[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 180 (Friday, September 17, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56050-56052]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-20980]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[UST-2004-0001; FRL-7814-8]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Underground Storage Tanks: 
Technical and Financial Requirements, and State Program Approval 
Procedures (Renewal), EPA ICR Number 1360.07, OMB Control Number 2050-
0068

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.

[[Page 56051]]

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, which is scheduled to expire on October 31, 2004. 
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 18 
2004.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. UST-2004-
0001, 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, Underground Storage Tank (UST) Docket, Mail Code 
5305T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, and (2) OMB 
at: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management 
(OMB), Attention: Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Ketchum, Office of 
Underground Storage Tanks, Mail Code 5401G, Environmental Protection 
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone 
number: (703) 603-7144; fax number: (703) 603-0175; 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 19, 2004 (69 FR 20870), 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. UST-2004-0001, which is available for public viewing at the UST 
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 UST Docket is 
(202) 566-0270. 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 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: Underground Storage Tanks: Technical and Financial 
Requirements, and State Program Approval Procedures (Renewal).
    Abstract: Subtitle I of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act 
(RCRA), as amended, requires that EPA develop standards for UST 
systems, as may be necessary, to protect human health and the 
environment, and establish procedures for approving State programs in 
lieu of the Federal program. EPA promulgated technical and financial 
requirements for owners and operators of USTs at 40 CFR part 280 and 
State program approval procedures at 40 CFR part 281. This ICR is a 
comprehensive presentation of all information collection requirements 
contained at 40 CFR parts 280 and 281.
    The data collected under 40 CFR part 280 are used by the owners and 
operators and/or EPA or the implementing agency to monitor results of 
testing, inspections, and operations of UST systems, as well as 
demonstrate compliance with regulations. EPA believes strongly that if 
the minimum requirements specified under the regulations are not met, 
neither the facilities nor EPA can ensure that UST systems are being 
managed in a manner protective of human health and the environment.
    The data collected under 40 CFR part 281 are used by EPA to 
determine whether to approve a State program. Before granting approval, 
EPA must determine that programs will be no less stringent than the 
Federal program and contain adequate enforcement mechanisms.
    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 are identified on the form 
and/or instrument, if applicable.
    Burden Statement: For UST facilities, the annual reporting and 
recordkeeping burden is estimated to average 24 hours per respondent. 
For States applying for program approval, the annual reporting and 
recordkeeping burden is estimated to average 28 hours per respondent.
    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 use 
technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, 
verifying, processing, maintaining, 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: Owners and operators of USTs and 
States that implement UST programs are potentially affected by this 
information collection.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 254,705 (254,666 UST facilities 
and 39 State programs).
    Frequency of Response: Varies depending on the individual reporting 
and recordkeeping requirements.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 6,132,237 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $674.45 million, includes $80.25 
million annual capital/startup costs, $263.26 million annual O&M costs 
and $330.94 annual labor costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is an increase of 106,694 hours in 
the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of 
Approved ICR Burdens. This increase is due to updated respondent 
universe and burden and cost estimates from the

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Office of Underground Storage Tanks (OUST) and the regulated community. 
The current OMB inventory reports $363,000 in total annualized costs 
(which includes capital/startup and O&M costs); there was an error in 
the burden associated with the previous ICR (1360.06) and the cost 
estimate should have been $363,561,000. The total annualized cost 
requested in this ICR is $343,507,000. This corrects the current OMB 
inventory and is based on updated data from the Office of Underground 
Storage Tanks (OUST) and the regulated community. This new burden is 
$20.05 million less than the previous ICR submission.

    Dated: September 5, 2004.
Oscar Morales,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 04-20980 Filed 9-16-04; 8:45 am]
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