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OMB Control No: 2080-0021	ICR Reference No: 200012-2080-001
Status: Historical Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 200009-2080-001
Agency/Subagency: EPA/ORD	Agency Tracking No:
Title: Performance Evaluation Studies on Water and Wastewater Laboratories
Type of Information Collection: Extension without change of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR: No
Type of Review Request: Regular
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved without change	Conclusion Date: 10/15/2001
	Date Received in OIRA: 12/19/2000
Terms of Clearance: This ICR is approved for one year. OMB is concerned about the apparent duplication between the analysis and reporting required for the WP studies and that required for the DMR-QA studies. Through the WP studies, labs are required to demonstrate the ability to reliably analyze various pollutants in order to receive or maintain State certification. In the DMR-QA studies, NPDES permittees are required to demonstrate that the labs they use are able to reliably analyze many of the same pollutants for compliance monitoring under the NPDES program. In practice, permittees instruct their lab(s) to purchase and analyze the test samples on their behalf and send them the results, which the permittees then send to the compliance authority. The labs are also required to send the same results to the compliance authority as a double check. EPA should explore the possibility for the 2002 calendar year of allowing labs to analyze and report on a single set of samples for both the WP and DMR-QA studies, and to send in a single set of results on behalf of all of the NPDES permittees they service. Permittees would then be required simply to identify the labs they use for compliance analyses, and the compliance authority could check to make sure that these labs have submitted test analyses that fall within acceptable limits. By 2002, EPA will have had two years worth of experience with running the performance evaluation program through private, third party providers and should be able to streamline the process, in coordination with state and regional compliance authorities, so that labs and permittees are not required to perform and/or submit duplicate results for the same analytes in order to demonstrate the ability to reliably analyze them. EPA should consult with OMB and keep OMB informed of its progress in this streamlining effort.

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	10/31/2002	10/31/2002	10/31/2001
Responses	23,430	0	18,000
Time Burden (Hours)	241,619	0	217,243
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0

Abstract: EPA receives analytical data on several different types of water and wastewater from a variety of laboratories and must rely on these data as a primary basis for many of its regulatory de- cisions. The Performance Evaluation studies provide an objective demonstration that contributing laboratories are capable of pro- ducing and reporting valid data, and successful performance in these studies required by many EPA/state offices that certify laboratories for water and wastewater analyses. These studies have recently been privatized and are currently being conducted by 12 private companies accredited by the NIST to conduct studies

Authorizing Statute(s): None

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:

Federal Register Notices & Comments
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 1

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Performance Evaluation Studies on Water and Wastewater Laboratories	0234.07

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate
Annual Number of Responses	23,430	18,000	5,430
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	241,619	217,243	24,376
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement:

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $0

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Is the Supporting Statement intended to be a Privacy Impact Assessment required by the E-Government Act of 2002? No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? Uncollected

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? Uncollected

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? Uncollected

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? Uncollected

View ICR - OIRA Conclusion