[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 53 (Monday, March 19, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15420-15422]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-6681]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6953-6]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Certification in Lieu of Chloroform Minimum Monitoring 
Requirements for Direct and Indirect Discharging Mills in the Bleached 
Papergrade Kraft and Soda Subcategory of the Pulp, Paper, and 
Paperboard Point Source Category

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 EPA is planning to submit the 
following proposed Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB): Certification in Lieu of Chloroform 
Minimum Monitoring Requirements for Direct and Indirect Discharging 
Mills in the Bleached Papergrade Kraft and Soda Subcategory of the 
Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Point Source Category, EPA ICR No. 2015.01. 
Before submitting the ICR to OMB for review and approval, EPA is 
soliciting comment on specific aspects of the proposed information 
collection request as described below.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before May 18, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Send comments on this notice in triplicate to Mr. Mark 
Perez, Office of Water, Engineering and Analysis Division (4303), U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Ariel Rios Building, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Avenue N.W., Washington DC 20460. In addition to submitting hard copies 
of the comments, the public may also send comments via e-mail to: 
[email protected]. Copies of the draft information collection request 
are available at http://www.epa.gov/OST/pulppaper or by contacting Mr. 
Perez.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Mark Perez by telephone at (202) 
260-2275, by facsimile at (202) 260-7185, or by e-mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Affected entities: Entities potentially affected by this action are 
those operations that chemically pulp wood fiber using kraft or soda 
methods to produce bleached papergrade pulp, paperboard, coarse paper, 
tissue paper, fine paper, and/or paperboard.
    Title: Certification in Lieu of Chloroform Minimum Monitoring 
Requirements for Direct and Indirect Discharging Mills in the Bleached 
Papergrade Kraft and Soda Subcategory of the Pulp, Paper, and 
Paperboard Point Source Category (EPA ICR No. 2015.01).
    Abstract: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) imposed minimum 
monitoring requirements on bleached papergrade kraft and soda (subpart 
B) mills under 40 CFR part 430 as part of the final Cluster Rules. See 
63 FR 18504. These provisions, promulgated under the authorities of 
sections 301, 304, 307, 308, 402, and 501 of the Clean Water Act, 
require direct and indirect discharging bleached papergrade kraft and 
soda mills (subpart B) to monitor their effluent for certain 
pollutants, including chloroform, at specified frequencies.
    EPA is considering an amendment to the Cluster Rules to allow 
direct and indirect discharging subpart B mills to demonstrate 
compliance with applicable chloroform limitations and standards under 
40 CFR part 430 in lieu of monitoring at a fiber line required by 40 
CFR 430.02 by certifying (1) that the fiber line is not using elemental 
chlorine or hypochlorite as bleaching agents and (2) that it also 
maintains certain process and operating conditions identified during 
the initial compliance

[[Page 15421]]

demonstration period. The initial compliance demonstration consists of 
a period, not less than two years, where the facility must monitor for 
chloroform at the minimum frequency required by 40 CFR 430.02, or more 
frequently, to demonstrate compliance with applicable chloroform 
limitations and standards and record the range of certain process and 
operating conditions during this period.
    With approval of this ICR, mills subject to Subpart B may choose to 
participate by certifying that fiber lines are in compliance with 
effluent limitations and standards in lieu of minimum monitoring for 
chloroform required by 40 CFR 430.02. These mills must submit a report 
summarizing the results of the initial compliance demonstration period 
and subsequently submit periodic certification reports confirming that 
the participating fiber line continues to operate within the range of 
process and operating conditions documented during the initial 
compliance demonstration period.
    EPA expects that the initial compliance demonstration and periodic 
certification reports will be used by NPDES and pretreatment control 
authorities to determine compliance with the Cluster Rules effluent 
limitations and standards for chloroform, establish permit and 
pretreatment control agreement conditions to include the certification 
option, and revise permit requirements based on data from certification 
reports and additional required information from the facility.
    The additional reporting requirements as part of the certification 
option are necessary to confirm compliance with applicable chloroform 
limitations and standards in lieu of minimum monitoring required by 40 
CFR 430.02. The burden associated with these additional reporting 
requirements is expected to be offset by a substantial savings in 
burden and costs that would otherwise be incurred by the minimum 
monitoring requirements.
    In allowing Subpart B facilities to certify in lieu of minimum 
monitoring required by 40 CFR 430.02, EPA has struck a balance between: 
(1) the need to ensure that sufficient data are consistently available 
to permitting and pretreatment control authorities to provide an 
adequate basis to verify compliance with the effluent limitations and 
standards, and to participating mills to ensure the range of process 
and operating parameters documented during the initial compliance 
monitoring period captures variability of normal operations expected 
during the period of subsequent certification, and (2) the availability 
of a less burdensome option than the minimum monitoring requirements to 
provide sufficient data to permitting and pretreatment control 
authorities. The certification option also ensures sufficient process 
and operating data are available to the mill so that the mill operating 
personnel and management may quickly become aware of and react to 
releases that may be harmful to the environment.
    EPA anticipates that some mills may elect to submit information and 
data required as part of the initial compliance demonstration with a 
claim of confidential business information (CBI). All data claimed as 
CBI will be maintained pursuant to 40 CFR part 2 when EPA is the 
permitting authority, and pursuant to regulations governing such 
information when States are the permitting authorities.
    As required by OMB, 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.
    EPA solicits comments on: (i) whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the Agency, including whether the information will have practical 
utility;
    (ii) The accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    (iii) The quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be 
collected; and
    (iv) The burden of the collection of information on those who are 
to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology (e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses).
    Burden Statement: 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 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 previously applicable 
instructions and requirements; train personnel to be able to respond to 
the collection of information; search data sources; complete and review 
the collection of information and transmit or otherwise disclose the 
information. The following paragraphs summarize the burden estimate 
imposed on respondents, including mills and States, and EPA. Details of 
the burden and cost estimate are included in the supporting statement 
of this ICR.
(a) Industry Burden Estimates
    The following discussion describes the total annual burden and 
costs incurred for facilities that choose to certify their fiber lines 
in lieu of chloroform minimum monitoring and the associated overall 
reduction in annual burden and costs for reduced minimum monitoring 
requirements. EPA estimates 80 of the 84 (127 of the 123 fiber lines) 
subpart B mills will choose to certify. The reporting burden a report 
summarizing the results of the initial compliance demonstration period 
and subsequent submission of periodic certification reports. For the 
purposes of this ICR, EPA assumed that periodic certification reports 
are submitted concurrently with monthly Discharge Monitoring Reports 
(DMRs) to the NPDES permit authorities and Periodic Compliance Reports 
(PCRs) to the pretreatment control authority in order to express the 
full potential reporting burden and costs associated with the voluntary 
certification option. Facilities that choose to certify their fiber 
lines in lieu of minimum monitoring for chloroform will experience an 
overall reduction in burden and costs associated with reduced sampling, 
reporting, and analytical burden and costs required by minimum 
monitoring in 40 CFR 430.02. This reduction in cost is estimated to be 
$55,140 annually per mill. The total burden reduction associated with 
the certification option is summarized below:

[[Page 15422]]



 Table 1.--Total Burden and Cost Reduction Resulting from Certification
                in Lieu of Chloroform Minimum Monitoring
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          Total annual     Total annual
               Activity                  burden (hours)    cost (2000)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual burden for reporting for                    480          $27,320
 certification in lieu of chloroform
 minimum monitoring...................
Annual burden reduction from sampling          (19,812)        (572,760)
 for minimum monitoring required by 40
 CFR 430.02...........................
Annual burden reduction from reporting            (160)          (9,110)
 for minimum monitoring required by 40
 CFR 430.02...........................
Annual analytical cost reduction for    ...............      (3,856,740)
 minimum monitoring by 40 CFR 430.02..
                                       ---------------------------------
    Total Annual Burden and Cost               (19,492)     ($4,411,290)
     Reduction........................
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(b) State and Agency Burden Estimates
    EPA does not estimate any addition or reduction of recurring burden 
for NPDES and pretreatment control authorities or for the Agency for 
facilities wishing to certify their fiber lines in lieu of chloroform 
minimum monitoring.

    Dated: March 2, 2001.
Geoffrey H. Grubbs,
Director, Office of Science and Technology.
[FR Doc. 01-6681 Filed 3-16-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P