[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 138 (Thursday, July 19, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39620-39622]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-14007]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0269; FRL-8441-6]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Transportation Conformity Determinations for Federally 
Funded and Approved Transportation Plans, Programs and Projects, EPA 
ICR No. 2130.03, OMB Control No. 2060-0561

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 December 31, 2007. Before submitting the ICR to 
OMB for review and approval, EPA is soliciting comments of the proposed 
information collection as described below.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before September 17, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2007-0269, by one of the following methods:
     www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments. Or:
     Mail: (1) Air Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, 
Mailcode: 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. 
Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0269, and (2) OMB at Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB), 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503. Attention: Desk 
Officer for EPA.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2007-0269. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
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 protected through www.regulations.gov or e-mail. 
The www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, 
which means EPA 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 EPA 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, EPA recommends 
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 EPA cannot read 
your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for 
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic 
files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of 
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses. For additional 
information about EPA's public docket visit the EPA Docket Center 
homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patty Klavon, State Measures and 
Conformity Group, Transportation and Regional Programs Division, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, 2000 Traverwood Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 
48105; telephone number: (734) 214-4476; fax number: (734) 214-4052; e-
mail address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. 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-2007-0269, which is available for online viewing at 
www.regulations.gov, or in person viewing at the Air Docket in the EPA 
Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., 
NW., Washington, DC. The EPA/DC Public Reading Room is open from 8 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 Air Docket is (202) 566-1742.
    Use www.regulations.gov to obtain a copy of the supporting 
statement which provides a detailed discussion of the

[[Page 39621]]

need, use, costs, and methodology of the information collection, to 
submit or view public comments, to 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.

B. In What Information Is EPA Particularly Interested?

    Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
(PRA), EPA specifically solicits comments and information to enable us 
to:
    (i) 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;
    (ii) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
to be collected; and
    (iii) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond.

C. 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 and why such assumptions 
are reasonable;
    (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.

II. To What Information Collection Activity or ICR Does This Apply?

    Affected entities: State and local entities potentially affected by 
this action are metropolitan planning organizations, local transit 
agencies, state departments of transportation, and state and local air 
quality agencies. Federal agencies potentially affected by this action 
include the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Transit 
Administration (FTA) and EPA.
    Title: Transportation Conformity Determinations for Federally 
Funded and Approved Transportation Plans, Programs and Projects.
    ICR number: EPA ICR No. 2130.03, OMB Control No. 2060-0561.
    ICR status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2007. 
EPA is soliciting comments on the draft information collection to renew 
the existing ICR.
    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.
    Abstract: Transportation conformity is required under Clean Air Act 
section 176(c) (42 U.S.C. 7506(c)) to ensure that federally supported 
transportation activities are consistent with (``conform to'') the 
purpose of the state air quality implementation plan (SIP). 
Transportation activities include transportation plans, transportation 
improvement programs (TIPs), and federally funded or approved highway 
or transit projects. Conformity to the purpose of the SIP means that 
transportation activities will not cause new air quality violations, 
worsen existing violations, or delay timely attainment of the relevant 
national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS or ``standards'').
    Transportation conformity applies under EPA's conformity 
regulations at 40 CFR Part 93, subpart A, to areas that are designated 
nonattainment, and those redesignated to attainment after 1990 
(``maintenance areas'' with plans developed under Clean Air Act section 
175A) for the following transportation-related criteria pollutants: 
ozone, particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), 
carbon monoxide (CO), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). The EPA 
published the original transportation conformity rule on November 24, 
1993 (58 FR 62188), and subsequently published several revisions. EPA 
develops the conformity regulations in coordination with FHWA and FTA.
    Transportation conformity determinations are required before 
federal approval or funding is given to certain types of transportation 
planning documents as well as non-exempt highway and transit 
projects.\1\
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    \1\ Some projects are exempt from all or certain conformity 
requirements, see 40 CFR 93.126, 93.127, and 93.128.
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    EPA considered the following in renewing the existing ICR:
     Burden estimates for transportation conformity 
determinations in 8-hour ozone and PM2.5 nonattainment and 
maintenance areas, which made up EPA ICR 2130.02;
     Burden estimates for conformity determinations for CO, 
NO2, and PM10, which were previously included in 
DOT's ICR for Metropolitan and State-wide Transportation Planning (OMB 
Control Number 2132-0529); \2\
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    \2\ EPA, in consultation with DOT, concluded that it would be 
advantageous to join transportation conformity burden estimates for 
all pollutants into one ICR.
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     Efficiencies associated with the Safe, Accountable, 
Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users 
(SAFETEA-LU), which was signed into law on August 10, 2005;
     Burden estimates for hypothetical areas that may be 
designated nonattainment for the revised 24-hour PM2.5 
standard, which EPA promulgated on October 17, 2006 (71 FR 61144);
     Differences in conformity resource needs in large and 
small metropolitan areas and isolated rural areas; and
     Additional burden associated with EPA's adequacy review 
process for submitted SIP motor vehicle emissions budgets that are to 
be used in conformity determinations.
    This ICR does not include burden associated with the general 
development of transportation planning and air quality planning 
documents for meeting other federal requirements.

Burden Statement

    The annual burden for this collection of information that all state 
and local respondents incur is estimated to average 53,818 hours with a 
projected annual aggregate cost of $2,956,224.
    The annual burden for this collection of information that federal 
agency respondents incur is estimated to average 16,371 hours with a 
projected annual aggregate cost of $899,259.
    Finally, the bottom line burden to all federal, state, and local 
agency respondents over the 3-year period covered by this ICR is 
estimated at 210,567 hours, with a cost of approximately $11,566,445.
    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

[[Page 39622]]

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.
    The ICR provides a detailed explanation of the Agency's estimate, 
which is only briefly summarized here:
    Estimated Number of Respondents: This ICR estimates that 
approximately 177 Metropolitan Planning Organizations will incur burden 
associated with transportation conformity requirements.
    Frequency of Response: The information collections described in 
this ICR must be completed before a transportation plan, TIP or project 
conformity determination is made. Per SAFETEA-LU and DOT's planning 
regulations, transportation plans and TIPs must be updated at least 
every four years; therefore, a conformity determination on the 
transportation plan and TIP in metropolitan areas is required at least 
every four years. Conformity determinations on projects in metropolitan 
and isolated rural areas are required on an as-needed basis.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: The ICR estimates a total 
annual burden to all federal, state and local agency respondents over 
the three-year period covered by this ICR to be 70,189 hours/year. 
Total annual burden for state and local agencies alone is 53,818, while 
the total annual burden for federal agency respondents is 16,371.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: The total annual cost to all federal, 
state and local agency respondents over the three-year period covered 
by this ICR is estimated to be approximately $3,876,133/year. The 
annual cost for all state and local agencies is $2,956,224, while the 
annual cost portion for federal agency respondents is $899,259.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is an increase of 29,063 hours in 
the total estimated state, local, and federal agency respondent burden 
compared with that identified in the ICR currently approved by OMB. 
This increase reflects the following adjustments and program changes:
    (1) Program change associated with transfer of DOT ICR (OMB 
2132-0529) to EPA ICR 2130.03.
    (2) Adjustments associated with the implementation of 
transportation conformity provisions in SAFETEA-LU.
    (3) Reduced burden from the previous ICR, which included 
substantial start-up burden for areas that had never done 
transportation conformity prior to PM2.5 and 8-hour ozone 
NAAQS. These areas now have experience with conformity.
    (4) Other factors that have been updated since the existing ICR was 
approved.

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

    EPA will consider any comments we receive and amend the EPA 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 the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section.

    Dated: July 10, 2007.
Lori Stewart,
Acting Director, Transportation and Regional Programs Division, Office 
of Transportation and Air Quality.
[FR Doc. E7-14007 Filed 7-18-07; 8:45 am]
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