[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 221 (Friday, November 16, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64609-64611]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-5712]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0269; FRL-8496-4]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; 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 an Information

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Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This is a request to revise 
and renew an existing approved Information 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 December 17, 
2007.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2007-0269, to (1) EPA online using http://www.regulations.gov (our 
preferred method), or by mail to EPA Docket Center, Environmental 
Protection Agency, Air and Radiation Docket, Mailcode 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), 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503, Attention: 
Desk Officer for EPA.

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: EPA has submitted the following ICR to OMB 
for review and approval according to the procedures prescribed in 5 CFR 
1320.12. On July 19, 2007 (72 FR 39620), EPA sought comments on this 
ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received no comments. Any 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-OAR-2007-0269, which is available for online viewing at 
http://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 EPA's electronic docket and comment system at http://www.regulations.gov to submit or view public comments, access the index 
listing of the contents of the docket, and 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 http://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: Transportation Conformity Determinations for Federally 
Funded and Approved Transportation Plans, Programs and Projects 
(Renewal).
    ICR number: EPA ICR No. 2130.03, OMB Control No. 2060-0561.
    ICR status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on December 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.
    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 the Federal 
Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration.
    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, 93.217, and 93.128.
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    EPA considered the following in renewing the existing ICR:
     Burden estimates for transportation conformity 
determinations in current 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 
the Department of Transportation's (DOT) 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 public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 5 
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,

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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: States and local governments.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 177.
    Frequency of Response: Occasionally.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 52,304.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $2,873,060, which includes no capital 
or O&M costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is an increase of 22,890 hours in 
the total estimated state and local respondent burden compared with 
that identified in the ICR currently approved by OMB. This increase 
reflects the following adjustments and program changes:
     Program change associated with transfer of DOT ICR (OMB 
2132-0529) to EPA ICR 2130.03.
     Adjustments associated with the implementation of 
transportation conformity revisions from SAFETEA-LU.
     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 
nonattainment designations. These areas now have experience with 
conformity.
     Other factors that have been updated since the existing 
ICR was approved.

    Dated: October 8, 2007.
Sara Hisel-McCoy,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 07-5712 Filed 11-15-07; 8:45 am]
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