[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 229 (Wednesday, November 27, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65389-65390]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-25810]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-OAR-2019-0631; FRL-10002-74-OAR]
Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request;
Regional Haze Regulations (Renewal)
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to submit an
information collection request (ICR), ``Renewal of the ICR for the
Regional Haze Regulations'' (EPA ICR No. 2540.03, OMB Control No. 2060-
0704) 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 below. This is a
proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through
August 31, 2020. 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: Comments must be submitted on or before January 27, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Comments. Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No.
EPA-HQ-OAR-2019-0631, at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot
be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. The EPA may publish any
comment received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any
information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI)
or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a
written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment
and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA
will generally not consider comments or comment contents located
outside of the primary submission (e.g., on the Web, Cloud, or other
file sharing system). For additional submission methods, the full EPA
public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions,
and general guidance on making effective comments, please visit http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets. Certain other material,
such as copyrighted material, will not be placed on the internet but
may be viewed, with prior arrangement, at the EPA Docket Center.
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically
in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Air and Radiation
Docket and Information Center, EPA/DC, EPA William Jefferson Clinton
West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC.
The Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday
through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the
Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744 and the telephone number for the
Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center is (202) 566-1742. For
additional information about the EPA's public docket, visit the EPA
Docket Center homepage at: http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joseph Stein, Air Quality Policy
Division, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, mail code C539-
04, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC
27709;
[[Page 65390]]
telephone number: (919) 541-0195; fax number: (919) 541-4028; 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
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, 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 automated electronic, mechanical, or
other technological collection techniques or other forms of information
technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses. 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 notice to announce the submission of the ICR to OMB and the
opportunity to submit additional comments to OMB.
Abstract: This ICR is for activities related to the implementation
of the EPA's regional haze rule, for the time period between August 31,
2020, and August 31, 2023, and renews the previous ICR. The regional
haze rule codified at 40 CFR parts 308 and 309, as authorized by
sections 169A and 169B of the Clean Air Act, requires states to develop
implementation plans to protect visibility in 156 federally protected
Class I areas. Tribes may choose to develop implementation plans. For
this time period, states will primarily be developing and submitting
periodic comprehensive implementation plan revisions to comply with the
regulations.
Form Numbers: None.
Respondents/affected entities: Entities potentially affected by
this action are state, local and tribal air quality agencies, regional
planning organizations and facilities potentially regulated under the
Regional Haze Rule.
Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory [see 40 CFR
51.308(b), (f) and (g) and 40 CFR 51.309(d)(10)].
Estimated number of respondents: 52 (total); 52 state agencies.
Frequency of response: Approximately every 5 years.
Total estimated burden: 38,255 hours (per year). Burden is defined
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
Total estimated cost: $2,050,007 (per year). There are no
annualized capital or operation & maintenance costs.
Changes in Estimates: There is increase of 24,945 hours in the
total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently
approved by OMB. This increase in burden reflects changes in labor
rates and changes in the activities conducted due to the normal
progression of the program, especially the fact that states will be
working on and submitting periodic comprehensive State Implementation
Plan (SIP) revisions. There are 52 SIP revisions due by July 31, 2021.
Dated: November 22, 2019.
Juan Santiago,
Acting Director, Air Quality Policy Division.
[FR Doc. 2019-25810 Filed 11-26-19; 8:45 am]
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