[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 127 (Tuesday, July 5, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38675-38676]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-13167]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OW-2004-0035, FRL-7932-5]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Technical Survey: Drinking Water Treatment Facilities, 
EPA ICR Number 2176.01

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 
proposed Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB). This is a request for a new collection. 
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 September 6, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number OW-2004-
0035, to EPA online using EDOCKET (our preferred method), by email 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: Mr. M. Ahmar Siddiqui, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone number: (202) 566-1044; fax number: (202) 566-1053; email 
address: [email protected]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA has established a public docket for this 
ICR under Docket ID number OW-2004-0035, 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 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 
drinking water treatment facilities that serve populations of 10,000 or 
greater.
    Title: Technical Survey: Drinking Water Treatment Facilities (Year 
2004).
    Abstract: The Clean Water Act (CWA) directs EPA to develop national 
industrial technology-based regulations to limit the amount of 
pollutants that are discharged to surface waters (usually called 
``effluent guidelines'') or to sewage treatment plants (called 
``pretreatment standards''). Pretreatment standards ensure that 
pollutants do not pass through or interfere with the safe and effective 
operations of these treatment plants. The CWA also directs EPA to 
develop national industrial technology-based regulations, called ``new 
source performance standards,'' for new facilities. Finally, the CWA 
requires the EPA to identify currently unregulated industries which may 
be discharging more than trivial amounts of toxic or 
``nonconventional'' pollutants, such as nutrients. For these newly 
identified industries, EPA must complete effluent guidelines within 
three years.
    EPA is collecting information from drinking water treatment 
facilities to determine if effluent guidelines or pretreatment 
standards are required to control the discharge of toxic and non-
conventional pollutants into surface waters of the United States and to 
publicly owned treatment works (POTWs). EPA recently published the 2004 
Effluent Guidelines Program Plan (September 2, 2004; 69 FR 53705) in 
accordance with the provisions of section 304(m) of the CWA and 
identified the ``drinking water treatment point source category'' as a 
candidate for rulemaking on the three-year schedule referred to 
earlier.
    In preparation for publication of a notice of proposed rulemaking, 
planned for August 2006 and to be followed by final rulemaking in 
August 2007, EPA is conducting several data collection activities. The 
draft technical survey announced in this Federal Register notice will 
provide EPA with preliminary, technical, and environmental data needed 
to quantify any adverse environmental impacts of the discharges of 
residuals and metals from drinking water treatment facilities, evaluate 
the effectiveness of treatment technologies, and determine the 
incremental pollutant removals and compliance costs for various 
residual management options that EPA might consider for the proposed 
rule. The collected data will include information about finished water 
production, current residuals generation and management techniques, and 
characterization information for source waters and wastewaters.
    The technical survey is composed of two phases: a screener 
questionnaire and a detailed questionnaire. EPA is distributing the 
screener questionnaire in order to collect basic information from 
facilities that serve populations greater than 10,000. EPA will use 
data from the initial screener to better identify and define the target 
population that generates residuals as a result of water treatment. 
This information will then be used to select the facilities to receive 
a detailed questionnaire in the second phase. The detailed 
questionnaire will be distributed to a sample of the respondents to the 
screener questionnaire and will collect substantially more detailed 
information about the industry. The screener questionnaire will be 
mailed after OMB approves the ICR, with the detailed questionnaire 
being mailed after an analysis of the responses to the screener.
    The survey will be administered under authority of section 308 of 
the CWA, 33 U.S.C. 1318. As a result, all recipients of either 
questionnaire will be required to complete and return the questionnaire 
to EPA. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not 
required to respond to, a collection

[[Page 38676]]

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 ICR that EPA intends to submit to OMB will include a 
discussion of the comments on the proposed survey that EPA has received 
as a result of today's announcement.
    The EPA would like to solicit comments on all aspects of the survey 
and 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 collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses.
    Burden Statement: 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.
    The EPA burden estimate is based on the number of facilities 
receiving each of the two questionnaires. The Agency intends to 
distribute the screener to all facilities serving more than 50,000 
people, plus a sample of those serving between 10,000 and 50,000 
people. The EPA burden estimate is presented in Table 1.

         Table 1.--Estimated Burden for Drinking Water Treatment Facilities To Complete Technical Survey
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                                                                                     Estimated
                           Survey type                               Number of     burden hours    Total burden
                                                                    recipients     per recipient
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Screener Questionnaire..........................................           1,253               7           8,771
Detailed Questionaire...........................................             225              48          10,800
                                                                 -----------------
    Total Burden................................................  ..............  ..............          19,571
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    Dated: June 13, 2005.
Ephraim S. King,
Director, Office of Science and Technology.
[FR Doc. 05-13167 Filed 7-1-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P