[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 228 (Monday, November 29, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69368-69369]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-26297]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[SFUND-2000-0008; FRL-7843-4]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request, Continuous Release Reporting Regulations 
(CRRR) Under CERCLA 1980 (Renewal), EPA ICR Number 1445.06, OMB Control 
Number 2050-0086

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 the following 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 
November 30, 2004. Under OMB regulations, the Agency may continue to 
conduct or sponsor the collection of information while this submission 
is pending at OMB. The ICR describes the nature of the information 
collection and estimated burden and cost.

DATES: Additional comments must be submitted on or before December 29, 
2004.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number SFUND-
2000-0008 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, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency 
Response (5202T), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, 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: Lynn M. Beasley, Office of Emergency 
Management (5204G), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (703) 603-9086; 
fax number: (703) 603-9104; 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 July 9, 2004 (69 FR 41472), 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. SFUND-2000-0008, which is available for public viewing at the 
Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response Docket in the EPA Docket 
Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution Avenue, 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 Office of Solid Waste and Emergency 
Response 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: Continuous Release Reporting Regulations (CRRR) under CERCLA 
1980 (Renewal).
    Abstract: Section 103(a) of CERCLA, as amended, requires the person 
in charge of a vessel or facility to immediately notify the National 
Response Center (NRC) of a hazardous substance release into the 
environment if the amount of the release equals or exceeds the 
substance's reportable quantity (RQ). The RQ of every hazardous 
substance can be found in Table 302.4 of 40 CFR 302.4.
    Section 103(f)(2) of CERCLA provides facilities relief from this 
per-occurrence notification requirement if the hazardous substance 
release at or above the RQ is continuous and stable in quantity and 
rate. Under the Continuous Release Reporting Requirements (CRRR), to 
report such a release as a continuous release you must make an initial 
telephone call to the NRC, an initial written report to the EPA Region, 
and, if the source and chemical composition of the continuous release 
do not change and the level of the continuous release does not 
significantly increase, a follow-up written report to the EPA Region 
one year after submission of the initial written report. If the source 
or chemical composition of the previously reported continuous release 
changes, notifying the NRC and EPA Region of a change in the source or 
composition of the release is required. Further, a significant increase 
in the level of the previously reported continuous release must be 
reported immediately to the NRC according to section 103(a) of CERCLA. 
Finally, any change in information submitted in support of a continuous 
release notification must be reported to the EPA Region.
    The reporting of a hazardous substance release that is equal to or 
above the substance's RQ allows the Federal government to determine 
whether a Federal response action is required to control or mitigate 
any potential adverse effects to public health or welfare or the 
environment.
    The continuous release of hazardous substance information collected 
under CERCLA section 103(f)(2) is also available to EPA program offices 
and other Federal agencies who use the information to evaluate the 
potential need for additional regulations, new permitting requirements 
for specific substances or sources, or improved emergency response 
planning. State and local government authorities and facilities subject 
to the CRRR use release information for purposes of local emergency 
response planning. Members of the public, who have access to release 
information through the Freedom of Information Act, may request release 
information for purposes of maintaining an awareness of what types of 
releases are occurring in different localities and what actions, if 
any, are being taken to

[[Page 69369]]

protect public health and welfare and the environment.
    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. The Federal Register 
document required under 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting comments on this 
collection of information was published on July 9, 2004; no comments 
were received.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 11.1 
hours per response. 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 facilities that manufacture, process, transport, or 
otherwise use certain specified hazardous substances.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 3,276.
    Frequency of Response: After initially reporting the continuous 
release to the NRC and EPA Region, only a one-year follow-up report to 
the EPA Region is necessary unless there is a change in the source of 
the continuous release, a change in the chemical composition of the 
continuous release, or a significant increase in the level of the 
continuous release. In these cases the person in charge of the facility 
has to notify the NRC and the appropriate EPA Regional Office of the 
change in the continuous release.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 284,154.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $10,101,032 includes $85,521 O&M 
costs, $0 Capital expense, and $10,015,511 Respondent Labor costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is an increase of 34,703 hours in 
the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of 
Approved ICR Burdens. This increase is primarily the result of 
adjustments to the estimates. Annual respondent burden hours are based 
on data from actual numbers of continuous release reports from several 
regions and the application of a growth rate consistent with prior 
years' reporting. The average annual percent increase in the number of 
facilities in the ICR is 7.5%.

    Dated: November 16, 2004.
Oscar Morales, Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 04-26297 Filed 11-26-04; 8:45 am]
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