NPDES Electronic Reporting (Final Rule)

Forms and Documents

Document Name	Status
2468ss02 - NPDES eRule ICR (29 December 2015).docx Supporting Statement A	2016-01-05
2468supp02 - NPDES ERule ICR Appendix C - EPA.pdf Supplementary Document	2015-09-22
2468supp02 - NPDES ERule ICR Appendix B - States.pdf Supplementary Document	2015-09-22
2468supp02 - NPDES ERule ICR Appendix A - Regulated Entities.pdf Supplementary Document	2015-09-22

IC Document Collections

IC ID	Document Title	Status
207981	States/Tribes/Territories	Modified
207980	Private Sector (Regulated Entities)	Modified

ICR Details

OMB Control No: 2020-0035	ICR Reference No: 201601-2020-001
Status: Historical Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 201509-2020-001
Agency/Subagency: EPA/OECA	Agency Tracking No: 2468.02
Title: NPDES Electronic Reporting (Final Rule)
Type of Information Collection: New collection (Request for a new OMB Control Number)	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Regular
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved without change	Conclusion Date: 01/11/2016
	Date Received in OIRA: 01/11/2016
Terms of Clearance: The collection is pre-approved, contingent upon no substantive changes being made to this collection after adoption of the final rule. Otherwise this collection should be re-submitted to OMB for review.

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	01/31/2019	36 Months From Approved
Responses	1,213,853	0	0
Time Burden (Hours)	673,779	0	0
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0

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Abstract: EPA is publishing this final regulation that requires the electronic reporting and sharing of Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program information instead of the current paper-based reporting of this information. This action will save time and resources for permittees, states, tribes, territories, and the U.S. Government while increasing data accuracy, improving compliance, and supporting EPA's goal of providing better protection of the nation's waters. By modernizing this Clean Water Act reporting program, permittees and regulators will use existing, available information technology to electronically report information and data related to the NPDES permit program. This regulation will help provide greater clarity on who is and who is not in compliance and enhances transparency by providing a timelier, complete, more accurate, and nationally-consistent set of data about the NPDES program. By providing improved data in a more accessible form, this final rulemaking will improve the ability of EPA and authorized NPDES programs to target the most serious water quality and compliance problems. Furthermore, by reducing the time and resources devoted to outdated data management activities, the rule could allow authorized NPDES programs to shift limited resources to important water quality and public health protection activities. The transition from paper to electronic reporting will require close coordination and cooperation between EPA and authorized NPDES programs. This regulation provides important flexibility while still implementing electronic reporting in a timely and effective fashion.

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Authorizing Statute(s): PL: Pub.L. 92 - 500 501 Name of Law: Clean Water Act
  

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

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Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
2020-AA47	Final or interim final rulemaking	80 FR 64063	10/22/2015

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Federal Register Notices & Comments

Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

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

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Private Sector (Regulated Entities)
States/Tribes/Territories

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ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved	Change Due to New Statute	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA
Annual Number of Responses	1,213,853	0	0	1,213,853	0	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	673,779	0	0	673,779	0	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0	0	0	0

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

Burden Increase Due to: Changing Regulations

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

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: The NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule creates some additional short-term burden in order to transition from paper to electronic reporting. EPA believes electronic reporting is needed to improve data quality and availability while reducing costs in the long term. Specifically, the rule is expected to save time and resources for states while improving compliance and better protecting the Nation's waters. This ICR estimates that respondents would incur a total average annual incremental burden reduction of 197,236 hours to comply with the requirements of the NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule in the first three years of its implementation. Note that the net burden reduction results from labor burden reductions to state authorized NPDES programs; regulated entities do not experience a net reduction in labor burden. The State/Territories IC in ROCIS also does not capture the offsetting burden decrease because the existing burden is captured under other OMB control numbers, and the system cannot approve a negative burden figure here. This reduction will be captured later when the effects of electronic reporting are incorporated into the existing NPDES ICRs.

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Annual Cost to Federal Government: $2,618,460

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]? 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? Uncollected

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Common Form ICR:  No

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On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).

The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:

(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;

(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;

(c) It reduces burden on small entities;

(d) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous language that is understandable to respondents;

(e) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices;

(f) It indicates the retention periods for recordkeeping requirements;

(g) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8 (b)(3) about:

(i) Why the information is being collected;

(ii) Use of information;

(iii) Burden estimate;

(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);

(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and

(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;

(h) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected.

(i) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable); and

(j) It makes appropriate use of information technology.

If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.

Certification Date: 09/23/2015

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