Brownfields Programs -
Accomplishment Reporting in Assessment, Cleanup, and Redevelopment
Exchange System (ACRES) (Revision)
Revision of a currently approved collection
No
Regular
01/16/2026
Requested
Previously Approved
36 Months From Approved
03/31/2026
9,001
6,562
11,546
3,808
0
0
This ICR covers the collection of
information from those organizations that receive cooperative
agreements, contracts, and Targeted Brownfields Assessment (TBA)
funds from EPA under the authority of the section 104(k) of the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability
Act (CERCLA) as amended by the Brownfields Utilization, Investment,
and Local Development (BUILD) Act (Pub.L. 115-141). CERCLA 104(k),
as amended, authorizes EPA to award grants or cooperative
agreements and contract funding to states, tribes, local
governments, other eligible entities, and nonprofit organizations
to support the assessment and cleanup of brownfields sites. Under
section 101(39) of CERCLA, a brownfields site means real property,
the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated
by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance,
pollutant, or contaminant. Cooperative agreement recipients
(recipients) have general reporting and record keeping requirements
as a condition of their cooperative agreement that result in
burden. A portion of this reporting and record keeping burden is
authorized under 2 CFR Part 1500 and identified in the EPAs general
grants ICR (OMB Control Number 2030-0020). EPA requires Brownfields
program recipients to maintain and report additional information to
EPA on the uses and accomplishments associated with funded
brownfields activities. EPA has expanded programmatic reporting
requirements to include TBA contractors and technical assistance
contractors. EPA will use several forms to assist recipients and
contractors in reporting the information and to ensure consistency
of the information collected. EPA uses this information to meet
Federal stewardship responsibilities to manage and track how
program funds are being spent, to evaluate the performance of the
Brownfields Cleanup and Land Revitalization Program, to meet the
Agency's reporting requirements under the Government Performance
and Results Act, and to report to Congress and other program
stakeholders on the status and accomplishments of the
program.
PL:
Pub.L. 107 - 118 1-232 Name of Law: Small Business Liability
Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act
The burden hours estimate
increased from 3,808 hours in the 2022 ICR request to 11,548, an
increase of 7,740 hours. This large change can be attributed to the
addition of six new forms for electronic quarterly and annual
progress reporting: QR Forms for Cleanup, Assessment, Multipurpose,
RLF, Job Training, and the RLF APCR Form. Recipients have always
been required to submit quarterly and annual progress reports per
their cooperative agreement terms and conditions, but this is the
first time an electronic form option is available in ACRES.
Including these forms in ACRES enables several fields to be
prefilled with existing ACRES data, saving the recipient
significant time compared to completing progress reporting outside
of ACRES. This reporting enhancement will enable a larger number of
respondents to use forms under this ICR, resulting in an overall
increase in the total burden hours. Yet the electronic forms are
anticipated to result in an overall decrease in burden hours per
individual respondent. With respect to ACRES forms previously
submitted as part of this ICR, recipients interviewed during the
last few years have self-reported data entry times at half the
burden hours compared to previous estimates. This can be attributed
to the tremendous improvements in the ACRES database to streamline
reporting requirements over the past several years. The new
quarterly and annual reporting forms continue such efforts and will
help ensure recipients comply with their cooperative agreement
terms and conditions.
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.