[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 154 (Thursday, August 8, 1996)] [Notices] [Pages 41407-41408] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 96-20249] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [FRL-5547-8] Agency Information Collection Activities Under OMB Review; Renewal Request for OMB No. 2070-0143 AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances has forwarded the Information Collection Request (ICR) entitled: Alternate Threshold for Low Annual Reportable Amounts; Toxic Chemical Release Reporting (EPA ICR #1704.03; OMB Approval #2070-0143), which is abstracted below, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected cost and burden; where appropriate, it includes the actual data collection instrument. The Agency is requesting the renewal of the existing approval, which is scheduled to expire on September 30, 1996. A Federal Register notice proposing this submission and providing 60 days for public comment on the request and the contents of this ICR was issued on May 15, 1996 (61 FR 24488). EPA only received one comment during the comment period, which expressed support for the maintenance of the Alternate Reporting Threshold, urging OMB to promptly approve the renewal request in order to ensure its continued availability. DATES: Any comments must be submitted to the addresses listed below on or before September 9, 1996. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR A COPY CALL: Sandy Farmer at EPA, 202-260- 2740, and refer to EPA ICR No. 1704.03. ADDRESSES: Send comments regarding the burden estimate, or any other aspect of the information collection, including suggestions for reducing the burden, to the following addresses: Ms. Sandy Farmer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Information Policy Branch (2137), 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460, with a copy also sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Attention: Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20503. Please refer to EPA ICR No. 1704.03 and OMB Control No. 2070-0143 in any correspondence. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Review Requested: This is a request to renew a currently approved information collection. ICR Numbers: EPA ICR No. 1704.03 and OMB No. 2070-0143. Current Expiration Date: Current OMB approval expires on September 30, 1996. Title: Alternate Threshold for Low Annual Reportable Amounts; Toxic Chemical Release Reporting. Abstract: This information collection request (ICR) covers the public reporting and recordkeeping requirements associated with toxics release inventory (TRI) reporting based on an alternate threshold for facilities with low amounts of chemicals in waste, under section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA) (42 U.S.C. 11023(f)(2)). Section 313 of EPCRA requires certain facilities manufacturing, processing, or otherwise using listed toxic chemicals in excess of the applicable threshold quantities to report their environmental releases of such chemicals annually. Each covered facility must file a separate Form R for each listed chemical [[Page 41408]] manufactured, processed or otherwise used in excess of the reporting thresholds established in section 313(f)(1). EPA has authority to revise these threshold amounts pursuant to section 313(f)(2); however, such revised threshold amounts must obtain reporting on a substantial majority of total releases of the chemical at all facilities subject to section 313. A revised threshold may be based on classes of chemicals or categories of facilities. Section 328 provides EPA with general rulemaking authority to develop regulations necessary to carry out the purposes of the Act. EPA has established an alternate threshold for those facilities with low amounts of a listed toxic chemical in wastes. A facility that meets the current section 313 reporting thresholds, but estimates that the total amount of the chemical in total waste does not exceed 500 pounds per year, can take advantage of an alternate manufacture, process or otherwise use threshold of 1 million pounds per year, for that chemical, provided that certain conditions are adhered to. The amounts in total waste are the combined total of amounts released at the facility, treated at the facility (as represented by amounts destroyed or converted by treatment processes), recovered at the facility as a result of recycling operations, combusted for the purpose of energy recovery at the facility, and transferred from the facility to off-site locations for the purpose of recycling, energy recovery, treatment, or disposal. Each qualifying facility that chooses to apply the revised manufacture, process or otherwise use threshold must file an annual certification statement in lieu of a complete Form R. This annual certification is submitted to both the EPCRA reporting center and the designated state recipient in the same manner that the Form R is submitted. The annual certification provides a signed statement that the sum of the amount of the TRI chemical in wastes did not exceed 500 pounds for this reporting year, and that the chemical was manufactured, processed, or otherwise used in an amount not exceeding 1 million pounds during this reporting year. 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 have no access to any information on these chemicals. The certification statement can also be considered a de facto range report that indicates that the sum of amounts of the chemical in waste did not exceed 500 pounds, which can be 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 along with other interested parties a means to track chemical management activities and verify overall compliance with the rule. This ICR is similar to the one previously approved by OMB, but has been amended slightly to reflect TRI delisting actions that have occurred since the last ICR and which impact the estimated number of potential certifications. To date, EPA has either completely removed or modified the listing for 7 chemicals. This reduces the number of certification statements estimated by approximately 12 percent compared to the previous ICR for the alternate threshold, which acts to reduce the estimated burden for this data collection. Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 34.5 hours per response. 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. No person is 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 displayed in 40 CFR Part 9. Respondents/Affected Entities: Chemical facilities that manufacture, process or otherwise use certain toxic chemicals and which are required, under EPCRA section 313, to report annually to EPA their environmental releases of such chemicals. Estimated No. of Respondents: 10,257 Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 709,784 hours. Frequency of Collection: Annual. Dated: July 31, 1996. Joseph Retzer, Director, Regulatory Information Division. [FR Doc. 96-20249 Filed 8-7-96; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560-50-P