[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 9, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10791-10793]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-4962]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0819; FRL-9124-7]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Questionnaire for Steam Electric 
Power Generating Effluent Guidelines (New); EPA ICR No. 2368.01, OMB 
Control No. 2040-NEW

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

[[Page 10792]]


DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before April 8, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2009-0819, 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, Mailcode 
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: Ms. Jezebele Alicea-Virella, 
Engineering and Analysis Division (4303T), Environmental Protection 
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone 
number: 202-566-1755; 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 October 29, 2009 (74 FR 55837-55839), EPA sought comments 
on this ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received comments from 
electric power companies, industry trade associations, and an 
environmental group. The topics raised in these comments address both 
general matters related to the ICR, such as format and timing, and 
suggested revisions to specific questions that request technical 
information in various sections of the questionnaire. The comments are 
summarized in the supporting statement for this ICR. Any additional 
comments on this proposed 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-2009-0819, 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 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 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: Questionnaire for Steam Electric Power Generating Effluent 
Guidelines (New).
    ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 2368.01, OMB Control No. 2040-NEW.
    ICR Status: This ICR is for a new information collection activity. 
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) directs EPA to develop 
regulations, called effluent guidelines, to limit the amount of 
pollutants that are discharged to surface waters or to sewage treatment 
plants. The effluent guidelines for the steam electric power generating 
point source category apply to steam electric generating units at 
establishments that are primarily engaged in the generation of 
electricity for distribution and sale, resulting primarily from a 
process using nuclear or fossil-type fuels, such as coal, oil and 
natural gas.
    EPA first identified the industry during its 2005 annual review of 
discharges from categories with existing effluent guidelines 
regulations, when publicly available data indicated that this industry 
ranked high in discharges of toxic and nonconventional pollutants. 
Because of these findings, EPA initiated a more detailed study of the 
industry and collected data through site visits, wastewater sampling, a 
limited data request, and secondary sources of data. EPA determined 
that steam electric power plants are responsible for a significant 
amount of the toxic pollutant loadings discharged to surface waters by 
point sources. Further information regarding these conclusions can be 
found in EPA's study, Steam Electric Power Generating Point Source 
Category: Final Detailed Study Report (EPA 821-R-09-008). This ICR will 
support the review and revision of the Steam Electric ELGs.
    EPA is requesting the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to 
review and approve the ICR for Steam Electric Power Generating Effluent 
Guidelines. The ICR will aid in the collection of information from a 
wide range of steam electric power generating industry operations to 
characterize waste streams, understand the processes that generate the 
wastes, gather environmental data, and assess the availability and 
affordability of treatment technologies. These data will be used to 
perform detailed technical and economic analyses that will support 
EPA's rulemaking.
    EPA has identified approximately 1,200 fossil- and nuclear-fueled 
steam electric power plants that are potentially within scope of the 
data collection objectives of the questionnaire. To reduce burden on 
the industry, EPA intends to distribute the questionnaire to a 
statistically-sampled subset of these facilities. After addressing 
comments provided during the first FRN publication comment period, 
which ended on December 28, 2009, EPA estimates that approximately 734 
fossil- or nuclear-fueled steam electric plants will be required to 
complete Parts A and I of the questionnaire. This is a decrease in the 
number of respondents, from 760 to 734. The questionnaire consists of 
multiple sections which have been tailored to address specific 
processes, specific data needs, or types of power plants. Parts A and I 
of the questionnaire will be sent to all questionnaire recipients (734 
plants); the remaining sections will be sent to discrete subpopulations 
of questionnaire recipients. Overall, EPA estimates a reduction of 
11,640 hours in respondent burden as a result of the revisions of the 
questionnaire.
    The questionnaire will collect general plant information and 
selected technical information about the plant processes and the 
electric generating units. The information that will be collected 
includes economic data and technical information about flue gas 
desulfurization (FGD) wastewater, ash handling, process equipment 
cleaning operations, wastewater treatment, surface impoundment and 
landfill operations, and nuclear operations. The questionnaire will 
also require certain power plants to collect and analyze

[[Page 10793]]

samples of leachate from surface impoundments and landfills containing 
coal combustion residues. More details about information requested in 
each section of the questionnaire are provided in the ICR supporting 
statement.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 197 
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.
    The ICR provides a detailed explanation of the Agency's estimate, 
which is only briefly summarized here:
    Respondents/Affected Entities: Steam electric power plants.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 734.
    Frequency of Response: Once.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 48,150 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $3,076,316. This includes an estimated 
annual burden cost of $2,670,633 for labor and $405,683 million for 
operations and maintenance.
    Changes in the Estimates: This is a new collection and thus 
represents a one-time increase to the Agency's overall burden.

    Dated: March 4, 2010.
John Moses,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 2010-4962 Filed 3-8-10; 8:45 am]
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