[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 8 (Wednesday, January 12, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2106-2107]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-498]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OECA-2007-0468; FRL-9251-4]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Environmental Impact Assessment
of Nongovernmental Activities in Antarctica; EPA ICR No. 1808.06, OMB
Control No. 2020-0007
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 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. The ICR, which is abstracted below, describes the
nature of the information collection and its estimated burden and cost.
DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before February 11,
2011.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OECA-
2007-0468, to (1) EPA online using http://www.regulations.gov (our
preferred method), by e-mail to docket.oeca.epa.gov or by mail to: EPA
Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Enforcement and
Compliance Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 2822T,
and (2) OMB by mail to: 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: Aimee Hessert, NEPA Compliance
Division, Office of Federal Activities, 2252A, Environmental Protection
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone
number: 202-564-0993; fax number: 202-564-0072; e-mail address:
[email protected].
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 July 30, 2010, (75 FR 44944), EPA sought comments on this
ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received 1 comment during the
comment period, which is addressed in the ICR. Any additional comments
on this ICR should be submitted to EPA and OMB within 30 days of this
notice.
EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID
No. EPA-HQ-OECA-2007-0468, which is available for online viewing at
http://www.regulations.gov, or in person viewing at the Enforcement and
Compliance 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 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 Enforcement and
Compliance Docket is 202-566-1511.
Use EPA's electronic docket and comment system at http://www.regulations.gov, to submit or view public comments, access the
index listing of the contents of the docket, and to access those
documents in the docket that are available electronically. Once in the
system, select ``docket search,'' then key in the docket ID number
identified above. Please note that EPA's policy is that public
comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper, will be made
available for public viewing at http://www.regulations.gov as EPA
receives them and without change, unless the comment contains
copyrighted material, confidential business information (CBI), or other
information whose public disclosure is restricted by statute. For
further information about the electronic docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov.
Title: Environmental Impact Assessment of Nongovernmental
Activities in Antarctica.
ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. [1808.06], OMB Control No. 2020-0007.
ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on January 31, 2011.
Under OMB regulations, the Agency may continue to conduct or sponsor
the collection of information while this submission is pending at OMB.
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
[[Page 2107]]
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 Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) regulations
at 40 CFR part 8, Environmental Impact Assessment of Nongovernmental
Activities in Antarctica (Rule), were promulgated pursuant to the
Antarctic Science, Tourism, and Conservation Act of 1996 (Act), 16
U.S.C. 2401 et seq., as amended, 16 U.S.C. 2403a, which implements the
Protocol on Environmental Protection (Protocol) to the Antarctic Treaty
of 1959 (Treaty). The Rule provides for assessment of the environmental
impacts of nongovernmental activities in Antarctica, including tourism,
for which the United States is required to give advance notice under
Paragraph 5 of Article VII of the Treaty, and for coordination of the
review of information regarding environmental impact assessments
received from other Parties under the Protocol. The requirements of the
Rule apply to operators of nongovernmental expeditions organized or
proceeding from the territory of the United States to Antarctica and
include commercial and non-commercial expeditions. Expeditions may
include ship-based tours; yacht, skiing or mountaineering expeditions;
privately funded research expeditions; and other nongovernmental
activities. The Rule does not apply to individual U.S. citizens or
groups of citizens planning travel to Antarctica on an expedition for
which they are not acting as an operator. The provisions of the Rule
are intended to ensure that potential environmental effects of
nongovernmental activities undertaken in Antarctica are appropriately
identified and considered by the operator during the planning process
and that to the extent practicable appropriate environmental safeguards
which would mitigate or prevent adverse impacts on the Antarctic
environment are identified by the operator.
Environmental Documentation: Persons subject to the Rule must
prepare environmental documentation to support the operator's
determination regarding the level of environmental impact of the
proposed expedition. Environmental documentation includes a Preliminary
Environmental Review Memorandum (PERM), an Initial Environmental
Evaluation (IEE), or a Comprehensive Environmental Evaluation (CEE).
The environmental document is submitted to the Office of Federal
Activities (OFA). If the operator determines that an expedition may
have: (1) Less than a minor or transitory impact, a PERM needs to be
submitted no later than 180 days before the proposed departure to
Antarctica; (2) no more than minor or transitory impacts, an IEE needs
to be submitted no later than 90 days before the proposed departure; or
(3) more than minor or transitory impacts, a CEE needs to be submitted.
Operators who anticipate such activities are encouraged to consult with
EPA as soon as possible regarding the date for submittal of the CEE.
The Protocol and the Rule also require an operator to employ procedures
to assess and provide a regular and verifiable record of the actual
impacts of an activity which proceeds on the basis of an IEE or CEE.
Moreover, an operator needs to monitor key environmental indicators for
an activity proceeding on the basis of a CEE. An operator may also need
to carry out monitoring in order to assess and verify the impact of an
activity for which an IEE would be prepared. For activities that
require an IEE, an operator should be able to use procedures currently
being voluntarily utilized by operators to provide the required
information. In cases of emergency related to the safety of human life
or of ships, aircraft, equipment and facilities of high value, or the
protection of the environment which would require an activity to be
undertaken without completion of the documentation procedures set out
in the Rule, the operator would need to notify the Department of State
within 15 days of any activities which would have otherwise required
preparation of a CEE, and provide a full explanation of the activities
carried out within 45 days of those activities. Environmental documents
(e.g., PERM, IEE, CEE) are submitted to OFA. Environmental documents
are reviewed by OFA, in consultation with the National Science
Foundation and other interested Federal agencies, and also made
available to other Parties and the public as required under the
Protocol or otherwise requested.
Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1,708
hours annually, or 78 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.
Respondents/Affected Entities: Nongovernmental operators with
activities in Antarctica.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 22.
Frequency of Response: Annual.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,708 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Cost: $136,675, includes $4,256 annualized
capital or O&M costs.
Changes in the Estimates: There is an increase of 45 hours in the
total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of
Approved ICR Burdens. This increase is the result of a change in the
type of environmental documentation EPA anticipates the respondents
will submit.
Dated: January 6, 2011.
John Moses,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 2011-498 Filed 1-11-11; 8:45 am]
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