[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 40 (Thursday, March 1, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9328-9330]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-3589]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

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


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Information Collection Request for Cooling Water 
Intake Structure Phase II Existing Facilities, EPA ICR No. 2060.03, OMB 
Control No. 2040-0257

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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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:
    <bullet>  http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments.
    <bullet> E-mail: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7619015b1219151d13023613061758111900"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0d627a2069626e6668794d687d6c236a627b">[email protected]</span></a> (Identify Docket ID number EPA-
HQ-OW-2007-0142, in the subject line)
    <bullet> Mail: Water Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, 
Mailcode: 4203M, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. 
Please include a total of three copies.
    <bullet> 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

[[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: 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b9d5dccdd7dcca97d8d4dcd5d0d8f9dcc9d897ded6cf"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="630f06170d06104d020e060f0a02230613024d040c15">[email protected]</span></a>.

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.

[[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


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