[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 184 (Thursday, September 23, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 51539]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-24839]



[[Page 51539]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6442-5]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; National Pretreatment 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: Information Collection 
Request for the National Pretreatment Program (40 CFR part 403), EPA 
ICR No. 0002.09 (expires October 31, 1999), OMB Control Number 2040-
0009. 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 October 25, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sandy Farmer at EPA by phone at (202) 
260-2740, by email at [email protected], or download a copy of the 
ICR off the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/icr and refer to EPA ICR No. 
0002.09.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
     Title: Information Collection Request for the National 
Pretreatment Program (40 CFR part 403), EPA ICR No. 0002.09 (expires 
October 31, 1999), OMB Control No. 2040-0009. This is a request for 
review of an extension of a currently approved collection.
    Abstract: This ICR calculates the burden and costs associated with 
managing the National Pretreatment Program mandated by sections 402(a) 
and (b) and 307(b) of the Clean Water Act. This ICR is a renewal of the 
Revision of the Information Collection Request for the National 
Pretreatment Program (OMB Control No. 2040-0009, EPA ICR No. 0002.08).
    Management of the pretreatment program is the responsibility of the 
Office of Wastewater Management (OWM) in the Office of Water (OW), 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Clean Water Act requires EPA 
to develop national pretreatment standards to control discharges from 
Industrial Users (IUs) into Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTWs). 
These standards limit the level of certain pollutants in IU 
wastewaters. EPA administers the pretreatment program through the 
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program. 
Under the NPDES permit program, EPA may approve State or individual 
POTW implementation of the pretreatment standards at their respective 
levels. OWM uses the data collected under the pretreatment program to 
monitor and enforce compliance with the regulations, as well as to 
authorize program administration at the State or local (POTW) level. 
The data collected from IUs includes the mass, frequency, and content 
of their discharges, their schedules for installing pretreatment 
equipment, and actual or anticipated discharges of wastes that violate 
pretreatment standards, have the potential to cause problems at the 
POTW, or are considered hazardous under the Resource Conservation and 
Recovery Act (RCRA). States and POTWs applying for approval of 
pretreatment programs submit data concerning their legal, procedural, 
and administrative bases for establishing such programs. This 
information may include surveys of IUs, local limits for pollutant 
concentration, and schedules for completion of major project 
requirements. IUs and POTWs submit written reports. These data may then 
be entered into the NPDES databases by the approved State or EPA.
    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 April 12, 
1999 (64 FR 17660); no comments were received.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 6.5 
hours per response and to require 7.16 hours per respondent for 
recordkeeping. 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: State and local governments and 
regulated industrial users.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 29,517.
    Frequency of Response: Annually, semi-annually, and on occasion.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 1,347,018 hours.
    Estimated Total Annualized Cost Burden (non-labor costs): 
$40,076,913.
    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. 0002.09 and OMB Control No. 2040-0009 in any 
correspondence.

Ms. Sandy Farmer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of 
Policy, 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 EPA, 725 17th Street, NW, 
Washington, DC 20503.

    Dated: September 16, 1999.
Richard T. Westlund,
Acting Director, Regulatory Information Division.
[FR Doc. 99-24839 Filed 9-22-99; 8:45 am]
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