[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 211 (Tuesday, November 2, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63526-63527]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-24415]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OECA-2004-0026; FRL-7832-5]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Environmental Impact Assessment 
of Nongovernmental Activities in Antarctica (Renewal), EPA ICR Number 
1808.04, OMB Control Number 2020-0007

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, 
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 December 2, 
2004.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number OECA-
2004-0026, 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, Enforcement and Compliance Docket and 
Information Center, Mail Code 2201T, 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: Katherine Biggs, Office of Federal 
Activities, Mail Code 2252A, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number (202) 
564-7144; fax number: (202) 564-0072; 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 Friday, May 14, 2004 (69 FR 26814), EPA sought comments on 
this ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA has addressed the comments 
received.
    EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID 
No. OECA-2004-0026, which is available for public viewing at the 
Enforcement and Compliance 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 Enforcement and Compliance Docket and 
Information Center is (202) 564-1752. 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: Environmental Impact Assessment of Nongovernmental 
Activities in Antarctica (Renewal).
    Abstract: The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) regulations 
at 40 CFR part 8, Environmental Impact Assessment of Nongovernmental 
Activities in Antarctica (Final Rule), were promulgated pursuant to the 
Antarctic Science, Tourism, and Conservation Act of 1996 (Act), 16 
U.S.C. 2401 et seq., as amended, 16 U.S.C. 2403a, which implements the 
Protocol on Environmental Protection (Protocol) to the Antarctic Treaty 
of 1959 (Treaty). The requirements of the Final Rule apply to operators 
of nongovernmental expeditions organized in or proceeding from the 
territory of the United States to Antarctica and include commercial and 
non-commercial expeditions.
    Environmental Documentation. Persons subject to the Final Rule must 
prepare environmental documentation to support the operator's 
determination regarding the level of environmental impact of the 
proposed expedition. Environmental documentation includes a Preliminary 
Environmental Review Memorandum (PERM), an Initial Environmental 
Evaluation (IEE), or a Comprehensive Environmental Evaluation (CEE). 
The environmental document is submitted to the Office of Federal 
Activities (OFA).
    The Protocol and the Final Rule also require an operator to employ 
procedures to assess and provide a regular and verifiable record of the 
actual impacts of an activity which proceeds on the basis of an IEE or 
CEE. The record developed through these measures needs to be designed 
to: (a) Enable assessments to be made of the extent to which 
environmental impacts of nongovernmental expeditions are consistent 
with the Protocol; and (b) provide information useful for minimizing 
and mitigating those impacts and, where appropriate, on the need for 
suspension, cancellation, or modification of the activity. Moreover, an 
operator needs to monitor key environmental indicators for an activity 
proceeding on the basis of a CEE. An operator may also need to carry 
out monitoring in order to assess and verify the impact of an activity 
for which an IEE would be prepared. For activities that require an IEE, 
an operator should be able to use procedures currently being 
voluntarily utilized by operators to provide the required information. 
Should an activity require a CEE, the operator should consult with EPA 
to: (a)

[[Page 63527]]

Identify the monitoring regime appropriate to that activity, and (b) 
determine whether and how the operator might utilize relevant 
monitoring data collected by the U.S. Antarctic Program. OFA would 
consult with the National Science Foundation and other interested 
Federal agencies regarding the monitoring regime.
    In cases of emergency relating to the safety of human life or of 
ships, aircraft, equipment and facilities of high value, or the 
protection of the environment which would require an activity to be 
undertaken without completion of the documentation procedures set out 
in the Final Rule, the operator would need to notify the Department of 
State within 15 days of any activities which would have otherwise 
required preparation of a CEE, and provide a full explanation of the 
activities carried out within 45 days of those activities.
    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: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1,548 
hours annually, or 70 hours per response. This hourly burden reflects 
annual submission of different levels of environmental documentation by 
an anticipated 22 respondents (e.g., U.S.-based nongovernmental 
operators). 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: Entities potentially affected are 
all nongovernmental operators with activities in Antarctica, including 
tour operators.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 22.
    Frequency of Response: Annually.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 1,548.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $124,000, includes $4,000 annualized 
capital or O&M costs and $120,000 annual labor costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is an increase of 986 hours and 
$4,000 in the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB 
Inventory of Approved ICR Burdens. This increased adjustment is the 
result of an increase in the number of respondents anticipated during 
the 3-year ICR renewal period and the level of environmental 
documentation EPA anticipates the respondents will submit.

    Dated: October 26, 2004.
Joseph A. Sierra,
Acting Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 04-24415 Filed 11-1-04; 8:45 am]
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