1
Supporting
Statement
1.
IDENTIFICATION
OF
THE
INFORMATION
COLLECTION
(
a)
Oral
and
Written
Purchase
Orders,
EPA
ICR
No.
1037.06,
OMB
Control
no.
2030­
0007.
The
current
ICR
expires
March
31,
2000.
A
three
year
extension
is
being
requested.

(
b)
When
orally
soliciting
vendors
for
potential
placement
of
a
purchase
order,
using
simplified
acquisition
procedures,
an
EPA
purchasing
agent
contacts
vendors
by
phone
and
requests
information
concerning
their
small
business
status
(
whether
or
not
the
firm
is
a
small
business
in
accordance
with
the
standards
set
forth
by
law),
unit
prices
of
the
items
they
offer,
point
of
delivery
and
delivery
time.
If
the
purchasing
agent
does
not
already
know,
he/
she
will
ask
for
the
vendor's
address
and
a
point
of
contact.
Vendors
provide
their
responses
to
the
information
collection
verbally
by
telephone.
The
purchasing
agent
records
the
information
received
by
hand
or
by
typing
on
EPA
Form
1900­
8
or
1900­
13.
EPA
Form
1900­
8,
when
signed
by
the
contracting
officer,
becomes
a
record
of
the
purchase
order.
The
information
concerning
the
successful
offeror
recorded
on
EPA
Form
1900­
13
must
be
transferred
to
Optional
Form
347
and
signed
by
the
contracting
officer
for
an
official
purchase
order
record.

Information
for
written
quotations
is
requested,
usually
by
mail,
from
vendors
on
Standard
Form
18,
Request
for
Quotations.
Standard
Form
18
is
used
in
accordance
with
48
CFR
52.215.1(
a),
as
prescribed
by
the
General
Services
Administration
(
GSA).
Vendors
complete
the
form
and
mail
it
back
to
the
purchasing
agent.
The
successful
offeror's
information
is
transferred
to
Optional
Form
347,
Order
for
Supplies
and
Services,
which
is
used
in
accordance
with
48
CFR
52.213(
e),
as
prescribed
by
GSA.
In
accordance
with
5
CFR
Part
1320.16
(
a)(
2),
GSA
is
the
agency
responsible
for
submitting
burden
estimates
on
these
forms.
(
Copies
of
the
forms
are
attached.)

While
copy
2
of
EPA
Form
1900­
8
can
be
used
as
a
purchase
order
for
supplies
or
services,
not
all
orders
awarded
by
EPA
are
recorded
on
this
form.
Optional
Form
347,
addressed
above,
is
the
more
frequently
used
form.
Form
1900­
8
is
used
primarily
for
internal
Agency
procurement
requests.
Vendors
do
not
see
EPA
Form
1900­
8
unless
it
is
used
to
confirm
the
purchase
order
award.
When
the
form
is
used
to
record
a
purchase
order
award,
the
information
provided
by
the
vendor
is
filled
in
by
the
purchasing
agent
and
copy
2
of
the
form
is
provided
to
the
vendor.

2.
NEED
FOR
AND
USE
OF
THE
INFORMATION
(
a)
Need/
Authority
for
the
Collection:

FAR
Subpart
13.307
describes
the
types
of
forms
which
may
be
used
for
simplified
acquisitions.
2
(
b)
Use/
Users
of
the
Data:

Data
collected
for
oral
orders
will
be
used
to
award
a
purchase
order
using
simplified
acquisition
procedures.
EPA
financial
offices
will
use
the
data
as
a
basis
for
the
payment
of
invoices
submitted
by
the
vendor.

3.
THE
RESPONDENTS
AND
THE
INFORMATION
RECEIVED
(
a)
Respondents/
SIC
Codes
Respondents
are
businesses,
both
profit
and
non­
profit.
They
represent
a
wide
variety
of
SIC
codes
depending
on
the
Agency's
requirements.
Typically
this
includes,
but
is
not
limited
to,
2678,
Stationary
Products,
3671,
Computers,
and
3579
Office
Machines.

(
b)
Information
Requested
(
I)
Respondents
are
asked
to
provide
the
price
of
their
products,
small
business
status,
point
of
delivery,
delivery
time,
company
address,
and
point
of
contact.

(
ii)
In
order
to
provide
this
information,
respondents
must
have
a
company
price
list
available,
or
other
method
of
providing
a
firm
price
to
the
purchasing
agent.
Developing,
recording
and
maintaining
a
price
list
is
a
customary
business
practice.
The
following
activities
are
performed
in
responding
to
EPA's
request
for
a
quote:

­
listen
to
questions
set
forth
by
purchasing
agent
­
research
for
specific
prices
­
provide
prices,
orally,
to
purchasing
agent
4.
THE
INFORMATION
COLLECTED
­
AGENCY
ACTIVITIES,
COLLECTION
METHODOLOGY,
AND
INFORMATION
MANAGEMENT
(
a)
Purchasing
agents
call
to
request
information
from
the
vendor
and
record
this
information
on
either
EPA
Form
1900­
8
or
1900­
13.
After
the
contracting
officer
has
approved
award
of
the
purchase
order,
he/
she
may
sign
EPA
Form
1900­
8
as
the
award
document
or
the
information
may
be
transferred
to
Optional
Form
347
to
be
used
as
the
award
document.
One
copy
of
the
award
document
will
be
retained
in
the
purchasing
office.
Other
copies
will
be
distributed
to
the
paying
office
and
to
the
vendor.

(
b)
When
the
Agency
uses
oral
solicitation
procedures,
the
vendor
does
not
actually
complete
any
forms.
Instead,
he/
she
provides
information
orally
to
the
purchasing
agent
who
records
it.

(
c)
SMALL
ENTITY
FLEXIBILITY:
Separate
or
further
simplified
requirements
for
3
small
entities
are
not
practical,
because
the
stated
objectives
cannot
be
met
under
such
alternatives.
All
responses
are
voluntary,
and
the
information
collection
is
only
the
minimum
necessary
to
ensure
that
the
respondent
has
the
potential
capability
and
desire
to
supply
the
Agency
with
goods
or
services.
Because
this
information
is
required,
alternate
collection
procedures
for
small
businesses
cannot
be
developed.

(
d)
This
information
is
collected
on
an
"
As
Needed"
basis
when
there
is
an
Agency
requirement
for
a
certain
product
or
service.

5.
NONDUPLICATION,
CONSULTATIONS,
AND
OTHER
COLLECTION
CRITERIA
(
a)
Nonduplication
Optional
Form
347
contains
the
same
information
required
in
the
purchase
order
section
of
EPA
Form
1900­
8.
However,
FAR
13.307
permits
agencies
to
develop
their
own
purchase
order
forms.
EPA
does
not
use
the
Optional
Form
347
if
the
EPA
Form
1900­
8
is
used.

(
b)
Consultations
For
the
renewal
of
this
ICR,
the
following
vendors
were
contacted
to
discuss
collection
activities:

Name
Affiliation
Phone
Mr.
Walt
Baker
Canon,
USA
(
703)
642­
8050
Mr.
W.
G.
McCone
Dell
Computers
(
512)
343­
3747
Ms.
Margie
Scovil
Falcon
Microsystems
(
301)
341­
0149
Mr.
Steve
Tyndall
800
Software
(
415)
644­
4872
Ms.
Pat
Litton
Lefranc
(
301)
499­
3893
The
majority
of
vendor
estimates
for
the
time
it
took
to
research
a
response
to
a
request
for
an
oral
quotation
was
15
minutes.
All
individuals
consulted
felt
that
the
information
collected
was
reasonable
and
not
burdensome.
Because
there
has
been
no
change
to
the
form
or
the
procedure,
the
estimate
of
time
for
completion
is
unchanged.

(
c)
Effect
of
Less
Frequent
Collection
Responses
are
only
required
on
a
voluntary
basis
when
an
Agency
need
for
a
product
or
service
arises.

(
d)
General
Guidelines
EPA
Forms
1900­
8
and
1900­
13
adhere
to
all
Office
of
Management
and
Budget
(
OMB)
guidelines
for
information
collection.
4
(
e)
Confidentiality
and
Sensitive
Questions
Vendor
responses
become
a
part
of
the
purchase
order
documentation
and
are
not
considered
confidential.
No
sensitive
information
is
required.

(
f)
Public
Notice
Required
Prior
to
ICR
Submission
to
OMB:
The
Federal
Register
document
required
under
5
CFR
1320.8(
d),
soliciting
comments
on
this
collection
of
information
was
published
on
June
30,
1999,
64
FR
35150.
No
comments
were
received.

6.
ESTIMATING
THE
BURDEN
AND
COST
OF
COLLECTION
(
a)
Estimating
Respondent
Burden
(
I)
Labor
costs
Collection
Activity
Minutes
Cost
1.
Listen
to
purchasing
agent's
request
5
$
1.30
2.
Research
response
5
1.30
3.
Provide
response
to
purchasing
agent
5
1.30
TOTAL
15
$
3.90
TOTAL
BURDEN:
$
3.90
per
response
x
37,492
responses
=
$
146,219.
TOTAL
BURDEN
HOURS:
15
minutes
per
response
x
37,492
responses
=
9373
hours.

Hours
to
complete
response
are
based
on
established
times
provided
by
the
firms
consulted
in
section
5.
Vendors
are
not
required
to
type,
sign,
or
mail
anything,
as
is
the
case
with
written
requests
for
quotation.
An
average
salary
for
vendor
/
salesperson
is
estimated
to
be
$
15.57
an
hour.
This
is
based
on
the
rate
used
in
the
previous
clearance
multiplied
by
a
factor
of
3%
per
year
to
reflect
wage
increases
since
1996.
The
total
number
of
responses
is
derived
from
doubling
the
total
number
of
purchase
orders
issued
by
the
Agency
in
the
preceding
12
month
period.
Because
each
award
is
generally
preceded
by
1­
2
solicitations,
depending
upon
dollar
value,
an
average
of
two
information
collections
per
award
was
estimated.

(
ii)
Capital/
Start­
up
Costs
Because
it
will
not
be
necessary
for
respondents
to
acquire
any
capital
goods
to
provide
the
requested
information,
EPA
estimated
no
incurred
capital/
start­
up
costs.
5
(
iii)
Operating
and
Maintenance
Costs
Operating
and
maintenance
costs,
which
include
such
items
as
file
storage,
photocopying,
and
postage,
are
negligible.

(
b)
Estimating
Government
Burden
(
I)
Labor
Costs
Collection
Activity
Minutes
Cost
1.
Request
response
from
vendor
5
.97
2.
Fill­
in
response
on
form
15
2.90
3.
Review/
signature
5
1.34
4.
Distribute/
file
5
.97
TOTAL
30
6.18
TOTAL
BURDEN:
$
6.18
per
response
x
37,492
responses
=
$
231,700.
TOTAL
BURDEN
HOURS:
30
minutes
per
response
x
37,492
responses
=
18,746
hours.

Burden
estimates
are
based
on
current
use
of
the
form.
A
purchasing
agent,
GS­
04,
completes
steps
1,
2,
and
4.
The
hourly
rate
for
a
purchasing
agent
was
calculated
using
the
Office
of
Personal
Management's
hourly
salary
table
for
general
schedule
employees
for
1999.
The
median
hourly
rate
for
a
GS­
04
($
9.99)
was
multiplied
by
a
factor
of
1.16
for
benefits
to
yield
a
rate
of
$
11.59.
A
contracting
officer
completes
step
3
above,
review
and
signature
of
the
form.
To
determine
the
hourly
rate,
the
median
hourly
rate
for
a
GS­
07
($
13.85)
was
multiplied
by
the
benefits
factor
for
an
hourly
rate
of
$
16.07.
The
total
number
of
responses
is
derived
from
doubling
the
total
number
of
purchase
orders
issued
by
the
Agency
in
the
preceding
12
month
period.
Because
each
award
is
generally
preceded
by
1­
2
solicitations,
depending
upon
dollar
value,
an
average
of
two
information
collections
per
award
was
estimated.

(
c)
Reasons
for
Changes
in
Burden
The
number
of
purchase
orders
issued
per
year
has
remained
fairly
constant
over
the
past
three
years.
However,
the
value
of
purchase
orders
placed
has
increased
as
almost
all
of
the
agency's
micropurchases
(
less
that
$
2500)
are
now
accomplished
via
Government
purchase
cards.
Many
of
our
purchase
orders
are
over
$
25,000
in
value,
and
therefore
require
solicitation
of
multiple
sources.
For
this
reason,
the
average
factor
of
two
information
collections
per
purchase
order
was
utilized
to
estimate
the
burden,
vice
the
total
purchase
order
number
utilized
in
the
6
previous
request
for
clearance.
Additionally,
vendor
and
Government
salary
increases
account
for
changes
in
burden
estimates
since
last
review.

7.
BURDEN
STATEMENT
Public
reporting
for
this
collection
of
information
is
estimated
to
average
15
minutes
per
response
which
includes
the
time
for
reviewing
the
request,
searching
existing
data
sources,
gathering
and
maintaining
the
information
requested,
and
responding.
Send
comments
on
the
Agency's
need
for
this
information,
the
accuracy
of
the
provided
burden
estimates,
and
any
suggested
methods
for
minimizing
respondent
burden,
including
through
the
use
of
automated
collection
techniques
to
the
Director,
Collection
Strategies
Division,
U.
S.
Environmental
Protection
Agency
(
2822),
401
M
St.,
S.
W.,
Washington,
D.
C.
20460;
and
to
the
Office
of
Information
and
Regulatory
Affairs,
Office
of
Management
and
Budget,
725
17th
Street,
NW,
Washington,
DC
20503,
Attention:
Desk
Officer
for
EPA.
Include
the
EPA
ICR
number
and
OMB
control
number
in
any
correspondence.

Burden
time
means
the
total
time,
effort,
or
financial
resources
expended
by
persons
to
generate,
maintain,
retain,
or
disclose
or
provide
information
to
or
for
a
federal
agency.
This
includes
the
time
needed
to
review
instructions,
to
develop,
acquire,
install
and
utilize
technology
and
systems
for
the
purpose
of
collecting,
validating,
and
verifying
information,
processing
and
maintaining
information,
and
disclosing
and
providing
information;
to
adjust
the
existing
ways
to
comply
with
any
previously
applicable
instructions
and
requirements;
to
train
personnel
to
be
able
to
respond
to
a
collection
of
information;
to
search
the
data
sources;
to
complete
and
review
the
collection
of
information;
and
to
transmit
or
otherwise
disclose
the
information.
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.
The
OMB
control
number
for
EPA's
regulations
are
listed
in
40
CFR
Part
9,
and
48
CFR
Chapter
15.
