[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 191 (Tuesday, October 4, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57866-57867]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-19839]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OW-2003-0033; FRL-7979-1]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; 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 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 September 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 November 3, 
2005.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number OW-2003-
0033, 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, Water Docket, Mail Code 4101T, 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: Virginia Fox-Norse, Office of 
Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds, (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 submitted the following ICR to OMB 
for review and approval according to the procedures prescribed in 5 CFR 
1320.12. On June 16, 2005 (70 FR 35082), 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. 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 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, confidential business 
information (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: Modifications of Secondary Treatment Requirements for 
Discharges Into Marine Waters.
    Abstract: The Clean Water Act (CWA) 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 POTW seeking to obtain a 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 proposed conditions of the waiver 
ensure 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. 
EPA requires updated information on the discharge to: (1) Determine 
whether the section 301(h) criteria are still being met and whether the 
section 301(h) waiver should be reissued; (2) determine whether the 
water quality, biological habitats, and beneficial uses of the 
receiving waters are protected; and (3) ensure that the permittee is 
effectively minimizing industrial and nonindustrial toxic pollutant and 
pesticide discharges into the treatment works. EPA needs information 
from the State to: (1) Allow the State's views to be taken into account 
when EPA reviews the section 301(h) application and develops permit 
conditions; and (2) ensure that all State laws are met and that the 
State accepts all permit conditions. This information is the means by 
which the State can non-concur with a section 301(h) approval decision 
made by the EPA Regional office. Regulations implementing CWA section 
301(h) are found at 40 CFR part 125, subpart G. 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.

[[Page 57867]]

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 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 652 
hours per response for POTWs and 86 hours per response for States. 
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 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.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 50.
    Frequency of Response: The frequency of response varies from one 
time to once every five years, to case-by-case, depending on the 
category of information.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 61,377 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $1,343,393, includes $0 annualized 
capital or O&M costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 3,680 hours in the 
total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of 
Approved ICR Burdens. This decrease is an adjustment to the estimates 
because the universe of POTWs in the 301(h) program and subject to the 
301(h) information has decreased.

    Dated: September 24, 2005.
Oscar Morales,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 05-19839 Filed 10-3-05; 8:45 am]
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