[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 39 (Monday, February 28, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11067-11068]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-04133]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0084; FRL-9617-01-OMS]


Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and 
Approval; Comment Request; NESHAP for Mercury (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), NESHAP for Mercury (EPA ICR 
Number 0113.14, OMB Control Number 2060-0097), 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 April 13, 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 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 March 30, 
2022.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-
OAR-2021-0084, to EPA online using https://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.
    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 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: Muntasir Ali, Sector Policies and 
Program Division (D243-05), Office of Air Quality Planning and 
Standards, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle 
Park, North Carolina 27711; telephone number: (919) 541-0833; 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, or in person at the EPA Docket Center, WJC 
West Building, 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 Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants 
(NESHAP) for Mercury (40 CFR part 61, subpart E) regulations apply to 
existing facilities and new facilities which process mercury ore to 
recover mercury, use mercury chlor-alkali cells to produce chlorine gas 
and alkali metal hydroxide, and incinerate or dry wastewater treatment 
plant sludge. 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 startup, 
shutdown, or 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: Owners and operators of facilities 
which process mercury ore to recover mercury, use mercury chlor-alkali 
cells to produce chlorine gas and alkali metal hydroxide, and 
incinerate and/or dry wastewater treatment plant sludge.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory (40 CFR part 61, 
subpart E).
    Estimated number of respondents: 101 (total).
    Frequency of response: Annually and semiannually.
    Total estimated burden: 17,200 hours (per year). Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.3(b).
    Total estimated cost: $2,030,000 (per year), which includes $0 in 
annualized capital/startup and/or operation & maintenance costs.

[[Page 11068]]

    Changes in the Estimates: There is an adjustment decrease in the 
total estimated burden as currently identified in the OMB Inventory of 
Approved Burdens. This decrease is not due to any program changes. The 
adjustment decrease in burden from the most recently-approved ICR is 
due to a decrease in the number of sources. Consultations with the 
Agency's internal industry experts have shown that a number of cell 
chlor-alkali plants have shut down since the previous ICR renewal, 
leading to a decrease in respondent labor hours and the number of 
responses. There are no capital or operation and maintenance costs 
associated with this ICR. The overall result is a decrease in burden.

Courtney Kerwin,
Director, Regulatory Support Division.
[FR Doc. 2022-04133 Filed 2-25-22; 8:45 am]
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