[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 115 (Thursday, June 16, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35082-35084]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-11916]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OW-2003-0033, FRL-7924-8]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Modification of Secondary Treatment Requirements for 
Discharges Into Marine Waters, EPA ICR Number 0138.08, OMB Control 
Number 2040-0088

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 EPA is planning to submit a 
continuing Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB). This is a request to renew an existing 
approved collection. This ICR is scheduled to expire on September 30, 
2005. Before submitting the ICR to OMB for review and approval, EPA is 
soliciting comments on specific aspects of the proposed information 
collection as described below.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before August 15, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number OW-2003-
0033, to EPA online using EDOCKET (our preferred method), by e-mail to 
[email protected], or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental 
Protection Agency, Water Docket, Mail Code: 4101T, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Virginia Fox-Norse, Office of 
Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds: Oceans and Coastal Protection Division 
(Mail Code 4504T), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number (202) 566-1266; fax 
number: (202) 566-1337; e-mail address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA has established a public docket for this 
ICR under Docket ID number OW-2003-0033, which is available for public 
viewing at the Water 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 Water docket is (202) 566-2426. An electronic version of the public 
docket is available through EPA Dockets (EDOCKET) at http://www.epa.gov/edocket. Use EDOCKET to obtain a copy of the draft 
collection of information, 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 within 
60 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

[[Page 35083]]

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.
    Affected entities: Entities potentially affected by this action are 
those municipalities that currently have section 301(h) waivers from 
secondary treatment, have applied for a renewal of a section 301(h) 
waiver, or those with a pending section 301(h) waiver application, and 
the states within which these municipalities are located.
    Title: Modification of Secondary Treatment Requirements for 
Discharges Into Marine Waters
    Abstract: Regulations implementing section 301(h) of the Clean 
Water Act (CWA) are found at 40 CFR part 125, subpart G. The section 
301(h) program involves collecting information from two sources: (1) 
The municipal wastewater treatment facility, commonly called a publicly 
owned treatment works (POTW), and (2) the state in which the POTW is 
located. Municipalities had the opportunity to apply for a waiver from 
secondary treatment requirements, but that opportunity closed in 
December, 1982. A POTW that seeks a section 301(h) waiver does so 
voluntarily to obtain or retain a benefit. A section 301(h) waiver 
modifies secondary treatment requirements of CWA section 301(b)(1)(B). 
Secondary treatment requirements establish technology-based effluent 
limitations for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), suspended solids (SS), 
and pH (a measure of acidity or alkalinity) (40 CFR part 133). A POTW 
seeking to obtain a section 301(h) waiver, holding a current waiver or 
reapplying for a waiver, provides application, monitoring, and toxic 
control program information. The state provides information on its 
determination whether the discharge under the proposed conditions of 
the waiver ensures the protection of water quality, biological 
habitats, and beneficial uses of receiving waters and whether the 
discharge will result in additional treatment, pollution control, or 
any other requirement for any other point or nonpoint sources. The 
state also provides information to certify that the discharge will meet 
all applicable state laws and that the state accepts all permit 
conditions.
    There are 4 situations where information will be required under the 
section 301(h) program:
    (1) A POTW continuing the application process for a section 301(h) 
waiver, or reapplying for a waiver: As the permits with section 301(h) 
waivers reach their expiration dates, EPA must have updated information 
on the discharge to determine whether the section 301(h) criteria are 
still being met and whether the section 301(h) waiver should be 
reissued. Under 40 CFR 125.59(f), each section 301(h) permittee is 
required to submit an application for a new section 301(h) modified 
permit within 180 days of the existing permit's expiration date. 40 CFR 
125.59(c) lists the information required for a modified permit. The 
information that EPA needs to determine whether the POTW's 
reapplication meets the section 301(h) criteria is outlined in the 
questionnaire attached to 40 CFR part 125, subpart G.
    (2) Monitoring and toxic control program information: Once a waiver 
has been granted, EPA must continue to assess whether the discharge is 
meeting section 301(h) criteria, and that the receiving water quality, 
biological habitats, and beneficial uses of the receiving waters are 
protected. To do this, EPA needs monitoring information furnished by 
the permittee. According to 40 CFR 125.68(d), any permit issued with a 
section 301(h) waiver must contain the monitoring requirements of 40 
CFR 125.63(b), (c), and (d) for biomonitoring, water quality criteria 
and standards monitoring, and effluent monitoring, respectively. 
Section 125.68(d) also requires reporting at the frequency specified in 
the monitoring program. In addition to monitoring information, EPA 
needs information on the toxics control program required by section 
125.66 to ensure that the permittee is effectively minimizing 
industrial and nonindustrial toxic pollutant and pesticide discharges 
into the treatment works.
    (3) Application revision information: Section 125.59(d) of 40 CFR 
allows a POTW to revise its application one time only, following a 
tentative decision by EPA to deny the waiver request. In its 
application revision, the POTW usually corrects deficiencies and 
changes proposed treatment levels as well as outfall and diffuser 
locations. The application revision is a voluntary submission for the 
applicant, and a letter of intent to revise the application must be 
submitted within 45 days of EPA's tentative decision (40 CFR 
125.59(f)). EPA needs this information to evaluate revised applications 
to determine whether the modified discharge will ensure protection of 
water quality, biological habitats, and beneficial uses of receiving 
waters.
    (4) State determination and state certification information: For 
revised or renewal applications for section 301(h) waivers, EPA needs a 
state determination. The state determines whether all state laws 
(including water quality standards) are satisfied. This helps ensure 
that water quality, biological habitats, and beneficial uses of 
receiving waters are protected. Additionally, the state must determine 
if the applicant's discharge will result in additional treatment, 
pollution control, or any other requirement for any other point or 
nonpoint sources. This process allows the state's views to be taken 
into account when EPA reviews the section 301(h) application and 
develops permit conditions. For revised and renewed section 301(h) 
waiver applications, EPA also needs the CWA section 401(a)(1) 
certification information to ensure that all state water quality laws 
are met by any permit it issues with a section 301(h) modification, and 
the state accepts all the permit conditions. This information is the 
means by which the state can exercise its authority to concur with or 
deny a section 301(h) decision made by the EPA Regional Office.
    The information covered by this information collection request 
involves treatment plant operating data, effects of POTWs' discharges 
on marine environments, and States' viewpoints on issues concerning 
effects of POTWs' discharges on marine environments. None of this 
information is confidential; thus confidentiality is not an issue. 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 EPA would like to solicit comments to:
    (i) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
    (ii) Evaluate the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden 
of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of 
the methodology and assumptions used;
    (iii) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
to be collected; and
    (iv) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological

[[Page 35084]]

collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., 
permitting electronic submission of responses.
    Burden Statement: The estimated annual average burden for the 51 
respondents totals 65,037 hours for this information collection. The 
average annual reporting burden varies depending on the size of the 
respondent and the category of the information collection. The 
frequency of response varies from once every five years, to case-by-
case, depending on the category. The annual reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 667 
hours per response for POTWs and 86 hours per response for States. 
There are no applicable projected cost burdens for respondents or 
record keepers resulting from the collection of information, for a 
total capital and startup cost component annualized over its expected 
useful life, a total operation and maintenance component, or a purchase 
of services component. 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.

    Dated: June 6, 2005.
Diane Regas,
Director, Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds.
[FR Doc. 05-11916 Filed 6-15-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P