Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 19 / Thursday, January 29, 2015 / Notices 4915 

OMB Responses to Agency Clearance 

Requests 

OMB Approvals 

EPA ICR Number 1363.23; Toxic 

Chemical Release Reporting; 40 CFR 

part 372; was approved with change on 

11/24/2014; OMB Number 2025–0009; 

expires on 11/30/2017. 

EPA ICR Number 1655.09; Regulation 

of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Detergent 

Gasoline (Renewal); 40 CFR part 80 

subpart G; was approved without 

change on 11/17/2014; OMB Number 

2060–0275; expires on 11/30/2017. 

EPA ICR Number 2434.23; Generic 

Clearance for the Collection of 

Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service 

Delivery (Renewal); was approved 

without change on 11/06/2014; OMB 

Number 2010–0042; expires on 11/30/

2017. 

EPA ICR Number 0220.12; Clean 

Water Act Section 404 State-Assumed 

Programs (Renewal); 40 CFR part 233; 

33 CFR part 325; was approved without 

change on 11/03/2014; OMB Number 

2040–0168; expires on 11/30/2017. 

Comment Filed 

EPA ICR Number 2449.01; Water 

Quality Standards Regulatory 

Clarifications (Proposed Rule); 40 CFR 

part 131; OMB filed comment on 11/14/ 

2014. 

Courtney Kerwin, 

Acting Director, Collections Strategies 

Division. 

[FR Doc. 2015–01653 Filed 1–28–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OPPT–2013–0721; FRL 9922–18– 

OEI ] 

Information Collection Request 

Submitted to OMB for Review and 

Approval; Comment Request; Partial 

Update of the TSCA Sec. 8(b) Inventory 

Data Base, Production and Site 

Reports (Chemical Data Reporting) 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency has submitted an information 

collection request (ICR), ‘‘Partial Update 

of the TSCA Sec. 8(b) Inventory Data 

Base, Production and Site Reports 

(Chemical Data Reporting)’’ (EPA ICR 

No. 1884.08, OMB Control No. 2070– 

0162) to the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) for review and approval 

in accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). 

This is a proposed revision of the ICR, 

which is currently approved through 

January 31, 2015. Public comments were 

previously requested via the Federal 

Register (79 FR 29442) on May 22, 2014, 

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 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: Additional comments may be 

submitted on or before March 2, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

referencing Docket ID Number EPA– 

HQ–OPPT–2013–0721, to (1) EPA 

online using http://www.regulations.gov 

(our preferred method), by email to 

oppt.ncic@epa.gov, or by mail to: EPA 

Docket Center, Environmental 

Protection Agency, Mail Code 28221T, 

1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., 

Washington, DC 20460, and (2) OMB via 

email to oira_submission@omb.eop.gov. 

Address comments to OMB Desk Officer 

for EPA. 

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: 

Colby Lintner, Environmental 

Assistance Division, Office of Pollution 

Prevention and Toxics, Mail code: 

7408–M, Environmental Protection 

Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., 

Washington, DC 20460; telephone 

number: 202–554–1404; fax number: 

202–564–8251; email address: TSCAHotline@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Supporting documents that 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 http://

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: The Toxic Substances 

Control Act (TSCA) requires EPA to 

compile and keep current a complete 

list of chemical substances 

manufactured or processed in the 

United States. EPA updates this 

inventory of chemicals every four years 

by requiring manufacturers, processors 

and importers to provide production 

volume, plant site information and sitelimited status information. This 

information allows EPA to identify what 

chemicals are or are not currently in 

commerce and to take appropriate 

regulatory action as necessary. EPA also 

uses the information for screening 

chemicals for risks to human health or 

the environment, for priority-setting 

efforts, and for exposure estimates. This 

ICR addresses the collection of 

inventory-related information. 

Respondents may claim all or part of a 

response confidential. EPA will disclose 

information that is covered by a claim 

of confidentiality only to the extent 

permitted by, and in accordance with, 

the procedures in TSCA section 14 and 

40 CFR part 2. 

Form Numbers: EPA Form 7740–8. 

Respondents/affected entities: Entities 

potentially affected by this action 

include companies that manufacture, 

process or import chemical substances, 

mixtures or categories. 

Respondent’s obligation to respond: 

Mandatory; see 40 CFR part 711. 

Estimated number of respondents: 

4,991 (total). 

Frequency of response: Once every 

four years. 

Total estimated burden: 789,203 

hours per year. Burden is defined at 5 

CFR 1320.03(b). 

Total estimated cost: $52,059,120 per 

year, includes $0 annualized capital or 

operation and maintenance costs. 

Changes in the Estimates: There is a 

net increase of 315,080 hours in the 

total estimated respondent burden 

compared with the ICR currently 

approved by OMB. This increase reflects 

a number of factors, which are detailed 

in the supporting statement. This 

change involves both program changes 

and adjustments. 

Courtney Kerwin, 

Acting Director, Collection Strategies 

Division. 

[FR Doc. 2015–01600 Filed 1–28–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9922–22–Region 10] 

Issuance of an NPDES General Permit 

for Oil and Gas Geotechnical Surveys 

and Related Activities in Federal 

Waters of the Beaufort and Chukchi 

Seas 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

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4916 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 19 / Thursday, January 29, 2015 / Notices 

ACTION: Notice of availability of final 

NPDES general permit. 

SUMMARY: The Director, Office of Water 

and Watersheds, EPA Region 10, is 

publishing notice of availability of the 

final National Pollutant Discharge 

Elimination System (NPDES) General 

Permit for Oil and Gas Geotechnical 

Surveys and Related Activities in 

Federal Waters of the Beaufort and 

Chukchi Seas (Geotechnical General 

Permit; Permit No. AKG–28–4300). 

The Geotechnical General Permit 

authorizes twelve types of discharges 

from facilities engaged in oil and gas 

geotechnical surveys to evaluate the 

subsurface characteristics of the seafloor 

and related activities in federal waters 

of the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. 

Geotechnical borings are collected to 

assess the structural properties of 

subsurface soil conditions for potential 

placement of oil and gas installations, 

which may include production and 

drilling platforms, ice islands, anchor 

structures for floating exploration 

drilling vessels, and potential buried 

pipeline corridors. Geotechnical surveys 

result in a disturbance of the seafloor 

and produce discharges consisting of 

soil, rock and cuttings materials, in 

addition to facility-specific waste 

streams authorized under this General 

Permit. Geotechnical related activities 

also result in a disturbance of the 

seafloor and produce similar discharges. 

These activities may include feasibility 

testing of equipment that disturbs the 

seafloor, and testing and evaluation of 

trenching technologies. The 

Geotechnical General Permit contains 

effluent limitations and requirements 

that ensure the discharges will not cause 

an unreasonable degradation of the 

marine environment, as required by 

Section 403(c) of the Clean Water Act 

(i.e. Ocean Discharge Criteria 

Evaluation). 33 U.S.C. 1342(c). 

DATES: The issuance date of the 

Geotechnical NPDES General Permit is 

the date of publication of this notice. 

The Geotechnical General Permit shall 

become effective on March 2, 2015. 

Operators must submit a Notice of 

Intent (NOI) to discharge at least 90 days 

prior to initiation of discharges. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Geotechnical 

General Permit, the Response to 

Comments Document, and the Ocean 

Discharge Criteria Evaluation may be 

found on the EPA Region 10 Web site 

at: http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/

water.nsf/npdes+permits/arctic-gp. 

Copies of the documents are available 

upon request. 

Mail: Written requests for copies of 

the documents may be submitted to 

Audrey Washington, EPA Region 10, 

Office of Water and Watersheds, 1200 

6th Avenue, Suite 900, OWW–191, 

Seattle, WA 98101–3140. 

Email: Electronic requests may be sent 

to: Washington.Audrey@epa.gov. 

Telephone: Requests by telephone 

may be made to Audrey Washington at 

(206) 553–0523. See SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION for other document 

viewing locations. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin 

Seyfried, Office of Water and 

Watersheds, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, Region 10, Mail Stop 

OWW–191, 1200 6th Avenue, Suite 900, 

Seattle, WA 98101–3140, (206) 553– 

1448, seyfried.erin@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

November 22, 2013, EPA issued a draft 

Geotechnical General Permit for public 

review, and established a comment 

deadline of January 27, 2014 (78 FR 

70042). Notice of the draft General 

Permit was also published in the 

Anchorage Daily News, the Arctic 

Sounder, and Petroleum News. Public 

meetings and hearings were held in 

communities on the North Slope and in 

Anchorage the week of January 6, 2014. 

In response to requests for an extension 

of the deadline from the Alaska Eskimo 

Whaling Commission and the Inupiat 

Community of the Arctic Slope, EPA 

extended the comment period for an 

additional 23 days, from January 27, 

2014 to February 19, 2014 (79 FR 4344). 

Based on comments received during 

public review of the draft Geotechnical 

General Permit, EPA determined that 

certain permit provisions warranted 

further consideration and notified 

interested parties of this determination 

on March 21, 2014. To further that 

process, EPA met with several 

commenters to clarify certain technical 

issues and obtain additional 

information. The public comments and 

subsequent information resulted in EPA 

revising several permit provisions, 

which were described in the Fact Sheet 

accompanying the re-proposal. 

On August 15, 2014, EPA re-proposed 

the Geotechnical General Permit for 

public review, and established a 

comment deadline of September 15, 

2014 (79 FR 48147). In response to 

requests for an extension of the deadline 

from the Alaska Eskimo Whaling 

Commission, EPA extended the 

comment period for an additional 15 

days, from September 15, 2014 to 

September 30, 2014 (79 FR 56577). 

Certain provisions in the General 

Permit have been revised in response to 

comments and information received 

from tribal, state and local governments, 

the Alaska Eskimo Whaling 

Commission, environmental advocacy 

groups, industry representatives, and 

individual citizens. All comments, 

along with EPA’s responses, are 

summarized in the Response to 

Comments document. 

Document Viewing Locations. The 

final Geotechnical General Permit, 

Response to Comments Document and 

Ocean Discharge Criteria Evaluation 

may also be viewed at the following 

locations: 

(1) EPA Region 10 Library, Park Place 

Building, 1200 6th Avenue, Suite 900, 

Seattle, WA 98101; (206) 553–1289. 

(2) EPA Region 10, Alaska Operations 

Office, 222 W 7th Avenue, #19, Room 

537, Anchorage, AK 99513; (907) 271– 

5083. 

(3) Z.J. Loussac Public Library, 3600 

Denali Street, Anchorage, AK 99503; 

(907) 343–2975. 

(4) North Slope Borough School 

District Library/Media Center, Pouch 

169, 829 Aivak Street, Barrow, AK 

99723; (907) 852–5311. 

EPA’s administrative record for the 

Geotechnical General Permit is available 

for review at the EPA Region 10 Office, 

Park Place Building, 1200 6th Avenue, 

Suite 900, Seattle, WA 98101, between 

9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday 

through Friday. Contact Erin Seyfried at 

seyfried.erin@epa.gov or (206) 553– 

1448. 

Oil Spill Requirements. Section 311 of 

the Act, 33 U.S.C. 1321, prohibits the 

discharge of oil and hazardous materials 

in harmful quantities. Discharges 

authorized under the Geotechnical 

General Permit are excluded from the 

provisions of CWA Section 311, 33 

U.S.C. 1321. However, the Geotechnical 

General Permit will not preclude the 

institution of legal action, or relieve the 

permittees from any responsibilities, 

liabilities, or penalties for other 

unauthorized discharges of oil and 

hazardous materials, which are covered 

by Section 311. 

Endangered Species Act. Section 7 of 

the Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 

1531–1544, requires federal agencies to 

consult with the National Marine 

Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) if 

their actions have the potential to either 

beneficially or adversely affect any 

threatened or endangered species, or 

designated critical habitat. EPA 

analyzed the discharges proposed to be 

authorized by the Geotechnical General 

Permit, and their potential to adversely 

affect any of the threatened or 

endangered species or designated 

critical habitat areas in the vicinity of 

the discharges in a Biological Evaluation 

dated December 2013. EPA completed a 

supplemental analysis evaluating the 

effects of interrelated and 

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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 19 / Thursday, January 29, 2015 / Notices 4917 

interdependent actions on the Pacific 

walrus on February 11, 2014. On 

January 31 and March 19, 2014, EPA 

received letters of concurrence from the 

USFWS and NMFS, respectively, 

agreeing with EPA’s determinations of 

effects. On March 13, 2014, in response 

to EPA’s request for a conference on the 

Pacific walrus, the USFWS confirmed 

that the proposed permit action would 

not jeopardize the continued existence 

of this species. 

Essential Fish Habitat. The 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

requires EPA to consult with NMFS 

when a proposed permit action has the 

potential to adversely affect Essential 

Fish Habitat (EFH). EPA’s EFH 

assessment is included as Appendix A 

to the BE. The EFH assessment 

concluded that the discharges 

authorized by the Geotechnical General 

Permit will not adversely affect EFH. 

Coastal Zone Management Act. As of 

July 1, 2011, there is no longer a Coastal 

Zone Management Act (CZMA) program 

in Alaska. Consequently, federal 

agencies are no longer required to 

provide the State of Alaska with CZMA 

consistency determinations. 

Executive Order 12866. The Office of 

Management and Budget exempts this 

action from the review requirements of 

Executive Order 12866 pursuant to 

Section 6 of that order. 

Paperwork Reduction Act. EPA has 

reviewed the requirements imposed on 

regulated facilities in the Geotechnical 

General Permit and finds them 

consistent with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1980, 44 U.S.C. 3501 

et seq. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act. Under the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), 5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq., a federal agency must 

prepare an initial regulatory flexibility 

analysis ‘‘for any proposed rule’’ for 

which the agency ‘‘is required by 

section 553 of the Administrative 

Procedure Act (APA), or any other law, 

to publish general notice of proposed 

rulemaking.’’ The RFA exempts from 

this requirement any rule that the 

issuing agency certifies ‘‘will not, if 

promulgated, have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities.’’ EPA has 

concluded that NPDES general permits 

are permits, not rulemakings, under the 

APA and thus not subject to APA 

rulemaking requirements or the RFA. 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 

Section 201 of the Unfunded Mandates 

Reform Act (UMRA), Public Law 104–4, 

generally requires federal agencies to 

assess the effects of their ‘‘regulatory 

actions’’ (defined to be the same as 

‘‘rules’’ subject to the RFA) on tribal, 

state, and local governments and the 

private sector. However, the 

Geotechnical General Permit is not a 

‘‘rule’’ subject to the RFA, and are 

therefore not subject to the UMRA. 

Appeal of Permit. Any interested 

person may appeal the Geotechnical 

General Permit in the Federal Court of 

Appeals in accordance with section 

509(b)(1) of the Clean Water Act, 33 

U.S.C. 1369(b)(1). This appeal must be 

filed within 120 days of the General 

Permit issuance date. Affected persons 

may not challenge the conditions of the 

General Permit in further EPA 

proceedings (see 40 CFR 124.19). 

Instead, they may either challenge the 

general permit in court or apply for an 

individual NPDES permit. 

Authority: This action is taken under the 

authority of Section 402 of the Clean Water 

Act as amended, 33 U.S.C. 1342. I hereby 

provide public notice of the final 

Geotechnical General Permit in accordance 

with 40 CFR 124.15(b). 

Dated: January 21, 2015. 

Daniel D. Opalski, 

Director, Office of Water and Watersheds, 

Region 10. 

[FR Doc. 2015–01704 Filed 1–28–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–R10–OW–2014–0505; FRL–9922–23– 

Region–10] 

Notice of Status Update on the 

Proposed Determination for the Pebble 

Deposit Area, Southwest Alaska 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency. 

ACTION: Notice of status update. 

SUMMARY: On July 21, 2014, the U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

published in the Federal Register a 

Notice of Proposed Determination, 

under Section 404(c) of the Clean Water 

Act, to restrict the use of certain waters 

in the South Fork Koktuli River, North 

Fork Koktuli River, and Upper Talarik 

Creek watersheds in Southwest Alaska 

as disposal sites for dredged or fill 

material associated with mining the 

Pebble deposit, a copper-, gold-, and 

molybdenum-bearing ore body. On 

September 19, 2014, EPA published in 

the Federal Register a notice extending 

the time period to either withdraw the 

Proposed Determination or to prepare 

the Recommended Determination until 

no later than February 4, 2015. As part 

of ongoing litigation brought by the 

Pebble Limited Partnership, on 

November 25, 2014, a Federal District 

Court Judge issued a preliminary 

injunction that requires EPA to stop all 

work connected to the 404(c) 

proceeding, including reviewing and 

considering public comments. EPA is 

complying with the court’s order and as 

such is not taking any steps to withdraw 

the Proposed Determination or to 

prepare a Recommended Determination 

while the preliminary injunction is in 

place. 

Dated: January 21, 2015. 

Dennis J. McLerran, 

Regional Administrator, EPA Region 10. 

[FR Doc. 2015–01701 Filed 1–28–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY 

COMMISSION 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Extension Without Change 

of an Existing Collection; Comments 

Request 

AGENCY: Equal Employment 

Opportunity Commission. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 

Commission announces that it intends 

to submit to the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) a request for a threeyear extension without change of the 

existing recordkeeping requirements 

under 29 CFR part 1602 et seq., 

Recordkeeping and Reporting 

Requirements under Title VII, the ADA, 

and GINA. The Commission is seeking 

public comments on the proposed 

extension. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before March 30, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to 

Bernadette Wilson, Acting Executive 

Officer, Executive Secretariat, Equal 

Employment Opportunity Commission, 

131 M Street NE., Washington, DC 

20507. As a convenience to 

commenters, the Executive Secretariat 

will accept comments totaling six or 

fewer pages by facsimile (‘‘FAX’’) 

machine. This limitation is necessary to 

assure access to the equipment. The 

telephone number of the fax receiver is 

(202) 663–4114. (This is not a toll-free 

number). Receipt of FAX transmittals 

will not be acknowledged, except that 

the sender may request confirmation of 

receipt by calling the Executive 

Secretariat staff at (202) 663–4070 

(voice) or (202) 663–4074 (TTY). (These 

are not toll-free numbers.) Instead of 

sending written comments to EEOC, you 

may submit comments and attachments 

electronically at http://

www.regulations.gov, which is the 

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