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###### Environmental Protection Agency

          - [EPA-HQ-OW-2007-0142; FRL-8282-6] 

# AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

# ACTION:

Notice. 

# SUMMARY:

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that EPA is planning to submit a request to renew an existing approved Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Before submitting the ICR to OMB for review and approval, EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described below. 

# DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before April 30, 2007. 

# ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number EPA-HQ-OW-2007-0142, by one of the following methods: 
      -  http://www.regulations.gov:                          Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.                     
      -  E-mail: ow-docket@epa.gov                          (Identify Docket ID number EPA-HQ-OW-2007-0142, in the subject line)                     
      -  Mail:                          Water Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 4203M, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. Please include a total of three copies.                     
      -  Hand Delivery:                          EPA Docket Center, EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC. Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.                     

*Instructions:*                         Direct your comments identified by the Docket ID number EPA-HQ-OW-2007-0142. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the public docket without change and may be made available online at                         *http://www.regulations.gov*, including any personal information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to be CBI                               ( print page 9329)                            or otherwise protected through                         *http://www.regulations.gov*                         or e-mail. The                         *http://www.regulations.gov*                         Web site is an “anonymous access” system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without going through                         *www.regulations.gov*, your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA's public docket, visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at                         *http:// www.epa.gov/​epahome/​dockets.htm.*

# FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

                        Amelia Letnes, State and Regional Branch, Water Permits Division, OWM Mail Code: 4203M, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 564-5627; e-mail address:                         *letnes.amelia@epa.gov.*

# SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

## How Can I Access the Docket and/or Submit Comments? 

                    EPA has established a public docket for the ICR identified in this document (ID number EPA-HQ-OW-2007-0142), which is available for online viewing at                     *http://www.regulations.gov*, or in person viewing at the Water Docket in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA/DC Public Reading Room is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Reading Room is 202-566-1744, and the telephone number for the Water Docket is 202-566-2426.                 

                    Use                     *http://www.regulations.gov*                     to obtain a copy of the draft collection of information, submit or view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the docket, and to access those documents in the public docket that are available electronically. Once in the system, select “search,” then key in the docket ID number identified in this document.                 

## What Information Is EPA Particularly Interested In? 

Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, EPA specifically solicits 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. In particular, EPA is requesting comments from very small businesses (those that employ less than 25) on examples of specific additional efforts that EPA could make to reduce the paperwork burden for very small businesses affected by this collection. 

## What Should I Consider When I Prepare My Comments for EPA? 

You may find the following suggestions helpful for preparing your comments: 

1. Explain your views as clearly as possible and provide specific examples. 

2. Describe any assumptions that you used. 

3. Provide copies of technical information/data you used that support your views. 

4. If you estimate potential burden or costs, explain how you arrived at the estimate that you provide. 

5. Offer alternative ways to improve the collection activity. 

                    6. Make sure to submit your comments by the deadline identified under                     **DATES.**

                    7. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, be sure to identify the docket ID number assigned to this action in the subject line on the first page of your response. You may also provide the name, date, and                     **Federal Register**                     citation.                 

## What Information Collection Activity or ICR Does This Apply to? 

*Affected entities:*                     Entities potentially affected by this action include existing electric power generating facilities meeting the applicability criteria of the 316(b) Phase II Existing Facility rule at 40 CFR 125.91.                 

*Title:*                     Information Collection Request for Cooling Water Intake Structure Phase II Existing Facilities.                 

*ICR numbers:*                     EPA ICR No. 2060.03, OMB Control No. 2040-0257.                 

*ICR status:*                     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. The OMB control numbers for EPA's regulations in title 40 of the CFR, after appearing in the                     **Federal Register**                     when approved, are listed in 40 CFR Part 9, and displayed either by publication in the                     **Federal Register**                     or by other appropriate means, such as on the related collection instrument or form, if applicable. The display of OMB control numbers in certain EPA regulations is consolidated in 40 CFR part 9.                 

*Abstract:*                     The section 316(b) Phase II Existing Facility rule requires the collection of information from existing point source facilities that generate and transmit electric power (as a primary activity) or generate electric power but sell it to another entity for transmission, use a cooling water intake structure (CWIS) that uses at least 25 percent of the water it withdraws from waters of the U.S. for cooling purposes, and have a design intake flow of 50 million gallons per day (MGD) or more. Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) requires that any standard established under section 301 or 306 of the CWA and applicable to a point source must require that the location, design, construction and capacity of CWISs at that facility reflect the best technology available (BTA) for minimizing adverse environmental impact. Such impact occurs as a result of impingement (where fish and other aquatic life are trapped on technologies at the entrance to CWIS) and entrainment (where aquatic organisms, eggs, and larvae are taken into the cooling system, passed through the heat exchanger, and then pumped back out with the discharge from the facility). The 316(b) Phase II rule establishes requirements applicable to the location, design, construction, and capacity of CWISs at Phase II existing facilities. These requirements establish the BTA for minimizing adverse environmental impact associated with the use of CWISs.                 

                    On January 25, 2007, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit remanded to EPA certain provisions in the 2004 Final Regulations to Establish Requirements for Cooling Water Intake Structures at Phase II Existing Facilities (See                     *Riverkeeper, Inc.*      ( print page 9330)                        v.                     *U.S. EPA,*                     No. 04-6692-ag(L) [2d Cir. Jan. 25, 2007]). EPA is continuing to review the decision to determine its impact on the Phase II Rule. Therefore, this ICR does not address the results of the court decision.                 

*Burden Statement:*                     The annual average reporting and record keeping burden for the collection of information by facilities responding to the Section 316(b) Phase II Existing Facility rule is estimated to be 2,983 hours per facility respondent (i.e., an annual average of 1,157,216 hours of burden divided among an anticipated annual average of 388 facilities). The state Director reporting and record keeping burden for the review, oversight, and administration of the rule is estimated to average 2,034 hours per state respondent (i.e., an annual average of 83,383 hours of burden divided among an anticipated 41 States on average per year). Burden means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, or disclose or provide information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time needed to review instructions; develop, acquire, install, and use technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, and verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; adjust the existing ways to comply with any previously applicable instructions and requirements; train personnel to be able to respond to a collection of information; search data sources; complete and review the collection of information; and transmit or otherwise disclose information.                 

The ICR provides a detailed explanation of the Agency's estimate, which is only briefly summarized here: 

*Estimated total number of potential respondents:*                     549 (508 facilities and 41 states).                 

*Frequency of response:*                     Bi-annually, every five years.                 

*Estimated total average number of responses for each respondent:*                     24.                 

*Estimated total annual burden hours:*                     1,240,599 hours.                 

*Estimated total annual costs:*                     $80,556,134. This includes an estimated burden cost of $65,592,289 and an estimated cost of $14,963,845 for capital investment or maintenance and operational costs.                 

*Changes in the Estimates:*                     The change in burden results mainly from the shift from the approval period to the renewal period of the 316(b) Phase II Existing Facilities rule. This ICR covers the last 2 years of the permit approval period (i.e., years 4 and 5 after implementation) and the first year of the renewal period (i.e., year 6 after implementation). Activities for renewing an NPDES permit already issued under the 316(b) Phase II Existing Facilities rule are less burdensome than those for issuing a permit for the first time. Additionally, for the approval period ICR (EPA ICR No. 2060.02), EPA assumed that all facilities complying with the rule would be in NPDES-authorized States. EPA has moved away from this assumption, and, for this ICR, all calculations are based on the estimated number and type of facilities in authorized and non-authorized States.                 

Dated: February 23, 2007. 

James A. Hanlon, 

Director, Office of Wastewater Management.

[FR Doc. E7-3589 Filed 2-28-07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560-50-P