[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 56 (Thursday, March 22, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16834-16835]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-6875]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0719, FRL 9513-8]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; NPDES and Sewage Sludge 
Monitoring Reports (Renewal)

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 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 describes the nature of the information 
collection and its estimated burden and cost.

DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before April 23, 
2012.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2008-0719 to (1) EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred 
method), by email 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 
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: Amelia Letnes, State and Regional 
Branch, Water Permits Division, OWM Mail Code: 4203M, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone number: (202) 564-5627; 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 December 28, 2011 (76 FR 81488), EPA sought comments on 
this ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received no comments during 
the comment period. 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-2008-0719, 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 ``search,'' then key in the docket ID number identified in this 
document. Please note that EPA's policy is that public comments, 
whether submitted electronically or in paper, will be made available 
for public viewing at 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 www.regulations.gov.
    Title: National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) 
Program (Renewal).
    ICR Number: EPA ICR No. 0229.20, OMB Control No. 2040-0004.
    ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on March 31, 2012. 
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 objective of the Clean Water Act (CWA) is to restore 
and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the 
nation's waters (CWA section 101). The NPDES program, established under 
CWA section 402, is an important tool for controlling pollutant 
discharges. The CWA authorizes the Agency to issue permits for the 
discharge of pollutants to waters of the United States. The Agency 
regulates point source discharges of pollutants to waters of the United 
States under its NPDES program. CWA section 402(b) allows states 
(defined to include Indian tribes and U.S. territories) to acquire 
authority for the NPDES program. This authority enables them to issue 
and administer NPDES permits. At present, 46 NPDES-authorized states 
and the U.S. Virgin Islands have NPDES permit program authority, but 
only eight states have

[[Page 16835]]

received authorization to manage the Biosolids (Sludge) Program. In 
states that do not have authority for these programs, the Agency issues 
and administers NPDES permits. Because some permit applications are 
processed by states and some by EPA, this ICR calculates government 
burden and costs for both states and EPA.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 4.3 
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.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 398,340 (397,703 facilities and 
637 States/Tribes/Territories).
    Frequency of Response: Once, every five years, annually, semi-
annually, quarterly, bimonthly, monthly, biweekly, weekly, daily, 
ongoing, occasionally/as needed.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 21,324,741 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $1,014,324,384 includes $211,074 
annualized capital costs and $18,551,848 annualized O&M costs.
    Change in Burden: There is a decrease of 9,618,566 hours in the 
total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of 
Approved ICR Burdens. This decrease in burden corresponds to 31 percent 
of the overall burden. The main reasons for the change in burden is 
that EPA generated a new estimate of construction sites based on data 
collected for the development of the final Construction Effluent 
Limitation Guidelines. The Agency revised its estimate of the number of 
large and small construction sites covered by this ICR downward from 
243,076 to 84,472 sites annually. The impact of this change in the 
number of construction sites is a decrease of 8,051,315 hours.
    Some other specific reasons for burdens changes are presented 
below:
     EPA's continuous effort to improve the quality of data in 
its PCS and ICIS-NPDES. This change could reflect more accurate data 
rather than a significant change in the number of permits actually 
administered. This change is particularly important for activities 
related to general permittees because in previous ICRs, EPA based the 
calculation on best professional estimates; whereas, for this ICR, the 
Agency has real inventory numbers from PCS and ICIS-NPDES.
     All CSO permits or enforcement orders have fulfilled the 
obligation of Phase I technology-based CSO control requirements (Nine 
Minimum Controls).
     Previously, EPA accounted for 6 hours per CAAP facilities 
to submit Form 2b and 0.5 hours per application per state to process 
and review the form. This burden from CAAP facilities and states has 
been transferred to the Animal Sectors ICR (OMB Control No. 2040-0250).
     In the previous ICR, EPA accounted for the state burden of 
24 hours per pretreatment compliance inspection, but this burden has 
been transferred to the Pretreatment ICR (OMB Control No. 2040-0009).

John Moses,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 2012-6875 Filed 3-21-12; 8:45 am]
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