[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 160 (Tuesday, August 19, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49772-49773]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-21187]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OAR-2003-0058; FRL-7545-5]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Environmental Radiation Ambient 
Monitoring System (ERAMS), EPA ICR Number 0877.08, OMB Control Number 
2060-0015

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 an Information Collection 
Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for review and approval. This is a request to renew an existing 
approved collection. This ICR is scheduled to expire on August 31, 
2003. Under OMB regulations, the Agency may continue to conduct or 
sponsor the collection of information while this submission is pending 
at OMB. This ICR describes the nature of the information collection and 
its estimated burden and cost.

DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before September 18, 
2003.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number OAR-2003-
0058, to (1) EPA online using EDOCKET (our preferred method), by e-mail 
to [email protected], or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, 
Environmental Protection Agency, Air and Radiation Docket and 
Information Center, Mail Code: 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460, and (2) 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles M. Petko, Office of Radiation 
and Indoor Air, National Air and Radiation Environmental Laboratory, 
540 South Morris Avenue, Montgomery, AL 36115-2601; telephone number: 
(334) 270-3411; fax number: (334) 270-3454; e-mail 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 April 4, 2003 (68 FR 16505), 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. OAR-2003-0058, which is available for public viewing at the Air and 
Radiation Docket and Information Center 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 Air and Radiation Docket and Information 
Center is (202) 566-1742. 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. 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 www.epa.gov/edocket.
    Title: Environmental Radiation Ambient Monitoring System (ERAMS).
    Abstract: The Environmental Radiation Ambient Monitoring System 
(ERAMS) is a national network of stations collecting sampling media 
that include air, precipitation, drinking water, surface water, and 
milk. Samples are sent to EPA's National Air and Radiation 
Environmental Laboratory (NAREL) in Montgomery, AL, where they are 
analyzed for radioactivity. ERAMS provides emergency response and 
ambient monitoring information regarding levels of environmental 
radiation across the nation. All stations, usually manned by state and 
local personnel, participate in ERAMS voluntarily. Station operators 
complete information forms that accompany the samples. The forms 
request descriptive information related to sample collection, e.g., 
sample type, sample location, length of sampling period, and volume 
represented.
    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

[[Page 49773]]

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 about 
a half hour 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: sample collectors.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 249.
    Frequency of Response: quarterly.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 5,727.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $254,891, includes $0 annualized 
capital or O&M costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 2,636 hours in the 
total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of 
Approved ICR Burdens. This decrease is a result of adjustments to the 
estimates.

    Dated: August 12, 2003.
Doreen Sterling,
Acting Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 03-21187 Filed 8-18-03; 8:45 am]
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