Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Focus Groups as Used by EPA for Economics Projects (Renewal), 36806 [2015-15772]

Agencies

• ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 123 (Friday, June 26, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 36806]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-15772]



[[Page 36806]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OA-2008-0701; FRL-9928-43-OEI]


Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and 
Approval; Comment Request; Focus Groups as Used by EPA for Economics 
Projects (Renewal)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency has submitted an 
information collection request (ICR), ``Focus Groups as used by EPA for 
Economics Projects (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR No. 2205.15, OMB Control No. 
2090-0028) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and 
approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 
et seq.). This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently 
approved through June 30, 2015. Public comments were previously 
requested via the Federal Register (80 FR 6075) on February 4, 2015 
during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 
days for public comments. A fuller description of the ICR is given 
below, including its estimated burden and cost to the public. 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: Additional comments may be submitted on or before July 27, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID. EPA-HQ-OA-2008-
0701, to (1) EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred 
method), by email to oei.docket@epa.gov or by mail to: EPA Docket 
Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460, and (2) OMB via email to 
oira_submission@omb.eop.gov. Address comments to OMB Desk Officer for 
EPA.
    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: Nathalie Simon, National Center for 
Environmental Economics, Office of Policy, (1809T), Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone number: 202-566-2347; fax number: 202-566-2363; email 
address: simon.nathalie@epa.gov.

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 202-566-1744. For additional 
information about EPA's public docket, visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    Abstract: EPA is seeking renewal of a generic information 
collection request (ICR) for the conduct of focus groups and one-on-one 
interviews primarily related to survey development for economics 
projects. These groups are typically formed to gain insight and 
understanding of attitudes and perceptions held by the public 
surrounding a particular issue.
    Focus groups and one-on-one interviews used as a qualitative 
research tool serve to better understand respondents' attitudes, 
perceptions and emotions in response to specific topics and concepts; 
to obtain respondent information useful for better defining variables 
and measures in later quantitative studies; and to further explore 
findings obtained from quantitative studies.
    Through these focus groups, the Agency will be able to gain a more 
in-depth understanding of the public's attitudes, beliefs, motivations 
and feelings regarding specific issues and will provide invaluable 
information regarding the quality of draft survey instruments. 
Participation in the focus groups is voluntary. Each focus group will 
fully conform to federal regulations--specifically the Privacy Act of 
1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), the Hawkins-Stafford Amendments of 1988 (Pub. L. 
100-297), and the Computer Security Act of 1987.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: Individuals.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Voluntary.
    Estimated number of respondents: 1,584 (total).
    Frequency of response: Once.
    Total estimated burden: 915 hours (per year). Burden is defined at 
5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $30,302 (per year), includes $0 annualized 
capital or operation & maintenance costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 3,163 hours in the 
total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently 
approved by OMB. This decrease is based on new estimates of projected 
use of this ICR for focus groups for the next three years provided by 
the program offices at EPA.

Courtney Kerwin,
Acting Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 2015-15772 Filed 6-25-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P