[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 55 (Thursday, March 20, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14983-14984]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-5661]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2006-0771, FRL-8544-7]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Extension of Comment Period; Coalbed Methane Extraction Sector 
Questionnaire (New), EPA ICR Number 2291.01

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Extension of Comment Period.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 
et seq.), EPA announced on January 25, 2008, its plan to submit a 
proposed Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) and solicited public comments on this 
request for a new collection on the coalbed methane extraction industry 
sector. In response to requests from several stakeholders, this action 
extends the public comment period for an additional 30 days.

DATES: EPA must receive your comments on or before April 24, 2008. 
Submit your comments, data and information for the Coalbed Methane 
Extraction Sector Questionnaire, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2006-0771, by one of the following methods:
    (1) www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    (2) E-mail: [email protected], Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2006-0771.
    (3) Mail: Water Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 
4203M, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, Attention 
Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2006-0771. Please include a total of 3 copies.
    (4) Hand Delivery: Water Docket, EPA Docket Center, EPA West, Room 
3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC, Attention Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-OW-2006-0771. Such deliveries are only accepted during the 
Docket's normal hours of operation and special arrangements should be 
made.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2006-
0771. 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 through 
regulations.gov or e-mail that you consider to be CBI or otherwise 
protected. The federal regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous 
access'' system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact

[[Page 14984]]

information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. 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 you send an e-mail comment directly to 
EPA without going through 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 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, 
and any form of encryption, and should be free of any defects or 
viruses.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the index at 
www.regulations.gov. Although listed in the index, some information is 
not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other information whose disclosure 
is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted 
material, is not placed on the Internet and will be publicly available 
only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket materials are 
available either electronically at www.regulations.gov or in hard copy 
at the Water Docket in the EPA Docket Center, EPA/DC, EPA West, Room 
3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The 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 Public Reading 
Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the Water Docket 
is (202) 566-2426.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Carey A. Johnston at (202) 566-
1014 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 25, 2008 (73 FR 4556), EPA 
solicited comment on the Agency's proposed Information Collection 
Request (ICR) for the coalbed methane (CBM) sector. EPA identified the 
CBM sector as a candidate for a detailed study in the final 2006 
Effluent Guidelines Program Plan (71 FR 76656; December 21, 2006) and 
also identified that it would develop an industry questionnaire to 
support this detailed study and would seek Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). EPA is 
conducting this review to determine if it would be appropriate to 
conduct a rulemaking to revise the effluent guidelines for the Oil and 
Gas Extraction Point Source Category (40 CFR part 435) to control 
pollutants discharged in CBM-produced water. EPA also noticed it will 
conduct an ICR in the preliminary 2008 Plan (72 FR 61343; October 30, 
2007). For each industrial sector, EPA's planning process considers 
four factors: pollutants discharged, current and potential pollution 
prevention and control technology options, growth and economic 
affordability, and implementation and efficiency considerations of 
revising existing effluent guidelines or publishing new effluent 
guidelines. EPA will use this ICR to collect technical and economic 
information from a wide range of CBM operations to address these 
factors in greater detail (e.g., geographical and geologic differences 
in the characteristics of CBM-produced waters, environmental data, 
current regulatory controls, availability and affordability of 
treatment technology options). See final 2006 Plan (71 FR 76666). 
Response to the questionnaire is mandatory for recipients and EPA will 
administer the questionnaire using its authority under Section 308 of 
the CWA, 33 U.S.C. 1318.
    The original comment deadline was March 25, 2008. Several 
stakeholders have requested an extension to the comment period in order 
to adequately understand this new information collection and provide 
comments (see EPA-HQ-OW-2006-0771-1074, 1075, www.regulations.gov). 
This action extends the comment period for 30 days.

    Dated: March 14, 2008.
Ephraim S. King,
Director, Office of Science and Technology.
[FR Doc. E8-5661 Filed 3-19-08; 8:45 am]
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