[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 155 (Thursday, August 12, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44005-44006]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-20863]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6418-6]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Standards of Performance for Primary and 
Secondary Emissions From Basic Oxygen Process Furnace at Steel Plants

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: NSPS, Subparts N and Na--
Primary and Secondary Emissions from Basic Oxygen Process Furnaces at 
Steelmaking Facilities; OMB Control No. 2060-0029; expiration date is 
September 30, 1999. The ICR describes the nature of the information 
collection and its expected burden and cost.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before September 13, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For a copy of the ICR, call Sandy 
Farmer at EPA, (202) 260-2740, or download off the Internet at http://
www.epa.gov/icr/icr.htm and refer to EPA ICR No.1069.06.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: (OMB Control No. 2060-0029; EPA ICR No.1069.06) expiring

[[Page 44006]]

September 30, 1999. This is an extension of a currently approved 
collection.
    Abstract: Sources are required to meet monitoring, recordkeeping 
and reporting requirements under NSPS, Subparts N and Na. Specifically, 
the standards require that a source conduct the following activities:
     Keep records of: startups, shutdowns, malfunctions, 
periods where the continuous monitoring system is inoperative 
(60.7(b)); time and duration of each steel production cycle 
(60.143(a)); time and duration of the rates or levels of any diversion 
of exhaust gases from the main stack servicing the BOPF (60.143(a)); 
the various rates or levels of exhaust ventilation at each phase of the 
cycle through each duct of the secondary emission capture system 
(60.143a(a)); time and duration of the visible emission data sets 
(60.145a(d)); particulate matter concentration (i.e., opacity levels) 
exiting the control device and discharged into the atmosphere 
(60.142(a-b)); pressure loss through the venturi constriction of the 
scrubber continuously (60.143(a)(1)); and water supply pressure to the 
venturi scrubber control equipment continuously (60.143(a)(2)). 
Industry is required to maintain records at the facility for a minimum 
of two years.
     Provide notification of: construction/reconstruction 
(60.7(a)(1)); anticipated startup (60.7(a)(2)); actual startup 
(60.7(a)(3)); initial and any other performance tests (60.8(d)); 
demonstration of continuous monitoring system (60.7(a)(5)); and 
physical or operational change (60.7(a)(4) and 60.145(a)).
     Report on: initial performance test results (60.8 (a)); 
and monitoring results (e.g., opacity) that average more than 10 % 
below the average level maintained during the most recent performance 
test on a semiannual basis (60.7(c), 60.143(c) and 60.143a(d)).
    An owner or operator could elect to reduce operating expenses by 
not installing, maintaining, or otherwise operating the control 
technology required by the standards. In the absence of the information 
collection requirements, compliance with the standards could be ensured 
only through continuous on-site inspections by regulatory agency 
personnel. Consequently, not collecting the information would result in 
either greatly increased expenditures of resources, or the inability to 
ensure compliance with the standards.
    The information collected from recordkeeping and reporting 
requirements is also used for targeting inspections, and is of 
sufficient quality to be used as evidence in court. The enforcement 
personnel may elect to conduct an inspection to ensure that the 
equipment is properly installed and operated, as was indicated in the 
performance test report. They may also conduct periodic inspections to 
obtain additional data on source operation and maintenance and to make 
compliance determinations.
    All reports are sent to the delegated State or Local Agency. In the 
event that there is no such delegated authority, the reports are sent 
directly to the EPA Regional Office.
    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 in the Federal 
Register (63 FR 47280) on September 4, 1998; no comments were received.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 18.0 
hours per response. 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: Owners and Operators of Iron and 
Steel Plants.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 11.33.
    Frequency of Response: Initial and semiannual.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 1,795 hours.
    Estimated Total Annualized Cost Burden: $34,400.
    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 EPA ICR No 1069.06 and OMB Control No. 2060-0029 in any 
correspondence.

Ms. Sandy Farmer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, OPPE Regulatory 
Information Division (2137), 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460 (or 
E-Mail Farmer.S[email protected]);
    and
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th Street, NW, 
Washington, DC 20503.

    Dated: August 6, 1999.
Richard T. Westlund,
Acting Director, Regulatory Information Division.
[FR Doc. 99-20863 Filed 8-11-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P