[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 21 (Tuesday, February 2, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5057-5059]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-2448]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6228-8]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; StarTrack Program

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 document announces that the following Information 
Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for review and approval: StarTrack Program, EPA ICR 
Number 1825.01. The ICR describes the nature of the information 
collection and its expected burden and cost; where appropriate, it 
includes the actual data collection instrument.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before March 4, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Sandy Farmer at EPA by phone 
at (202) 260-2740, by email at [email protected], or 
download off the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/icr and refer to EPA 
ICR No. 1825.01.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

[[Page 5058]]

    Title: StarTrack Program, EPA ICR No. 1825.01. This is a new 
collection.
    Abstract: U.S. EPA's New England Region office (Boston, MA), in 
conjunction with participating states and, in some cases, local 
agencies, is developing a third-party certification system for 
environmental performance as part of its StarTrack Program. 
Participants in StarTrack will develop, demonstrate, and/or test 
compliance tools and principles associated with third-party 
certification of environmental performance. The goal of the program is 
to expand the use of compliance and environmental management systems to 
improve protection of the environment, increase the public's 
understanding of a company's environmental performance, and further 
promote efficient use of public and private resources.
    StarTrack is one of many reinvention initiatives within EPA. EPA's 
reinvention philosophy is focused on improving environmental results 
while allowing flexibility in how the improved results are achieved; 
sharing information and decision-making with all stakeholders; creating 
marketplace incentives for compliance with environmental requirements; 
and lessening the red-tape and paperwork burden of complying with 
environmental requirements.
    Reinventing environmental protection means addressing the everyday 
inefficiencies and limitations associated with environmental 
regulations and managing for better environmental results. It includes 
designing and testing fundamentally new systems, such as those 
encouraged in StarTrack, and considering alternative approaches to 
address environmental challenges.
    In each year of participation in StarTrack, a company agrees to 
audit its environmental compliance and management system and to prepare 
and publish a comprehensive environmental performance report. During 
every third year of participation, the company will have its compliance 
and management system audit results reviewed and certified by an 
independent third party. Follow-up certification may be required on a 
more frequent basis for facilities not meeting full certification 
requirements.
    To participate, a company must have an established compliance 
auditing program and a demonstrated commitment to compliance, pollution 
prevention, and continuous improvement of environmental performance.
    Applicants to the program must submit information addressing the 
selection factors (commitment to compliance, continuous improvement, 
and pollution prevention), using examples, quantitative data, and 
existing documentation, where applicable. An applicant may submit 
information such as a compliance audit protocol, auditors' 
qualifications, and a sample of previous audit findings and corrective 
action plans to support a claim to an established compliance auditing 
program. The facility should have an acceptable compliance history 
including no open or recent major enforcement actions.
    Upon acceptance to the program, the participant will sign a Letter 
of Commitment with the EPA Region, participating state regulatory 
agencies, and participating local regulatory agencies. Facilities 
renewing their status as a StarTrack company after their first year 
will not need to re-apply to the program, but will need to sign a 
Letter of Commitment for the new year of participation. The participant 
will be required to submit several reports documenting required 
StarTrack activities throughout the 12-month period of participation. 
It is ultimately the responsibility of the StarTrack facility to ensure 
that the following required documents are submitted to EPA in a timely 
fashion: audit workplans, reports and corrective action plans for all 
compliance and EMS audits; third party certifier reports and 
certifications; the facility improvement plan (in response to the 
certification report); and an annual environmental performance report.
    Application to StarTrack is voluntary. Information submitted as 
part of the requirements for ongoing participation in the program 
(e.g., EMS and compliance audits, status reports, etc.) is mandatory to 
maintain StarTrack participatory status and to obtain the Program 
benefits.
    EPA shall treat information claimed as confidential business 
information (CBI) in accordance with the requirements of 40 CFR part 2. 
If the participant fails to claim the information as confidential upon 
submission, it may be made available to the public without further 
notice. EPA cannot guarantee that information submitted pursuant to 
this agreement and claimed as confidential will be immune from 
disclosure to a requester under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). 
Participating state agencies will maintain CBI confidentiality to the 
extent allowed by relevant state law. Note that some state laws provide 
for a greater degree of access to and narrower protections for 
information considered confidential under federal law.
    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.
    The Federal Register document required under 5 CFR 1320.8(d), 
soliciting comments on this collection of information was published on 
September 11, 1998 (63 FR 48725); no comments were received.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 36 
hours per response for application to the program; 156 hours per 
response for program participation; and 67 hours per response for 
third-party auditor activities. 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.
    Respondents/Affected Entities: Businesses, State Governments.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 68.
    Frequency of Response: Annually
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 11,391 hours.
    Estimated Total Annualized Cost Burden: $0.
    Send comments on the Agency's need for this information, the 
accuracy of the provided burden estimates, and any suggested methods 
for minimizing respondent burden, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques to the following addresses. Please 
refer to the EPA ICR number in any correspondence.

Ms. Sandy Farmer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, OP Regulatory 
Information Division (2137), 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460;
    and
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for

[[Page 5059]]

EPA, 725 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20503.

    Dated: January 26, 1999.
Joseph Retzer,
Director, Regulatory Information Division.
[FR Doc. 99-2448 Filed 2-1-99; 8:45 am]
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