[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 238 (Tuesday, December 12, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63710-63711]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-30258]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-5341-5]


Request for Comments: Information Collection Request for the 1996 
Metal Products and Machinery--Phase II Survey; Agency Information 
Collection Activities

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 
et seq.), this notice announces that the United States Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to request approval from the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct a survey of industries 
included in the Metal Products and Machinery (MP&M) Phase II industrial 
categories. These categories are motor vehicles (i.e., automotive 
industry activities--excluding automotive filling stations), bus & 
truck, railroad, office machines, household equipment, instruments 
(i.e., measurement and control instruments), precious metals, and ships 
& boats. Before submitting the proposed Information Collection Request 
(ICR) to OMB for review and approval, EPA is soliciting comments from 
the public on specific aspects of the proposed information collection 
as described below.

DATES: Comments and requests for information must be received by EPA no 
later than February 12, 1996.

ADDRESSES: The public may contact Mr. Mark Ingle at the EPA for a copy 
of the proposed survey instruments. Mr. Ingle may be reached by mail at 
U.S. EPA, Engineering and Analysis Division, Mail Code 4303, Office of 
Science and Technology, 401 M Street SW., Washington, DC 20460; or by 
telephone at (202) 260-7191. The survey instruments will be available 
as draft documents that include all pertinent instructions, information 
request questions, and definitions.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Affected Entities: Entities affected by the 
proposed survey include industrial activities that manufacture, 
maintain, or repair metal products and machinery included in the 
following industry categories: motor vehicles (i.e., automotive 
industry activities--excluding automotive filling stations), bus & 
truck, railroad, office machines, household equipment, instruments 
(i.e., measurement and control instruments), precious metals, and ships 
& boats. Such entities may be privately owned, or may be owned by the 
federal government and/or state/local governments. The survey 
instruments will be sent to entities in these categories, regardless of 
the ownership status of the parts they are manufacturing, maintaining, 
or repairing. The survey is intended to identify and collect data from 
MP&M Phase II industrial sites that generate and discharge process 
wastewater from unit operations associated with potential water-using 
industrial activities (selected examples of water-using industrial 
activities are electroplating, painting, machining, grinding, 
conversion coating).
    In addition to the directly affected entities listed above, the EPA 
also plans to collect information related to regulatory burden that 
would be created by implementation of a final MP&M Phase II rule on 
other federal agencies (e.g., Department of Defense, Department of 
Energy, etc.), and the state/local governmental authorities responsible 
for operating the affected publicly owned treatment works. Impacts on 
these other government entities could include either increased costs to 
issue additional permits or cost savings realized from using the 
proposed national standards instead of local pollutant limits.
    Title: 1996 Metal Products and Machinery Industry--Phase II Survey.
    Abstract: The survey is intended to collect, from industry and 
other affected parties, the type of technical and economic information 
required by EPA to develop effluent limitations guidelines for the 
Metal Products and Machinery, Phase II industry categories described 
above. EPA is required under Section 304(m) of the Clean Water Act of 
1987 (Federal Water Pollution Control Act, 33 U.S.C. 1314[m]) to 
promulgate new effluent limitations guidelines. As the result of a 
lawsuit by the Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. (NRDC) and 
Public Citizen, Inc. (NRDC et al. v. Reilly, Civ. No. 89-2980), a 
Consent Decree was entered by the Court on January 31, 1992 that 
established the schedule for promulgating numerous effluent limitations 
guidelines including the MP&M Phase II rule. Thus, EPA is required 
under a court order stemming from the CWA to promulgate the MP&M Phase 
II rule. Because this survey will be issued under authority of Section 
308 of the Clean Water Act of 1987 (Federal Water Pollution Control 
Act, U.S.C. Section 1318), responses from data collection survey 
instrument recipients are mandatory. The survey instruments will be 
mailed after OMB approves the ICR. The ICR that will be submitted by 
EPA to OMB will include discussion of the comments EPA has already 
received to date and the comments received as the result of today's 
announcement. The proposed survey instruments are a necessary part of 
the data collection portion of the effluent limitations guidelines 
development process. The proposed survey instruments will provide EPA 
with the technical and economic data required to effectively evaluate 
pollution control technologies and the economic achievability of the 
final rule. EPA will consider both technical performance and economic 
achievability (including cost effectiveness analyses of alternative 
pollution control technologies) when developing the final regulations.
    Burden Statement: The proposed survey instruments were developed by 
improving upon the MP&M Phase I survey in such a manner as to reduce 
burden and improve clarity. EPA has already conducted an outreach 
program to industry and other government entities with the objective of 
minimizing reporting burden. The outreach program included distribution 
of draft survey instruments to industry and governmental associations, 
outreach to community groups, and direct presentations at meetings. The 
following are the industry/government associations already contacted as 
part of the EPA outreach program: Air Conditioning and Refrigeration 
Institute, American Ambulance Association, American Automotive 
Manufacturers Association, American Bus Association, American 
Electronics Association, American Electroplaters and Surface Finishers 
Society, American Furniture Manufacturing Association, American Public 
Transit Association, American Short Line Railroad Association, American 
Trucking Association, 

[[Page 63711]]
American Watch Association, Association Council of the National 
Association of Manufacturers, Association for the Advancement of 
Medical Instruments, Association of American Railroads, Association of 
International Automotive Manufacturers, Association of Home Appliance 
Manufacturers, Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies, 
Automotive Service Association, Citizens for a Better Environment, 
Clock Manufacturers and Marketing Association, Community Transportation 
Association of America, Computer and Communication Industry 
Association, Dental Manufacturers of America, Electronic Industries 
Association, Environmental Defense Fund, Friends of the Earth, Gold & 
Silver Institute, Health Industry Manufacturers Association, 
Information Technology Industry Council, International Precious Metals 
Institute, Manufacturing Jewelers & Silversmiths of America, Motor & 
Equipment Manufacturers Association, National Coalition of Advanced 
Manufacturing, National Association of Metal Finishers, National 
Shipbuilding Research Program, Natural Resources Defense Council, 
Railway Progress Institute, Scientific Apparatus Manufacturers 
Association, Silver Coalition, Silver Users Association, Sierra Club, 
Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, The Jewelry Manufacturers 
Guild, Truck Renting and Leasing Association, United Bus Owners of 
America, United Auto Workers Union--Health and Safety Department. Based 
on comments already received as the result of these outreach 
activities, the proposed MP&M Phase II industry survey instruments will 
be made up of a brief screener and a more detailed questionnaire. This 
two-phase survey will allow burden on industrial facilities to be 
related to process wastewater flow and pollutant discharges such that 
facilities discharging less than 1,000,000 gallons per year of process 
wastewater will have less reporting burden than facilities discharging 
larger volumes of process wastewater. Finally, EPA will maintain a 
temporary, no-charge telephone number that survey recipients may call 
to obtain assistance in completing the data collection surveys. EPA 
believes that the no-charge telephone number will greatly reduce burden 
by helping recipients to answer specific questions within the context 
of their individual operations. To minimize burden on federal, state, 
and local governments that may operate MP&M-Phase-II-type facilities, 
survey instruments for these specific government entities that reflect 
the unique nature of government economic accounting have been 
developed. Similar survey instruments that discuss potential burden 
issues on other government entities such as wastewater treatment plant 
operators have also been developed. Current burden estimates, based on 
an analysis of the MP&M Phase I survey responses and comments provided 
by trade associations on the proposed MP&M Phase II survey instruments 
are based on the type and number of surveys that will be distributed. 
The following summarizes these burden estimates:
    1. The total estimated burden on industry to respond to the data 
collection surveys is estimated to be 59,540 hours. This burden is 
based on industry completing approximately 5,000 surveys. Of these 
5,000 surveys, 4,620 will be the simple, one-page screeners that are 
estimated to require only one hour to complete (i.e., the average time 
required by all recipients to complete the survey will be one hour; 
with many recipients requiring only a few minutes to complete the 
screener, while large firms may require a few hours to collect the 
required data). The remaining 380 recipients (i.e., the larger 
industrial wastewater dischargers) will receive larger, more 
comprehensive surveys that will take up to approximately 154 hours to 
complete. The burden estimates for these larger facilities are based on 
approximately 100 sites requiring approximately 118 hours to complete 
the survey and 280 of the largest discharging facilities requiring 154 
hours to complete the survey.
    2. The total burden estimate on municipalities, DoD, DoE, and other 
government entities is expected to be 3,400 hours with approximately 50 
government entities having to complete surveys. EPA estimates that 
these other government entities will require an average of 68 hours to 
complete the surveys (i.e., the amount of time municipalities will 
require to complete the surveys will range from 1 hour to 136 hours 
with 68 hours being an average estimated amount of time).
    3. The total burden estimate on POTWs and other entities that will 
implement the MP&M Phase II rules is estimated to be 5,500 hours with 
approximately 250 POTWs completing the data collection surveys and each 
respondent requiring an average of 22 hours to complete the survey. 
Estimates for the time required to complete these surveys ranges from 4 
to 40 hours for each survey respondent.
    Thus, the total national burden estimate for all parts of this data 
collection is 68,440 hours.
    Given that EPA needs to collect data regarding both costs and 
benefits associated with environmental rules, EPA is interested in any 
suggestions industry or the public may have regarding means of reducing 
the data collection burden. Any burden reduction suggestions must 
consider the need to collect information on the pollutants being 
discharged by the industries, the processes that generate the 
pollutants, the economic achievability of the proposed regulations, and 
the economic benefits derived from reducing pollution in our oceans, 
lakes, rivers, and streams. Please send any suggestions for reducing 
burden to Mr. Mark Ingle, U.S. EPA, Engineering and Analysis Division, 
Mail Code 4303, Office of Science and Technology, 401 M Street, S.W., 
Washington, DC 20460.

    Dated: November 14, 1995.
Tudor T. Davies,
Director, Office of Science and Technology.
[FR Doc. 95-30258 Filed 12-11-95; 8:45 am]
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