[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 183 (Monday, September 22, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55046-55047]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-24009]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OAR-2003-0073; FRL-7561-9]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Distribution of Offsite 
Consequence Analysis Information Under Section 112(r)(7)(H) of the 
Clean Air Act (CAA), EPA ICR Number 1981.02, OMB Control Number 2050-
0172

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 October 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 October 22, 
2003.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number OAR-2003-
0073, 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 Docket, Mailcode 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: Sicy Jacob, Mailcode 5104A, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 564-8019; fax number: 
(202) 564-8233; 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 May 12, 2003, (68 FR 25367), 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-2003-0073, which is available for public viewing at the Air 
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 Air Docket 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 http://www.epa.gov/edocket.
    Title: Distribution of Offsite Consequence Analysis Information 
under Section 112(r)(7)(H) of the Clean Air Act (CAA).
    Abstract: This ICR is the renewal of the ICR developed for the 
final rule, Accidental Release Prevention

[[Page 55047]]

Requirements; Risk Management Programs Under the Clean Air Act Section 
112(r)(7); Distribution of Off-Site Consequence Analysis Information. 
CAA section 112(r)(7) required EPA to promulgate reasonable regulations 
and appropriate guidance to provide for the prevention and detection of 
accidental releases and for responses to such releases. The regulations 
include requirements for submittal of a risk management plan (RMP) to 
EPA. The RMP includes information on offsite consequence analyses (OCA) 
as well as other elements of the risk management program.
    On August 5, 1999, the President signed the Chemical Safety 
Information, Site Security, and Fuels Regulatory Relief Act 
(CSISSFRRA). The Act required the President to promulgate regulations 
on the distribution of OCA information (CAA section 112(r)(7)(H)(ii)). 
The President delegated to EPA and the Department of Justice (DOJ) the 
responsibility to promulgate regulations to govern the dissemination of 
OCA information to the public. The final rule was published on August 
4, 2000 (65 FR 48108). The regulations imposed minimal requirements on 
the public, state and local agencies that request OCA data from EPA. 
The state and local agencies who decide to obtain OCA information must 
send a written request on their official letterhead to EPA certifying 
that they are covered persons under Public Law 106-40, and that they 
will use the information for official use only. EPA will then provide 
paper copies of OCA data to those agencies as requested. The rule 
authorizes and encourages state and local agencies to set up reading 
rooms. The local reading rooms would provide read-only access to OCA 
information for all the sources in the LEPC's jurisdiction and for any 
source where the vulnerable zone extends into the LEPC's jurisdiction.
    Members of the public requesting to view OCA information at federal 
reading rooms would be required to sign in and self certify. If asking 
for OCA information from federal reading rooms for the facilities in 
the area where they live or work, they would be required to provide 
proof that they live or work in that area. Members of the public are 
required to give their names, telephone number, and the names of the 
facilities for which OCA information is being requested, when they 
contact the central office to schedule an appointment to view OCA 
information.
    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 in 40 CFR are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and are identified on 
the form and/or instrument, if applicable.
    Burden Statement: For this ICR period, EPA estimates a total of 
3,270 hours (annually) for local agencies requesting OCA data from EPA 
and providing read-only access to the public. For the state agencies, 
the total annual burden for requesting OCA data from EPA and providing 
read-only access to the public, is 3,816 hours. For the public to 
display photo identification, sign a sign-in sheet, certify that the 
individual has not received access to OCA information for more than 10 
stationary sources for that calendar month, and to request information 
from the vulnerable zone indicator system (VZIS), EPA estimates a total 
of 8,754 hours annually. The total burden for the members of the 
public, state and local agencies is 15,840 hours and $413,380 annually.
    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: Individuals, and State, Local, or 
Tribal Government.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 4,417.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 15,840 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $414,380, which includes $1,000 of 
operations and maintenance costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: A decrease in burden of 83,678 hours from 
the previous ICR. This is due to using actual data of the state and 
local officials requesting OCA data. The previous ICR estimated that 
all 50 states plus U.S. territories and D.C. and at least 1,000 of the 
1,500 active LEPCs will be requesting OCA data. However, only 9 LEPCs 
and 18 states have requested OCA data, therefore, EPA only assumed that 
1% of the 1500 LEPCs (15 LEPCs) may request OCA data in the next three 
years covered by the ICR. Also, in this ICR, EPA assumed that only 18 
more states may request OCA data from EPA. The public burden and costs 
have also decreased from the previous ICR, due to the actual number of 
people that have visited the federal reading rooms or made inquiries in 
the VZIS. The previous ICR estimated capital costs for 50 state 
agencies and 1500 LEPCs to be $125,000 for purchasing computer 
equipment to operate the VZIS. The cost was annualized assuming the 
equipment is depreciated over five years. Although we estimated that 50 
states will take on the responsibility of making the OCA data available 
to the public, only 18 states and 9 LEPCs have requested OCA data from 
EPA. So, in this ICR, EPA made a conservative estimate that 18 more 
states and 15 more LEPCs may request OCA data. Since EPA did estimate 
capital cost for 50 states and 1,500 LEPCs in the previous ICR, this 
ICR does not include any additional capital cost. Therefore, the 
capital cost has decreased from previous ICR ($125,000) to zero.

    Dated: September 11, 2003.
Doreen Sterling,
Acting Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 03-24009 Filed 9-18-03; 12:01 pm]
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