[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 212 (Wednesday, November 3, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64050-64052]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-24530]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[SFUND-2004-0006; FRL-7833-6]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Community Right-to-Know Reporting 
Requirements Under Sections 311 and 312 of the Emergency Planning and 
Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) (Renewal), EPA ICR Number 1352.10, 
OMB Control Number 2050-0072

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 3, 
2004.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number SFUND-
2004-0006, 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, Superfund Docket, Mail Code 5305T, 
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, 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 21, 2004 (69 FR 29304), EPA sought comments on this ICR 
pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA has addressed the comments received.

[[Page 64051]]

    EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID 
No. SFUND-2004-0006, which is available for public viewing at the 
Superfund 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 
Superfund Docket is (202) 566-0276. 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: Community Right-to-Know Reporting Requirements Under 
Sections 311 and 312 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-
Know Act (EPCRA) (Renewal).
    Abstract: The authority for these requirements is sections 311 and 
312 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), 
1986 (42 U.S.C. 11011, 11012). EPCRA section 311 requires owners and 
operators of facilities subject to the Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) to submit a 
list of chemicals or Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) (for those 
chemicals that exceed thresholds, specified in 40 CFR part 370) to the 
State Emergency Response Commission (SERC), Local Emergency Planning 
Committee (LEPC) and the local fire department (LFD) with jurisdiction 
over their facility. This is a one-time requirement unless a new 
facility becomes subject to the regulations or updating the information 
by facilities that are already covered by the regulations. EPCRA 
section 312 requires owners and operators of facilities subject to OSHA 
HCS to submit an inventory form (for those chemicals that exceed the 
thresholds, specified in 40 CFR part 370) to the SERC, LEPC, and LFD 
with jurisdiction over their facility. This activity is to be completed 
on March 1 of each year, on the inventory of chemicals in the previous 
calendar year.
    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 average burden for MSDS reporting under 40 
CFR 370.21 is estimated at 1.5 hours for new and newly regulated 
facilities and approximately 0.5 hours for those existing facilities 
that obtain new or revised MSDSs or receive requests for MSDSs from 
local governments. For new and newly regulated facilities, this burden 
includes the time required to read and understand the regulations, to 
determine which chemicals meet or exceed reporting thresholds, and to 
submit MSDSs or lists of chemicals to SERC, LEPCs, and local fire 
departments. For existing facilities, this burden includes the time 
required to submit revised MSDSs and new MSDSs to local officials. The 
average reporting burden for facilities to perform Tier I or Tier II 
inventory reporting under 40 CFR 370.25 is estimated to be 
approximately 3 hours per facility, including the time to develop and 
submit the information. There are no recordkeeping requirements for 
facilities under EPCRA sections 311 and 312.
    The average burden for State and local governments to respond to 
requests for MSDSs or Tier II information under 40 CFR 370.30 is 
estimated to be 0.2 hours per request. The average burden for State and 
local governments for managing and maintaining the reports is estimated 
to be 32 hours. The average burden for maintaining and updating the 312 
database is 320 hours. The total burden to facilities over the three-
year information collection period is estimated to be 5,686,000 hours, 
at a cost of $186 million, with an associated state and local burden of 
401,000 hours at a cost of $9.2 million. The burden hours listed here 
are from the previously approved ICR. The labor costs have been 
adjusted to December 2003 wage rate published by U.S. Bureau of Labor 
Statistics.
    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 by 
this action are those facilities required to prepare or have available 
an MSDS for a hazardous chemical under the Hazard Communication 
Standard (HCS) of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. 
Entities more likely to be affected by this action may include 
chemical, non-chemical manufacturers, retailers, petroleum refineries, 
utilities, etc.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 563,500.
    Frequency of Response: Annually.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 2,028,700.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $71,251,000, includes $4,000 annual 
startup/capital costs, $6,386,000 O&M costs and $64,861,000 annual 
labor costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is no increase or decrease in the 
burden hours or costs in the total estimated burden currently 
identified in the OMB Inventory of Approved ICR Burdens. The estimated 
average annual burden to facility respondents for reporting and 
recordkeeping activities under EPCRA sections 311 and 312 is same as in 
the previous ICR, 1,895,000 hours per year. The estimated average 
annual burden for SERCs, LEPCs, and fire departments is also same as in 
the previous ICR, 133,700 hours. The Agency believes that

[[Page 64052]]

electronic reporting may have reduced burden on many facilities and the 
implementing agencies. However, EPA has used the same burden estimates 
as it was in the previous ICR. The 2002 U.S. Census data have not been 
published, so EPA have applied the same growth factor for manufacturing 
facilities as in the previous ICR. The number of non-manufacturing 
facilities were also assumed to be the same as in the previous ICR. 
There are no programmatic changes in the reporting or recordkeeping 
requirements associated with EPCRA sections 311 and 312.

    Dated: October 27, 2004.
Joseph A. Sierra,
Acting Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 04-24530 Filed 11-2-04; 8:45 am]
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