[Federal Register: April 4, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 65)]
[Notices]
[Page 16507-16508]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr04ap03-65]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[OW-2003-0005; FRL-7477-3]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission of EPA ICR
No. 1838.02 (OMB No. 2040-0213) to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment
Request
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that the following
Information Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval: Industry
Detailed Questionnaire: Phase III Cooling Water Intake Structures (OMB
Control No. 2040-0213, EPA ICR No. 1838.02) The ICR describes the
nature of the information collection and its estimated burden and cost.
DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before May 5, 2003.
ADDRESSES: Follow the detailed instructions in SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Chan, Office of Water, Office
of Science and Technology, mailcode 4303T, Environmental Protection
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; by phone at
(202) 566-1078, by e-mail at chan.jennifer@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA has submitted the following ICR to OMB
for review and approval according to the procedures prescribed in 5 CFR
1320.12. On December 12, 2002 (67 FR 76400), EPA sought comments on
this ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received one comment and has
adopted many of the suggestions made by the commentor.
EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID
No. OW-2003-0005, which is available for public viewing at the Water
Docket in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room B102, 1301
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public
Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Reading
Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the Water Docket
is (202) 566-2426. An electronic version of the public docket is
available through EPA Dockets (EDOCKET) at http://www.epa.gov/edocket.
Use EDOCKET to submit or view public comments, access the index listing
of the contents of the public docket, and to access those documents in
the public docket that are available electronically. Once in the
system, select ``search,'' then key in the docket ID number identified
above.
Any comments related to this ICR should be submitted to EPA and OMB
within 30 days of this notice, and according to the following detailed
instructions: (1) Submit your comments to EPA online using EDOCKET (our
preferred method), by e-mail to OW-Docket@epa.gov, or by mail to: EPA
Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 4101T, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, and (2) Mail your
comments to OMB at: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs,
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Attention: Desk Officer for EPA,
725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503.
EPA's policy is that public comments, whether submitted
electronically or in paper, will be made available for public viewing
in EDOCKET as EPA receives
[[Page 16508]]
them and without change, unless the comment contains copyrighted
material, CBI, or other information whose public disclosure is
restricted by statute. When EPA identifies a comment containing
copyrighted material, EPA will provide a reference to that material in
the version of the comment that is placed in EDOCKET. The entire
printed comment, including the copyrighted material, will be available
in the public docket. Although identified as an item in the official
docket, information claimed as CBI, or whose disclosure is otherwise
restricted by statute, is not included in the official public docket,
and will not be available for public viewing in EDOCKET. For further
information about the electronic docket, see EPA's Federal Register
notice describing the electronic docket at 67 FR 38102 (May 31, 2002),
or go to www.epa.gov/edocket.
Title: Industry Detailed Questionnaire: Phase III Cooling Water
Intake Structures (OMB Control No. 2040-0213, EPA ICR Number 1838.02).
This is a request to renew an existing approved collection that is
scheduled to expire on March 31, 2003. Note that the Agency is
substituting the term ``Phase III'' for ``Phase II'', in the title of
the original ICR, to correspond to the revised structure of the
rulemaking. Under the PRA regulations, the Agency may continue to
conduct or sponsor the collection of information while this submission
is pending at OMB.
Abstract: In accordance with the PRA, this notice announces the
submission of a revised ICR from the EPA to the OMB for review and
approval. EPA requests approval to contact 80 respondents from the
original survey for clarifications of their responses and to request
their 316(b) environmental studies. EPA also requests approval to
conduct a survey of two industries (offshore and coastal oil and gas
extraction facilities (OCOGEFs) and seafood processing vessels)
potentially subject to Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act (CWA), 33
U.S.C. 1326(b). EPA was made aware of these two industries from public
comments received on the proposed Phase I rule (65 FR 49060). These
industries were not surveyed in the original information collection.
For this request, EPA has revised the original ICR questionnaires to
customize them for the OCOGEFs and Seafood Processing Vessels.
Responses to this Industry Detailed Questionnaire will help EPA better
characterize the design, location, construction, and operation of
cooling water intake structures at industrial facilities throughout the
U.S.
Section 316(b) provides that any standard established pursuant to
Sections 301 or 306 of the CWA and applicable to a point source shall
require that the location, design, construction, and capacity of
cooling water intake structures reflect the best technology available
for minimizing adverse environmental impact. EPA is developing
regulations implementing Section 316(b) of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. 1326(b)
pursuant to a Consent Decree in Riverkeeper v. Whitman [93 civ.0314
(AGS)]. The baseline data will help EPA frame regulatory options and
define further research needs regarding the relationship of cooling
water intake structures, intake technologies, and environmental
impacts. The economic and financial information will help EPA to assess
facility-level and firm-level impacts of complying with the proposed
regulations and also enable EPA to carry out required economic
analyses, including Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA), cost/benefit
analysis, and small business analysis. In order to fully evaluate costs
associated with a proposed Section 316(b) regulations, EPA will
consider the costs associated with performing Section 316(b)
demonstration studies, additions and modifications to cooling water
intake structures and equipment, and operating and monitoring costs
associated with the regulations.
EPA has the authority to collect this information under Section 308
of the CWA (33 U.S.C. 1318). Accordingly, responses to the
questionnaires (Industry Technical Questionnaire and Industry Economic
Questionnaire) would be mandatory. In accordance with 40 CFR part 2,
subpart B, Section 2.203, the survey will inform respondents of their
right to claim information as confidential. The survey provides
instructions on the procedures for making Confidential Business
Information (CBI) claims, and the respondents also will be informed of
the terms and rules governing protection of CBI obtained under the CWA.
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 numbers for EPA's
regulations are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and 48 CFR chapter 15, and are
identified on the form and/or instrument, if applicable.
Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1
hour per response for the follow-up effort, 8 hours per response for
the Industry Technical Questionnaire, and 50 hours per response for the
Industry Economic Questionnaire. Burden 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; develop, acquire,
install, and utilize technology and systems for the purposes of
collecting, validating, and verifying information, processing and
maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information;
adjust the existing ways to comply with any previously applicable
instructions and requirements; train personnel to be able to respond to
a collection of information; search data sources; complete and review
the collection of information; and transmit or otherwise disclose the
information.
Respondents/Affected Entities: Offshore and Coastal Oil and Gas
Extraction Facilities, Seafood Processing Vessels, and 80 respondents
surveyed in the original ICR.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 281.
Frequency of Response: One time.
Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 7,021 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Cost: $453,648, includes $1,123 annualized
O&M costs.
Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 121,715 hours in
the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of
Approved ICR Burdens. This decrease is due to less number of
respondents in this ICR.
Dated: March 27, 2003.
Oscar Morales,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 03-8257 Filed 4-3-03; 8:45 am]
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