[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 231 (Thursday, December 2, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67566-67568]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-31279]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6482-4]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure 
Plans

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: Spill Prevention, Control and 
Countermeasure Plans (SPCC), OMB

[[Page 67567]]

Control No. 2050-0021; expiring 12/31/99). 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 January 3, 2000.

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. 328.08.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: ``Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure Plans'' (OMB 
Control No. 2050-0021; EPA ICR No. 328.08) expiring 12/31/99. This ICR 
requests an extension of a currently approved collection.
    Abstract: Under Section 311 of the Clean Water Act, EPA's Oil 
Pollution Prevention regulation (40 CFR part 112) requires facility 
owners or operators to prepare and implement SPCC Plans and keep 
certain records. Preparation of the SPCC Plan requires that a facility 
owner or operator analyze how to prevent oil discharges, thereby 
promoting appropriate facility design and operations. The information 
in the SPCC Plan also promotes efficient response in the event of a 
discharge. Finally, proper maintenance of the SPCC Plan promotes 
important spill-reducing measures, facilitates leak detection, and 
generally ensures that the facility deters discharges at its peak 
capability. All of the SPCC Plan recordkeeping activities are 
mandatory. The specific activities and reasons and uses for the 
information collection are described below. Recordkeeping Activities: 
Under section 112.3, a facility owner or operator must prepare a 
written SPCC Plan, maintain it at or near the facility, and have it 
certified by a Registered Professional Engineer (PE). Under section 
112.5 the SPCC Plan must be amended (I) whenever there is a facility 
change that materially affects the potential to discharge oil, and (ii) 
to include more effective prevention and control technology identified 
in the owner or operator's triennial Plan review. If amended, the Plan 
must also be certified by a PE. Under section 112.4, in the event of 
certain oil discharges, facility owners or operators must submit the 
SPCC Plan and other information to the EPA Regional Administrator and 
the appropriate state water pollution control agency within 60 days. 
Upon review, the Regional Administrator may require amendment of the 
SPCC Plan. Again, the amended Plan must be certified by PE. Under 
section 112.3, the owner or operator must maintain (and update) records 
of specific inspections as outlined under section 112.7(e). Purpose of 
Data Collection: Facility owners or operators are the primary user of 
SPCC Plans and related data. EPA does not collect the Plan or related 
records on a routine basis. Facilities that prepare, implement, and 
maintain an SPCC Plan improve their ability to prevent oil discharges, 
and mitigate the environmental damage caused by such discharges. As 
facility owners or operators accumulate the data, they necessarily 
analyze the facility's capability to prevent oil discharges, facilitate 
safety awareness, and promote the use of appropriate design and 
operational standards that reduce the likelihood of an oil discharge. 
The Plan information can also help the facility respond efficiently in 
the event of a discharge. Inspection records help facility owners and 
operators to promote important operation and maintenance, and 
demonstrate compliance with SPCC requirements.
    EPA also uses the SPCC data in certain situations. EPA primarily 
uses SPCC Plan data to verify that facilities comply with the 
regulation and implement their Plan, including design and operation 
specifications and inspection requirements. EPA reviews SPCC Plans; (1) 
when facilities submit the Plans because of oil discharges, and (2) as 
part of EPA's inspection program. State and local governments may also 
use the data, which is not necessarily available elsewhere and can 
greatly assist local emergency preparedness planning efforts.
    An Agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a current 
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 
Notice required under 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting comments on this 
collection of information was published on September 2, 1999 (64 FR 
48157). We received several comments. Those commenters suggested 
measures like the extension of triennial review to five- or seven-year 
review, exemption of electrical utilities from the SPCC rule or from 
various provisions of that rule, and certification of SPCC Plans by 
environmental professional rather than by a Professional Engineer. We 
will address those comments in a forthcoming rule which we expect to 
finalize in 2000. We received several other comments concerning our 
accounting methodology for Plan certification. Based on these comments, 
we have changed our methodology to better reflect this requirement. The 
Supporting Statement to the Information Collection Request provides 
additional detail concerning this adjustment.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden per facility for this collection of information is estimated to 
range between 39.4 and 100.4 hours for newly regulated facilities and 
4.9 to 13.8 hours for facilities that are currently regulated. 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 to 
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: Non-transportation related 
facilities that could be reasonably expected to discharge oil into or 
upon navigable waters.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 469,289.
    Frequency of Response: One-time plan, occasional records/reports.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 2.8 million hours.
    Estimated Total Annualized Cost Burden: $28.7 million.
    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. 328.08 and OMB Control No. 2050-0021 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 St., NW, Washington, 
D.C. 20503.


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    Dated: November 23, 1999.
Richard T. Westlund,
Acting Director, Regulatory Information Division.
[FR Doc. 99-31279 Filed 12-1-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-U