[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 227 (Tuesday, November 28, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 83125-83127]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-26139]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2023-0287; FRL-11530-01-OW]


Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Textile 
Mills Industry Data Collection

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), ``U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency Textile Mills Industry Data Collection'' (EPA ICR No. 
2798.01, OMB Control No. 2040-NEW) 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 
below. This is a request for approval of a new collection. This notice 
allows for 60 days for public comments.

[[Page 83126]]


DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before January 29, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2023-0287, 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: Dr. Paul Shriner, Engineering and 
Analysis Division, Office of Science and Technology, (4303T), 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, 
DC 20460; telephone number: 202-566-1076; 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.
    This notice allows 60 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.
    Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501 et 
seq), 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: Under the Clean Water Act (CWA), the EPA develops 
effluent limitations guidelines (ELGs) to limit pollutants discharged 
from industrial point source categories. The EPA initially promulgated 
the Textiles Mills ELGs in 1974 (39 FR 24736, July 5, 1974) and amended 
the regulations in 1977 (42 FR 26979, May 26, 1977) and 1982 (47 FR 
38810, September 2, 1982). Textiles mills receive and prepare fibers, 
transforming these materials into yarn, thread or webbing. Other mills 
convert yarns and webbing into fabric or related products and finish 
these materials. Many textile mills produce a final consumer product 
such as thread, yarn, fabric, hosiery, sheets, towels, and carpet. The 
current regulation covers wastewater discharges from textile mills 
which perform one or more of the following operations and discharge 
process wastewater directly to surface waters or indirectly to surface 
waters through publicly owned treatment works (POTWs): wool scouring, 
wool finishing, yarn and unfinished fabric manufacturing, woven fabric 
finishing, knit fabric finishing, carpet finishing, and nonwoven 
textile products of wool, cotton, synthetics, or blends of such 
fabrics.
    In the Preliminary Study of the Textiles Industry (July 1996), the 
EPA presented an industry profile of establishments engaged in the 
manufacture of textile products. Approximately 35 to 50 percent were 
engaged in wet processing (dyeing, finishing, printing and coating), 
and at least 90 percent of these facilities discharge their process 
wastewater to POTWs. When compared with 1980 data, the industry in 1993 
averaged 22 percent less water per pound of fiber processed as a result 
of water conservation programs implemented by textile facilities.
    In the Preliminary Effluent Guidelines Program Plan 15 (86 FR 
51155, September 2021), based on information and data the EPA collected 
for the Preliminary Multi-Industry Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances 
(PFAS) Study, the EPA determined that PFAS have been and continue to be 
used by textile and carpet manufacturers, a subset of facilities 
regulated under the Textile Mills ELGs. The EPA's review of PFAS use 
and discharge by the textile mills point source category is largely 
based on publicly available information and literature. Based on a 
small number of sample results, EPA determined that PFAS, including 
legacy long-chain PFAS, are present in wastewater discharges from some 
textile mills to POTWs. Most textile mills are not monitoring for PFAS, 
nor are they required to do so. Therefore, the EPA expects that textile 
mills may be discharging PFAS to POTWs or surface waters even when the 
textile mill no longer uses PFAS in their process.
    As announced in the Effluent Guidelines Program Plan 15 (88 FR 
6258, January 31, 2023), the EPA is continuing to evaluate the 
available data on types and concentrations of PFAS in wastewater 
discharged from textile mills. As indicated above there is limited 
publicly available data on textile mills, including potential use and 
discharge of PFAS, fluoropolymers, and fluorotelomers. The EPA has also 
reviewed information on textile mills from Environmental Compliance 
History Online (ECHO), the Integrated Compliance Information System 
(ICIS), as well as data collected from several state environmental 
agencies. However, very few of these data sources include PFAS 
monitoring data. None of these data sources define a complete 
population of textile mills in the United States, nor do they provide 
detailed information on specific facility operations including any 
recent phase out of PFAS usage.
    Therefore, a questionnaire for the textile mills industry is 
necessary for the EPA to determine if the current regulations remain 
appropriate and, if warranted, to develop and propose new regulations. 
If new regulations are deemed to be warranted, the questionnaire is 
essential for the EPA to complete the detailed technical analysis 
necessary for the rulemaking. The EPA has identified and compiled 
mailing addresses for approximately 2,200 textile manufacturing 
facilities in the United States. A subsequent wastewater sampling 
program will require a subset of approximately 20 textile manufacturing 
facilities that completed the questionnaire to also collect wastewater 
samples and submit them to an EPA-contracted laboratory. Wastewater 
sampling data are critical for characterizing the wastewater generated 
and discharged by textile manufacturing facilities, as well as 
evaluating the effectiveness of pollution

[[Page 83127]]

control practices and technologies to reduce or eliminate PFAS in 
discharges. The EPA will use these characterization data to estimate 
current pollutant mass loads and achievable load reductions for 
available technologies for the industry and to determine if the ELGs 
warrant revision. Additional objectives of the questionnaire and 
sampling will be to confirm the current population of textile mills, 
confirm which mills still use PFAS in their processes, as well as 
gather facility-specific information and data relevant to generation 
and discharge of PFAS-containing wastewater by the industry.
    Confidential Business Information (CBI) may be collected. In 
accordance with 40 CFR part 2, subpart B, section 2.203, the survey 
informs respondents of their right to claim information as 
confidential. Each survey provides instructions for claiming 
confidentiality and informs respondents of the terms and rules 
governing the protection of CBI under the Clean Water Act and 40 CFR 
2.203(b). Survey respondents are requested to mark any claimed 
confidential responses as CBI. EPA and its contractors will follow 
EAD's existing procedures to protect data labeled as CBI.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: Up to 2,200 textile mills in the 
U.S. will receive the questionnaire and no more than 20 facilities will 
be asked to conduct specific wastewater sampling.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory (Clean Water Act 
Section 308) (citing authority).
    Estimated number of respondents: Up to 2,200 (total).
    Frequency of response: One-time data collection.
    Total estimated respondent burden: 30,008 hours. Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated respondent cost: $1,339,982 one-time cost.
    Changes in Estimates: This is a new data collection request and is 
a one-time temporary increase to the agency's burden.

    Deborah Nagle,
Director, Office of Science and Technology, Office of Water.
[FR Doc. 2023-26139 Filed 11-27-23; 8:45 am]
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