[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 90 (Tuesday, May 12, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22162-22163]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-11102]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2003-0033; FRL-8903-5]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Modification of Secondary 
Treatment Requirements for Discharges Into Marine Waters (Renewal), EPA 
ICR Number 0138.09, OMB Control Number 2040-0088

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. This 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 June 11, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OW-2003-0033, to (1) EPA online using http://www.regulations.gov (our 
preferred method), by e-mail to [email protected], or by mail to: EPA 
Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Water Docket, Mail Code 
28221T, 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: Virginia Fox-Norse, Oceans and Coastal 
Protection Division, Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds, (Mail 
Code 4504T), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., 
NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 566-1266; fax 
number: (202) 566-1337; 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 December 29, 2008 (73 FR 79467), EPA sought comments on 
this ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received one comment during 
the comment period, which is addressed in the ICR. 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-OW-2003-0033, which is available for online viewing at 
http://www.regulations.gov, or in person viewing at the Water 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 Water Docket is (202) 566-2426. 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 public docket, and to access those 
documents in the public 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: Modification of Secondary Treatment Requirements for 
Discharges into Marine Waters (Renewal).
    ICR Numbers: EPA ICR No. 0138.09, OMB Control No. 2040-0088.
    ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on May 31, 2009. 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: The Clean Water Act (CWA) section 301(h) program involves 
collecting information from two sources: (1) The municipal wastewater 
treatment facility, commonly called a publicly owned treatment works 
(POTW); and (2) the state in which the POTW is located. Municipalities 
had the opportunity to apply for a waiver from secondary treatment 
requirements, but that opportunity closed in December 1982. A POTW that 
seeks a section 301(h) waiver does so voluntarily to obtain or retain a 
benefit. A POTW seeking to obtain a 301(h) waiver, holding a current 
waiver, or reapplying for a waiver, provides application, monitoring, 
and toxic control program information. The state provides information 
on its determination whether the proposed conditions of the waiver 
ensure the protection of water quality, biological habitats, and 
beneficial uses of receiving waters, and whether the discharge will 
result in additional treatment, pollution control, or any other 
requirement for any other point or nonpoint sources. The state also 
provides information to certify that the discharge will meet all 
applicable state laws and that the state accepts all permit conditions. 
EPA requires updated information on the discharge to: (1) Determine 
whether the section 301(h) criteria are still being met and whether the 
section 301(h) waiver should be reissued; (2) determine whether the 
water quality, biological habitats, and beneficial uses of the 
receiving waters are protected; and (3) ensure that the permittee is 
effectively

[[Page 22163]]

minimizing industrial and nonindustrial toxic pollutant and pesticide 
discharges into the treatment works. EPA needs information from the 
state to: (1) Allow the state's views to be taken into account when EPA 
reviews the section 301(h) application and develops permit conditions; 
and (2) ensure that all state laws are met and that the state accepts 
all permit conditions. This information is the means by which the state 
can non-concur with a section 301(h) approval decision made by the EPA 
Regional office. Regulations implementing CWA section 301(h) are found 
at 40 CFR part 125, subpart G. The information covered by this 
information collection request involves treatment plant operating data, 
effects of POTWs' discharges on marine environments, and states' 
viewpoints on issues concerning effects of POTWs' discharges on marine 
environments.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 686 
hours per response for POTWs and 88 hours per response for States. 
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 those municipalities that currently have section 301(h) 
waivers from secondary treatment, have applied for a renewal of a 
section 301(h) waiver, and the states within which these municipalities 
are located.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 45.
    Frequency of Response: Varies from one time to once every five 
years, to case-by-case, depending on the category of information.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 59,370 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $1,503,270, includes $0 annualized 
capital or O&M costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 2,007 hours in the 
total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of 
Approved ICR Burdens. This decrease is due to a reduction in the number 
of POTWs in the 301(h) program and by extension the number of states 
within which these POTWs are located.

    Dated: May 6, 2009.
John Moses,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. E9-11102 Filed 5-11-09; 8:45 am]
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