[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 77 (Friday, April 21, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24615-24616]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-08440]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2021-0869; FRL-10916-01-OMS]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Chromium Finishing Industry Data Collection (New)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an 
information collection request (ICR), Chrome Finishing Industry Data 
Collection (EPA ICR Number 2723.01, OMB Control Number 2040-NEW) to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. This is a request for 
approval of a new collection. Public comments were previously requested 
via the Federal Register on November 16, 2022 during a 60-day comment 
period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public 
comments.

DATES: Comments may be submitted on or before May 22, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-
OW-2021-0869, to 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. 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: Dr. Phillip Flanders, Engineering and 
Analysis Division, Office of Science and Technology, 4303T, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, 
DC 20460; telephone number: 202-566-8323; email address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a request for approval of a new 
collection. 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.
    Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register 
on November 16, 2022 during a 60-day comment period (87 FR 68689). This 
notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. 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: As mentioned in Effluent Guidelines Program Plan 15, 
published in January 2023, EPA plans to conduct a rulemaking to address 
Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) discharges from a subset of 
facilities in the Metal Finishing and Electroplating point source 
categories. Specifically, facilities performing certain chromium 
operations that employ hexavalent chromium (hereafter referred to as 
``chrome finishing facilities''), including chromium plating, chromium 
anodizing, chromic acid etching, and chromate conversion coating that 
use or have used PFAS to control hexavalent chromium emissions. These 
facilities are expected to be the predominant sources of PFAS 
discharges in the Metal Finishing and Electroplating point source 
categories. Publicly available data on such facilities, including 
whether they perform chrome finishing operations and use and discharge 
of PFAS at the national scale, are limited. EPA reviewed the 2017 
National Emissions Inventory (NEI), Compliance and Emissions Data 
Reporting Interface (CEDRI), Environmental Compliance History Online 
(ECHO), and Integrated Compliance Information System (ICIS), as well as 
data collected by several state environmental agencies. However, none 
of these data sources provide a complete population of chromium 
finishing facilities in the United States nor do they provide the 
detailed information on specific facility operations (including use of 
hexavalent chromium or PFAS), generation and management of wastewater, 
or wastewater characteristics necessary for the complex technical and 
economic analyses required for the review and development of ELGs. 
Therefore, this questionnaire and wastewater sampling program are 
necessary for EPA to determine if the current regulations remain 
appropriate and to develop new regulations if they are deemed to be 
warranted. EPA has identified and compiled mailing addresses for 
approximately 2,035 potential chromium finishing facilities in the 
United States. All active metal finishing and electroplating facilities 
that conduct or have conducted one or more of the specified chromium 
finishing operations will be required to complete the questionnaire.
    Form numbers: 6100-079.
    Respondents/affected entities: All chrome finishing facilities in 
the U.S. will receive the questionnaire and no

[[Page 24616]]

more than 20 facilities will be asked to conduct specific wastewater 
sampling.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory (Clean Water Act 
section 308).
    Estimated number of respondents: 2,035 (total).
    Frequency of response: One-time data collection.
    Total estimated burden: 15,406 hours (per year). Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $2,202,613 (per year), which includes $4,805 
annualized capital or operation & maintenance costs.
    Changes in the estimates: This is a new data collection request.

Courtney Kerwin,
Director, Regulatory Support Division.
[FR Doc. 2023-08440 Filed 4-20-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P