[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 9 (Thursday, January 14, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2486-2488]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-895]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OPPTS-00261; FRL-6050-8]


Export of Toxic Chemicals; 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 Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. Before submitting 
the ICR to OMB, EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the 
information collection described in Unit I. and Unit II. of this 
document. The ICR is a continuing ICR entitled ``TSCA Section 12(b) 
Notification of

[[Page 2487]]

Chemical Exports,'' EPA ICR No. 0795.10, OMB No. 2070-0030, which 
relates to reporting requirements found at 40 CFR part 707, subpart D. 
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 March 15, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Each comment must bear the docket control number ``OPPTS-
00261'' and administrative record number 205. All comments should be 
sent in triplicate to: OPPT Document Control Officer (7407), Office of 
Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M 
St., SW., Rm. G-099, Washington, DC 20460.
    Comments and data may also be submitted electronically to: 
[email protected]. Follow the instructions under Unit III. of this 
document. No TSCA Confidential Business Information (CBI) should be 
submitted through e-mail.
    All comments that contain information claimed as CBI must be 
clearly marked as such. Three sanitized copies of any comments 
containing information claimed as CBI must also be submitted and will 
be placed in the public record for this document. Persons submitting 
information on any portion of which they believe is entitled to 
treatment as CBI by EPA must assert a business confidentiality claim in 
accordance with 40 CFR 2.203(b) for each such portion. This claim must 
be made at the time that the information is submitted to EPA. If a 
submitter does not assert a confidentiality claim at the time of 
submission, EPA will consider this as a waiver of any confidentiality 
claim and the information may be made available to the public by EPA 
without further notice to the submitter.

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: 
Rob Esworthy, Environmental Assistance Division (7408), Office of 
Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M 
St., SW., Washington, DC 20460, Telephone: 202-260-3795, Fax: 202-260-
2219, e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Availability:

Internet

    Electronic copies of the ICR are available from the EPA Home Page 
at the Federal Register - Environmental Documents entry for this 
document under ``Laws and Regulations'' (http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/).

Fax-on-Demand

    Using a faxphone call 202-401-0527 and select item 4065 for a copy 
of the ICR.

I. Background

    Affected entities: Entities potentially affected by this action are 
those companies that export or engage in wholesale sales of chemical 
substances or mixtures. For each collection of information addressed in 
this notice, EPA would like to solicit comments to:
    1. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected.
    4. 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 ICR as well as the 
Agency's intention to renew the corresponding OMB approvals.
    Title: TSCA Section 12(b) Notification of Chemical Exports.
    ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 0795.10, OMB No. 2070-0030.
    Approval expiration date: April 30, 1999.
    Abstract: Section 12(b)(2) of the Toxic Substances Control Act 
(TSCA) requires that any person who exports or intends to export to a 
foreign country a chemical substance or mixture that is regulated under 
TSCA sections 4, 5, 6 and/or 7 submit to EPA notification of such 
export or intent to export. Upon receipt of notification, EPA will 
advise the government of the importing country of the U.S. regulatory 
action with respect to that substance. EPA uses the information 
obtained from the submitter via this collection to advise the 
government of the importing country.
    Responses to the collection of information are mandatory (see 40 
CFR part 707, subpart D). 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.
    Potential future EPA actions affecting this information collection: 
The purpose of this section is to identify EPA actions that are 
anticipated to occur during the collection period that could affect the 
information requirements and burden. The Agency will follow appropriate 
procedures for modifying the TSCA section 12(b) Notification of 
Chemical Exports ICR to account for the impacts of these actions at 
such time that they actually occur.
    On October 9, 1998, EPA announced the High Production Volume 
Chemical (HPV) Challenge Program. The HPV Program is a key element of 
the Chemical Right-to-Know (ChemRTK) initiative announced by Vice 
President Gore and EPA Administrator Browner on the eve of Earth Day 
1998. The Chem-RTK initiative challenges government, industry and the 
environmental community to develop aggressive strategies that will 
rapidly fill the gaps in our understanding about the potential health 
and environmental effects associated with chemicals used widely in our 
communities and make this information easily accessible to the public.
    The HPV Challenge Program is a major new voluntary chemical testing 
effort created to ensure that a complete set of baseline health and 
environmental effects screening data on thousands of HPV industrial 
chemicals is made available to the public. EPA in partnership with 
industry and environmental groups have outlined an approach for 
compiling the basic information for 2,800 HPV chemicals. HPV chemicals 
are defined as those that are manufactured in, or imported into, the 
United States in amounts exceeding 1 million pounds per year.
    For those chemicals not selected by companies for voluntary 
testing, EPA will require the testing by law, using the testing 
authorities contained in section 4 of TSCA. EPA will issue a final rule 
requiring the testing no later than December 1999. At the time of the 
writing of this ICR, EPA is developing

[[Page 2488]]

options for a proposed rulemaking expected to be published during the 
second quarter of FY 1999. This includes determining which chemicals 
and the number of chemicals potentially affected by these rulemaking 
requirements. The chemicals included in the proposed and final 
rulemaking will be subject to section 12(b) export notification 
requirements. EPA anticipates that this will result in an increase of 
the information collection burden for section 12(b). The calculation 
for the increased burden will likely be a straightforward 
multiplication of number of chemicals not currently subject to section 
12(b) requirements by the average number of hours and associated cost.
    EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) has been 
working with industry representatives exploring opportunities for 
electronic submission of data to the Agency. One pilot includes 
electronic submission of section 12(b) export notifications. OPPT has 
recently developed a new database for accepting electronic submissions 
under section 12(b). The new database incorporates new web and public 
key infrastructure (PKI) technology that will allow for submissions via 
the Internet. The new database is currently undergoing beta testing and 
EPA anticipates it will be available for implementation later this 
calendar year. OPPT hopes to announce the details regarding its ability 
to accept electronic section 12(b) submissions in a subsequent Federal 
Register notice sometime later in FY 1999. EPA expects electronic 
submission will result in an overall reduction of the information 
collection burden for section 12(b) export notification.
    Burden statement: The burden to respondents for complying with this 
ICR is estimated to total 6,200 hours per year with an annual cost of 
$257,470. These totals are based on an average burden of approximately 
0.564 hours per response for an estimated 350 respondents making one or 
more responses annually. These estimates include 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 and Electronic Submissions

    The official record for this document, as well as the public 
version, has been established for this document under docket control 
number ``OPPTS-00261'' (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 12 noon to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal 
holidays. The official record is located in the TSCA Nonconfidential 
Information Center, Rm. NE-B607, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC.
    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. Comments and data 
will also be accepted on disks in WordPerfect 5.1/6.1 or ASCII file 
format. All comments and data in electronic form addressing ICR No. 
0795.10 must be identified by docket control number ``OPPTS-00261'' and 
administrative record number 205. Electronic comments on this document 
may be filed online at many Federal Depository Libraries.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Information collection requests, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: January 5, 1999.

Susan H. Wayland,

Acting Assistant Administrator for Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic 
Substances.

[FR Doc. 99-895 Filed 1-13-99; 8:45 am]
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