[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 104 (Wednesday, May 30, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24795-24796]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-11581]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-SFUND-2015-0100; FRL-9978-53-OLEM]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Continuous Release Reporting Regulations (CRRR) Under 
CERCLA 1980 (Renewal); EPA ICR No. 1445.13, OMB Control No. 2050-0086

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), ``Agency Information 
Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; 
Comment Request; Continuous Release Reporting Regulations (CRRR) Under 
CERCLA 1980 (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR No. 1445.13, OMB Control No. 2050-
0086) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and 
approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. 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 November 30, 
2018. 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 July 30, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
SFUND-2015-0100 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: Sicy Jacob, Regulations Implementation 
Division, Office of Emergency Management, (5104A), Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone number: (202) 564-8019; 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: Section 103(a) of CERCLA, as amended, requires the person 
in charge of a vessel or facility to immediately notify the National

[[Page 24796]]

Response Center (NRC) of a hazardous substance release into the 
environment if the amount of the release equals or exceeds the 
substance's reportable quantity (RQ). The RQ of every hazardous 
substance can be found in Table 302.4 of 40 CFR 302.4.
    Reporting under the Emergency Planning Community Right to Know Act 
(EPCRA) section 304 is closely tied to reporting under CERCLA section 
103. Under the provisions of EPCRA section 304, all releases of CERCLA 
hazardous substances that must be reported under CERCLA section 103(a), 
as well as EPCRA EHSs, must also be reported to State Emergency 
Response Commissions (SERCs) and Local Emergency Planning Committees 
(LEPCs) if the releases have a potential for off-site exposure. 
Releases of other EHSs, that are not CERCLA hazardous substances must 
be reported to SERCs and LEPCs if they occur in a manner that would 
require notification under CERCLA section 103(a). Similarly, releases 
exempt from reporting under CERCLA section 103(a), such as federally 
permitted releases, or releases subject to reduced reporting 
requirements under CERCLA section 103(f)(2), are not subject to 
immediate notification under EPCRA section 304.
    The previous ICR inadvertently omitted collection activities and 
the burden and cost analysis under EPCRA, and are now being accounted 
for in this ICR renewal.
    The continuous release reporting regulations (CRRR) is codified in 
40 CFR 302.8 and 355.32 for CERCLA and EPCRA, respectively.
    Section 103(f)(2) of CERCLA provides facilities relief from this 
per-occurrence notification requirement if the hazardous substance 
release at or above the RQ is continuous and stable in quantity and 
rate. To ensure that government authorities receive timely and 
sufficient information to evaluate potentially dangerous hazardous 
substance releases reported under CERCLA section 103 and EPCRA Section 
304, the Continuous Release Reporting Requirements (CRRR), requires 
reporting a release as a continuous release. The regulations require 
facilities to make an initial telephone call to the NRC, the SERC, and 
the LEPC, an initial written report to the EPA Region, the SERC, and 
the LEPC, and, if the source and chemical composition of the continuous 
release does not change and the level of the continuous release does 
not significantly increase, a follow-up written report to the EPA 
Region one year after submission of the initial written report. If the 
source or chemical composition of the previously reported continuous 
release changes, notifying the NRC, the EPA Region, the SERC, and the 
LEPC of a change in the source or composition of the release is 
required. Further, a significant increase in the level of the 
previously reported continuous release must be reported immediately to 
the NRC, the SERC, and the LEPC according to section 103(a) of CERCLA 
and EPCRA section 304. Finally, any change in information submitted in 
support of a continuous release notification must be reported to the 
EPA Region.
    The reporting of a hazardous substance release that is equal to or 
above the substance's RQ allows the Federal government to determine 
whether a Federal response action is required to control or mitigate 
any potential adverse effects to public health or welfare or the 
environment.
    The continuous release of hazardous substance information collected 
under CERCLA section 103(f)(2) is also available to EPA program offices 
and other Federal agencies who use the information to evaluate the 
potential need for additional regulations, new permitting requirements 
for specific substances or sources, or improved emergency response 
planning. State and local government authorities and facilities subject 
to the CRRR use release information for purposes of local emergency 
response planning. Members of the public, who have access to release 
information through the Freedom of Information Act, may request release 
information for purposes of maintaining an awareness of what types of 
releases are occurring in different localities and what actions, if 
any, are being taken to protect public health and welfare and the 
environment. 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 40 CFR are listed in 40 CFR part 9.
    Form numbers: EPA Form 6100-10, Continuous Release Reporting Form.
    Respondents/affected entities: Entities potentially affected by 
this action are not defined. The usage and release of hazardous 
substances are pervasive throughout industry. EPA expects a number of 
different industrial categories to report hazardous substance releases 
under the provisions of the CRRR. No one industry sector or group of 
sectors is disproportionately affected by the information collection 
burden.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory if respondents want 
to obtain reduced reporting for continuous releases. See the abstract 
for details.
    Estimated number of respondents: 4,192.
    Frequency of response: On occasion.
    Total estimated burden: 334,472 hours (per year). Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $19,797,899 (per year), includes $243,200 
annualized capital or operation & maintenance costs.
    Changes in estimates: There is an increase of 8,890 hours in the 
total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently 
approved by OMB. This increase in burden results primarily from use of 
data on the actual number of continuous release reports from several 
regions and applying a growth rate consistent with prior years 
reporting. The average annual percent increase in facilities in the 
previous ICR was approximately 7.5%. The same percent increase was 
assumed for this ICR. The unit burden hours per respondent information 
collection activity remains the same as the previous ICR. In addition, 
this ICR takes into account the requirements under EPCRA section 304, 
which were inadvertently omitted last renewal.

    Dated: May 16, 2018.
Kimberly Jennings,
Acting Director, Office of Emergency Management.
[FR Doc. 2018-11581 Filed 5-29-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P