[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 18 (Friday, January 27, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4292-4293]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-1776]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPPT-2010-1008; FRL 9511-4]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; TSCA Sec. 8(a) Preliminary 
Assessment Information Rule (PAIR)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 
et seq.), this document announces that the following Information 
Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for review and approval: TSCA Sec. 8(a) Preliminary 
Assessment Information Rule (PAIR); EPA ICR No. 0586.12, OMB Control 
No. 2070-0054. The ICR, which is abstracted below, describes the nature 
of the information collection activity and its expected burden and 
costs.

DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before February 27, 
2012.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing docket ID Number EPA-HQ-
OPPT-2010-1008 to (1) EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our 
preferred method), by email to [email protected] or by mail to: 
Document Control Office (DCO), Office of Pollution Prevention and 
Toxics (OPPT), Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code: 7407T, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460, and (2) OMB at: 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: Pamela Myrick, Acting Director, 
Environmental Assistance Division, Office of Pollution Prevention and 
Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail code: 7408-M, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 
554-1404; email 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 August 10, 2011 (76 FR 49469), EPA sought comments on this 
renewal pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received one supportive 
comment during the comment period, which did not result in any change 
to the Supporting Statement. Any comments related to 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 EPA-HQ-OPPT-2010-1008, which is available for online viewing at 
http://www.regulations.gov, or in person inspection at the OPPT Docket 
in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 
Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public 
Reading Room is open from 8 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 Pollution Prevention 
and Toxics Docket is (202) 566-0280. Use 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 
``search,'' then key in the docket ID number identified above.
    EPA's policy is that public comments, whether submitted 
electronically or in paper, will be made available for public viewing 
in www.regulations.gov as EPA receives them and without change, unless 
the comment contains copyrighted material, confidential business 
information (CBI), or other

[[Page 4293]]

information whose public disclosure is restricted by statute. When EPA 
identifies a comment containing copyrighted material, EPA will provide 
a reference to that material in the version of the comment that is 
placed in www.regulations.gov. The entire printed comment, including 
the copyrighted material, will be available in the public docket. 
Although identified as an item in the official docket, information 
claimed as CBI, or whose disclosure is otherwise restricted by statute, 
is not included in the official public docket, and will not be 
available for public viewing in www.regulations.gov. For further 
information about the electronic docket, go to www.regulations.gov.
    Title: TSCA Sec. 8(a) Preliminary Assessment Information Rule 
(PAIR).
    ICR Status: This is a request to renew an existing approved 
collection. This ICR is scheduled to expire on January 31, 2012. Under 
OMB regulations, the Agency may continue to conduct or sponsor the 
collection of information while this submission is pending at OMB.
    Abstract: Section 8(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) 
authorizes EPA to promulgate rules under which manufacturers, importers 
and processors of chemical substances and mixtures must maintain 
records and submit reports to EPA. EPA has promulgated the Preliminary 
Assessment Information Rule (PAIR) under TSCA section 8(a). EPA uses 
PAIR to collect information to identify, assess and manage human health 
and environmental risks from chemical substances, mixtures and 
categories. PAIR requires chemical manufacturers and importers to 
complete a standardized reporting form to help evaluate the potential 
for adverse human health and environmental effects caused by the 
manufacture or importation of identified chemical substances, mixtures 
or categories. Chemicals identified by EPA or any other federal agency, 
for which a justifiable information need for production, use or 
exposure-related data can be satisfied by the use of the PAIR are 
proper subjects for TSCA section 8(a) PAIR rulemaking. In most 
instances the information that EPA receives from a PAIR report is 
sufficient to satisfy the information need in question. This 
information collection addresses the reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements associated with TSCA section 8(a).
    Responses to the collection of information are mandatory (see 40 
CFR parts 712, 766, and 792). Respondents may claim all or part of a 
notice as CBI. EPA will disclose information that is covered by a CBI 
claim only to the extent permitted by, and in accordance with, the 
procedures in 40 CFR part 2.
    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, are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and included on the related 
collection instrument or form, if applicable.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average about 
28.7 hours per response. Burden is defined in 5 CFR 1320.3(b).
    Respondents/Affected Entities: Entities potentially affected by 
this action are manufacturers, processors or importers of chemical 
substances, mixtures or categories.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
    Estimated average number of responses for each respondent: 2.2.
    Estimated No. of Respondents: 15.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 948 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Costs: $59,158.
    Changes in Burden Estimates: This request reflects a decrease of 
620 hours (from 1,568 hours to 948 hours) in the total estimated 
respondent burden from that currently in the OMB inventory. This 
decrease reflects a decrease in the assumed number of PAIR reports 
filed annually, and the average annual number of respondents, based on 
the past five fiscal years of PAIR reporting data. The Supporting 
Statement provides details about the change in burden estimate. The 
change is an adjustment.

John Moses,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 2012-1776 Filed 1-26-12; 8:45 am]
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