[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 16, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2150-2151]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-00575]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0885; FRL-9973-01-OEI]


Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and 
Approval; Comment Request; Implementation of the 2008 Ozone National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone: State Implementation Plan 
Requirements (Renewal)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an 
information collection request (ICR)--Implementation of the 2008 Ozone 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone: State Implementation 
Plan Requirements (Renewal), OMB Control Number 2060-0695, EPA ICR No. 
2347.03--to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and 
approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). This is 
a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through 
January, 31, 2018. Public comments were previously requested via a 
Federal

[[Page 2151]]

Register notice published on October 2, 2017 and November 8, 2017. This 
notice allows an additional 30 days for public comments. A fuller 
description of the ICR is given below, including its estimated burden 
and cost to the public. 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: Additional comments may be submitted on or before February 15, 
2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2010-0885, to (1) the EPA online using http://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 Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460, and (2) OMB via 
email to [email protected]. Address comments to OMB Desk 
Officer for EPA. The 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 or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Butch Stackhouse, Air Quality 
Policy Division, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, C539-01, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709; 
telephone number: (919) 541-5208; fax number: (919) 541-5509; 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 
https://www.regulations.gov or in person at the EPA Docket Center 
Reading Room, WJC West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20229. The telephone number for the Docket Center is 
(202) 566-1744. For additional information about the EPA's public 
docket, visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    Abstract: The EPA requires the information requested in this ICR to 
perform its proper function to ensure the implementation of the 2008 
ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in areas of the 
country that are designated nonattainment for the standards. This ICR 
pertains to attainment planning efforts by states for areas designated 
nonattainment for the ozone NAAQS revised on March 12, 2008 (73 FR 
16436). Those planning efforts must meet the statutory requirements of 
CAA sections 172, 182 and 184, and the regulatory requirements 
established in the ``Implementation of the 2008 National Ambient Air 
Quality Standards for Ozone: State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
Requirements; Final Rule'' (80 FR 12264). The EPA has since revised the 
ozone NAAQS on October 1, 2015 (80 FR 65292), and any burden associated 
with attainment planning for areas designated nonattainment for the 
2015 ozone NAAQS will be covered through a separate ICR process. The 
information covered by this ICR includes, but is not limited to, state 
submissions of attainment demonstrations, reasonable further progress 
plans, and reasonably available control technology determinations.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/Affected Entities: State and local governments.
    Respondent's Obligation To Respond: Mandatory (see Clean Air Act 
sections 172, 182 and 184).
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 17 (total).
    Frequency of Response: Annual.
    Total Estimated Burden: 34,000 hours (per year). Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.3(b).
    Total Estimated Cost: $2,311,000 (per year), includes $0 annualized 
capital or operation and maintenance costs.
    Changes in Estimates: There is a decrease of 6,000 annual labor 
hours in the total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR 
currently approved by OMB. This decrease is due to the activities 
expected to occur during the period from February 1, 2018, to January 
31, 2021, which are similar in nature, but not identical, to the SIP 
planning and submission activities in the original ICR period. Factors 
contributing to the variation include the stage of implementation that 
various nonattainment areas are in for the 2008 ozone NAAQS, and 
states' relative success in attaining the 2008 ozone NAAQS during the 
original ICR period. More specifically, the reasons the total estimated 
burden in this ICR renewal is different than the total estimated burden 
hours currently approved by OMB, include:
     Many areas that have successfully attained the 2008 ozone 
NAAQS are now eligible to request redesignation to attainment.
     As many as 13 nonattainment areas are potentially subject 
to the additional air quality planning and emissions control 
requirements of the ``Serious'' classification because they may not 
attain the 2008 NAAQS by the Moderate area attainment deadline of July 
20, 2018. For these areas, states will need to take further steps to 
ensure air quality standards are achieved by the next attainment 
deadline.
     The estimates have been calculated using 2017 dollars. The 
adjustments to the cost assumptions are summarized in sections 6(b) and 
6(c) of the supporting statement, and fully detailed in a background 
spreadsheet titled, ``Estimate of Burden for 2008 O3 SIP Rule 1st 
Renewal ICR Worksheet, 2017.'' This spreadsheet is available in the 
docket.

Courtney Kerwin,
Director, Regulatory Support Division.
[FR Doc. 2018-00575 Filed 1-12-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P