organization staff, locally elected officials, and local government staff from communities with brownfield challenges want to prevent displacement from brownfields redevelopment.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

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

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

[ ] Focus Group [ ] Other: ______________________

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

Personally Identifiable Information:

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

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

3. If Yes, has an up-to-date System of Records Notice (SORN) been published? [ ] Yes [X] No

The BRADS Program technical assistance provider does not have a database for PII.

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
State, local, or Tribal government	2 people per community	10 minutes/person	20 minutes
Individuals or households (community members)	0- 2 people per community	10 minutes/person	0-20 minutes
Private Sector (non-profit staff and development corporations)	0-2 people per community	10 minutes/person	0-20 minutes
Totals	(2-6 people per community) 10 communities total	10 minutes/person	3.33-10 hours

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is: $0.

The estimated total cost to the Federal government is $0. EPA employees will not develop, administer, or analyze the results of the survey. The cooperative agreement recipient has developed the survey questions and will administer the survey and analyze the results to improve technical assistance.

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? [ ] Yes [X] 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?

Technical assistance will be available to communities nationwide to work with the BRADS team:

• Three Pilot Communities will be selected to conduct an in-depth assessment of current practitioner knowledge, identify gentrification concerns in their community, and review existing anti-displacement policies (if available).

• Five EPA Brownfields grant recipients/sub-recipients will be selected to work with our team to identify risks of gentrification, provide guidance on anti-displacement policies and strategies using the roadmaps and resources developed by BRADS, and provide guidance to identify funding on assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment of Brownfields.

• Two future EPA Brownfields grant applicants will receive assistance and receive guidance on anti-displacement policies through guides and resources developed by the BRADS team.

Communities will request assistance through an online intake form and will be selected based on need and risk for gentrification [i.e., communities that might be higher risk for involuntary displacement will be prioritized) and geographic diversity.

All communities receiving technical assistance will be given the opportunity (optional) to provide feedback via the survey.

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

[X] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

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

Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

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: Christina Barnes

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