[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 32 (Wednesday, February 16, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8836-8837]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-03376]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-SFUND-2005-0008; FRL-9582-01-OMS]


Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and 
Approval; Comment Request; Emergency Planning and Release Notification 
Requirements (EPCRA Sections 302, 303, and 304) (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), Emergency Planning and Release 
Notification Requirements (EPA ICR Number 1395.11, OMB Control Number 
2050-0092) 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 
April 30, 2022. Public comments were previously requested via the 
Federal Register on

[[Page 8837]]

August 18, 2021 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 March 18, 
2022.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
SFUND-2005-0008, 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.
    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.
    Submit written comments and recommendations to OMB for the proposed 
information collection within 30 days of publication of this notice to 
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information 
collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for 
Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wendy Hoffman, Regulations 
Implementation Division, Office of Emergency Management, (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. 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.
    Abstract: The authority for the emergency planning and emergency 
release notification requirements is sections 302, 303, and 304 of the 
Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) of 1986 (42 
U.S.C. 11002, 11003, and 11004). EPCRA established broad emergency 
planning and facility reporting requirements. Section 302 requires 
facilities to notify their State Emergency Response Commission (SERC) 
or Tribal Emergency Response Commission (TERC), Local Emergency 
Planning Committee (LEPC) or Tribal Emergency Planning Committee (TEPC) 
with jurisdiction over their facility, of the presence of a threshold 
planning quantity of a listed extremely hazardous substance (EHS) at 
the facility. This activity was completed by existing facilities soon 
after the law was passed. Only new facilities that may become subject 
to these requirements must notify the SERC (or TERC) and the LEPC (or 
TEPC). Currently covered facilities are required to notify the LEPC (or 
TEPC) of any changes that occur at the facility that would be relevant 
to emergency planning. Section 303 requires the LEPC (or TEPC) to 
prepare local emergency response plans for their planning district 
using the information provided by facilities under Section 302. An LEPC 
(or TEPC) may request any information from facilities necessary to 
develop emergency response plans. Initial emergency response plans were 
developed within a few months after the law was passed. LEPCs (or 
TEPCs) are required to review and update the plan at least annually or 
more frequently as changes occur in the community. Section 304 requires 
facilities to report to SERCs (or TERCs) and LEPCs (or TEPCs) releases 
in excess of the reportable quantities listed for each EHS. This ICR 
also covers the notification and the written follow-up required under 
Section 304. The implementing regulations are codified in 40 CFR part 
355.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: Entities potentially affected by 
this action are those that have a threshold planning quantity of an EHS 
listed in 40 CFR part 355, appendix A and those that have a release of 
any EHS above a reportable quantity. Entities more likely to be 
affected by this action may include chemical manufacturers, retailers, 
petroleum refineries, utilities, etc.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory (Sections 302, 303 
and 304 of EPCRA).
    Estimated number of respondents: 98,052. This figure includes 3,052 
LEPCs (or TEPCs) and SERCs (or TERCs).
    Frequency of response: EPCRA section 302 reporting is a one-time 
notification unless there are changes to the reported information; 
EPCRA section 304 notification happens only when a release occurs from 
a facility.
    Total estimated burden: 226,261 hours (per year) (includes LEPCs 
(or TEPCs) and SERCs (or TERCs)). Burden is defined at 5 CFR 
1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: 10,851,328 (per year), including $8,470 in 
annual operations and maintenance (O&M) costs. There are no capital 
costs associated with this ICR.
    Changes in estimates: The reduction in burden of approximately 22 
percent for activities related to section 304 reporting requirements 
for facilities is attributable to a decrease in the number of release 
notifications reported to the National Response Center for the previous 
three years (reduced from 10,000 to 7,420), which EPA assumes will 
apply to the upcoming three years of this ICR renewal. The reduction in 
state and local government burden estimate of approximately 15,607 
hours annually, is attributable to the reduction in the numbers of 
SERCs (or TERCs) and LEPCs (or TEPCs) in this ICR compared to the 
previous ICR (new total of 3,052 reduced from 3,556). In addition, EPA 
corrected a few minor calculation errors.

Courtney Kerwin,
Director, Regulatory Support Division.
[FR Doc. 2022-03376 Filed 2-15-22; 8:45 am]
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