[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 185 (Monday, September 24, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48311-48312]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-20636]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-SFUND-2013-0549; FRL-9984-06-OEI]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Information Collection 
Request Submitted to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; 
Notification of Episodic Releases of Oil and Hazardous Substances 
(Renewal)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an 
information collection request (ICR), Notification of Episodic Releases 
of Oil and Hazardous Substances (EPA ICR Number 1049.14, OMB Control 
Number 2050-0046) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. 
This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved 
through September 30, 2018. Public comments were previously requested 
via the Federal Register April 11, 2018 during a 60-day comment period. 
This notice allows for 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 October 24, 
2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-
SFUND-2013-0549, to (1) EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our 
preferred method), [email protected] or by mail to: EPA Docket 
Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460, and (2) OMB via email to 
[email protected]. Address comments to OMB Desk Officer for 
EPA.
    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, 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.
    Abstract: Section 103(a) of Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), as amended, requires the 
person in charge of a facility or vessel to immediately notify the 
National Response Center (NRC) of a hazardous substance release into 
the environment

[[Page 48312]]

if the amount of the release equals or exceeds the substance's 
reportable quantity (RQ) limit. The RQs for the hazardous substance can 
be found in Table 302.4 of 40 CFR 302.4. Section 311 of the Clean Water 
Act (CWA), as amended, requires the person in charge of a vessel to 
immediately notify the NRC of an oil spill into U.S. navigable waters 
if the spill causes a sheen, violates applicable water quality 
standards, or causes a sludge or emulsion to be deposited beneath the 
surface of the water or upon adjoining shorelines. The reporting of a 
hazardous substance release that is at 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. Likewise, the reporting 
of oil spills allows the Federal government to determine whether 
cleaning up the oil spill is necessary to mitigate or prevent damage to 
public health or welfare or the environment. The hazardous substance 
and oil release information collected under CERCLA section 103(a) and 
CWA section 311 also is available to EPA program offices and other 
Federal agencies that use the information to evaluate the potential 
need for additional regulations, new permitting requirements for 
specific substances or sources, or improved emergency response 
planning. Release notification information, which is stored in the 
national Emergency Response Notification System (ERNS) data base, is 
available to state and local government authorities as well as the 
general public. State and local government authorities and the 
regulated community use release information for purposes of local 
emergency response planning. Members of the general 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. ERNS fact sheets, which provide 
summary and statistical information about hazardous substance and oil 
release notifications, also are available to the public.
    Form numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: Facilities and vessels that may have 
releases of any hazardous substance or oil at or above its RQ.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory under CERCLA section 
103(a).
    Estimated number of respondents: 18,447.
    Frequency of response: As releases occur from a facility or a 
vessel.
    Total estimated burden: 18,816 hours per year. Burden is defined at 
5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Estimated total annual costs: $1,046,314, which includes no capital 
or O&M costs associated with this ICR.
    Changes in Estimates: There is a decrease of 79,026 hours per year 
in the total estimated respondent burden compared with that identified 
in the ICR currently approved by OMB. The number of notifications 
received by NRC of incidents is lower than the projected number of 
notifications in the previous ICR. The burden hours reported by 
facilities that EPA contacted were lower than EPA's estimates in the 
previous ICR.

Courtney Kerwin,
Director, Regulatory Support Division.
[FR Doc. 2018-20636 Filed 9-21-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P