[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 200 (Tuesday, October 16, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52604-52606]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-25968]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7084-1]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; See List of ICRs Planned To Be Submitted in Section A

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 for 
renewal the following two current Information Collection Requests (ICR) 
to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB): Best Management Practices 
(``BMP''), Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards, Pulp, Paper, 
and Paperboard Manufacturing Category (EPA ICR No. 1829.02) and 
Milestones Plan, Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards, 
Bleached Papergrade Kraft and Soda Subcategory, Pulp, Paper, and 
Paperboard Manufacturing Category (EPA ICR No. 1877.02). OMB had 
approved the current BMP information collection on March 2, 1999, and 
had approved the current milestones plan collection on January 13, 
1999. Before submitting the renewal ICRs to OMB for review and 
approval, EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the 
information collections as described at the beginning of Supplementary 
Information.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before December 17, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Contact Sandy Farmer at EPA by phone at (202) 260-2740, by 
e-mail at [email protected], or download the ICR off the Internet at 
http://www.epa.gov/icr and refer to EPA ICR No. 1829.02 or 1877.02. A 
hard copy of an ICR may be obtained without charge by calling the 
identified information contact individual for each ICR in Section B of 
the Supplementary Information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific information on the 
individual ICRs see Section B of the Supplementary Information.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

For All ICRs

    An Agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to, a collection information unless it displays a currently 
valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA's regulations 
are displayed in 40 CFR part 9.
    The EPA would like to solicit comments to:
    (i) Evaluate 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) Evaluate the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden 
of the proposed collection of information;
    (iii) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
to be collected; and
    (iv) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting 
electronic submission of responses.
    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.

A. List of ICRs Planned To Be Submitted

    In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et 
seq.), this notice announces that EPA is planning to submit for renewal 
the following two Information Collection Requests (ICR) to the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB):
    (1) Best Management Practices, Effluent Limitations Guidelines and 
Standards, Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Manufacturing Category, EPA ICR 
No. 1829.02, OMB Control No. 2040-0207, Expires on 03/31/2002;
    (2) Milestones Plan, Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards, 
Bleached Papergrade Kraft and Soda Subcategory, Pulp, Paper, and 
Paperboard Manufacturing Category, EPA ICR No. 1877.02, OMB Control No. 
2040-0202, Expires on 01/31/2002.

B. Contact Individuals for ICRs

    (1) Best Management Practices, Effluent Limitations Guidelines and 
Standards, Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Manufacturing Category, Sandy 
Farmer, (202) 260-2740, [email protected]. (OMB Control No. 2040-
0207; EPA ICR No. 1829.01) expiring 03/31/2002;
    (2) Milestones Plan, Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards, 
Bleached Papergrade Kraft and Soda Subcategory, Pulp, Paper, and 
Paperboard Manufacturing Category, Sandy Farmer, (202) 260-2740, 
[email protected]. (OMB Control No. 2040-0202; EPA ICR No. 1877.01) 
expiring 01/31/2002.

C. Individual ICRs

    (1) Best Management Practices, Effluent Limitations Guidelines and 
Standards, Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Manufacturing Category, EPA ICR 
No. 1829.01, OMB Control No. 2040-0207, Expires on 03/31/2002.
    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; those operations that 
chemically pulp wood fiber using papergrade sulfite methods to produce 
pulp and/or paper; and State and local governments which regulate areas 
where such operations are located.
    Abstract: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established 
Best Management Practices (BMPs) provisions as part of final amendments 
to 40 CFR part 430, the Pulp, Paper and Paperboard Point Source 
Category promulgated on April 15, 1998 (see 63 FR 18504). These 
provisions, promulgated under the authorities of Sections 304, 307, 
308, 402, and 501 of the Clean Water Act, require that owners or 
operators of bleached papergrade kraft and soda mills and papergrade 
sulfite mills implement site-specific BMPs to prevent or otherwise 
contain leaks and spills of spent pulping liquors, soap and turpentine 
and to control intentional diversions of these materials. See 40 CFR 
430.03.
    EPA has determined that these BMPs are necessary because the 
materials controlled by these practices, if spilled or otherwise lost, 
can interfere with wastewater treatment operations and

[[Page 52605]]

lead to increased discharges of toxic, nonconventional, and 
conventional pollutants. For further discussion of the need for BMPs, 
see Section VI.B.7 of the preamble to the amendments to 40 CFR part 
430. See 63 FR at 18561-66.
    The BMP program includes information collection requirements that 
are intended to help accomplish the overall purposes of the program by, 
for example, training personnel, see 40 CFR 430.03(c)(4), analyzing 
spills that occur, see 40 CFR 430.03(c)(5), identifying equipment items 
that might need to be upgraded or repaired, see 40 CFR 430.03(c)(2), 
and performing monitoring--including the operation of monitoring 
systems--to detect leaks, spills and intentional diversion and 
generally to evaluate the effectiveness of the BMPs, see 40 CFR 
430.03(c)(3), (c)(10), (h), and (i). The regulations also require mills 
to develop and, when appropriate, amend plans specifying how the mills 
will implement the specified BMPs, and to certify to the permitting or 
pretreatment authority that they have done so in accordance with good 
engineering practices and the requirements of the regulation. See 40 
CFR 430.03(d), (e) and (f). The purpose of those provisions is, 
respectively, to facilitate the implementation of BMPs on a site-
specific basis and to help the regulating authorities to ensure 
compliance without requiring the submission of actual BMP plans. 
Finally, the recordkeeping provisions are intended to facilitate 
training, to signal the need for different or more vigorously 
implemented BMPs, and to facilitate compliance assessment. See 40 CFR 
430.03(g).
    EPA has structured the regulation to provide maximum flexibility to 
the regulated community and to minimize administrative burdens on 
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit and 
pretreatment control authorities that regulate bleached papergrade 
kraft and soda and papergrade sulfite mills. Although EPA does not 
anticipate that mills will be required to submit any confidential 
business information or trade secrets as part of this ICR, all data 
claimed as confidential business information will be handled by EPA 
pursuant to 40 CFR part 2.
    Burden Statement: The recurring burden for a mill to periodically 
review and amend the BMP plan, prepare spill reports, perform 
additional monitoring, hold refresher training, and conduct 
recordkeeping and reporting is estimated to be 617, 641 and 665 hours 
annually per mill for simple, moderately complex and complex mills, 
respectively. The total recurring cost for mills associated with the 
BMP requirements is estimated at $1,807,670.
    The recurring burden to State NPDES and pretreatment control 
authorities is estimated at ten hours per year per facility for 
reviewing periodic (e.g., annual or semi-annual) monitoring reports and 
conducting compliance reviews. The total recurring costs for State 
NPDES and pretreatment control authorities is estimated at $32,100.
    The recurring burden to EPA is estimated at eight hours per year 
per facility for support of State and local authority efforts in 
reviewing periodic (e.g., annual or semi-annual) monitoring reports and 
conducting compliance reviews. The total recurring costs for EPA is 
estimated at $25,680.
    (2) Milestones Plan, Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards, 
Bleached Papergrade Kraft and Soda Subcategory, Pulp, Paper, and 
Paperboard Manufacturing Category, EPA ICR No. 1877.01, OMB Control No. 
2040-0202, Expires on 01/31/2002.
    Affected Entities: Entities potentially affected by this action are 
those existing, direct discharging mills with 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 and that choose to participate in the 
Voluntary Incentives Program established under 40 CFR 430.24(b).
    Abstract: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established 
the Milestones Plan requirements as an element of the Voluntary 
Advanced Technology Incentives Program (VATIP) codified at 40 CFR 
430.24(b). The Milestone Plan requirements were promulgated as 
amendments to VATIP on July 7, 1999 (see 64 FR 36582) and are codified 
at 40 C.F.R. 430.24(b)(3). The Milestones Plan provisions, promulgated 
under the authorities of Sections 301, 304, 306, 308, 402 and 501 of 
the Clean Water Act, require owners or operators of bleached papergrade 
kraft and soda mills enrolled in the VATIP to submit information to 
describe each envisioned new technology component or process 
modification the mill intends to implement in order to achieve the 
VATIP Best Available Technology (BAT) limits, including a master 
schedule showing the sequence of implementing new technologies and 
process modifications and identifying critical-path relationships 
within the sequence.
    EPA has determined that the Milestones Plan will provide valuable 
benchmarks for reasonable inquiries into progress being made by 
participating mills toward achievement of the interim and ultimate Tier 
limits of the VATIP and will offer the necessary flexibility to the 
mill and the permit writer so that the milestones selected to be 
incorporated into the mill's NPDES permit reflect the unique situation 
of the mill.
    The Milestones Plan must include the following information for each 
new individual technology or process modification: (1) A schedule of 
anticipated dates for associated construction, installation, and/or 
process changes; (2) the anticipated dates of completion for those 
steps; (3) the anticipated date that the Advanced Technology process or 
individual component will be fully operational; (4) and the anticipated 
reductions in effluent quantity and improvements in effluent quality as 
measured at the bleach plant (for bleach plant, pulping area and 
evaporator condensates flow and BAT parameters other than Adsorbable 
Organic Halides (AOX)) and the end of the pipe (for AOX). See 40 CFR 
430.24(c)(3). For those technologies or process modifications that are 
not commercially available or demonstrated on a full-scale basis at the 
time of plan development, the Plan must include a schedule for 
initiating and completing research (if necessary), process development, 
and mill trials. See 40 CFR 430.24(c)(3)(i). The Plan must also include 
contingency plans in the event that any of the technologies or 
processes specified in the Milestones Plan need to be adjusted or 
alternative approaches developed to ensure that the ultimate tier 
limits are achieved by the deadlines specified in 40 CFR 
430.24(b)(4)(ii). See 40 CFR 430.24(c)(4).
    EPA has structured the Plan to provide maximum flexibility to the 
regulated community and to minimize administrative burdens on NPDES 
permit authorities that regulate bleached papergrade kraft and soda 
mills. All data claimed as confidential business information (``CBI'') 
or trade secrets submitted by the mills as part of this ICR will be 
handled by EPA pursuant to 40 CFR part 2. If a mill claims all or part 
of the milestones plan as CBI, the mill must prepare and submit to the 
NPDES permitting authority a summary of the plan for public release. 40 
CFR 430.24(c). However, EPA does not believe that submission of any CBI 
will be necessary and, therefore, burden associated with such 
submissions has not been included in the ICR.
    Burden Statement: EPA estimates that 29 mills will voluntarily 
enroll into VATIP. The burden for a mill (which chooses to participate 
voluntarily in the incentives program) to prepare and

[[Page 52606]]

submit a Milestones Plan is estimated to average approximately 120 
hours per respondent. This is a one-time burden. State NPDES permitting 
authorities' burden to review the Milestones Plans is estimated at 16 
hours per respondent as an initial burden with an average recurring 
annual review burden of 6 hours per respondent. Agency burden to review 
the Milestones Plans is estimated at 20 hours per respondent as an 
initial burden with an average recurring annual review burden of 4 
hours per respondent. The total initial cost for the 29 mills 
anticipated to enroll in the VATIP and thus be required to develop a 
Milestones Plan is estimated at $480,900. The total initial burden 
incurred by State permitting authorities and EPA for review of the 
Milestones Plans is estimated at $15,680 and $19,600, respectively. The 
total recurring burden incurred by State permitting authorities and EPA 
for periodic review of the Milestones Plans is estimated at $5,880 and 
$3,920, respectively. There is no recurring burden for mill respondents 
associated with this information collection.

    Dated: October 5, 2001.
Geoffrey H. Grubbs,
Director, Office of Science and Technology
[FR Doc. 01-25968 Filed 10-15-01; 8:45 am]
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