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OMB Control No: 2040-0004	ICR Reference No: 202607-2040-001
Status: Received in OIRA	Previous ICR Reference No: 202201-2040-004
Agency/Subagency: EPA/OW	Agency Tracking No: 0229.27
Title: National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Program (Renewal)
Type of Information Collection: Revision of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR: No
Type of Review Request: Regular	Date Submitted to OIRA: 07/31/2026

	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	36 Months From Approved	08/31/2026
Responses	10,836,245	9,310,277
Time Burden (Hours)	33,335,582	31,143,504
Cost Burden (Dollars)	38,313,749	22,999,181

Abstract: This Information Collection Request (ICR) renews the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Program ICR. It calculates the information collection burden and costs associated with the NPDES program, identifies the types of activities regulated under the NPDES program, describes the roles and responsibilities of state governments and the Agency, and presents the program areas that address the various types of regulated activities. This ICR renewal covers information collection burden and costs associated with activities previously reported in 22 NPDES program or NPDES-related ICRs. The Clean Water Act (CWA) provides that NPDES permits are required for the discharge of pollutants to waters of the United States. The CWA requires that EPA develop and implement the NPDES permit program. CWA section 402(b) allows states to acquire authority to administer the NPDES program, enabling them to issue NPDES permits for discharges within the state. At present, 47 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands are authorized to administer the NPDES permit program. In states that do not have authority for these programs, the Agency administers the program and issues NPDES permits. Because some permit applications are processed by states and some by EPA, this ICR calculates government burden and cost for both authorized states and EPA.

Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 33 USC 1251 Name of Law: Clean Water Act (CWA)

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:
	91 FR 21287	04/21/2026
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	91 FR 48102	07/30/2026
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? Yes

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

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Municipal and State	3510-2E, 3510-2F, 3510-2S, 3510-2A, 3510-1, 3510-2B, 3510-2C, 3510-2D	, , , , , , ,
Private Permittees	3510-2S, 3510-1, 3510-2A, 3510-2B, 3510-2C, 3510-2D, 3510-2E, 3510-2F	, , , , , , ,

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Request	Previously Approved	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate
Annual Number of Responses	10,836,245	9,310,277	148	1,525,820
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	33,335,582	31,143,504	9,480	2,182,598
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	38,313,749	22,999,181	0	15,314,568

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: Yes

Burden Increase Due to: Miscellaneous Actions

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

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: The current OMB-approved burden for the existing NPDES ICR is 31,143,504 hours. The burden requested in this ICR renewal is 33,335,582 hours. Overall, the burden requested in this ICR is 2,192,078 hours (7 percent) more than the previously approved burden of the prior ICR. This increase in burden hours occurred in the absence of EPA rulemakings or statutory changes that would have expanded the scope of the NPDES program. Rather, the burden hour increase occurred due to a number of factors, including a 16% increase in EPA’s estimates of responses from 9,310,277 in the current ICR to 10,836,245 in this ICR that reflects greater accuracy in estimating the number of permittee respondents due to improved electronic data reporting and collection. In addition, this ICR consolidates a portion of the burden (148 responses and 9,480 hrs.) associated with the Great Lakes Antidegradation Demonstrations and Great Lakes Regulatory Relief Requests, which previously had been split between the WQS Regulation ICR (OMB Control Number 2040-0049) and this ICR. Capital and O&M cost burden increased due to several factors including increases in the number of respondents and adjustments to the methodology, including evaluating pretreatment costs. In addition, there has been a significant increase in laboratory analytic and labor costs.

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $6,234,799

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: Doris Ihejirika 202 564-2110

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