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The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued a December 29th Federal Register notice of an Information Collection Request (“ICR”). See 82 Fed. Reg. 61756.

The ICR submitted to the United States Office of Management and Budget is for a voluntary survey related to a National Study of Nutrient Removal and Secondary Technologies: Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) Screener Questionnaire (“Study").

EPA states that its Office of Water is planning to collect data to evaluate nutrient removal and related technology of POTWs with conventional secondary treatment. The agency notes that it is working with the states to “make greater progress in reducing nutrient loadings discharged into the nation’s waters from all sources.”

An objective of the Study is to acquire nationwide data on nutrient removal for purposes of establishing what are described as “more realistic and achievable nutrient reduction targets than many be the case absent such data.” The agency hopes such data can help assist POTWs:

• Understand the range of opportunities to optimize nutrient removals based on data from their peers
• Encourage improved nutrient removal POTW performance with less expense

The full Study is stated to be designed with multiple phases over the course of four to five years, allowing for interactions with stakeholders and experts in each phase.

The first phase is a screener questionnaire. The questionnaire is the focus of the ICR. EPA states it is limiting the information requested to what is necessary to:

• Create a complete population of POTWs
• Identify basic information about such POTWs

The questions will include those necessary to:

• identify and stratify the universe of POTWs, and
• within such population, the secondary treatment POTWs not designed specifically to remove nitrogen and phosphorus.

A copy of the Federal Register notice can be downloaded here.