[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 95 (Wednesday, May 15, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24488-24489]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-12193]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[OPPTS-00184; FRL-5366-1]


Agency Information Collection Activities

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 notice announces that EPA is planning to submit the 
following continuing 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 information collection as described below. The ICR is a continuing 
ICR entitled Alternate Threshold for Low Annual Reportable Amounts, EPA 
ICR No. 1704, OMB No. 2070-0143. 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 are listed in 40 CFR part 9.

Dates: Written comments must be submitted on or before July 15, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Submit three copies of all written comments to: TSCA 
Document Receipts (7407), Room NE-G99, Office of Pollution Prevention 
and Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW., 
Washington, DC 20460, Telephone: 202-260-7099. All comments should 
reference administrative record number AR-156. This ICR is available 
for public review at, and copies may be requested from, the docket 
address and phone number listed above. Comments and data may also be 
submitted electronically by sending electronic mail (e-mail) to: 
[email protected]. Electronic comments must be submitted as an ASCII 
file avoiding the use of special characters and any form of encryption. 
Comments and data will also be accepted on disks in WordPerfect in 5.1 
file format or ASCII file format. All comments and data in electronic 
form must be identified by the administrative record number AR-156'' 
and ICR number 1704. No CBI should be submitted through e-mail. 
Electronic comments on this document may be filed online at many 
Federal Depository Libraries. Additional information on electronic 
submissions can be found in Unit III. of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information contact: Susan 
B. Hazen, Director, Environmental Assistance Division (7408), Office of 
Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M 
St., SW., Washington, DC 20460, Telephone: 202-554-1404, TDD: 202-554-
0551, e-mail: TSCA-H[email protected]. For technical information 
contact: Brian Symmes, Environmental Assistance Division (7408), Office 
of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, 
401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460, Telephone: 202-260-9121; Fax: 
202-401-8142; e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Entities potentially affected by this action are those chemical 
facilities that manufacture, process, or otherwise use certain toxic 
chemicals and which are required, under section 313 of the Emergency 
Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA), to report 
annually to EPA their environmental releases of such chemicals. For the 
collection of information addressed in this notice, EPA would like to 
solicit comments 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.
    (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.

II. Information Collection

    EPA is seeking comments on the following Information Collection 
Request.
    Title: Alternate Threshold for Low Amounts in Waste, EPA ICR No. 
1704, OMB No. 2070-0143, expires September 30, 1996.
    Abstract: EPCRA section 313 requires certain facilities 
manufacturing, processing, or otherwise using certain toxic chemicals 
in excess of specified threshold quantities to report their 
environmental releases of such chemicals annually. Each such facility 
must file a separate report for each such chemical. EPA has authority 
to revise the threshold amounts.
    EPA has established an alternate threshold for those facilities 
with low amounts of a listed toxic chemical in wastes. A facility that 
otherwise meets the current reporting thresholds but estimates that the 
total amount of the chemical in total waste does not exceed 500 pounds 
per year, and that the chemical was manufactured, processed, or 
otherwise used in an amount not exceeding 1 million pounds during the 
reporting year, can take advantage of reporting under the alternate 
threshold option for that chemical for that reporting year.
    Each qualifying facility that chooses to apply the revised 
threshold must file an annual certification statement in lieu of a 
complete report form. The annual certification certifies that the sum 
of the amount of the EPCRA section 313 chemical in wastes did not 
exceed 500 pounds for the reporting year, and that the chemical was 
manufactured, processed, or otherwise used in an amount not exceeding 1 
million pounds during the reporting year. Use of the certification, 
rather than submitting a complete reporting form, represents a 
substantial savings to respondents, both in burden hours and in labor 
costs.
    The primary function served by the certification statement is to 
satisfy the statutory requirement to maintain reporting on a 
substantial majority of releases for all listed chemicals. Without the 
certification statement, users of TRI data would not have access to any 
information on these chemicals. The certification statement is also a 
de facto range report, which is useful to any party interested in 
amounts being handled at a particular facility or for broader 
statistical purposes. Additionally, the certification statement 
provides compliance monitoring and enforcement programs and other 
interested parties a means to track chemical management activities and 
verify overall compliance with the rule.
    Responses to the collection of information are mandatory (see 40 
CFR part 372). Respondents may claim all or part of a notice 
confidential. EPA will disclose information that is covered by a claim 
of confidentiality only to the extent permitted by, and in accordance 
with, the procedures in TSCA section 14 and 40 CFR part 2.

[[Page 24489]]

    It should be noted that at the time of its last approval of this 
collection, OMB placed conditions on the subsequent clearance of the 
collection. OMB directed EPA to analyze TRI reports submitted for 
reporting year 1995, recalculate the number of respondents and the 
respondent burden resulting from this collection, and determine if the 
alternative threshold should be changed. Additionally, if EPA 
determined that changes in the regulation were warranted, OMB directed 
EPA to initiate rulemaking to make the necessary changes. However, time 
constraints specified by OMB in its conditions leave insufficient time 
for EPA to comply with the above requirements. Accordingly, EPA 
proposes to request renewed OMB approval for this collection without, 
at this time, attempting to meet the conditions outlined by OMB. EPA 
will, however, proceed in a timely fashion with the analysis and 
related actions and decisions to satisfy OMBs conditions, in 
expectation of being able to respond to those conditions upon the next 
following request for OMB approval of this collection.
    Burden Statement: The burden to respondents for complying with this 
ICR is estimated to total 803,669 hours per year, with an annual cost 
of $43.7 million. These totals are based on an average burden of 
approximately 34.5 hours per response for an estimated 11,678 
respondents, submitting an average of two reports of information 
annually. There are recordkeeping requirements associated with this 
collection. This estimate 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.

III. Public Record

    A record has been established for this action under docket number 
``OPPTS-00184'' (including comments and data submitted electronically 
as described below). A public version of this record, including 
printed, paper versions of electronic comments, which does not include 
any information claimed as CBI, is available for inspection from noon 
to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The public 
record is located in the TSCA Nonconfidential Information Center, Rm. 
NE-B607, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460.
    Electronic comments can be sent directly to EPA at:
    [email protected]
    Electronic comments must be submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the 
use of special characters and any form of encryption.
    The official record for this action, as well as the public version, 
as described above will be kept in paper form. Accordingly, EPA will 
transfer all comments received electronically into printed, paper form 
as they are received and will place the paper copies in the official 
record which will also include all comments submitted directly in 
writing. The official record is the paper record maintained at the 
address in ADDRESSES at the beginning of this document.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection and Information collection requests.

    Dated: May 8, 1996.
Susan H. Wayland,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic 
Substances.

[FR Doc. 96-12193 Filed 5-14-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-F