[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 185 (Friday, September 24, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58374-58376]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-23997]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-R09--UST-2010-0538; FRL-9205-2]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Underground Storage Tank: Information Request Letters, 
Pacific Southwest Region (Region IX); EPA ICR No. 2405.01, OMB Control 
No. 2009-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 EPA's Pacific 
Southwest Region (Region IX) is planning to submit an Information 
Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). 
Before submitting the request to OMB, EPA Region IX is soliciting 
comments on specific aspects of the information collection as described 
below.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before November 23, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09--
UST-2010-0538 by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Fax: (415) 947-3530.
     Mail: LaDonna Thomas, Environmental Protection Agency, 
Mailcode: WST-8, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-3901.
     Hand Delivery: Environmental Protection Agency Region IX, 
75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA. Such deliveries are only 
accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation, and special 
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R09-UST-
2010-0538. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at

[[Page 58375]]

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 that you consider to 
be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov or e-
mail. The www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' 
system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact 
information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you 
send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without going through http://www.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 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 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, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or 
viruses.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: LaDonna Thomas, Waste Management 
Division, WST-8, Environmental Protection Agency, 75 Hawthorne Street, 
San Francisco, CA 94105-3901; telephone number: (415) 972-3375; fax 
number: (415) 947-3530; e-mail address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

How can I access the docket and/or submit comments?

    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Docket Facility 
located at the Environmental Protection Agency Region IX, 75 Hawthorne 
Street, San Francisco, CA. A complete public portion of the 
administrative record is available for review at the Docket Facility 
upon request. The Docket Facility is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday 
through Thursday, excluding legal holidays, and is located in a secured 
building. To review docket materials at the Docket facility, it is 
recommended that the public make an appointment by calling the Docket 
Facility at (415) 947-4406 during normal business hours. Use 
www.regulations.gov to obtain a copy of the draft collection of 
information, submit or view public comments, access the index listing 
of the contents of the docket, and to access those documents in the 
public docket that are available electronically. Once in the system, 
select ``search,'' then key in the docket ID number identified in this 
document.

What information is EPA particularly interested in?

    Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, EPA Region IX 
specifically solicits comments and information to enable it to:
    (i) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
    (ii) Evaluate the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden 
of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of 
the methodology and assumptions use;
    (iii) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
to be collected; and
    (iv) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting the electronic 
submission of responses. In particular, EPA is requesting comments from 
very small businesses (those that employ less than 25) on examples of 
specific additional efforts that EPA Region IX could make to reduce the 
paperwork burden for very small businesses affected by this collection.

What should I consider when I prepare my comments for EPA?

    You may find the following suggestions helpful for preparing your 
comments:
    1. Explain your views as clearly as possible and provide specific 
examples.
    2. Describe any assumptions that you used.
    3. Provide copies of any technical information and/or data you used 
that support your views.
    4. If you estimate potential burden or costs, explain how you 
arrived at the estimate that you provide.
    5. Offer alternative ways to improve the collection activity.
    6. Make sure to submit your comments by the deadline identified 
under DATES.
    7. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, be sure to identify the docket 
ID number assigned to this action in the subject line on the first page 
of your response. You may also provide the name, date and Federal 
Register citation.

What information collection activity or ICR does this apply to?

    Affected entities: Entities potentially affected by this action are 
owners and operators of RCRA-regulated underground storage tanks within 
EPA Region IX, i.e., Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, American 
Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, other 
U.S. holdings in the Pacific and Indian country (as defined in 18 
U.S.C. 1151) that is located within this geographic region or is 
associated with the Navajo Nation. ``Indian Country'' is defined in 18 
U.S.C. 1151 as:

    (a) All land within the limits of any Indian reservation under 
the jurisdiction of the United States Government, notwithstanding 
the issuance of any patent, and, including rights-of-way running 
through the reservation; (b) all dependent Indian communities within 
the borders of the United States whether within the original or 
subsequently acquired territory thereof, and whether within or 
without the limits of a state; and (c) all Indian allotments, the 
Indian titles to which have not been extinguished, including rights-
of-way running through the same.

    Under this definition, EPA treats as reservations trust lands 
validly set aside for the use of a Tribe even if the trust lands have 
not been formally designated as a reservation.
    Indian Country that is associated with the Navajo Nation includes, 
but is not limited to:
    1. Land within the exterior boundaries of the formal Navajo Indian 
Reservation within Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, including the three 
satellite Reservations of Alamo, Canoncito and Ramah, but excluding 
areas of Indian Country associated with the Hopi Tribe; and
    2. Lands in the Eastern Navajo Agency that are held in trust by the 
United States government for the use of the Navajo Nation or for the 
benefit of individual members of the Navajo Nation or that are 
dependent Indian communities.

[[Page 58376]]

    Title: Underground Storage Tanks: Information Request Letters, 
Pacific Southwest Region (Region IX).
    ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 2405.01, OMB Control No. 2009-NEW.
    ICR Status: This ICR is for a new 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 
49 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: EPA has already received approval from OMB for its 
information collection request, entitled ``EPA Information Collection 
Request Number 1360.08, Underground Storage Tanks: Technical and 
Financial Requirements, and State Program Approval Procedures.'' This 
approval grants EPA authority to collect information from owners and 
operators, as specified in 40 CFR Part 280, that may otherwise be 
subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act, including owner and operator 
requirements to bring a tank into service, pursuant to 40 CFR 280.22, 
and owner and operator requirements to notify the implementing agency 
of any decision to permanently close or make a change-in-service at an 
UST system, pursuant to 40 CFR 280.71. ICR No. 1360.08, however, does 
not include the authority for EPA to request that facility owners and 
operators submit documents or other information to the Agency upon 
request. EPA Region IX is seeking approval from OMB to request 
documents or other information from UST owners and operators within the 
Region. EPA Region IX's Underground Storage Tanks Program Office (R9 
USTPO) is planning to undertake an effort to increase the rate of 
compliance in Region IX. R9 USTPO has direct implementation 
responsibilities in Indian country and our data have shown a low rate 
of compliance. While Indian country is our highest priority because of 
our direct implementation responsibility, EPA has also reviewed data 
that suggest facilities outside Indian country are also of concern. In 
FY 08, the average rate of compliance in Region IX Indian country was 
36% and, outside of Indian country, the average was 68%. An information 
request pursuant to RCRA section 9005 directed to UST facility owners 
and operators in order to determine compliance will help to increase 
the rate of compliance.
    As a result, R9 USTPO would like to send an information request 
letter in accordance with RCRA Section 9005 and 40 CFR 280.34 annually 
to approximately 500 UST facilities. This letter will request that the 
facility owner or operator send to the R9 USTPO the compliance records 
that they are already required to keep, but have not previously been 
asked to submit to the Agency. The information request letter authority 
was codified in 40 CFR 280.34 of the UST regulations and this 
regulation and other provisions of the UST regulations also contain 
specific ongoing facility reporting and record keeping obligations. In 
accordance with 40 CFR 280.34(c), these records should be kept either 
on-site or must be readily available at an alternative site and, thus, 
should be easy to locate. The information is routinely reviewed during 
inspections, but we believe there is non-compliance that warrants 
additional collection and believe that these requests will encourage 
owners and operators to maintain regulatory compliance and will allow 
the R9 USTPO to better ensure compliance with regulatory requirements 
for those facilities. The R9 USTPO seeks to continue this request for 
records from facilities indefinitely and would monitor whether our 
efforts to increase compliance are successful.
    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, 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:
    Estimated total number of potential respondents: 500.
    Frequency of response: Annual.
    Estimated total average number of responses for each respondent: 
One.
    Estimated total annual burden hours: 2,500 hours.
    Estimated total annual costs: $29,025. This includes an estimated 
burden cost of $25,000 and an estimated cost of $4,025 for capital 
investment or maintenance and operational costs.
    What is the next step in the process for this ICR? EPA will 
consider the comments received and revise the ICR, if appropriate. The 
final ICR package will then be submitted to OMB for review and approval 
pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.12. At that time, EPA will issue another Federal 
Register notice pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.5(a)(1)(iv) to announce the 
submission of the ICR to OMB and the opportunity to submit additional 
comments to OMB. If you have any questions about this ICR or the 
approval process, please contact the technical person listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

    Authority:  RCRA Section 9005 and 40 CFR 280.34.

    Dated: August 26, 2010.
Jeff Scott,
Director, Waste Management Division, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2010-23997 Filed 9-23-10; 8:45 am]
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