[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 234 (Wednesday, December 6, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70757-70760]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-20643]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2003-0152; FRL-8252-1]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Compliance Assurance Monitoring Program; EPA ICR No. 
1663.03, OMB Control No. 2060-0376

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that EPA is planning to 
submit a request to renew an existing approved Information Collection 
Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This ICR is 
scheduled to expire on March 31, 2007. 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 February 5, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2003-0152 by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: (202) 566-1741.
     Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket 
Center

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(EPA/DC), Air and Radiation Docket Information Center, 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Mail Code: 6102T, Washington, DC 20460.
     Hand Delivery: To send comments or documents through a 
courier service, the address to use is: EPA Docket Center, Public 
Reading Room, EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20004. Such deliveries are accepted only during the 
Docket's normal hours of operation--8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday 
through Friday. Special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Electronic Docket ID No. EPA-
HQ-OAR-2003-0179. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be 
included in the public docket without change and may be made available 
online at http://www.regulations.gov including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI or otherwise to be protected through 
www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The Web site is an ``anonymous access'' 
system, which means we will not know your identity or contact 
information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you 
send an e-mail comment directly to us without going through 
www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be automatically captured 
and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket 
and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic 
comment, we recommend that you include your name and other contact 
information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you 
submit. If we cannot read your comment as a result of technical 
difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, we may not be 
able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of 
special characters or any form of encryption and be free of any defects 
or viruses.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Westlin, Office of Air Quality 
Planning and Standards, Sector Policies and Programs Division (D243-
05), Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; 
telephone number: 919-5412-1058; fax number: 919-541-1039; e-mail 
address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

How Can I Access the Docket and/or Submit Comments?

    EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2003-0152 which is available either electronically at 
http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the EPA Docket Center, 
Public Reading Room, EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution Avenue, 
NW., Washington, DC 20004. The normal business hours are 8:30 a.m. to 
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays. The 
telephone number is (202) 566-1742.
    Use www.regulations.gov to obtain a copy of the draft collection of 
information, submit or view public comments, access the index listing 
of the contents of the 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 in this 
document.

What Information Particularly Interests EPA?

    Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, EPA specifically 
solicits comments and information to enable it 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. In particular, EPA is requesting comments from 
very small businesses (those that employ less than 25) on examples of 
specific additional efforts that EPA could make to reduce the paperwork 
burden for very small businesses affected by this collection.

What Should I Consider When I Prepare My Comments for EPA?

    You may find the following suggestions helpful for preparing your 
comments:
    1. Explain your views as clearly as possible and provide specific 
examples.
    2. Describe any assumptions that you used.
    3. Provide copies of any technical information and/or data you used 
that support your views.
    4. If you estimate potential burden or costs, explain how you 
arrived at the estimate that you provide.
    5. Offer alternative ways to improve the collection activity.
    6. Make sure to submit your comments by the deadline identified 
under DATES.
    7. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, be sure to identify the docket 
ID number assigned to this action in the subject line on the first page 
of your response. You may also provide the name, date, and Federal 
Register citation.

What Information Collection Activity or ICR Does This Apply?

    Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2003-0152.
    Affected entities: Entities potentially affected by this action are 
all facilities required to have a title V permit under either part 70 
or part 71. See 40 CFR 70.2 and 71.2. See also section 502(a), which 
defines the sources required to obtain a title V permit.
    Title: Compliance Assurance Monitoring Program (40 CFR Part 64).
    ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 1663.03, OMB Control No. 2060-0376.
    ICR status: This ICR is currently scheduled to expire on March 31, 
2007. 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 title 40 of the CFR, after appearing in the Federal 
Register when approved, are listed in 40 CFR part 9, are displayed 
either by publication in the Federal Register or by other appropriate 
means, such as on the related collection instrument or form, if 
applicable. The display of OMB control numbers in certain EPA 
regulations is consolidated in 40 CFR part 9.
    Abstract: The Act contains several provisions directing us to 
require source owners to conduct monitoring to support certification as 
to their status of compliance with applicable requirements. These 
provisions are set forth title V (operating permits provisions) and 
title VII (enforcement provisions) of the Act. Title V directs us to 
implement monitoring and certification requirements through the 
operating permits program. Section 504(b) of the Act allows us to 
prescribe by rule, methods and procedures for determining compliance 
recognizing that continuous emissions monitoring

[[Page 70759]]

systems need not be required if other procedures or methods provide 
sufficiently reliable and timely information for determining 
compliance. Under section 504(c), each operating permit must ``set 
forth inspection, entry, monitoring, compliance, certification, and 
reporting requirements to assure compliance with the permit terms and 
conditions.'' Section 114(a)(3) requires us to promulgate rules for 
enhanced monitoring and compliance certifications. Section 114(a)(1) of 
the Act provides additional authority concerning monitoring, reporting, 
and record keeping requirements. This section provides the 
Administrator with the authority to require any owner or operator of a 
source to install and operate monitoring systems and to record the 
resulting monitoring data. We promulgated the Compliance Assurance 
Monitoring (CAM) rule, 40 CFR part 64, on October 22, 1997 (62 FR 
54900) to implement these authorities.
    In accordance with these provisions, the monitoring information 
source owners must submit must also be available to the public, except 
as entitled top protection from disclosure as allowed in section 114(c) 
of the Act. 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.
    We are soliciting 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 collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses.
    Burden Statement: We estimate the annual public reporting and 
recordkeeping burden for this collection of information to average 
about 340 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 which have subsequently changed; 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.
    Based on the Agency's knowledge of the number of title V permits 
issued since 1997 and the implementation of part 64 through permit 
renewals, the expected impact of the CAM program for the 3 years from 
October 1, 2006 until September 30, 2009 is about 2.0 million hours 
annually. The CAM rule will incur an average annual cost of about $220 
million in 2005 dollars. This includes an annualized capital and 
operation and maintenance cost of about $2.7 million.
    The CAM program burden for source owners or operators means the 
total time, effort, or financial resources expended by persons to 
generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or provide monitoring 
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. We have also 
included annualized capital and operational and maintenance costs for 
monitoring programs in the cost burden calculation. The CAM program 
potentially affects about 3,600 large pollutant-specific emissions 
units plus about 22,000 other pollutant-specific emissions units 
nationwide. The annual burden for source owners or operators is about 
2.0 million hours for large and other pollutant-specific emissions 
units combined.
    During the review period, permitting authorities will review CAM 
rule submittals from source owners or operators whose permits have 
already been issued and are renewing those permits as the 5-year permit 
terms expire. Permitting authorities will also be interacting with the 
source owners or operators in addressing the CAM in semi-annual 
monitoring reports and reporting CAM data as necessary. We estimate the 
annual CAM burden to permitting authorities to be about 57,000 hours 
and about $2.6 million. 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.
    The ICR provides a detailed explanation of the Agency's estimate, 
which is only briefly summarized here:
    Estimated total number of potential respondents: 6,000.
    Frequency of response: Every 5 years at permit renewal.
    Estimated total average number of responses for each respondent: 8.
    Estimated total annual burden hours: 2.0 million hours.
    Estimated average annual costs: about $221 million. This includes 
an estimated burden cost of $218 million and an estimated cost of about 
$2.7 for capital investment or maintenance and operational costs.

Are There Changes in the Estimates From the Last Approval?

    There is an increase of 1.84 million hours in the total estimated 
respondent annual burden compared with that identified in the ICR 
currently approved by OMB. This increase reflects the significant 
increase in number of respondents resulting from the implementation of 
the rule through operating permit renewals and EPA's reassessment of 
the reporting and recordkeeping burdens associate with implementing 
this rule.

What Is the Next Step in the Process for This ICR?

    EPA will consider the comments received and amend the ICR as 
appropriate. The final ICR package will then be submitted to OMB for 
review and approval pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.12. At that time, EPA will 
issue another Federal Register notice pursuant to 5 CFR 
1320.5(a)(1)(iv) to announce the submission of the ICR to OMB and the 
opportunity to submit additional comments to OMB. If you have any 
questions about this ICR or the approval process, please contact the 
technical person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.


[[Page 70760]]


    Dated: November 28, 2006.
Jeffrey S. Clark,
Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
 [FR Doc. E6-20643 Filed 12-5-06; 8:45 am]
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