[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 35 (Thursday, February 21, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9566-9567]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-3232]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-SFUND-2007-0278; FRL-8531-2]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Continuous Release Reporting 
Regulations (CRRR) Under CERCLA 1980 (Renewal); EPA ICR No. 1445.07, 
OMB Control No. 2050-0086

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 March 24, 
2008.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
SFUND-2007-0278, 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 September 28, 2007 (72 FR 55197), 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-2007-0278, 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 www.regulations.gov.
    Title: Continuous Release Reporting Regulations (CRRR) under CERCLA 
1980 (Renewal).
    ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 1445.07, OMB Control No. 2050-0086.
    ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on February 29, 2008. 
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 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 the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), as amended, 
requires the person in charge of a vessel or facility 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). The RQ of every 
hazardous substance is found in Table 302.4 of 40 CFR 302.4.
    Section 103(f)(2) of CERCLA provides facilities relief from this 
per-occurrence notification requirement if the hazardous substance 
release at or above the RQ is continuous and stable in quantity and 
rate. Under the Continuous Release Reporting Requirements (CRRR), to 
report such a release as a continuous release you must make an initial 
telephone call to the NRC, an initial written report to the EPA Region, 
and, if the source and chemical composition of the continuous release 
does not change and the level of the continuous release does not 
significantly increase, a follow-up written report to the EPA Region 
one year after submission of the initial written report. If the source 
or chemical composition of the previously reported continuous release 
changes, notifying the NRC and EPA Region of a change in the source or 
composition of the release is required. Further, a significant increase 
in the level of the previously reported continuous release must be 
reported immediately to the NRC according to section 103(a) of CERCLA. 
Finally, any change in information submitted in support of a continuous 
release notification must be reported to the EPA Region.
    The reporting of a hazardous substance release that is equal to or 
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. The continuous release of hazardous substance information 
collected under CERCLA section 103(f)(2) is also available to EPA 
program offices and other Federal agencies who use the information to 
evaluate the potential need for additional regulations, new permitting 
requirements for specific substances or sources, or improved emergency 
response planning. State and local government authorities and 
facilities subject to the CRRR use release information for purposes of 
local emergency response planning. Members of the 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

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what actions, if any, are being taken to protect public health and 
welfare and the environment.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 10.5 
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, 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: EPA expects a number of different 
industrial categories to report hazardous substances releases under the 
provisions of the CRRR. No one industry sector or group of sectors is 
disproportionately affected by the information collection burden.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 3,587.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 301,508 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $10,290,207, includes $128,076 
annualized capital or O&M costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is an increase of 17,354 hours in 
the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of 
Approved ICR Burdens. This increase is primarily from the use of data 
on the actual number of continuous release reports from several regions 
and applying a growth rate consistent with prior years reporting.

    Dated: February 12, 2008.
Sara Hisel-McCoy,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. E8-3232 Filed 2-20-08; 8:45 am]
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