[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 77 (Wednesday, April 22, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19912-19914]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-10715]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6000-6]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Environmental Documentation and Associated Reporting 
for Environmental Impact Assessment of Nongovernmental Activities in 
Antarctica

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 proposed Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB): Environmental Documentation and 
Associated Reporting for Environmental Impact Assessment of 
Nongovernmental Activities in Antarctica, EPA ICR No. 1808.02, OMB 
Control No. 2020-0007. Before submitting the ICR to OMB for review and 
approval, EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the 
proposed information collection as described below.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before June 22, 1998.

CONTACTS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND TO BE PLACED ON THE PROJECT 
MAILING LIST: For a copy of the ICR or for further information on this 
project, contact Mr. Joseph Montgomery or Ms. Katherine Biggs, Office 
of Federal Activities (2252A), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 
401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone (202) 564-7157 or 
(202) 564-7144, respectively. Information on this project, including 
the Supporting Statement for this ICR, is also available on the World 
Wide Web at: http//www.epa.gov/oeca/ofa.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

    Affected entities: Entities potentially affected by this action are 
nongovernmental operators, including tour operators, conducting 
expeditions to Antarctica.
    Title: Environmental Documentation and Associated Reporting for 
Environmental Impact Assessment of Nongovernmental Activities in 
Antarctica, EPA ICR No. 1808.02, OMB Control No. 2020-0007, expiring 
August 8, 1998.
    Abstract: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated an 
Interim Final Rule for Environmental Impact Assessment of 
Nongovernmental Activities in Antarctica, 40 CFR part 8, in accordance 
with 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 Interim Final Rule provides for 
assessment of the environmental impacts of nongovernmental activities 
in Antarctica, including tourism, and for coordination of the review of 
information regarding environmental impact assessments received from 
other Parties under the Protocol. The requirements of the Interim Final 
Rule apply to operators of nongovernmental expeditions organized in 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 or 
nongovernmental-sponsored activities. The Interim Final Rule does not 
apply to individual U.S. citizens or groups of citizens planning to 
travel to Antarctica on an expedition for which they are not acting as 
an operator. (Operators, for example, typically acquire use of vessels 
or aircraft, hire expedition staff, plan itineraries, and undertake 
other organizational responsibilities.)
    Environmental Documentation. Persons subject to the Interim Final 
Rule at 40 CFR part 8 must prepare environmental documentation, as 
appropriate, to support the operator's determination regarding the 
level of environmental impact of the proposed expedition. Environmental

[[Page 19913]]

documentation includes a Preliminary Environmental Review Memorandum 
(PERM), an Initial Environmental Evaluation (IEE), or a Comprehensive 
Environmental Evaluation (CEE). The environmental documentation must be 
submitted to the Office of Federal Activities (OFA). If the operator 
determines that an expedition will have: (1) Less than a minor or 
transitory impact, a PERM must be submitted no later than 180 days 
before the proposed departure to Antarctica; (2) no more than minor or 
transitory impacts, an IEE must be submitted no later than 90 days 
before the proposed departure; or (3) more than minor or transitory 
impacts, a CEE must 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.1
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    \1\ Article 3(4), of Annex I of the Protocol requires that draft 
CEEs be distributed to all Parties and the Committee for 
Environmental Protection 120 days in advance of the next Antarctic 
Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) at which the CEE may be 
addressed. For example, CEEs that would have been considered at the 
May 1997 ATCM for expeditions during the 1997-1998 austral season 
would have to have been distributed by January 1997, and CEEs to be 
considered at the May 1998 ATCM for expeditions during the 1998-1999 
austral season would have to have been distributed by January 1998.
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    The Protocol and the Interim Final 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 on an 
IEE or CEE, including monitoring of key environmental indicators for an 
activity proceeding on the basis of a CEE, or, if necessary, an IEE. 
For activities requiring an IEE, an operator should be able to use 
procedures currently being voluntarily utilized by operators to provide 
the required information. For activities requiring a CEE, OFA will 
consult with the National Science Foundation and other interested 
federal agencies regarding the monitoring regime that is appropriate to 
the activity proposed, and with regard to possible utilization by the 
operator of relevant monitoring data collected by the U.S. Antarctic 
Program.
    The record developed through these measures must be designed to: 
(a) Enable assessments to be made of the extent to which environmental 
impacts of nongovernmental expeditions are consistent with the 
Protocol; and (b) provide information useful for minimizing and 
mitigating those impacts and, where appropriate, on the need for 
suspension, cancellation, or modification of the activity.
    Environmental documentation will be reviewed by the OFA, in 
consultation with the National Science Foundation and other interested 
federal agencies, and will also be made available to other Parties and 
the public, including tour operators and environmental groups, as 
required under the Protocol or otherwise requested.
    Environmental documents (i.e., PERM, IEE, CEE) must be submitted to 
the Office of Federal Activities and may include electronic copy for 
ease in providing documentation to the public via the World Wide Web 
at: http://www.epa.gov/oeca/ofa. At the time the Interim Final Rule was 
promulgated, EPA anticipated a total of eight respondents annually. The 
EPA further anticipated that the types of nongovernmental activities 
currently being carried out (e.g., ship-based tours and privately 
funded research expeditions) would typically be unlikely to have 
impacts that are more than minor or transitory, thus an IEE should be 
the typical level of environmental documentation. At the time the 
Interim Final Rule was promulgated, such documentation requirements 
were estimated to require about 120 hours total per year per operator 
for preparation of the IEE and associated records of assessment and 
verification.
    In cases of emergency relating to the safety of human life or of 
ships, aircraft, equipment and facilities of high value, or the 
protection of the environment which require an activity to be 
undertaken without completion of the documentation procedures set out 
in the Interim Final Rule, the operator must 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. For the 
1997-1998 austral season, there were no emergencies requiring 
notification by U.S. operators.
    For the 1997-1998 austral season, there were, in fact, nine 
respondents who submitted a total of four IEEs. Paperwork reduction 
provisions in the Interim Final Rule that were used by the operators 
included:
    (a) Incorporation of material into the environmental document by 
referring to it in the IEE;
    (b) Inclusion of all proposed expeditions by one operator within 
one IEE; and
    (c) Use of one IEE to address expeditions being carried out by more 
than one operator; e.g., one IEE included multiple expeditions by five 
operators in the Peninsular Area, and another IEE included multiple 
expeditions by two operators for non-Peninsular Area expeditions.
    Coordination of Review of Information Received from Other Parties 
to the Treaty. The Interim Final Rule also provides for the 
coordination of review of information received from other Parties and 
the public availability of that information including: (1) A 
description of national procedures for considering the environmental 
impacts of proposed activities; (2) an annual list of any IEEs and any 
decisions taken in consequence thereof; (3) significant information 
obtained and any action taken in consequence thereof with regard to 
monitoring from IEEs and CEEs; and (4) information in a final CEE. This 
provision fulfills the United States' obligation to meet the 
requirements of Article 6 of Annex I to the Protocol. The Department of 
State is responsible for coordination of these reviews of drafts with 
interested Federal agencies, and for public availability of documents 
and information. This portion of the Interim Final Rule does not impose 
paperwork requirements on any nongovernmental person subject to U.S. 
regulation.
    Background on ICR Burden: Persons subject to the Interim Final Rule 
at 40 CFR part 8 must prepare environmental documentation to support 
the operator's determination regarding the level of environmental 
impact of the proposed expedition. The Interim Final Rule provides for 
incorporation of material into an environmental document by referring 
to it in the document when the effect will be to reduce paperwork. 
Further, an operator may include more than one proposed expedition 
within one environmental document and one environmental document may 
also be used to address expeditions being carried out by more than one 
operator to further reduce burden. The operator must submit its 
environmental documentation, along with an electronic copy in HTML 
format, if available, by mail or by special delivery. In cases of 
emergency, the operator must 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.
    The 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 EPA and other 
Federal agencies, including whether the information will have practical 
utility;
    (ii) Evaluate the accuracy of EPA's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed

[[Page 19914]]

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.
    Burden Statement: For the limited time the Interim Final Rule will 
be in effect, EPA assumed an IEE would be the most likely environmental 
documentation submitted by operators, and that there would be no 
reporting for cases of emergency. The EPA further assumed that, for the 
initial year the Interim Final Rule was in effect (e.g., 1997-1998) and 
the subsequent three years, the most likely scenario would be:
    (1) For the initial year, no PERMs or CEEs would be submitted, with 
four IEEs submitted on behalf of nine operators;
    (2) For the subsequent three years, four revised IEEs would be 
submitted on behalf of nine operators;
    (3) For the initial year and subsequent three years, procedures 
would be implemented to assess and provide a regular and verifiable 
record of the actual impacts of any activity which proceeds on the 
basis of an IEE;
    (4) No PERMs, new IEEs, or CEEs would be submitted during the 
subsequent three years; and
    (5) For the initial year, no emergencies would occur requiring 
emergency reporting, and none would occur during the subsequent three 
years.
    The detailed estimate of burden and costs, which considers all 
three levels of environmental documentation, and includes the models 
and assumptions for the estimate of burden and costs for operators is 
presented in EPA's Supporting Statement for this ICR which is available 
from the Contacts or at the World Wide Website listed above. In 
summary, based on the most likely scenario listed above, EPA 
anticipates the following:
    Affected Public: Commercial tour operators and all other 
nongovernmental entities including privately funded research 
expeditions.
    Frequency of Reporting: Once per year.
    Number of Respondents: 9.
    Estimated Average Annual Time: For the initial year, no PERMs or 
CEEs were submitted; four IEEs were submitted on behalf of nine 
operators with an estimated average burden of 216 hours per IEE, or 96 
hours per operator, including assessment and verification procedures. 
For each of the subsequent years, four IEEs are anticipated on behalf 
of nine operators with an estimated annual average burden of 96 hours 
per IEE, or 43 hours per operator, including assessment and 
verification procedures.
    Estimated Start-up Costs: None.
    Estimated O&M Costs: The O&M costs for the initial year and each of 
the subsequent years are estimated at $140 for an IEE including 
assessment and verification procedures, or $62 per operator.
    Estimated Total Burden for the Initial Year and Three Subsequent 
Years: The total respondent burden is estimated as 2,020 hours, or 224 
hours per operator; and the total respondent cost is estimated as 
$126,746, or $14,083 per operator.
    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; 
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.
    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 and 48 CFR chapter 15.

    Dated: April 16, 1998.
Richard E. Sanderson,
Director, Office of Federal Activities.
[FR Doc. 98-10715 Filed 4-21-98; 8:45 am]
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