[Federal Register: May 21, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 99)]
[Notices]
[Page 29304-29306]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21my04-84]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[SFUND-2004-0006, FRL-7665-7]
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request; Community Right-to-Know Reporting Requirements Under
Sections 311 and 312 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-
Know Act (EPCRA), EPA ICR Number 1352.10, OMB Control Number 2050-0072
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501
et seq.), this document announces that EPA is planning to submit a
continuing Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB). This is a request to renew an existing
approved collection. This ICR is scheduled to expire on October 31,
2004. Before submitting the ICR to OMB for review and approval, EPA is
soliciting comments on specific aspects of the proposed information
collection as described below.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before July 20, 2004.
[[Page 29305]]
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number SFUND-
2004-0006, to EPA online using EDOCKET (our preferred method), by e-
mail to superfund.docket@epa.gov, or by mail to: EPA Docket Center,
Environmental Protection Agency, Superfund Docket, Mail code 5305T,
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sicy Jacob, Office of Emergency
Prevention, Preparedness and Response, 5104A, Environmental Protection
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone
number: 202-564-8019; fax number: 202-564-8233; e-mail address:
jacob.sicy@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA has established a public docket for this
ICR under Docket ID number SFUND-2004-0006, which is available for
public viewing at the Superfund 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 Superfund Docket is (202) 566-0276. An
electronic version of the public docket is available through EPA
Dockets (EDOCKET) at http://www.epa.gov/edocket. Use EDOCKET to obtain
a copy of the draft collection of information, 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 within
60 days of this notice. 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 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 http://www.epa.gov./edocket.
Affected entities: Entities potentially affected by this action are
those facilities required to prepare or have available an MSDS for a
hazardous chemical under the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) of the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Entities more likely to
be affected by this action may include chemical, non-chemical
manufacturers, retailers, petroleum refineries, utilities, etc.
Title: Community Right-to-Know Reporting Requirements under
Sections 311 and 312 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-
Know Act (EPCRA)
Abstract: The authority for these requirements is sections 311 and
312 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA),
1986 (42 U.S.C. 11011, 11012). EPCRA Section 311 requires owners and
operators of facilities subject to OSHA HCS to submit a list of
chemicals or MSDSs (for those chemicals that exceed thresholds,
specified in 40 CFR part 370) to the State Emergency Response
Commission (SERC), Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) and the
local fire department (LFD) with jurisdiction over their facility. The
submittal of a list of chemicals or MSDSs is a one-time requirement.
However, facilities must submit updates to the list of chemicals,
within three months, when a new hazardous chemical comes on-site above
the reporting threshold. If significant new information arises
concerning a previously submitted MSDS, a facility must submit a
revised MSDS. EPCRA Section 312 requires owners and operators of
facilities subject to OSHA HCS to submit an inventory form (for those
chemicals that exceed the thresholds, specified in 40 CFR part 370) to
the SERC, LEPC, and LFD with jurisdiction over their facility. This
activity is to be completed on March 1 of each year, on the inventory
of chemicals in the previous calendar year.
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 in 40 CFR are listed in 40 CFR part 9.
The EPA would like to solicit comments to:
(i) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility;
(ii) Evaluate the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden
of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of
the methodology and assumptions used;
(iii) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information
to be collected; and
(iv) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic
submission of responses.
Burden Statement: The average burden for MSDS reporting under 40
CFR 370.21 is estimated at 1.6 hours for new and newly regulated
facilities and approximately 0.6 hours for those existing facilities
that obtain new or revised MSDSs or receive requests for MSDSs from
local governments. For new and newly regulated facilities, this burden
includes the time required to read and understand the regulations, to
determine which chemicals meet or exceed reporting thresholds, and to
submit MSDSs or lists of chemicals to SERC, LEPCs, and local fire
departments. For existing facilities, this burden includes the time
required to submit revised MSDSs and new MSDSs to local officials. The
average reporting burden for facilities to perform Tier I or Tier II
inventory reporting under 40 CFR 370.25 is estimated to be
approximately 3.1 hours per facility, including the time to develop and
submit the information. There are no recordkeeping requirements for
facilities under EPCRA Sections 311 and 312.
The average burden for state and local governments to respond to
requests for MSDSs or Tier II information under 40 CFR 370.30 is
estimated to be 0.17 hours per request. The average burden for state
and local governments for managing and maintaining the reports is
estimated to be 32.25 hours. The average burden for maintaining and
updating the 312 database is 320 hours. The total burden to facilities
over the three-year information collection period is estimated to be
5,686,000 hours, at a cost of $186 million, with an associated state
and local burden of 401,000 hours at a cost of $9.2 million. The burden
hours listed here are from the previously approved ICR. The labor costs
have been adjusted to December
[[Page 29306]]
2003 wage rate published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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.
Dated: May 17, 2004.
Deborah Y. Dietrich,
Director, Office of Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response.
[FR Doc. 04-11560 Filed 5-20-04; 8:45 am]
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