[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 225 (Wednesday, November 23, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70823-70824]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-23220]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OEI-2005-0007; FRL-8000-5]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Toxic Chemical Release Reporting, Alternate 
Threshold for Low Annual Reportable Amounts (Form A) (Renewal), EPA ICR 
Number 1704.08, OMB Control Number 2070-0143

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

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 January 31, 
2006. 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 December 23, 
2005.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number OEI-2005-
0007, 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, OEI Docket 28221T, 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: Cassandra Vail, Toxics Release 
Inventory Program Division, Office of Information Analysis and Access 
(2844T), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-566-0753; 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 August 12, 2005, (70 FR 47195) EPA sought comments on this 
ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received only one positive comment 
on this ICR during the comment period and EPA agrees with commenter 
that ICR should be approved.
    EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID 
No. OEI-2005-0007, which is available for public viewing at the OEI 
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 OEI 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

[[Page 70824]]

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: Toxic Chemical Release Reporting, Alternate Threshold for Low 
Annual Reportable Amounts (Form A) (Renewal)

    Abstract: The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act 
(EPCRA) section 313 requires certain facilities that manufacture, 
process, or otherwise use certain toxic chemicals in excess of 
specified threshold quantities to report their environmental releases 
of such chemicals annually. Each such facility must file a separate 
report for each such chemical.
    In accordance with the authority provided by EPCRA, EPA has 
established an alternate reporting threshold for those facilities with 
low amounts of a listed toxic chemical in wastes. A facility that 
otherwise meets the current reporting thresholds, but estimates that 
the total amount of the chemical that is released, disposed of, 
treated, recycled, or combusted for energy recovery does not exceed 500 
pounds per year, and that the chemical was manufactured, processed, or 
otherwise used in an amount not exceeding 1 million pounds during the 
reporting year, can take advantage of reporting under the alternate 
threshold option for that chemical for that reporting year.
    Each qualifying facility that chooses to apply the alternate 
threshold may file the Form A Certification Statement (EPA Form 9350-2) 
in lieu of a complete TRI reporting Form R (EPA Form 9350-1). In 
submitting the Form A Certification Statement, the facility certifies 
that the sum of the amount of EPCRA section 313 chemical released, 
disposed of, treated, recycled, or combusted for energy recovery does 
not exceed 500 pounds for the reporting year, and that the chemical was 
manufactured, processed, or otherwise used in an amount not exceeding 1 
million pounds during the reporting year. Use of the Form A 
Certification Statement represents a substantial savings to 
respondents, both in burden hours and in labor costs. Form A was 
recently modified by certain changes that were promulgated in the TRI 
Reporting Forms Modification Rule (70 FR 39931). These changes 
eliminated certain fields from the Form A.
    The Form A Certification Statement provides communities with 
information that the chemical is being manufactured, processed, or 
otherwise used at facilities. Additionally, the Form A Certification 
Statement provides compliance monitoring and enforcement programs and 
other interested parties with a means to track chemical management 
activities and verify overall compliance with the rule. Responses to 
this collection of information are mandatory (see 40 CFR part 372) and 
facilities subject to reporting must submit either a Form A 
Certification Statement or a Form R.
    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 83.6 
hours per first year response and 20.5 hours per subsequent year 
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 certain 
facilities that manufacture process, or otherwise use certain specified 
toxic chemicals and chemical categories are required to report annually 
on the environmental releases, transfers, and waste management 
activities for such chemicals.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 4920.
    Frequency of Response: Annual.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 259,192 burden hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $11,919,489 in labor cost.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 22,847 hours in 
the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of 
Approved ICR Burdens. This decrease is due to adjustments to estimates 
in the number of responses (from 5,000 responses to 4,920 responses) 
and to first and subsequent year form completion burden reduction due 
to the TRI Reporting Forms Modification Rule (first year form 
completion fell from 2.1 hours to 1.6 hours and subsequent year form 
completion fell from 1.4 hours to 1.3 hours).

    Dated: November 15, 2005.
Joseph A. Sierra,
Acting Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 05-23220 Filed 11-22-05; 8:45 am]
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