[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 171 (Tuesday, September 4, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44875-44876]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-19158]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2002-0091; FRL-9983-30-OAR]


Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Ambient 
Air Quality Surveillance (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), ``Ambient Air Quality 
Surveillance'' (EPA ICR No. 0940.28, OMB Control No. 2060-0084), to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. Before doing so, the 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 March 31, 2019. 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 November 5, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2002-0091, 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.
    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 (CBI) or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laurie Trinca, Air Quality Assessment 
Division, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, C304-06, 
Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; 
telephone number: 919-541-0520; fax number: 919-541-1903: 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, the 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). The 
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, the 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 includes ambient air monitoring data and other 
supporting measurements reporting and recordkeeping activities 
associated with the 40 CFR 58, Ambient Air Quality Surveillance rule. 
These data and information are collected by various state and local air 
quality management agencies and reported to the EPA's Office of Air 
Quality Planning and Standards within the Office of Air and Radiation.
    This ICR reflects revisions of the previous ICR update of 2013, and 
covers the period of 2019-2021. The number of monitoring stations, 
sampling parameters, and frequency of data collection and submittal is 
expected to remain relatively stable for 2019-2021, with minor 
increases and decreases expected for several ambient air monitoring 
networks as air monitoring agencies review their monitoring networks.
    The data collected through this information collection consist of 
ambient air concentration measurements for the seven air pollutants 
with national ambient air quality standards (i.e., ozone, sulfur 
dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, lead, carbon monoxide, PM2.5 and 
PM10), ozone precursors, meteorological variables at a 
select number of sites and other supporting measurements. Accompanying 
the pollutant concentration data are quality assurance/quality control 
data and air monitoring network design information.
    The EPA and others (e.g., state and local air quality management 
agencies, tribal entities, environmental groups, academic institutions, 
industrial groups) use the ambient air quality data for many purposes. 
Some of the more prominent uses include informing the public and other 
interested parties of an area's air quality, judging an area's (e.g., 
county, city, neighborhood) air quality in comparison with the 
established health or welfare standards (including both national and 
local standards), evaluating an air quality management agency's 
progress in achieving or maintaining air pollutant levels below the 
national and local standards,

[[Page 44876]]

developing and revising State Implementation Plans (SIPs) in accordance 
with 40 CFR 51, evaluating air pollutant control strategies, developing 
or revising national control policies, providing data for air quality 
model development and validation, supporting enforcement actions, 
documenting episodes and initiating episode controls, air quality 
trends assessment, and air pollution research.
    The state and local agencies and tribal entities with 
responsibility for reporting ambient air quality data and information 
as requested in this ICR submit these data electronically to the EPA's 
Air Quality System (AQS) database. Quality assurance/quality control 
records and monitoring network documentation are also maintained by 
each state and local agency, in AQS electronic format where possible.
    Although the state and local air pollution control agencies and 
tribal entities are responsible for the operation of the air monitoring 
networks, the EPA funds a portion of the total costs through federal 
grants. These grants generally require an appropriate level of 
contribution, or ``match,'' from the state/local agencies or tribal 
entities. The costs shown in this renewal are the total costs incurred 
for the monitoring program regardless of the source of the funding. 
This practice of using the total cost is consistent with prior ICR 
submittals and renewals.
    Form numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: State, local and Tribal Air 
Pollution Control Agencies.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory per 40 CFR 58.
    Estimated number of respondents: 168 (total).
    Frequency of response: Quarterly.
    Total estimated burden: 1,756,355 hours (per year). Burden is 
defined at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $212,581,038 (per year), includes $15,066,248 
annualized capital or operation & maintenance costs.
    Changes in estimates: There is a decrease of 33,666 hours in the 
total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently 
approved by OMB. This decrease is due to a change in program 
requirements as well as adjustments to the estimates (e.g., to account 
for inflation, network growth/shrinkage, etc.).

    Dated: August 23, 2018.
Richard A. Wayland,
Director, Air Quality Assessment Division.
[FR Doc. 2018-19158 Filed 8-31-18; 8:45 am]
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