[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 44 (Thursday, March 5, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12920-12921]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-04466]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OA-2019-0370; FRL-10004-25-OMS]


Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and 
Approval; Comment Request; Environmental Impact Assessment of 
Nongovernmental Activities in Antarctica (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), Environmental Impact Assessment 
of Nongovernmental Activities in Antarctica (EPA ICR Number 1808.09, 
OMB Control Number 2020-0007) 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 May 31, 2020. Public comments were 
previously requested via the Federal Register on September 30, 2019 
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: Comments must be submitted on or before April 6, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OA-
2019-0370 online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred method) 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 the 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 (CBI) or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie Roemele, NEPA Compliance 
Division, Office of Federal Activities, Mail Code 2203A, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone number: 202-564-5632; fax number: 202-564-0070; 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 EPA's regulations at 40 CFR part 8, Environmental 
Impact Assessment of Nongovernmental Activities in Antarctica (Rule), 
were promulgated pursuant to the Antarctic

[[Page 12921]]

Science, Tourism, and Conservation Act of 1996 (Act), 16 U.S.C. 2401 et 
seq., as amended, 16 U.S.C. 2403a, which implements the Protocol on 
Environmental Protection (Protocol) to the Antarctic Treaty of 1959 
(Treaty). The Rule provides for assessment of the environmental impacts 
of nongovernmental activities in Antarctica, including tourism, for 
which the United States is required to give advance notice under 
Paragraph 5 of Article VII of the Treaty, and for coordination of the 
review of information regarding environmental impact assessments 
received from other Parties under the Protocol. The requirements of the 
Rule apply to operators of nongovernmental expeditions organized or 
proceeding from the territory of the United States to Antarctica and 
include commercial and non-commercial expeditions. Expeditions may 
include ship-based tours; yacht, skiing or mountaineering expeditions; 
privately funded research expeditions; and other nongovernmental 
activities. The Rule does not apply to individual U.S. citizens or 
groups of citizens planning travel to Antarctica on an expedition for 
which they are not acting as an operator. (Operators, for example, 
typically acquire use of vessels or aircraft, hire expedition staff, 
plan itineraries, and undertake other organizational responsibilities.) 
The rule provides nongovernmental operators with the specific 
requirements they need to meet in order to comply with the requirements 
of Article 8 and Annex I to the Protocol. The provisions of the Rule 
are intended to ensure that potential environmental effects of 
nongovernmental activities undertaken in Antarctica are appropriately 
identified and considered by the operator during the planning process 
and that to the extent practicable appropriate environmental safeguards 
which would mitigate or prevent adverse impacts on the Antarctic 
environment are identified by the operator.
    Persons subject to the Rule must prepare environmental 
documentation to support the operator's determination regarding the 
level of environmental impact of the proposed expedition. The 
environmental document is submitted to the Office of Federal Activities 
(OFA). If the operator determines that an expedition may have: (1) Less 
than a minor or transitory impact, a Preliminary Environmental Review 
Memorandum (PERM) needs to be submitted no later than 180 days before 
the proposed departure to Antarctica; (2) no more than minor or 
transitory impacts, an Initial Environmental Evaluation (IEE) needs to 
be submitted no later than 90 days before the proposed departure; or 
(3) more than minor or transitory impacts, a Comprehensive 
Environmental Evaluation (CEE) needs to be submitted.
    Environmental documents are reviewed by OFA, in consultation with 
the National Science Foundation and other interested Federal agencies. 
OFA notifies the public of document availability at: https://www.epa.gov/international-cooperation/receipt-environmental-impact-assessments-eias-regarding-nongovernmental. The types of 
nongovernmental activities currently being carried out are typically 
unlikely to have impacts that are more than minor or transitory, thus 
an IEE is the typical level of environmental documentation submitted.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: Operators of nongovernmental 
expeditions organized or proceeding from the territory of the United 
States to Antarctica.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory (40 CFR part 8).
    Estimated number of respondents: 25 (total).
    Frequency of response: Annual.
    Total estimated burden: 1,544 hours (per year). Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $133,780 (per year), includes $0 annualized 
capital or operation & maintenance costs.
    Changes in Estimates: There is an increase of 327 hours in the 
total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently 
approved by OMB. This increase is the result of a change to the number 
of operators that the EPA anticipates will submit environmental 
documentation as well as the inclusion of a potential PERM, CEE and 
Emergency Report submitted by every three years.

Courtney Kerwin,
Director, Regulatory Support Division.
[FR Doc. 2020-04466 Filed 3-4-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P