[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 44 (Monday, March 7, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12355-12356]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-5049]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-R09-UST-2010-0538; FRL-9276-2]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Underground Storage Tank: 
Information Request Letters, Pacific Southwest Region (Region IX) (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.

DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before April 6, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-R09-UST-
2010-0538, to (1) EPA online using http://www.regulations.gov (our 
preferred method), by e-mail to [email protected], or by mail to: 
LaDonna Thomas, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: WST-8, 75 
Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-3901, 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: 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: EPA has submitted the following ICR to OMB 
for review and approval according to the procedures prescribed in 5 CFR 
1320.12. On September 24, 2010 (75 FR 58374), EPA sought comments on 
this ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received no comments. 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-R09-UST-2010-0538, which is available for online viewing at 
http://www.regulations.gov, or in person viewing 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 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: Underground Storage Tank: Information Request Letters, 
Pacific Southwest Region (Region IX) (New).
    ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 2405.01, OMB Control No. 2009-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

[[Page 12356]]

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. Although OMB has approved this 
information collection request, EPA, Region 9, is seeking additional 
approval from OMB to revise and expand the scope of the original 
information collection request beyond what EPA originally envisioned 
when it initially sought the ICR.
    EPA Region 9's Underground Storage Tanks Program Office (R9 USTPO) 
is planning to undertake an effort to increase the rate of compliance 
in Region 9. R9 USTPO has direct implementation responsibilities in 
Indian country and our data has shown a low rate of compliance. While 
Indian country is our highest priority because of our direct 
implementation responsibility, we have also reviewed data that suggest 
facilities outside Indian country are also of concern. In FY 08, the 
rate of compliance in Region 9 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 suspected 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 2 
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: Underground storage tank owners and 
operators within EPA Region 9 (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, 
Pacific Islands, 147 Tribes).
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 500.
    Frequency of Response: Annual.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 1,000.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $29,025, includes $4,025 annualized 
capital or O&M costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: This is a new collection.

    Dated: March 1, 2011.
John Moses,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 2011-5049 Filed 3-4-11; 8:45 am]
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