[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 136 (Friday, July 16, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42720-42722]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-16330]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OAR-2003-0053; FRL-7789-4]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Clean Air Interstate Rule

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 EPA has submitted a proposed 
Information Collection Request (ICR) (EPA ICR number 2152.01) to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This 
proposed ICR is associated with EPA's proposed Clean Air Interstate 
Rule (CAIR). The proposed CAIR is articulated in two published notices: 
a notice of proposed rule (NPR) (69 FR 4566, January 30, 2004) and 
supplemental notice of proposed rule (SNPR) (69 FR 32684, June 10, 
2004). The NPR and SNPR require certain States to submit State 
implementation plan (SIP) measures to ensure that emissions reductions 
are achieved as needed to mitigate transport of fine particulate matter 
(PM2.5) and/or ozone pollution across State boundaries. This ICR 
describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated 
burden and cost associated with this proposed rule. In cases where 
information is already collected by a related program, this ICR takes 
into account only the additional burden. This applies in instances 
where States are also subject to requirements of the Consolidated 
Emissions Reporting Rule (EPA ICR number 0916.10; OMB control number 
2060-0088) or where sources and States affected by the Acid Rain 
Program (EPA ICR number 1633.13; OMB control number 2060-0258) or 
NOX SIP Call (EPA ICR number 1857.03; OMB number 2060-0445) 
requirements. EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the 
proposed information collection as described below.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before September 14, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. OAR-2003-
0053, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
     Agency Web site: http://www.epa.gov/edocket. EDOCKET, 
EPA's electronic public docket and comment system, is EPA's preferred 
method for receiving comments. Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Mail: Air Docket, Clean Air Interstate Rule, Environmental 
Protection Agency, Mailcode: 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, 
Washington, DC 20460.
     Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center, 1301 Constitution 
Avenue, NW, Room B108, Washington, DC. Such deliveries are only 
accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation, and special 
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.
    Instructions: (1) To provide comments to EPA, direct your comments 
to Docket ID No. OAR-2003-0053. The EPA's policy is that all comments 
received will be included in the public docket without change and may 
be made available online at http://www.epa.gov/edocket, including any 
personal information provided, unless the comment includes information 
claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit 
information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through 
EDOCKET, regulations.gov, or e-mail. The EPA EDOCKET and the Federal 
regulations.gov Web sites are ``anonymous access'' systems, which means 
EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you

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provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-mail comment 
directly to EPA without going through EDOCKET or regulations.gov, your 
e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part of 
the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on 
the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that 
you include your name and other contact information in the body of your 
comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. 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. Electronic 
files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of 
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses. For additional 
information about EPA's public docket visit EDOCKET on-line or see the 
Federal Register of May 31, 2002 (67 FR 38102). For additional 
instructions on submitting comments, go to Unit I of the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section of this document.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the EDOCKET index 
at http://www.epa.gov/edocket. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet and will be 
publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket 
materials are available either electronically in EDOCKET or in hard 
copy at the EPA Docket Center, EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution 
Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. The 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 Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the 
telephone number for the Air Docket is (202) 566-1742.
    (2) To provide comments to OMB, mail or hand deliver comments to: 
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: For information concerning emissions 
reporting contact William B. Kuykendal, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, 109 TW Alexander Dr., Mail Code D-205-01, Research Triangle 
Park, NC 27711; telephone number: 919-541-5372; fax number: 919-541-
0684; e-mail at [email protected]. For information concerning 
emission trading information requirements contact Beth A. Murray; U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Clean Air Markets Division, Mail Code 
6204J, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone 202-
343-9115; fax 202-343-2359; e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EPA has established a public docket for 
this ICR under Docket ID No. OAR-2003-0053, that is available for 
public viewing at the Air and Radiation 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 and Radiation 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, to 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. In 
addition, this information is available at the EPA's CAIR Web site, 
http://www.epa.gov/interstateairquality.
    Any comments related to this ICR should be submitted to EPA and OMB 
within 60 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, Confidential Business 
Information (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.
    Title: Clean Air Interstate Rule.
    Abstract: In a January 30, 2004 notice (69 FR 4566-4650), EPA 
proposed to find that emission of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and 
oxides of nitrogen (NOX) from 28 States and the District of 
Columbia and emissions of NOX from 25 States and the 
District of Columbia, violate provisions of Clean Air Act (CAA) section 
110(a)(2)(D) by contributing significantly nonattainment of the annual 
PM2.5 and the 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards 
(NAAQS).
    As a result, EPA proposed to require SIP revisions containing 
measures to ensure that necessary emissions reductions are achieved. 
The EPA proposed SIP submittal deadlines and other aspects of the SIP 
submittals. Further, the January 2004 proposal identified the 
appropriate amount of NOX and SO2 emissions that 
each of the affected jurisdictions would be required to eliminate. The 
January 2004 proposal explained that the affected States could choose 
to control any sources they wish to achieve those reductions and 
generally discussed the methodologies for determining the appropriate 
amount of emissions reductions on a State-by-State basis. The January 
2004 proposal further explained that the emissions reductions may be 
achieved most cost effectively by controls on electric generating units 
(EGUs), and in particular, through region wide cap-and-trade programs 
for EGUs. The January 2004 proposal indicated the methods for 
determining the allowable amounts of SO2 and NOX emissions 
from EGUs and offered a sketch of the EPA administered model cap-and-
trade programs that States may choose to adopt.
    On June 10, 2004, EPA published a Supplemental Proposal for the 
Rule to Reduce Interstate Transport of Fine Particulate Matter and 
Ozone (69 FR 32684-32772). The supplemental proposal fills certain gaps 
in the January 2004 proposal and revises it or its supporting 
information in specific ways.
    The purpose of this ICR is to provide the anticipated monitoring, 
reporting, and recordkeeping burden estimates and associated costs for 
States, local governments, and sources that are expected to result from 
the proposed CAIR, as amended by the supplemental proposal.
    The recordkeeping and reporting burden to sources resulting from 
States choosing to participate in a regional cap and trade program is 
estimated to be approximately $67.9 million annually. This estimate 
includes the annualized cost of installing and operating appropriate 
SO2 and NOX emissions monitoring equipment to 
measure and report the total emissions of these pollutants from large 
EGUs (serving generators greater than 25 megawatt electrical). The 
burden to State and local

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air agencies includes any necessary revisions to SIPs, monitoring 
certification, and audit responsibilities.
    Burden Statement: The ICR estimates the annual State and Local 
burden for the proposed CAIR to average 5,351 hours per year. Burden 
means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by 
persons to generate, maintain, retain, 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: State and local entities affected by 
this ICR include State and local air quality agencies. Additionally, 
States are expected to achieve the reductions required by the proposed 
rule from large EGUs, so the burden to those entities is estimated in 
this ICR.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: Respondents are expected to 
include 1,750 businesses and 104 State or local agencies.
    Frequency of Response: The frequency of response will vary by task.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: The total annual reporting and 
recordkeeping hour burden for all respondents is estimated to be 
approximately 607,978 hours per year.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: Total annual costs of information 
collection are estimated to be approximately $68.1 million for CAIR. 
This estimate includes $20.8 million annualized capital or start up 
costs.

    Dated: July 13, 2004.
Jeffrey S. Clark,
Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. 04-16330 Filed 7-15-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P