[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 167 (Wednesday, September 1, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49020-49021]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-18857]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-SFUND-2006-0361; FRL-8914-01-OLEM]


Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request: 
Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and 
Approval; Trade Secrets Claims for Community Right-To-Know and 
Emergency Planning (EPCRA Section 322), EPA ICR Number 1428.12, OMB 
Control Number 2050-0078

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to submit an 
information collection request (ICR), ``Trade Secrets Claims for 
Community Right-To-Know and Emergency Planning (EPCRA section 322)'' 
(EPA ICR No. 1428.12, OMB Control No. 2050-0078) to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act. Before doing so, EPA is soliciting public 
comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as 
described in SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. This is a proposed 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 November 1, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
SFUND-2006-0361, to: (1) EPA 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, 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: Wendy Hoffman, Office of Emergency 
Management, Mail Code 5104A, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 
564-8794; email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supporting documents which explain in detail 
the information that EPA will be collecting are available in the public 
docket for this ICR. The docket can be viewed online at http://www.regulations.gov. Out of an abundance of caution for members of the 
public and our staff, the EPA Docket Center and Reading Room is closed 
to the public, 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. For further 
information about the EPA's public docket, Docket Center services and 
the current status, please visit us online at https://www.epa.gov/dockets. The telephone number for the Docket Center is 202-566-1744.
    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 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 to OMB and the opportunity to 
submit additional comments to OMB.
    Abstract: This information collection request pertains to trade 
secrecy claims submitted under section 322 of the Emergency Planning 
and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA). EPCRA contains 
provisions requiring facilities to report to state and local 
authorities, and EPA, the presence of extremely hazardous substances 
(section 302), inventory of hazardous chemicals (sections 311 and 312) 
and manufacture, process and use of toxic chemicals (section 313). 
Section 322 of EPCRA allows a facility to withhold the specific 
chemical identity from these EPCRA reports if the facility asserts a 
trade secret claim for that chemical identity. The provisions in 
section 322 establish the requirements and procedures that facilities 
must follow to request trade secret treatment of chemical identities, 
as well as the procedures for submitting public petitions to the Agency 
for review of the ``sufficiency'' of trade secret claims.
    Trade secret protection is provided for specific chemical 
identities contained in reports submitted under each of the

[[Page 49021]]

following sections of EPCRA: (1) Section 303(d)(2)--Facility 
notification of changes that have or are about to occur; (2) section 
303(d)(3)--Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) requests for 
facility information to develop or implement emergency plans; (3) 
section 311--Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) submitted by 
facilities, or lists of those chemicals submitted in place of the 
MSDSs; (4) section 312--Emergency and Hazardous Chemical Inventory 
forms (Tier I and Tier II); and (5) section 313--Toxic chemical release 
inventory form.
    The burden estimates, numbers and types of respondents, wage rates 
and unit and total costs for this ICR renewal will be revised and 
updated if needed during the 60-day comment period while the ICR 
Supporting Statement is undergoing review at OMB.
    Form Numbers: EPA Form 9510-1.
    Respondents/affected entities: Entities potentially affected by 
this action are manufacturer and non-manufacturer facilities subject to 
reporting under sections 303, 311, 312 or 313 of the Emergency Planning 
and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory if a respondent 
decides to make a trade secret claim for the chemical identity for any 
of the chemicals in any of the reports the respondent is required to 
submit under EPCRA sections 303, 311, 312 or 313.
    Estimated number of respondents: 283 trade secret claims.
    Frequency of response: Annual, with reports submitted under 
sections 312 and 313.
    Total estimated burden: 2,689 hours (per year). Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $164,989 (per year). There are no capital or 
operation and maintenance costs associated with this ICR.
    Changes in Estimates: The small increase in estimated burden from 
the previous ICR is because the actual number of claims submitted was 
slightly higher than what EPA estimated it would receive in the 
previous ICR. Changes in estimated costs are attributable to updated 
wage rates and an increase in EPA O&M costs. Any additional change in 
burden or cost resulting from the 60-day OMB review period will be 
described and explained in this section when the updated ICR Supporting 
Statement is completed.

    Dated: August 25, 2021.
Donna Salyer,
Director, Office of Emergency Management.
[FR Doc. 2021-18857 Filed 8-31-21; 8:45 am]
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