[Federal Register: September 13, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 176)]
[Notices]
[Page 55155-55156]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13se04-36]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[OPPT-2003-0065; FRL -7811-6]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Pre-Manufacture Review Reporting
and Exemption Requirements for New Chemical Substances and Significant
New Use Reporting Requirements for Chemical Substances, EPA ICR No.
0574.12, OMB No. 2070-0012
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 the following Information
Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This is a request to renew an
existing approved collection. This ICR is scheduled to expire on
October 31, 2004. Under OMB regulations, the Agency may continue to
conduct or sponsor the collection of information while this submission
is pending at OMB. This ICR describes the nature of the information
collection and its estimated cost.
DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before October 13,
2004.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments to both (1) EPA, referencing docket ID
number OPPT-2003-0065, online at http://www.epa.gov/edocket (our preferred method), by e-mail to: oppt.ncic@epa.govmail, or by U.S. Mail
to: Document Control Office (DCO), Office of Pollution Prevention and
Toxics (OPPT), Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 7407T, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; and (2) 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 (reference OMB Control No. 2070-0012).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barbara Cunningham, Acting Director,
Environmental Assistance Division, Office of Pollution Prevention and
Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 7408, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-
554-1404; e-mail address: TSCA-Hotline@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 15, 2003, EPA sought comments on this renewal ICR
(68 FR 69677). EPA sought comments on this ICR pursuant to 5 CFR
1320.8(d). EPA received no comments during the comment period.
EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID
No. OPPT-2003-0065, which is available for public viewing at the OPPT
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 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 Pollution Prevention and
Toxics Docket is 202-566-0280. 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. 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
.
ICR Title: Pre-Manufacture Review Reporting and Exemption
Requirements for New Chemical Substances and Significant New Use
Reporting Requirements for Chemical Substances.
Abstract: Section 5 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
requires manufacturers and importers of new chemical substances to
submit to EPA notice of intent to manufacture or import a new chemical
substance 90 days before manufacture or import begins. EPA reviews the
information contained in the notice to evaluate the health and
environmental effects of the new chemical substance. On the basis of
the review, EPA may take further regulatory action under TSCA, if
warranted. If EPA takes no action within 90 days, the submitter is free
to manufacture or import the new chemical substance without
restriction.
TSCA section 5 also authorizes EPA to issue Significant New Use
Rules (SNURs). EPA uses this authority to take follow-up action on new
or existing chemicals that may present an unreasonable risk to human
health or the environment if used in a manner that may result in
different and/or higher exposures of a chemical to
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humans or the environment. Once a use is determined to be a significant
new use, persons must submit a notice to EPA 90 days before beginning
manufacture, processing or importation of a chemical substance for that
use. Such a notice allows EPA to receive and review information on such
a use and, if necessary, regulate the use before it occurs.
Finally, TSCA section 5 also permits applications for exemption
from section 5 review under certain circumstances. An applicant must
provide information sufficient for EPA to make a determination that the
circumstances in question qualify for an exemption. In granting an
exemption, EPA may impose appropriate restrictions.
Responses to the collection of information are mandatory (see 40
CFR parts 700, 720, 721, 723 and 725). Respondents may claim all or
part of a notice as CBI. EPA will disclose information that is covered
by a CBI claim only to the extent permitted by, and in accordance with,
the procedures in 40 CFR part 2.
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 title 40 of the CFR, after appearing in the Federal
Register, are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and included on the related
collection instrument or form, if applicable.
Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 102.1
hour per response. 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: Companies that manufacture, process
or import chemical substances.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
Estimated No. of Respondents: 443.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 163,791 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Costs: $34,348,733.
Changes in Burden Estimates: This request reflects a decrease in
the total estimated burden of 20,817 hours (from 184,608 hours to
163,791 hours) in the total estimated respondent burden from that
currently in the OMB inventory. This decrease represents an adjustment
in the number of annual submissions to reflect EPA's experiences since
the most recent ICR. The decrease in the number of submissions per year
is largely associated with the polymer and other exemptions implemented
under the 1995 amendments.
Dated: September 1, 2004.
Oscar Morales,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 04-20602 Filed 9-10-04; 8:45 am]
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