[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 147 (Wednesday, July 31, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Page 37273]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-16226]



[[Page 37273]]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OECA-2012-0669; FRL-9997-39-OMS]


Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and 
Approval; Comment Request; NESHAP for Oil and Natural Gas Production 
(Renewal)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an 
information collection request (ICR), NESHAP for Oil and Natural Gas 
Production (EPA ICR Number 1788.12, OMB Control Number 2060-0417), 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, 
2019. Public comments were previously requested, via the Federal 
Register, on May 30, 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 neither conduct nor 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 August 30, 
2019.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-
OECA-2012-0669, to: (1) EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our 
preferred method), or 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; 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: Patrick Yellin, Monitoring, 
Assistance, and Media Programs Division, Office of Compliance, Mail 
Code 2227A, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 564-2970; fax number: 
(202) 564-0050; 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: The National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air 
Pollutants (NESHAP) for Oil and Natural Gas Production (40 CFR part 63, 
subpart HH) were proposed on February 06, 1998, and promulgated on June 
17, 1999, only for major sources. On July 8, 2005, a supplemental 
proposal was proposed for area sources with the final rule, effective 
date on January 03, 2007. The rule was subsequently amended on August 
16, 2012 to include emission sources for which standards were not 
previously developed. These regulations apply to emission points 
located at both new and existing oil and natural gas production 
facilities that are both major and area sources. A major source of 
hazardous air pollutants (HAP) is one that has the potential to emit 10 
tons or more of any single HAP or 25 tons or more of total HAP per 
year; an area source is one with the potential to emit less than this. 
New facilities include those that commenced either construction or 
reconstruction after the date of proposal. This information is being 
collected to assure compliance with 40 CFR part 63, subpart HH.
    In general, all NESHAP standards require initial notifications, 
performance tests, and periodic reports by the owners/operators of the 
affected facilities. They are also required to maintain records of the 
occurrence and duration of any malfunction in the operation of an 
affected facility, or any period during which the monitoring system is 
inoperative. These notifications, reports, and records are essential in 
determining compliance, and are required of all affected facilities 
subject to NESHAP.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: New and existing area source and 
major source facilities that produce oil and natural gas (new 
facilities include those that commenced construction, modification or 
reconstruction after the date of proposal).
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory (40 CFR part 63, 
subpart HH).
    Estimated number of respondents: 4,669 (total).
    Frequency of response: Initially, semiannually.
    Total estimated burden: 54,400 hours (per year). Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.3(b).
    Total estimated cost: $7,340,000 (per year), which includes 
$1,040,000 in annualized capital/startup and/or operation & maintenance 
costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: This ICR reflects an increase in burden 
from the most recently-approved ICR. This increase is not due to any 
program changes. The adjustment increase in burden from the most 
recently approved ICR is due to an increase in the number of new and 
modified sources. The industry growth rate from the prior ICRs was 
adjusted to more accurately reflect current estimates of affected 
facilities from data reported to EPA's ECHO database. There is a 
projected industry growth; an additional 18 new major sources and 141 
new area sources are expected to become subject to these rules each 
year. The adjustment to burden also corrects an error in the 
calculations for the number of respondents from the prior ICR, which 
double-counted existing respondents that became `new respondents' due 
to construction, reconstruction, and/or modification. The number of 
respondents required to perform O&M on CMS monitoring equipment has 
been increased to include area sources with monitoring requirements. 
Overall, there is an increase in the number of respondents, resulting 
in an estimated increase in the respondent labor hours, O&M costs, and 
number of responses. Finally, the burden to develop a startup, shutdown 
and malfunction (SS&M) plan has been removed, consistent with the 
vacatur of those provisions (Sierra Club v. EPA, 551 F.3d 1019) (D.C. 
Cir. 2008). Items which were previously reported under the SS&M 
provisions are now reported under the affirmative defense and 
malfunction reports, so that burden has not changed.

Courtney Kerwin,
Director, Regulatory Support Division.
[FR Doc. 2019-16226 Filed 7-30-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P