[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 56 (Thursday, March 24, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15080-15082]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-5818]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OECA-2004-0032; FRL-7889-2]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; NESHAP for Leather Finishing 
Operations (Renewal), ICR Number 1985.03, OMB Control Number 2060-0478

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, 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 June 30, 2005. 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 April 25, 
2005.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number OECA-
2004-0032, 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 Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20460, and (2) OMB at: Office of Information and 
Regulatory

[[Page 15081]]

Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Attention: Desk Officer 
for EPA, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Learia Williams, Compliance Assessment 
and Media Programs Division, Office of Compliance, Mail Code 2223A, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 564-4113; fax number: 
(202) 564-0050; 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 September 14, 2004 (69 FR 55430), 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. OECA-2004-0032, 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 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 Enforcement and Compliance Docket and 
Information Center Docket is: (202) 566-1752. 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: NESHAP for Leather Finishing Operations (Renewal).
    Abstract: The National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air 
Pollutants (NESHAP), for Leather Finishing Operations were proposed on 
October 2, 2000 (65 FR 58702). These standards apply to any existing, 
reconstructed, or new leather finishing operations. A leather finishing 
operation is a single process or group of processes used to adjust and 
improve the physical and aesthetic characteristics of the leather 
surface through multistage application of a coating comprised of dyes, 
pigments, film-forming materials and performance modifiers dissolved or 
suspended in liquid carriers. A leather finishing operation is only 
subject to the regulation if it is a major source of hazardous air 
pollutant (HAP) emitting or has the potential to emit any single HAP at 
the rate of 10 tons (9.07 megagrams) or more per year or any 
combination of HAP at a rate of 25 tons (22.68 megagrams) or more per 
year or is collocated a major source of HAPs.
    Owners and operators must submit notification reports upon the 
construction or reconstruction of any leather finishing operation. Any 
leather finishing operation that starts up after proposal but before 
promulgation must submit an initial notification, similar to the one 
submitted by existing sources. Each new or reconstructed source that 
starts up after promulgation must submit a series of notifications in 
addition to the initial notification which include: notification of 
intent to construct or reconstruct and notification of startup. Upon 
the collection of twelve months of data after the date of initial 
notification owners or operators of leather finishing operations must 
submit an annual compliance status certification report and each year 
thereafter. Records and reports will be required to be retained for a 
total of five years, two years at the site, and the remaining three 
years at an off-site location.
    Notifications are used to inform the Agency or delegated authority 
when a source becomes subject to the standard. The reviewing authority 
may then inspect the source to check if the pollution control devices 
are properly installed and operated, and the standard is being met. 
Performance test reports are needed as these are the Agency's records 
of a source's initial capability to comply with the emission standards, 
and serve as a record of the operating conditions under which 
compliance was achieved. The information generated by monitoring, 
recordkeeping and reporting requirements described in this ICR is used 
by the Agency to ensure that facilities that are affected by the 
standard continue to operate the control equipment and achieve 
continuous compliance with the regulation.
    All reports are sent to the delegated state or local authority. In 
the event that there is no such delegated authority, the reports are 
sent directly to the EPA Regional Office.
    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 48 CFR chapter 15, 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 33 
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: Owners or operators of leather 
finishing operations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 10.
    Frequency of Response: Initially, annually and on occasion.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 334 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Costs: $21,279, which includes zero O&M 
costs, zero Capital Expense, and $21,279 in Respondent Labor costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 151 hours in the 
total

[[Page 15082]]

estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of Approved 
ICR Burdens. This decrease in the burden from the most recently 
approved ICR is due to a decrease in the number of sources. Our data 
indicates that there are approximately ten sources subject to the rule, 
as compared to the active ICR that shows twelve sources. There are no 
new facilities expected to be constructed in the next three years. The 
decline in the number of sources was due to the high energy cost to 
operate the machinery and foreign competition. Our research also shows 
that since the removal/delisting of the compound ethylene glycol butyl 
ether (EGBE) from the list of HAPs that the Agency regulates under the 
Clean Air Act, a number of leather finishing facilities that use EGBE 
will no longer be subject to the CAAA's Maximum Achievable Control 
Technology (MACT) requirements, thus the number of sources would be 
decreased even more over the next three years.
    There are no capital/startup or operation and maintenance costs, 
because NESHAP for Leather Finishing Operations does not require any 
special monitoring or recordkeeping equipment, therefore, no capital 
and operations and maintenance costs are associated with recordkeeping 
or reporting to the rule.

    Dated: March 16, 2005.
Oscar Morales,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 05-5818 Filed 3-23-05; 8:45 am]
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