[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 208 (Thursday, October 29, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55837-55839]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-25988]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0819; FRL-8974-8]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Proposed Information Collection Request for the Steam 
Electric Power Generating Effluent Guidelines; EPA ICR No. 2368.01, OMB 
Control No. 2040-NEW

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

[[Page 55838]]


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 EPA is planning to 
submit a request for a new Information Collection Request (ICR) to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB). 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 December 28, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2009-0819, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected], Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OW-2009-0819
     Mail: Water Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, 
Mailcode: 4203M, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, 
Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0819. Please include a total of 
3 copies.
     Hand Delivery: Water Docket, EPA Docket Center, EPA West, 
Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC, Attention 
Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0819. Such deliveries are only accepted 
during the Docket's normal hours of operation and special arrangements 
should be made.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2009-
0819. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in 
the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site 
is an ``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your 
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of 
your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without 
going through http://www.regulations.gov your e-mail address will be 
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is 
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you 
submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name 
and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any 
disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA 
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid 
the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of 
any defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA's public 
docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Jezebele Alicea-Virella, 
Engineering and Analysis Division (4303T), Environmental Protection 
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone 
number: 202-566-1755; e-mail address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

How Can I Access the Docket and/or Submit Comments?

    EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0819, which is available for online viewing at 
http://www.regulations.gov, or in person viewing at the Water Docket in 
the EPA Docket Center EPA/DC, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution 
Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA/DC 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.
    Use http://www.regulations.gov to obtain a copy of the draft 
collection of information, submit or view public comments, access the 
index listing of the contents of the 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 in this document.

What Information Is EPA Particularly Interested in?

    Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, EPA specifically 
solicits comments and information to enable it 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. In particular, EPA is requesting comments from 
very small businesses (those that employ less than 25) on examples of 
specific additional efforts that EPA could make to reduce the paperwork 
burden for very small businesses affected by this collection.

What Should I Consider When I Prepare My Comments for EPA?

    You may find the following suggestions helpful for preparing your 
comments:
    1. Explain your views as clearly as possible and provide specific 
examples.
    2. Describe any assumptions that you used.
    3. Provide copies of any technical information and/or data you used 
that support your views.
    4. If you estimate potential burden or costs, explain how you 
arrived at the estimate that you provide.
    5. Offer alternative ways to improve the collection activity.
    6. Make sure to submit your comments by the deadline identified 
under DATES.
    7. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, be sure to identify the docket 
ID number assigned to this action in the subject line on the first page 
of your response. You may also provide the name, date, and Federal 
Register citation.

What Information Collection Activity or ICR Does This Apply to?

    Affected entities: Entities potentially affected by this action are 
approximately 1,200 steam electric power plants that generate 
electricity using nuclear fuel or fossil fuels such as coal, oil and 
natural gas.
    Title: Proposed Information Collection Request for the Steam 
Electric Power Generating Effluent Guidelines.
    ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 2368.01, OMB Control No. 2040-NEW.
    ICR status: This ICR is for a new information collection activity. 
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

[[Page 55839]]

EPA's regulations in title 40 of the CFR, after appearing in the 
Federal Register when approved, are listed in 40 CFR part 9, are 
displayed either by publication in the Federal Register or by other 
appropriate means, such as on the related collection instrument or 
form, if applicable. The display of OMB control numbers in certain EPA 
regulations is consolidated in 40 CFR part 9.
    Abstract: The Clean Water Act (CWA) directs EPA to develop 
regulations, called effluent guidelines, to limit the amount of 
pollutants that are discharged to surface waters or to sewage treatment 
plants. The effluent guidelines for the steam electric power generating 
point source category apply to steam electric generating units at 
establishments that are primarily engaged in the generation of 
electricity for distribution and sale, resulting primarily from a 
process using nuclear or fossil-type fuels, such as coal, oil and 
natural gas. There are about 1,200 nuclear- and fossil-fueled steam 
electric power plants nationwide.
    EPA first identified the industry during its 2005 annual effluent 
guidelines review when publicly available data indicated that this 
industry ranked high in discharges of toxic and nonconventional 
pollutants, relative to other industry sectors. Because of these 
findings, EPA initiated a more detailed study of the industry and 
collected data through site visits, wastewater sampling, a limited data 
request, and secondary data.
    As part of the detailed study, EPA reviewed available information 
on environmental effects attributed to intentional permitted discharges 
to surface waters and other releases of the pollutants present in coal 
combustion residues. Studies have shown that the pollutants present in 
discharges from coal-fired power plants can affect aquatic organisms 
and wildlife, resulting in lasting environmental impacts on local 
habitats and ecosystems. Peer-reviewed literature has documented the 
impacts resulting from intentional and accidental surface water 
discharges of wastewater from coal-fired power plants, as well as 
environmental impacts from leachate from waste management units (i.e., 
surface impoundments and landfills) entering the ground water system.
    EPA's review of wastewater discharges from power plants, and the 
treatment technologies available to reduce pollutant discharges, has 
indicated the need to update the current national effluent guidelines 
regulations. The current regulations, which were last updated in 1982, 
do not adequately address the pollutants being discharged and have not 
kept pace with changes that have occurred in the electric power 
industry over the last three decades. The process to develop and 
propose new discharge standards will require several years and the 
first steps to begin this process include an industry questionnaire.
    EPA is conducting this ICR to support the rulemaking process for 
revising the steam electric power generating effluent guidelines. The 
ICR will aid in the collection of information from a wide range of 
steam electric power generating industry operations to characterize 
waste streams, understand the processes that generate the wastes, 
gather environmental data, and assess the availability and 
affordability of treatment technologies. These data will be used to 
perform detailed technical and economic analyses that will support 
EPA's rulemaking. EPA will seek OMB approval under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA).
    EPA has identified approximately 1,200 fossil- and nuclear-fueled 
steam electric power plants that are potentially within scope of the 
data collection objectives of the ICR. To reduce burden on the 
industry, EPA intends to distribute the questionnaire to a 
statistically-sampled subset of these facilities. EPA estimates that 
this questionnaire will involve 760 respondents. The questionnaire 
consists of multiple sections which have been tailored to address 
specific processes, specific data needs, or types of power plants. Part 
A of the questionnaire will be sent to all questionnaire recipients; 
the remaining sections will be sent to discrete subpopulations of 
questionnaire recipients. No plant will be required to complete every 
section of the questionnaire.
    The questionnaire will collect general plant information and 
selected technical information about the plant processes and the 
electric generating units. The information that will be collected 
includes economic data and technical information about flue gas 
desulfurization (FGD) wastewater, ash handling, process equipment 
cleaning operations, wastewater treatment, surface impoundment and 
landfill operations, and nuclear operations. The questionnaire will 
also require certain power plants to collect and analyze samples of 
leachate from surface impoundments and landfills containing coal 
combustion residues.
    EPA intends to submit this information collection request to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval to distribute the 
questionnaire under the authority of section 308 of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. 
1318. All questionnaire recipients will be required to complete and 
return the questionnaire to EPA.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 205 
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 which have subsequently changed; 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.
    The ICR provides a detailed explanation of the Agency's estimate, 
which is only briefly summarized here:
    Estimated total number of potential respondents: 760.
    Frequency of response: One occasion.
    Estimated total average number of hours for each respondent: 205.
    Estimated total annual burden hours: 156,091.
    Estimated total annual costs: $8.17 million. This includes an 
estimated burden cost of $6.45 million for labor and $1.72 million for 
operations and maintenance.

What Is the Next Step in the Process for This ICR?

    EPA will consider the comments received and amend the ICR as 
appropriate. The final ICR package will then be submitted to OMB for 
review and approval pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.12. At that time, EPA will 
issue another Federal Register notice pursuant to 5 CFR 
1320.5(a)(1)(iv) to announce the submission of the ICR to OMB and a 30 
day opportunity to submit comments to OMB. If you have any questions 
about this ICR or the approval process, please contact the technical 
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

    Dated: October 23, 2009.
Ephraim S. King,
Director, Office of Science and Technology.
[FR Doc. E9-25988 Filed 10-28-09; 8:45 am]
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