View Information Collection Request (ICR) Package

OMB Control No: 2040-0295	ICR Reference No: 202307-2040-001
Status: Historical Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 202007-2040-001
Agency/Subagency: EPA/OW	Agency Tracking No: 2603.07
Title: Water Quality Certification Regulations (Renewal)
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 with change	Conclusion Date: 09/27/2023
	Date Received in OIRA: 07/31/2023
Terms of Clearance: OMB invites the agency to re-evaluate the burden estimates for this collection during the information collection request for the 2040-AG12 final rule, consistent with the rule provisions and relevant public comments.

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	09/30/2026	36 Months From Approved	09/30/2023
Responses	154,000	0	194,000
Time Burden (Hours)	860,500	0	931,000
Cost Burden (Dollars)	8,000,000	0	8,000,000

Abstract: This Information Collection Request (ICR) describes the estimated 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 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. On June 9, 2022, EPA proposed a new rule to revise the regulations at 40 CFR part 121. 87 FR 35318 (June 9, 2022). EPA submitted a revised ICR, EPA ICR Number 2603.06, which received conditional approval from OMB. EPA anticipates it will finalize its rulemaking in 2023. Accordingly, EPA is providing this renewal to ensure no lapse in coverage while the new rule is finalized.

Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 33 USC 1341 Name of Law: Clean Water Act

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	88 FR 20165	04/05/2023
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	88 FR 20165	04/05/2023
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 2

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Certifying Authorities
Project Proponents

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate
Annual Number of Responses	154,000	194,000	-40,000
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	860,500	931,000	-70,500
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	8,000,000	8,000,000	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: There is an overall decrease in the estimated burden, number of respondents, and number of responses when compared to the estimates presented in the existing collection. These changes are due to refinements in how the estimates are calculated in addition to: (1) a decrease in the average number of annual licenses and permits issued that are used in the low estimate (56,700 as reported in Table 1 vs. 63,000 in the existing collection) and (2) a decrease in the high estimate of annual certification requests (97,000 as reported in Table 2 and Table 5 vs. 131,000 in the existing collection) from incorporating values provided in pre-proposal input letters. EPA reviewed pre-proposal input letters to compile suitable data for the number of responses and burden per response, where appropriate. EPA removed consideration of CWA section 401 fees since they represent a transfer from project proponents to certifying authorities.

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $71,136

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

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. No

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

Agency Contact: Liana Prudencio 202 564-2143 prudencio.liana@epa.gov

View ICR - OIRA Conclusion