[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 118 (Monday, June 21, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35021-35023]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-14917]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0719, FRL-9164-9; EPA ICR No. 2060.04; OMB Control No.
2040-0257]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request; Information Collection Request for Cooling Water
Intake Structure Phase II Existing Facilities (Renewal)
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 EPA is planning to
submit a request to renew an existing approved Information Collection
Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This ICR is
scheduled to expire on August 31, 2010. Before submitting the ICR to
OMB for review and approval, EPA is soliciting comments on specific
aspects of the information collection as described below.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before August 20, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2008-0719, by one of the following methods:
http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the online instructions
for submitting comments.
E-mail: [email protected] (Identify Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OW-2008-0719, in the subject line).
Mail: Water Docket, Environmental Protection Agency,
Mailcode: 4203M, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460.
Please include a total of three copies.
Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center, EPA West, Room B102,
1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC. Such deliveries are only
accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation, and special
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments identified by the Docket ID No.
EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0719. 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
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: Amelia Letnes, State and Regional
Branch, Water Permits Division, OWM Mail Code: 4203M, Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460;
telephone number: (202) 564-5627; e-mail address:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
How can I access the docket and/or submit comments?
EPA has established a public docket for the ICR identified in this
document
[[Page 35022]]
(ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0719), 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 B102, 1301 Constitution
Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA/DC 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 Water Docket is 202-566-2426.
Use http://www.regulations.gov to obtain a copy of the existing
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 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 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 technical information/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
include existing electric power generating facilities meeting the
applicability criteria of the 316(b) Phase II Existing Facility rule at
40 CFR 125.91.
Title: Information Collection Request for Cooling Water Intake
Structure Phase II Existing Facilities (Renewal)
ICR Numbers: EPA ICR No. 2060.04, OMB Control No. 2040-0257.
ICR Status: This ICR is currently scheduled to expire on August 31,
2010. 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 when approved, are listed in 40 CFR Part 9, and 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 section 316(b) Phase II Existing Facility rule
requires the collection of information from existing point source
facilities that generate and transmit electric power (as a primary
activity) or generate electric power but sell it to another entity for
transmission, use a cooling water intake structure (CWIS) that uses at
least 25 percent of the water it withdraws from waters of the U.S. for
cooling purposes, and have a design intake flow of 50 million gallons
per day (MGD) or more. Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act (CWA)
requires that any standard established under section 301 or 306 of the
CWA and applicable to a point source must require that the location,
design, construction and capacity of CWISs at that facility reflect the
best technology available (BTA) for minimizing adverse environmental
impact. Such impact occurs as a result of impingement (where fish and
other aquatic life are trapped on technologies at the entrance to CWIS)
and entrainment (where aquatic organisms, eggs, and larvae are taken
into the cooling system, passed through the heat exchanger, and then
pumped back out with the discharge from the facility). The 316(b) Phase
II rule establishes requirements applicable to the location, design,
construction, and capacity of CWISs at Phase II existing facilities.
These requirements establish the BTA for minimizing adverse
environmental impact associated with the use of CWISs.
The 316(b) Phase II rule was signed on February 16, 2004. Industry
and environmental groups, and a number of States filed legal challenges
to the rule. Several issues were heard by the Second Circuit's Court of
Appeals, which issued a decision on January 25, 2007 remanding portions
of the rule (see Riverkeeper, Inc. v. U.S. EPA, No. 04-6692-ag(L) [2d
Cir. Jan. 25, 2007]). Industry groups also petitioned the Supreme Court
on several issues, which issued a decision on April 1, 2009. (Entergy
Corp. v. Riverkeeper, Inc., No. 07-588). EPA subsequently suspended the
316(b) Phase II rule on July 9, 2007 and is currently in the process of
developing a revised rule for existing facilities. However, permitting
authorities are still required under section 301 of the CWA to
establish BTA permit limits using best professional judgment. The
existing Phase II rule provides a framework for the type of information
a permit authority needs to establish appropriate BTA limits for CWISs.
This ICR does not address the results of court decisions or any
proposed regulation.
Burden Statement: The annual average reporting and record keeping
burden for the collection of information by facilities responding to
the Section 316(b) Phase II Existing Facility rule is estimated to be
2,071 hours per respondent (i.e., an annual average of 977,293 hours of
burden divided among an anticipated annual average of 472 facilities).
The State Director reporting and record keeping burden for the review,
oversight, and administration of the rule is estimated to average 1,101
hours per respondent (i.e., an annual average of 46,228 hours of burden
divided among an anticipated 42 States on average per year). Burden
means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by
persons to generate, maintain, or disclose or provide information to or
for a Federal agency. This includes the time needed to review
[[Page 35023]]
instructions; develop, acquire, install, and use 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 information.
The ICR provides a detailed explanation of the Agency's estimate
for the existing ICR, which is only briefly summarized here:
Estimated total number of potential respondents: 548 (506
facilities and 42 States).
Frequency of response: Bi-annually, every five years.
Estimated total average number of responses for each respondent: 9.
Estimated total annual burden hours: 1,023,521 hours.
Estimated total annual costs: $74,199,667. This includes an
estimated burden cost of $64,224,198 and an estimated cost of
$9,975,469 for capital investment or maintenance and operational costs.
Changes in the Estimates: The change in burden results mainly from
the shift from the approval period to the renewal period of the 316(b)
Phase II Existing Facilities rule. The currently approved ICR (EPA ICR
No. 2060.03) covers the last 2 years of the permit approval period
(i.e., years 4 and 5 after implementation) and the first year of the
renewal period (i.e., year 6 after implementation). This proposed ICR
covers renewal of permits only (years 7 to 9 after implementation).
Activities for renewing an NPDES permit already issued under the 316(b)
Phase II Existing Facilities rule are less burdensome than those for
issuing a permit for the first time.
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 the
opportunity to submit additional 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: June 14, 2010.
James A. Hanlon,
Director, Office of Wastewater Management.
[FR Doc. 2010-14917 Filed 6-18-10; 8:45 am]
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