[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 79 (Thursday, April 24, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20137-20138]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-10165]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OW-2002-0064; FRL-7487-6]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission of EPA ICR 
No. 0029.08 (OMB No. 2040-0068) 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 (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: NPDES Modifications and 
Variance Requests. This ICR describes the nature of the information 
collection and its estimated burden and cost.

DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before May 27, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Follow the detailed instructions in SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jack Faulk, Water Permits Division, 
Office of Wastewater Management, Mail Code 4203M, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone number: 202-564-0768; fax number: (202) 564-6431; email 
address: [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 January 10, 2003, (68 FR 1454), EPA sought comments on this 
ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received no comments.
    EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID 
No. OW-2002-0064, 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, Water Docket, Mail 
Code: 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 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 http://www.epa.gov/edocket.
    Title: NPDES Modification and Variance Requests (OMB Control Number 
2040-0068, EPA ICR Number 0029.08). This is a request to renew an 
existing approved collection that is scheduled to expire on April 30, 
2003. Under OMB regulations, the Agency may continue to conduct or 
sponsor the collection of information while this submission is pending 
at OMB.
    Abstract: This ICR calculates the burden and costs associated with 
modifications and variances made to NPDES permits and to the National 
Sewage Sludge Management Program permit requirements. The regulations 
specified at 40 CFR 122.62 and 122.63 specify information a facility 
must report in order for the U.S.

[[Page 20138]]

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to determine whether a permit 
modification is warranted. A NPDES permit applicant may request a 
variance from the conditions that would normally be imposed on the 
applicant's discharge. An applicant must submit information so the 
permitting authority can assess whether the facility is eligible for a 
variance, and what deviation from Clean Water Act (CWA) provisions is 
necessary. In general, EPA and authorized States use the information to 
determine whether: (1) The conditions or requirements that would 
warrant a modification or variance exist, and (2) the progress toward 
achieving the goals of the (CWA) will continue if the modification or 
variance is granted. Other uses for the information provided include: 
updating records on permitted facilities, supporting enforcement 
actions, and overall program management, including policy and budget 
development and responding to Congressional inquiries.
    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.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average about 
23 hours per response. 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: NPDES permit applicants that request 
a variance or modification of the NPDES or sewage sludge management 
conditions.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 13,137.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 303,997 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost (non labor costs): $10,952,021, 
includes $0 annualized capital or O&M costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is an increase of 10,674 hours in 
the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of 
Approved ICR Burdens. This increase in the applicant respondent and 
NPDES-authorized state burden is due to an increase in the number of 
States authorized to administer the NPDES permitting program (i.e., 
shift of burden from EPA to the States).

    Dated: April 10, 2003.
Oscar Morales,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 03-10165 Filed 4-23-03; 8:45 am]
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