[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 65 (Friday, April 4, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16507-16508]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-8257]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OW-2003-0005; FRL-7477-3]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission of EPA ICR 
No. 1838.02 (OMB No. 2040-0213) to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (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: Industry 
Detailed Questionnaire: Phase III Cooling Water Intake Structures (OMB 
Control No. 2040-0213, EPA ICR No. 1838.02) The ICR describes the 
nature of the information collection and its estimated burden and cost.

DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before May 5, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Follow the detailed instructions in SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Chan, Office of Water, Office 
of Science and Technology, mailcode 4303T, Environmental Protection 
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; by phone at 
(202) 566-1078, by e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA has submitted the following ICR to OMB 
for review and approval according to the procedures prescribed in 5 CFR 
1320.12. On December 12, 2002 (67 FR 76400), EPA sought comments on 
this ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received one comment and has 
adopted many of the suggestions made by the commentor.
    EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID 
No. OW-2003-0005, which is available for public viewing at the Water 
Docket in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room B102, 1301 
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public 
Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Reading 
Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the Water Docket 
is (202) 566-2426. An electronic version of the public docket is 
available through EPA Dockets (EDOCKET) at http://www.epa.gov/edocket. 
Use EDOCKET to submit or view public comments, access the index listing 
of the contents of the public docket, and to access those documents in 
the public docket that are available electronically. Once in the 
system, select ``search,'' then key in the docket ID number identified 
above.
    Any comments related to this ICR should be submitted to EPA and OMB 
within 30 days of this notice, and according to the following detailed 
instructions: (1) Submit your comments to EPA online using EDOCKET (our 
preferred method), by e-mail to [email protected], or by mail to: EPA 
Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 4101T, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, and (2) Mail your 
comments to OMB at: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Attention: Desk Officer for EPA, 
725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503.
    EPA's policy is that public comments, whether submitted 
electronically or in paper, will be made available for public viewing 
in EDOCKET as EPA receives

[[Page 16508]]

them and without change, unless the comment contains copyrighted 
material, CBI, or other information whose public 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 EDOCKET. The entire 
printed comment, including the copyrighted material, will be available 
in the public docket. Although identified as an item in the official 
docket, information claimed as CBI, or whose disclosure is otherwise 
restricted by statute, is not included in the official public docket, 
and will not be available for public viewing in EDOCKET. For further 
information about the electronic docket, see EPA's Federal Register 
notice describing the electronic docket at 67 FR 38102 (May 31, 2002), 
or go to www.epa.gov/edocket.
    Title: Industry Detailed Questionnaire: Phase III Cooling Water 
Intake Structures (OMB Control No. 2040-0213, EPA ICR Number 1838.02). 
This is a request to renew an existing approved collection that is 
scheduled to expire on March 31, 2003. Note that the Agency is 
substituting the term ``Phase III'' for ``Phase II'', in the title of 
the original ICR, to correspond to the revised structure of the 
rulemaking. Under the PRA regulations, the Agency may continue to 
conduct or sponsor the collection of information while this submission 
is pending at OMB.
    Abstract: In accordance with the PRA, this notice announces the 
submission of a revised ICR from the EPA to the OMB for review and 
approval. EPA requests approval to contact 80 respondents from the 
original survey for clarifications of their responses and to request 
their 316(b) environmental studies. EPA also requests approval to 
conduct a survey of two industries (offshore and coastal oil and gas 
extraction facilities (OCOGEFs) and seafood processing vessels) 
potentially subject to Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act (CWA), 33 
U.S.C. 1326(b). EPA was made aware of these two industries from public 
comments received on the proposed Phase I rule (65 FR 49060). These 
industries were not surveyed in the original information collection. 
For this request, EPA has revised the original ICR questionnaires to 
customize them for the OCOGEFs and Seafood Processing Vessels. 
Responses to this Industry Detailed Questionnaire will help EPA better 
characterize the design, location, construction, and operation of 
cooling water intake structures at industrial facilities throughout the 
U.S.
    Section 316(b) provides that any standard established pursuant to 
Sections 301 or 306 of the CWA and applicable to a point source shall 
require that the location, design, construction, and capacity of 
cooling water intake structures reflect the best technology available 
for minimizing adverse environmental impact. 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)]. The baseline data will help EPA frame regulatory options and 
define further research needs regarding the relationship of cooling 
water intake structures, intake technologies, and environmental 
impacts. The economic and financial information will help EPA to assess 
facility-level and firm-level impacts of complying with the proposed 
regulations and also enable EPA to carry out required economic 
analyses, including Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA), cost/benefit 
analysis, and small business analysis. In order to fully evaluate costs 
associated with a proposed Section 316(b) regulations, EPA will 
consider the costs associated with performing Section 316(b) 
demonstration studies, additions and modifications to cooling water 
intake structures and equipment, and operating and monitoring costs 
associated with the regulations.
    EPA has the authority to collect this information under Section 308 
of the CWA (33 U.S.C. 1318). Accordingly, responses to the 
questionnaires (Industry Technical Questionnaire and Industry Economic 
Questionnaire) would be mandatory. In accordance with 40 CFR part 2, 
subpart B, Section 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, and are 
identified on the form and/or instrument, if applicable.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 
hour per response for the follow-up effort, 8 hours per response for 
the Industry Technical Questionnaire, and 50 hours per response for the 
Industry Economic Questionnaire. 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.
    Respondents/Affected Entities: Offshore and Coastal Oil and Gas 
Extraction Facilities, Seafood Processing Vessels, and 80 respondents 
surveyed in the original ICR.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 281.
    Frequency of Response: One time.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 7,021 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $453,648, includes $1,123 annualized 
O&M costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 121,715 hours in 
the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of 
Approved ICR Burdens. This decrease is due to less number of 
respondents in this ICR.

    Dated: March 27, 2003.
Oscar Morales,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 03-8257 Filed 4-3-03; 8:45 am]
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