[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 239 (Thursday, December 12, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76400-76403]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-31362]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7421-5]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection 
Extension; Comment Request; Industry Detailed Questionnaire: Phase III 
Cooling Water Intake Structures

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 notice announces that the U.S. Environmental Protection

[[Page 76401]]

Agency (EPA or the ``Agency'') is planning to submit a request for a 
three-year extension of the following Information Collection Request 
(ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB): Industry Detailed 
Questionnaire: Phase II Cooling Water Intake Structures, EPA ICR No. 
1838.01, OMB  2040-0213 expiration December 31, 2002. Before 
submitting the request for extension to OMB for review and approval, 
EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the proposed 
information collection as described below.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before February 10, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted electronically, by mail, or 
through hand delivery. Follow the detailed instructions as provided in 
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Deborah Nagle at EPA by phone at (202) 
566-1063, by Email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Affected Entities

    Entities potentially affected by this action are those existing 
facilities that use cooling water intake structures to withdraw water 
from waters of the U.S. for cooling purposes and that have or are 
required to have a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System 
(NPDES) permit issued under section 402 of the Clean Water Act (CWA). 
In addition to the entities identified in the new facility rule, see 66 
FR 65256 and 65257, this action may affect existing and new Offshore 
and Coastal Oil and Gas Extraction Facilities, and existing and new 
Offshore Seafood Processors because EPA did not survey these industry 
categories during the original information collection effort. In 
addition, EPA may contact approximately 25 Phase III facilities 
(Traditional Steam Electric Utilities, Nonutility Power Producers, 
Paper and Allied Products; Chemical and Allied Products; Petroleum and 
Coal Products; Primary Metals) because they did not fully answer the 
survey questions or because their responses were unclear and require 
additional inquiry.

B. How Can I Get Copies of the ICR Supporting Statement and Other 
Related Information?

    Electronic Access. You may access this Federal Register document 
electronically through the EPA Internet under the ``Federal Register'' 
listings at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/. You may download a copy of 
the ICR extension request at http://www.epa.gov/icr and refer to EPA 
ICR No. 1838.01, OMB  2040-0213. You may obtain a copy of the 
Detailed Industry Questionnaire at http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/316b 
under the section, ``Questionnaires for Existing Facilities.''
    For public commenters, it is important to note that EPA's policy is 
that public comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper, 
will be made available for public viewing in EPA's electronic public 
docket as EPA receives them and without change, unless the comment 
contains copyrighted material, CBI, or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. When EPA identifies a comment 
containing copyrighted material, EPA will provide a reference to that 
material in the version of the comment that is placed in EPA's 
electronic public docket. The entire printed comment, including the 
copyrighted material, will be available in the public docket.
    Public comments submitted on computer disks that are mailed or 
delivered will be transferred to EPA's electronic public docket. Public 
comments that are mailed or delivered will be scanned and placed in 
EPA's electronic public docket. Where practical, physical objects will 
be photographed, and the photograph will be placed in EPA's electronic 
public docket along with a brief description written by the docket 
staff.

C. How and To Whom Do I Submit Comments?

    You may submit comments electronically, by mail, or through hand 
delivery/courier. Please ensure that your comments are submitted within 
the specified comment period. Comments received after the close of the 
comment period will be marked ``late.'' EPA is not required to consider 
these late comments in formulating a final decision. However, late 
comments may be considered if time permits.
    1. Electronically. If you submit an electronic comment as 
prescribed below, EPA recommends that you include your name, mailing 
address, and an e-mail address or other contact information in the body 
of your comment. Also include this contact information on the outside 
of any disk or CD ROM you submit, and in any cover letter accompanying 
the disk or CD ROM. This ensures that you can be identified as the 
submitter of the comment and allows EPA to contact you in case EPA 
cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties or needs further 
information on the substance of your comment. EPA's policy is that EPA 
will not edit your comment, and any identifying or contact information 
provided in the body of a comment will be included as part of the 
comment that is placed in the official public docket, and made 
available in EPA's electronic public docket. If EPA cannot read your 
comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for 
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment.
    i. E-mail. Comments may be sent by electronic mail (e-mail) to 
[email protected], Attention EPA ICR No. 1838.01. EPA's e-mail system 
is not an ``anonymous access'' system; EPA's e-mail system 
automatically captures your e-mail address. E-mail addresses that are 
automatically captured by EPA's e-mail system are included as part of 
the comment that is placed in the official public docket, and made 
available in EPA's electronic public docket.
    ii. Disk or CD ROM. You may submit comments on a disk or CD ROM 
that you mail to the mailing address identified below. These electronic 
submissions will be accepted in WordPerfect. Avoid the use of special 
characters and any form of encryption.
    2. By Mail. Send three copies of your comments to: Ms. Deborah G. 
Nagle, U.S. EPA, Engineering and Analysis Division (4303T), 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC, 20460, Attention EPA ICR No. 
1838.01.
    3. By Hand Delivery or Courier. Deliver your comments to: Ms. 
Deborah G. Nagle, U.S. EPA, Engineering and Analysis Division (Room 
6233N), 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC, 20004, Attention 
EPA ICR No. 1838.01. Such deliveries are only accepted during the 
normal hours of operation from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m..

D. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?

    You may find the following suggestions helpful for preparing your 
comments:
    1. Explain your views as clearly as possible.
    2. Describe any assumptions that you used.
    3. Provide any technical information and/or data you used that 
support your views.
    4. If you estimate potential burden or costs, explain how you 
arrived at your estimate.
    5. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns.
    6. Offer alternatives.
    7. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period deadline 
identified.

[[Page 76402]]

E. What Information Is EPA Particularly Interested in?

    Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, EPA specifically 
solicits comments and information to enable it to:
    1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information are 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility.
    2. Evaluate the accuracy of the Agency's estimates of the burdens 
of the proposed collection of information.
    3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected.
    4. Minimize the burden of the collections of information on those 
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated 
or electronic collection technologies or other forms of information 
technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.

II. Title

    Industry Detailed Questionnaire: Phase II Cooling Water Intake 
Structures (OMB  2040-0213; EPA ICR No. 1838.01, expiring 
December 31, 2002). This is a request for extension which would 
increase the scope and burden of the original ICR.

III. Abstract

    EPA is developing regulations implementing section 316(b) of the 
CWA, 33 U.S.C. 1326(b) pursuant to a Consent Decree in Riverkeeper v. 
Whitman [93 civ.0314 (AGS)] entered on October 10, 1995, which was 
subsequently amended on November 22, 2002, and again on November 25, 
2002. Under the first amended consent decree, EPA proposed ``Phase I'' 
regulations for cooling water intake structures at certain new 
industrial facilities on July 20, 2000, took final action on the Phase 
I regulations on November 9, 2001, and proposed ``Phase II'' 
regulations for approximately 550 existing electric power generating 
plants on February 28, 2002. Under the terms of the second amended 
consent decree, must take final action on the Phase II regulations by 
no later than February 16, 2004. Under the Second Amended Consent 
Decree, EPA must also propose ``Phase III'' regulations by November 1, 
2004 and take final action on these regulations by June 1, 2006. The 
Phase III regulations must, at a minimum, address existing utility and 
non-utility power producers not covered by the Phase II Regulations; 
and other industrial facilities that employ cooling water intake 
structures.
    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA'') (44 U.S.C. 
3501, et seq.), this notice announces that the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA or the ``Agency'') plans to submit a request for 
a three-year extension of the Information Collection Request (ICR) 
entitled, ``Industry Detailed Questionnaire: Phase III Cooling Water 
Intake Structures (EPA ICR No. 1838.01, OMB  2040-0213)'' to 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. Note 
that the Agency is substituting the term ``Phase III'' for ``Phase II'' 
to correspond to the structure of the rulemaking. EPA plans to request 
OMB approval to extend the survey for facilities potentially subject to 
Phase III of the cooling water intake structure rulemaking effort. The 
offshore and coastal oil and gas extraction facilities and offshore 
seafood processing facilities would be most likely affected by 
extension of the data collection effort because EPA did not survey 
these industries during the original information collection request 
effort. EPA did not survey these industries because, at the time, EPA 
was not aware that these facilities used cooling water in volumes 
potentially subject to regulation under section 316(b) of the CWA. 
Information provided in public comments on EPA's ``Phase I'' regulatory 
proposal for new power plants and industrial facilities made EPA aware 
of the use of cooling water by these facilities and prompted EPA to 
defer consideration of these categories until the Phase III rule.
    The Offshore and Coastal Oil and Gas Extraction category contains a 
large number of facilities and it presents unique engineering, cost, 
and economic issues associated with drilling rigs, ships, and 
platforms. EPA has acquired current industry surveys and commercial 
databases that identify offshore and coastal oil and gas extraction 
facilities in the Gulf of Alaska, California, and the Gulf of Mexico. 
Preliminary information indicates that there are about 200 offshore oil 
and gas platforms and mobile drilling units that are potentially 
subject to the Phase III regulation. Approximately 100 businesses own 
these platforms and mobile drilling units. Through these sources, EPA 
has obtained sufficient current technical data on offshore and coastal 
oil and gas extraction facilities and does not intend to collect 
additional technical data through the Detailed Industry Survey. 
However, EPA does not have current economic and financial data on these 
facilities and intends to send selected sections of the detailed 
questionnaire that cover scope and economic data to offshore and 
coastal oil and gas extraction firms.
    The offshore seafood processing industry also proposes some unique 
regulatory issues. EPA has begun to collect publicly available 
information on seafood processing vessels to identify uses and volumes 
of cooling water, numbers of facilities, where they are located, and 
how many of them are small businesses. Data collected to date confirm 
that seafood processing plants (floating vessels or on-board factory 
trawlers) use cooling water mainly for cooling of diesel engines and 
generators and equipment during desalinization processes (condensation 
of steam). Data also indicate that these vessels withdraw volumes of 
cooling water that may make them potentially subject to regulation 
under section 316(b). EPA does not have sufficient current technical 
data on the offshore seafood processing industry to determine the 
impact the Phase III rule would have on the industry. Therefore, EPA 
proposes to collect additional technical, economic and financial data 
on seafood processing plants (floating vessels or on-board factory 
trawlers). First, EPA intends to send the Industry Short Technical 
Questionnaire to all the known offshore seafood processing facilities 
to determine which ones would potentially be affected by the Phase III 
rule. To reduce burden, EPA proposes to delete some of the questions in 
section 3 (Design and Operational Data for cooling Water Intake 
Structures and Cooling Water Systems) that do not apply to this 
industry. EPA then intends to send the Detailed Industry Questionnaire 
to a subset of potentially affected facilities. To reduce burden, EPA 
proposes to delete most of the questions in part 2 (Technical Data). 
Deleted questions are identified in the revised ICR supporting 
document.
    EPA plans to use the information collected from the detailed 
questionnaire to assess the potential economic impacts of Phase III 
regulations on potentially affected facilities. The survey would also 
collect economic data on facility ownership, major production 
activities, markets and finances. The Agency will use this information 
to assess facility-level and firm-level impacts of complying with the 
proposed Phase III cooling water intake structure regulations as 
appropriate under CWA section 316(b). The economic data will also 
enable EPA to carry out required analyses, including a Regulatory 
Impact Analysis (RIA), a cost/benefit analysis, and a small business 
analysis.

[[Page 76403]]

    EPA's authority to collect this information is fully discussed in 
the ICR supporting document. In summary, section 308 of the CWA 
authorizes EPA to collect technical, biological and financial data to 
support the rulemaking process. The ICR for the Industry Detailed 
Questionnaire: Phase III Cooling Water Intake Structures matches the 
purpose authorized under section 308, therefore responses to the 
detailed questionnaire are mandatory. In accordance with 40 CFR part 2, 
subpart B, Sec.  2.203, the survey will inform respondents of their 
right to claim information as confidential. The survey provides 
instructions on the procedures for making Confidential Business 
Information (CBI) claims, and the respondents also will be informed of 
the terms and rules governing protection of CBI obtained under the CWA. 
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 January 26, 1998 (63 FR 
3738); 363 comments were received. Based on these comments and the 
pretest results, EPA significantly modified the questionnaire.

IV. Burden Statement

    The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for the 
detailed questionnaire is estimated to be about 45 hours per response 
for offshore oil and gas extraction facilities. The public reporting 
and recordkeeping burden for offshore seafood processing facilities 
would be 8 hours per response on the Industry Short Technical 
Questionnaire, and 56 hours per response on the Detailed Industry 
Questionnaire. These estimates are based upon estimates in the OMB 
approved ICR, taking into account the reduced burden from deleted 
questions. The respondent burden in the original approved ICR was 
128,736 hours and the non-labor cost was $13,635. The total burden 
associated with this extension is articulated below and reflects the 
changes in applicable respondents described in section III of this 
notice:
    Estimated Number of Respondents for Detailed Questionnaire: 250 
(100 Offshore and Coastal Oil and Gas Extraction firms and 150 Offshore 
Seafood Processors).
    Estimated Number of Respondents for Short Technical Questionnaire: 
800.
    Frequency of Response: one-time submission.
    Estimated Burden: 19,300 hours.
    Estimated Cost (non-labor costs): $3,950.
    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.

    Dated: December 9, 2002.
Geoffrey H. Grubbs,
Director, Office of Science and Technology.
[FR Doc. 02-31362 Filed 12-11-02; 8:45 am]
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