[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 205 (Wednesday, October 24, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60357-60358]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-20934]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-SFUND-2007-0316; FRL-8487-1]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Notification of Episodic Releases 
of Oil and Hazardous Substances (Renewal); EPA ICR No. 1049.11, OMB 
Control No. 2050-0046

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 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. The ICR, which is abstracted below, 
describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated 
burden and cost.

DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before November 23, 
2007.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
SFUND-2007-0316, to (1) EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our 
preferred method), by e-mail to [email protected], or by mail 
to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Superfund 
Docket [2822T], 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, and 
(2) OMB by mail to: 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: Lynn M. Beasley, Regulation and Policy 
Development Division, Office of Emergency Management (5104A), 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 564-1965; fax number: 
(202) 564-2625; 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 May 15, 2007 (72 FR 27306), EPA sought comments on this ICR 
pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received no comments during the 
comment period. Any additional comments on this ICR should be submitted 
to EPA and OMB within 30 days of this notice.
    EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-SFUND-2007-0316, which is available for online viewing at 
www.regulations.gov, or in person viewing at the Superfund 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 
8:30 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 Superfund Docket is 202-566-0276.
    Use EPA's electronic docket and comment system at 
www.regulations.gov, to submit or view public comments, access the 
index listing of the contents of the docket, and to access those 
documents in the docket that are available electronically. Once in the 
system, select ``docket search,'' then key in the docket ID number 
identified above. Please note that EPA's policy is that public 
comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper, will be made 
available for public viewing at www.regulations.gov 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. For further 
information about the electronic docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov.
    Title: Notification of Episodic Releases of Oil and Hazardous 
Substances (Renewal).
    ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 1049.11, OMB Control No. 2050-0046.
    ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on October 31, 2007. 
Under OMB regulations, the Agency may continue to conduct or sponsor 
the collection of information while this submission is pending at OMB. 
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

[[Page 60358]]

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: Section 103(a) of CERCLA, as amended, requires the person 
in charge of a facility or vessel to immediately notify the National 
Response Center (NRC) of a hazardous substance release into the 
environment if the amount of the release equals or exceeds the 
substance's reportable quantity (RQ) limit. The RQ of every hazardous 
substance can be found in Table 302.4 of 40 CFR 302.4.
    Section 311 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), as amended, requires the 
person in charge of a vessel to immediately notify the NRC of an oil 
spill into U.S. navigable waters if the spill causes a sheen, violates 
applicable water quality standards, or causes a sludge or emulsion to 
be deposited beneath the surface of the water or upon adjoining 
shorelines.
    The reporting of a hazardous substance release that is above the 
substance's RQ allows the Federal government to determine whether a 
Federal response action is required to control or mitigate any 
potential adverse effects to public health or welfare or the 
environment. Likewise, the reporting of oil spills allows the Federal 
government to determine whether cleaning up the oil spill is necessary 
to mitigate or prevent damage to public health or welfare or the 
environment.
    The hazardous substance and oil release information collected under 
CERCLA section 103(a) and CWA section 311 also is available to EPA 
program offices and other Federal agencies that use the information to 
evaluate the potential need for additional regulations, new permitting 
requirements for specific substances or sources, or improved emergency 
response planning. Release notification information, which is stored in 
the national Emergency Response Notification System (ERNS) data base, 
is available to State and local government authorities as well as the 
general public. State and local government authorities and the 
regulated community use release information for purposes of local 
emergency response planning. Members of the general public, who have 
access to release information through the Freedom of Information Act, 
may request release information for purposes of maintaining an 
awareness of what types of releases are occurring in different 
localities and what actions, if any, are being taken to protect public 
health and welfare and the environment. ERNS fact sheets, which provide 
summary and statistical information about hazardous substance and oil 
release notifications, also are available to the public. 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.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 4.1 
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.
    Respondents/Affected Entities: Entities potentially affected by 
this action are facilities or vessels that manufacture, process, 
transport, or otherwise use certain specified hazardous substances and 
oil.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 25,861.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 106,030 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $3,161,016 includes $0 annualized 
capital or O&M costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is an increase of 7,294 hours in 
the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of 
Approved ICR Burdens. This increase is due to EPA's updating of burden 
estimates for this collection based upon historical information on the 
number of responses made during the previous three year period. Based 
upon revised estimates, the number of responses increased from an 
estimated three year average of 24,082 to 25,861.

    Dated: October 18, 2007.
Sara Hisel-McCoy,
Acting Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. E7-20934 Filed 10-23-07; 8:45 am]
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