[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 5, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20165-20166]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07060]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2023-0095; FRL-10844-01-OW]

Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Clean
Water Act Water Quality Certification

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to
submit an information collection request (ICR), ``ICR Supporting
Statement Information Collection Request for Clean Water Act Water
Quality Certification'' (EPA ICR No. 2603.07, OMB Control No. 2040-
0295), to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and
approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). Before
doing so, EPA is soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the
proposed information collection as described below. This is a proposed
extension of an ICR (OMB Control No. 2040-0295), which is currently
approved through July 31, 2023. An Agency may not conduct or sponsor,
and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information
unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before June 5, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2023-0095, online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred method) or
by mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail
Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460.
    EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the
public docket without change including any personal information
provided, unless the comment includes profanity, threats, information
claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI), or other
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Liana Prudencio, Oceans, Wetlands, and
Communities Division, Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds, (MC
4504T), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW,
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number:<PHONE_NUMBER>; email address:
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supporting documents which explain in detail
the information that the EPA will be collecting are available in the
public docket for this ICR. The docket can be viewed online at
www.regulations.gov or in person at the EPA Docket Center, WJC West,
Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC. The telephone
number for the Docket Center is<PHONE_NUMBER>. For additional
information about EPA's public docket, visit http://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the EPA is soliciting
comments

and information to enable it to: (i) evaluate whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the Agency, including whether the information will
have practical utility; (ii) evaluate the accuracy of the Agency's
estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information,
including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (iii)
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be
collected; and (iv) minimize the burden of the collection of
information on those who are to respond, including through the use of
appropriate automated electronic, mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g.,
electronic submission of responses. EPA will consider the comments
received and amend the ICR as appropriate. EPA will then submit the
final ICR package to OMB for review and approval. At that time, EPA
will issue another Federal Register notice to announce the submission
of the ICR to OMB and the opportunity to submit additional comments to
OMB.
    Abstract: This ICR describes the 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 collected 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.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: Project proponents, State and tribal
reviewers (certifying authorities).
    Respondent's obligation to respond: required to obtain 401
certification (33 U.S.C. 1341(a)(1)).
    Estimated number of respondents: 154,000 responses from 77,138
respondents annually.
    Frequency of response: one per Federal application.
    Total estimated burden: 860,500 hours (per year). Burden is defined
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $48 Million (per year), includes $0
annualized capital or operation and maintenance costs.
    Changes in Estimates: There are changes in the total estimated
respondent burden, number of respondents, and number of responses
compared with the ICR currently approved by OMB (OMB Control No. 2040-
0295).

Brian Frazer,
Acting Director, Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds, Office of
Water.
[FR Doc. 2023-07060 Filed 4-4-23; 8:45 am]
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