[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 212 (Wednesday, November 1, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65309-65310]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-28014]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6893-8]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Toxic Chemical Release 
Reporting; Submission of EPA ICR No. 1704.05 to OMB

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of submission to OMB.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 
et seq.), this document announces that EPA is planning to submit the 
following continuing Information Collection Request (ICR) entitled: 
``Alternate Threshold for Low Annual Reportable Amounts; Toxic Chemical 
Release Reporting,'' (EPA ICR No. 1704.05; OMB Control No. 2070-0143) 
to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) pursuant to the procedures 
described in 5 CFR 1320.12. The ICR, which is abstracted below, 
describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated 
cost and burden. The Agency is requesting that OMB renew for 3 years 
the existing approval for this ICR, which is scheduled to expire on 
February 28, 2001. A Federal Register notice announcing the Agency's 
intent to seek the renewal of this ICR and the 60-day public comment 
opportunity, requesting comments on the request and the contents of the 
ICR, was issued on July 6, 2000 (65 FR 41653). EPA received comments on 
this ICR which have been addressed.

DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before December 1, 
2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sandy Farmer at EPA by phone on (202) 
260-2740, by e-mail: ``[email protected],'' or download off the 
Internet at http://www.epa.gov/icr/icr.htm and refer to EPA ICR No. 
1704.05.

ADDRESSES: Send comments, referencing EPA ICR No. 1704.05 and OMB 
Control No. 2070-0143, to the following addresses: Ms. Sandy Farmer, 
Office of Environmental Information (2822), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20460; 
and to Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB), Attention: Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th 
Street, NW, Washington, DC 20503.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Review Requested: This is a request to renew a currently approved 
information collection.
    Title: Alternate Threshold for Low Annual Reportable Amounts; Toxic 
Chemical Release Reporting.
    Abstract: EPCRA section 313 requires certain facilities 
manufacturing, processing, or otherwise using certain toxic chemicals 
in excess of specified threshold quantities to report their 
environmental releases of such chemicals annually. Each such facility 
must file a separate report for each such chemical.
    In accordance with the authority in EPCRA, EPA has established an 
alternate threshold for those facilities with low amounts of a listed 
toxic chemical in wastes. A facility that meets the current reporting 
thresholds but estimates that the total amount of the chemical in total 
waste does not exceed 500 pounds per year, and that the chemical was 
manufactured, processed, or otherwise used in an amount not exceeding 1 
million pounds during the reporting year, can take advantage of 
reporting under the alternate threshold option for that chemical for 
that reporting year.
    Each qualifying facility that chooses to apply the revised 
threshold must file the Form A (EPA Form 9350-2) in lieu of a complete 
TRI reporting Form R (EPA Form 9350-1). In submitting the Form A, the 
facility certifies that the sum of the amount of the EPCRA section 313 
chemical in wastes did not exceed 500 pounds for the reporting year, 
and that the chemical was manufactured, processed, or otherwise used in 
an

[[Page 65310]]

amount not exceeding 1 million pounds during the reporting year. Use of 
the Form A in place of the Form R represents a substantial savings to 
respondents, both in burden hours and in labor costs.
    The primary function served by the submission of the Form A is to 
satisfy the statutory requirement to maintain reporting on a 
substantial majority of releases for all listed chemicals. Without the 
Form A, users of TRI data would not have access to any information on 
these chemicals. The Form A also serves as a de facto range report, 
which is useful to any party interested in amounts being handled at a 
particular facility or for broader statistical purposes. Additionally, 
the Form A provides compliance monitoring and enforcement programs and 
other interested parties with a means to track chemical management 
activities and verify overall compliance with the rule. Responses to 
this collection of information are mandatory (see 40 CFR part 372) and 
facilities subject to reporting must either submit a Form A or a Form 
R.
    Burden Statement: The annual public burden for this collection of 
information, which is approved under OMB Control No. 2070-0143, is 
estimated to average 34.6 hours per each form, for a facility which 
certifies one chemical per form A. For facilities which choose to 
certify two chemicals per form A, the estimated burden is 67.8 hours 
per form. Responding to this information collection requires: (1) 
Determining whether a listed toxic chemical is eligible for 
certification under the alternate threshold, and (2) completing the 
Form A. The burden of determining eligibility for certification is 
estimated to average 33.2 hours for each chemical that is certified. 
The burden of completing the Form A is estimated to average 1.4 hours, 
regardless of the number of chemicals being certified. The total burden 
per response is the combination of these two, and will vary depending 
on the number of listed toxic chemicals being certified.
    EPA estimates that as many as 7,397 respondents may submit a Form A 
with these responses containing a total of 14,793 certifications. Total 
respondent burden and cost for completing those Form As are estimated 
at approximately 582,000 burden hours and $52 million per year. (The 
alternate threshold may save reporting facilities up to 189,000 hours, 
with a dollar value of $11 million, compared to the cost of reporting 
on Form R.) The estimated burden in this supporting statement differs 
from what is currently in OMB's inventory for alternate threshold 
reporting (13,157 respondents, 9,072 responses, and 646,875 burden 
hours) as a result of both an adjustment and a program change. The 
adjustment was made by calculating the number of eligible respondents 
and responses from the manufacturing sector based on TRI data from the 
1998 reporting year (the most recent TRI data available). This 
adjustment reduced reporting burden by 62,772 hours. The program change 
was made by excluding the reporting of PBT chemicals on Form A. This 
change reduces the burden associated with this collection. The portion 
of the change due to this regulatory change decreases burden by 2,114 
hrs.
    Estimated No. of Respondents: 7,397 respondents.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 582,000 burden hours.
    Frequency of Collection: Annual.

    Dated: October 23, 2000.
Oscar Morales,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 00-28014 Filed 10-31-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P