[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 239 (Wednesday, December 12, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74002-74003]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-29981]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-SFUND-2012-0578; FRL9761-3]


Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; 
Technical Assistance Needs Assessments (TANAs) at Superfund Remedial or 
Removal Sites (NEW)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to submit an 
information collection request (ICR), ``Technical Assistance Needs 
Assessments (TANAs) at Superfund Remedial or Removal Sites'' (EPA ICR 
No. 2470.01, OMB Control No. 2050-NEW) to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). Before doing so, EPA is 
soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the proposed 
information collection as described below. This is a request for 
approval of a new collection. 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.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before February 11, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
SFUND-2012-0578 online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred 
method), by email to [email protected], or by mail to: EPA Docket 
Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460.
    EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the 
public docket without change including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes profanity, threats, information 
claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Knudsen, Assessment and 
Remediation Division, Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology 
Innovation, Mail Code 5204P, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 703-603-
8861; fax number: 703-603-9102; email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Supporting documents which explain in detail the information that 
the EPA will be collecting are available in the public docket for this 
ICR. The docket can be viewed online at www.regulations.gov or in 
person at the EPA Docket Center, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution 
Ave. NW., Washington, DC. The telephone number for the Docket Center is 
202-566-1744. For additional information about EPA's public docket, 
visit http://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, EPA is soliciting 
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 
used; (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 electronic submission of responses. EPA 
will consider the comments received and amend the ICR as appropriate. 
The final ICR package will then be submitted to OMB for review and 
approval. At that time, EPA will issue another Federal Register notice 
to announce the submission of the ICR to OMB and the opportunity to 
submit additional comments to OMB.
    Abstract: This ICR covers the usage of TANAs with members of the 
impacted community in order to determine how the community is receiving 
technical information about a Superfund remedial or removal site; 
whether the community needs additional assistance in order to 
understand and respond to site-related technical information; and 
whether there are organizations in the community that are interested or 
involved in site-related issues and capable of acting as an appropriate 
conduit for technical assistance services to the affected community. 
Given the specific nature of the TANA, 8 to 10 persons will be 
interviewed per site, with an estimated total of 250 persons being 
interviewed per year (25 sites). Responses to the collection of 
information are voluntary and the names of respondents will be 
protected by the Privacy Act. The TANA will help ensure the community's 
needs for technical assistance are defined as early in the remedial/
removal process as possible and enable meaningful community involvement 
in the Superfund decision-making process. Additionally, the TANA 
process produces a blueprint for designing a coordinated effort to meet 
the community's needs for additional technical assistance while 
minimizing the overlap of services provided.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: Respondents to this ICR are local/
state government officials, potentially-responsible party (PRP) 
representatives, and individual community members who may be impacted 
by a Superfund site or a removal action lasting 120 days or longer. 
These community members voluntarily participate in community 
involvement activities throughout the remedial phase of the Superfund 
process. SIC Codes are OSHA's Standard Industrial Classification System 
used to identify different groups. Local/state governments are 
categorized as Division J: Public Administration, Major Group 95: 
Administration of Environmental Quality, subgroup 9511: Air and Water 
Resource and Solid Waste Management. The other respondents, community 
members, do not have a SIC Code as they do not constitute an industry.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: voluntary.
    Estimated number of respondents: 250 (per year).
    Frequency of response: Once during the remediation of the Site. 
Each TANA

[[Page 74003]]

interview is expected to last approximately one hour in duration.
    Total estimated burden: 250 hours (per year). Burden is defined at 
5 CFR 1320.03(b)
    Total estimated cost: $4,900 (per year), includes $0 annualized 
capital or operation & maintenance costs.
    Changes in Estimates: Not applicable. This is a new information 
collection.

    Dated: November 26, 2012.
James E. Woolford,
Director, Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation.
[FR Doc. 2012-29981 Filed 12-11-12; 8:45 am]
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