[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 162 (Wednesday, August 25, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47494-47495]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-18240]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2014-0359; FRL 8868-01-OW]


Proposed Information Collection Request Extension; Comment 
Request; Information Request for the Underground Injection Control 
Program

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), ``Information 
Collection Request for the Underground Injection Control (UIC) 
program'' (EPA ICR No. 0370.27, OMB Control No. 2040-0042) to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)). Before doing so, 
EPA is soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the proposed 
information collection as described in the SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION 
section of this document. This is a proposed 3-year extension of the 
ICR, which is currently approved through April 30, 2022. 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 October 25, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2014-0359 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: Kyle Carey, Drinking Water Protection 
Division, Office of Groundwater and Drinking Water, 4606M, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, 
DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 564-2322; fax number: (202) 564-3756; 
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 https://www.regulations.gov. The EPA is temporarily suspending its Docket 
Center and Reading Room for public visitors, with limited exceptions, 
to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19. Our Docket Center staff 
will continue to provide remote customer service via email, phone, and 
webform. We encourage the public to submit comments, go to https://

[[Page 47495]]

www.regulations.gov. 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 extension request 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 extension request 
package to OMB and the opportunity to submit additional comments to 
OMB.
    Abstract: EPA developed the Underground Injection Control (UIC) 
Program under the authority of the Safe Drinking Water Act to establish 
a federal-state regulatory system to protect underground sources of 
drinking water (USDWs) from injection fluids and injection-related 
activities. Injected fluids include hazardous waste, oil field brines 
or produced water, mineral processing fluids, various types of 
industrial fluids, automotive, sanitary, and other wastes, and carbon 
dioxide injected for geologic sequestration. Owners or operators of 
injection wells must obtain permits, conduct environmental monitoring, 
maintain records, and report results to the EPA or the state agency (if 
the state has UIC primary enforcement responsibility (primacy)). States 
must report to the EPA on permittee compliance and related information. 
This mandatory information is reported using standardized forms and 
annual reports. The governing regulations are codified in the Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) at 40 CFR parts 144 through 148. Reporting 
data are used by UIC authorities to ensure the protection of USDWs.
    Form Numbers: 7520-1, 7520-2A, 7520-28. 7520-3, 7520-4, 7520-6, 
7520-7, 7520-8, 7520-9, 7520-10, 7520-11, 7520-12, 7520-14, 7520-16, 
and 7520-17.
    Respondents/affected entities: Owners or operators of underground 
injection wells and state UIC primacy agencies.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory (40 CFR parts 140 
through 148).
    Estimated number of respondents: 35,385 (total).
    Frequency of response: Annual, semi-annual, and quarterly.
    Total estimated burden: 1,617,274 hours (per year). Burden is 
defined at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $319,605,059 (per year), includes 
$243,531,752 annualized capital or operation and maintenance costs.
    Changes in estimates: Changes and developments in many aspects of 
the UIC program during the previous ICR period directly impact the 
estimates used in this ICR extension. For example, variations in 
permitting and closures across well classes and well inventory, 
revisions to UIC primacy programs, efforts to streamline the permit 
application process, alterations to state and operator reporting 
systems and other factors all cause variations in the ICR estimates. 
For the UIC ICR extension there is an increase of 325,014 hours in the 
total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently 
approved by OMB. This increase is due to changes in the injection well 
inventory and adjustments to the number of permit applications 
(particularly for Class VI wells) that are expected to be prepared and 
reviewed.

Jennifer L. McLain,
Director, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water.
[FR Doc. 2021-18240 Filed 8-24-21; 8:45 am]
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