[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 77 (Tuesday, April 22, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22487-22488]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-09138]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-UST-2010-0625; FRL-9909-85-OSWER]


Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; 
Underground Storage Tanks: Technical and Financial Requirements, and 
State Program Approval Procedures (Renewal)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to 
submit an information collection request (ICR), ``Underground Storage 
Tanks: Technical and Financial Requirements, and State Program Approval 
Procedures (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR No. 1360.13, OMB Control No. 2050-0068) 
to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (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 proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through 
September 30, 2014. 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 June 23, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-UST-
2010-0625 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: Elizabeth McDermott, Office of 
Underground Storage Tanks, Mail Code 5401P, Environmental Protection 
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone 
number: (703) 603-7175; fax number: (703) 603-0175; 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, WJC 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: Subtitle I of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act 
(RCRA), as amended, requires that EPA develop standards for Underground 
Storage Tank (UST) systems, as may be necessary, to protect human 
health and the environment, and procedures for approving state programs 
in lieu of the federal program. EPA promulgated technical and financial 
requirements for owners and operators of USTs at 40 CFR part 280, and 
state program approval procedures at 40 CFR part 281. This ICR is a 
comprehensive presentation of all information collection requirements 
contained at 40 CFR parts 280 and 281.
    The data collected for new and existing UST system operations and 
financial requirements are used by owners and operators and/or EPA or 
the implementing agency to monitor results of testing, inspections, and 
operation of UST systems, as well as to demonstrate compliance with 
regulations. EPA believes strongly that if the minimum requirements 
specified under the regulations are not met, neither the facilities nor 
EPA can ensure that UST systems are being managed in a manner 
protective of human health and the environment.
    EPA uses state program applications to determine whether to approve 
a state program. Before granting approval, EPA must determine that 
programs will be no less stringent than the federal program and contain 
adequate enforcement mechanisms.
    This collection also includes the authority for Region IX to 
request documents or other information from UST owners and operators 
within the Region. 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.
    Form Numbers: None.

[[Page 22488]]

    Respondents/affected entities: Facilities that own and operate 
underground storage tanks (USTs), states that implement the UST 
programs, and tribes.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory (40 CFR part 280).
    Estimated number of respondents: 211,540.
    Frequency of response: Once, on occasion, annual.
    Total estimated burden: 6,753,558 hours (per year). Burden is 
defined at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $479,519,291 (per year), includes 
$279,652,536 annualized capital or operation & maintenance costs.
    Changes in Estimates: There is an increase of 1,500 hours in the 
total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently 
approved by OMB. For Region 9, this represents an increase of 1,500 
hours which is due to a readjustment of estimates after the first 
collection. Therefore this ICR's burden hours are increasing by 1,500 
hours due to the consolidation of adding in the estimates from the 
Region 9 UST program. For the general UST program, EPA expects the 
estimates to remain substantially the same for the renewal ICR since 
estimates of the universe of tanks and facilities has not changed 
significantly over the past three years.

    Dated: April 9, 2014.
Carolyn Hoskinson,
Director, Office of Underground Storage Tanks.
[FR Doc. 2014-09138 Filed 4-21-14; 8:45 am]
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