[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 158 (Thursday, August 15, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66382-66384]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-18247]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2020-0415; FRL-12116-01-OAR]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Information 
Collection Request; Comment Request; Implementation of the 8-Hour 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone (Renewal)

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), Implementation of the 
8-hour National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone (Renewal) (EPA 
ICR Number: 2347.05, OMB Control Number: 2060-0695) to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). Before doing so, the EPA is 
soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the proposed 
information collection as described later. This is a proposed extension 
of the ICR, which is currently approved through January 31, 2025. This 
document allows 60 days for public comments.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before October 15, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-
OAR-2020-0415, to EPA online using https://www.regulations.gov (our 
preferred method) or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental 
Protection Agency, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue 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: Mr. Francis Oggeri, Office of Air 
Quality Planning and Standards, C504-05, 109 T.W. Alexander Drive, 
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711; telephone number: (919) 
541-3255; email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a proposed extension of the ICR, 
which is currently approved through January 31, 2025. An agency may not 
conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and a person is not 
required to respond to it unless it displays a currently valid OMB 
control number.
    This document 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 https://www.regulations.gov or in person at the 
EPA Docket Center, WJC West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC. The telephone number for the Docket Center is (202) 
566-1744. For additional information about EPA's public docket, visit 
https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the 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 forms of information technology. The 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, the EPA will issue another Federal Register 
document to announce the submission of the ICR to OMB and the 
opportunity to submit additional comments to OMB.
    Abstract: The original ozone ICR No. 2347.01 that applied to the 
2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS was issued after the ozone NAAQS was revised in 
2012. The original ICR was renewed as No.

[[Page 66383]]

2347.02 for the period February 1, 2015, through January 31, 2018. The 
ICR No. 2347.02 was renewed in ICR No. 2347.03 for the period February 
1, 2018, through January 31, 2021. The ICR No. 2347.03 was renewed in 
ICR No. 2347.04 for the period February 1, 2021, through January 31, 
2025. The ICR No. 2347.01, 2347.02, and 2347.03 renewals applied to the 
2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS before the ozone NAAQS was revised in 2015. The 
ICR renewal currently approved by OMB, ICR No. 2347.04, added the 
burden of implementing the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS and continued 
implementation of the 2008 and 1997 8-hour NAAQS requirements. This 
proposed ICR renewal continues to address all applicable State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) requirements for the remaining 2015 and 2008 
ozone NAAQS nonattainment areas. This ICR will be effective from 
February 1, 2025, through January 31, 2028. States with nonattainment 
areas for the 2008 and 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards (NAAQS) are implementing the NAAQS under the Clean Air Act 
(CAA) and EPA-issued implementation regulations issued for that NAAQS. 
The state activities include, but are not limited to, developing and 
submitting attainment demonstrations, reasonable further progress (RFP) 
plans, reasonably available control technology (RACT) determinations, 
and maintenance plans. This proposed ICR renewal estimates the burden 
for states to meet the ongoing planning requirements that apply to 
their remaining nonattainment areas for the 2008 and 2015 NAAQS for the 
period covering February 1, 2025, to January 31, 2028. These 
requirements primarily result from 2015 ozone Moderate nonattainment 
areas that may fail to attain the NAAQS by their attainment date during 
this period and are reclassified to Serious with SIP revisions required 
from the states. In addition, this ICR renewal includes burden 
estimates for state and EPA activities related to redesignation 
requests for the 2018 and 2015 ozone NAAQS, and second maintenance 
plans for the 2008 NAAQS.
    The burden estimates for states in this ICR renewal include the 
states burden to develop and submit attainment plans to meet the 
requirements prescribed in CAA sections 110 and part D, subparts 1 and 
2 of Title I as interpreted by EPA's ozone NAAQS SIP requirements 
rules. An ozone NAAQS attainment plan contains state rules and other 
measures designed to improve air quality and achieve the NAAQS by the 
deadlines established under the CAA. It also must address several 
additional CAA requirements related to demonstrating timely attainment 
and contain contingency measures if the nonattainment area does not 
achieve reasonable further progress throughout the attainment period or 
if the area does not attain the NAAQS by its attainment date. The 
burden estimate for states for the 2008 NAAQS accounts for 25 
nonattainment areas. Six former nonattainment areas, also referred to 
as maintenance areas, have second maintenance plans due during the ICR 
period, and 19 nonattainment areas are eligible for redesignation to 
attainment based on 2021-2023 air quality data. Because some 
nonattainment areas for the 2008 ozone standards comprise portions of 
two or more states, the 25 nonattainment areas result in up to 32 total 
responses from states. The burden estimate for the 2015 NAAQS accounts 
for 28 nonattainment areas with SIP revisions expected to be due from 
their respective states. Because some nonattainment areas for the 2015 
ozone standards are comprised of portions of two or more states, the 28 
nonattainment areas result in up to 38 total responses from states. Out 
of these 28 nonattainment areas, 6 nonattainment areas are eligible for 
redesignation to attainment, 19 nonattainment areas are currently 
classified as Moderate that could be reclassified to Serious, and 3 
areas received voluntary reclassifications from Moderate to Serious 
that will have SIP revisions due during the ICR renewal period covering 
February 1, 2025, to January 31, 2028. The nonattainment areas 
currently classified as Moderate that could be reclassified to Serious 
will be subject to additional attainment planning requirements if the 
areas fail to attain the NAAQS by the August 3, 2024, attainment date. 
Such Serious area SIPs will be due within about 12 months from the date 
of reclassification, which would be during the reporting period for 
this ICR. This ICR estimates that the states' average yearly burden is 
63,000 hours, with a 3-year burden of 189,000 hours and estimated costs 
of $15,615,887 for the 3-year burden.
    The burden estimates for the EPA included in this ICR renewal 
include the EPA burden to review and to approve or disapprove the four 
primary requirements that apply to states with nonattainment areas for 
the 2008 Ozone NAAQS and 2015 Ozone NAAQS: the attainment 
demonstration, the RFP SIP submission, the RACT SIP submission, and a 
maintenance plan. Additional obligations are the second maintenance 
plan SIP revisions for a few areas subject to ongoing requirements to 
implement the 2008 Ozone NAAQS and the burden of developing the 
required SIP revisions for the two tribal areas that are eligible for 
reclassification to attainment. Tribes may develop or submit attainment 
plans but are not required to do so. This ICR estimates the EPA's 
estimated average burden is 7,663 hours annually, with a 3-year burden 
of 22,990 hours and estimated costs of $1,899,520 for the 3-year 
burden.
    Form numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: State and Local government.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory.
    Estimated number of respondents: 70 (total).
    Frequency of response: Once per triggering event, e.g., an air 
agency is required to revise and submit a SIP revision when an area 
under its jurisdiction is initially designated nonattainment or 
reclassified to a higher classification. For areas that are 
redesignated to attainment, an air agency is also required to submit an 
initial 10-year maintenance plan, and eight years later a second 10-
year maintenance plan.
    Total estimated burden: 63,000 hours (per year). Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $5,205,295.62 (per year), which includes $0 
annualized capital or operation and maintenance costs.
    Changes in the estimates: There is a decrease in the annual state's 
burden of $56,133 hours below the 119,133 hours estimated from the 
previous ICR. The EPA estimates the total burden for state respondents 
to be 189,000 hours over the next 3 years compared to 357,399 hours for 
state respondents during the period of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS ICR 
currently approved by OMB (EPA ICR No. 2347.04). This decrease is 
generally due to fewer ozone program requirements coming due during the 
next 3 years compared to the previous ICR. There are both fewer active 
ozone nonattainment areas to trigger applicable requirements, and the 
incremental burden of triggered SIP revisions is expected to be lower 
than the overall SIP burden associated with areas when they are 
initially designated nonattainment. The previous ICR accounted for 96 
respondents compared to 70 respondents for this renewal period. For the 
previous ICR, the majority of the burden hours and cost came from the 
foundational set of SIP requirements due for the 2015 8-hour ozone 
NAAQS for all 52 areas initially

[[Page 66384]]

designated in 2018 as nonattainment. Additionally, the previous ICR 
accounted for the reclassification of 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS 
nonattainment areas from Serious to Severe, in addition to second 
maintenance plan development for the 2008 and 1997 ozone NAAQS. In 
comparison, this ICR renewal burden hours and costs are accounting for 
the fewer incremental SIP requirements for the 2015 8-hour NAAQS for 
reclassification of nonattainment areas from Moderate to Serious (19 
nonattainment areas), and second 10-year maintenance plans coming due 
only for the 2008 ozone NAAQS.
    The burden estimate is detailed in the supporting statement located 
in the docket for this proposed ICR. The adjustments to the cost 
assumptions are summarized in sections 6(b) and 6(c) of the supporting 
statement. Cost estimates for the ICR renewal are based on estimates 
calculated using 2024 dollars.

Scott Mathias,
Director, Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. 2024-18247 Filed 8-14-24; 8:45 am]
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