[Federal Register: November 24, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 226)]
[Notices]
[Page 68345-68346]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24no04-69]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[OW-2004-0008; FRL-7841-4]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Microbial Rules (Renewal), EPA
ICR Number 1895.03, OMB Control Number 2040-0205
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 an 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 November 30,
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 burden and cost.
DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before December 27,
2004.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number OW-2004-
0008, to (1) 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, Water Docket, Mail Code 4101T, 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard P. Naylor, Office of Ground
Water and Drinking Water, (4606M), Environmental Protection Agency,
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number:
202.564.3847; fax number: 202.564.3755; e-mail address:
naylor.richard@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 April 30, 2004 (69 FR 23741), EPA sought comments on this
ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received no comments.
EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID
No. OW-2004-0008, 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. 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
[[Page 68346]]
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
.
Title: Microbial Rules (Renewal).
Abstract: This ICR examines public water system (PWS), primacy
agency, and EPA burden and costs for recordkeeping and reporting
required in support of microbial contaminant-associated rulemakings.
These rules that have recordkeeping and reporting requirements that are
mandatory for compliance with 40 CFR parts 141 and 142 include the
following: (1) Surface Water Treatment Rule (SWTR); (2) Total Coliform
Rule (TCR); (3) Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (IESWTR);
(4) Filter Backwash Recycling Rule (FBRR); and (5) Long Term 1 Enhanced
Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT1ESWTR). This Microbial Rules ICR
includes all SWTR components except disinfectant residual monitoring
and associated activities, which are included in the Disinfectants and
Disinfection Byproducts, Chemical, and Radionuclides Rules ICR. Burden
for future rules that address microbial contaminants (Long Term 2
Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT2ESWTR), and the Ground Water
Rule (GWR) will be added to this ICR when the regulations are finalized
and the original stand-alone ICRs for each rule expires.
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 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 .77
hours 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: (1) Owners/operators of PWSs, who
must report to the primacy agency; (2) primacy agencies that must
report to EPA Headquarters; and (3) regional EPA administrators, who
must send reports and notices to PWS owners and States.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 161,274.
Frequency of Response: As necessary, monthly, quarterly, annually.
Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 8,624,865.
Estimated Total Annual Cost: $340,480,000, includes $96,939,000
annualized capital or O&M costs and $243,541,000 annual labor costs.
Changes in the Estimates: There is an increase of 431,665 hours in
the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of
Approved ICR Burdens. This increase is primarily due to restructuring
adjustments (i.e., incorporation of previously stand-alone ICRs for the
LT1ESWTR and the FBRR).
Dated: November 17, 2004.
Oscar Morales,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 04-26076 Filed 11-23-04; 8:45 am]
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