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[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 104 (Monday, June 1, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31030-31031]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-13131]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0265; FRL-9928-64-OAR]

Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Fine 
Particulate Matter (PM2.5) NAAQS Implementation Rule (Renewal)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to 
submit an information collection request (ICR), ``Fine Particulate 
Matter (PM2.5) NAAQS Implementation Rule (Renewal)'' (EPA 
ICR No. 2258.04, OMB Control No. 2060-0611), to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). Before 
doing so, the EPA is soliciting public comments on specific aspects of 
the proposed information collection as described below. This is a 
proposed renewal of a currently approved information collection which 
was originally approved in conjunction with the EPA's now-remanded 2007 
final rule addressing implementation-related requirements for the 1997 
PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and 
renewed twice since then. On March 23, 2015, the EPA also proposed a 
new ICR associated with its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would 
replace the remanded 2007 PM2.5 NAAQS Implementation Rule. 
Until that ICR is approved, the existing ICR will remain in effect, 
subject to approval of this proposed renewal.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before July 31, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2007-0265, online using http://www.regulations.gov (our preferred 
method), or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection 
Agency, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 
20460.
    The 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, or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Cecil (Butch) Stackhouse, Office 
of Air Quality Planning and Standards, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, by phone at (919) 541-5208 or by email at 
stackhouse.butch@epa.gov.

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 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.
    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

[[Page 31031]]

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. 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.
    Abstract: The final implementation rule for the 1997 
PM2.5 NAAQS (2007 PM2.5 NAAQS Implementation 
Rule) was promulgated on April 25, 2007 (79 FR 20586). This rule 
provided the framework of Clean Air Act (CAA) requirements for air 
agencies to meet in attainment plans to achieve the 1997 
PM2.5 NAAQS in designated nonattainment areas. States also 
applied this framework to develop attainment plans for areas designated 
nonattainment for the 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS revised by the 
agency in 2006 (74 FR 58688, November 13, 2009; 76 FR 6056; February 3, 
2011).
    The ICR originally finalized with the 2007 PM2.5 NAAQS 
Implementation Rule had estimated, for the 3 years following the ICR 
approval date, the burden to air agencies to develop and submit, and 
the burden to the EPA to review and to approve or disapprove, 
attainment plans to meet the requirements prescribed in CAA sections 
110 and part D, subpart 1 of title I. A PM2.5 attainment 
plan contains 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 must contain contingency measures 
in the event the nonattainment area does not achieve reasonable further 
progress throughout the attainment period or in the event the area does 
not attain the NAAQS by its attainment date. After a state submits an 
attainment plan, the CAA requires the EPA to approve or disapprove the 
plan. Tribes may develop or submit attainment plans, but are not 
required to do so.
    On January 4, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of 
Columbia Circuit (DC Circuit) remanded the 2007 PM2.5 NAAQS 
Implementation Rule, concluding that the agency had erred in 
implementing the PM2.5 NAAQS according to only the general 
nonattainment area planning provisions of subpart 1, part D, title I of 
the CAA, rather than in accordance with the PM-specific planning 
requirements of subpart 4, part D, title I of the CAA and certain 
general planning provisions in subpart 1. On March 23, 2015, the EPA 
proposed a new implementation rule (80 FR 15340) consistent with the 
attainment planning requirements under CAA subparts 1 and 4 of part D, 
title I, that would apply to ongoing implementation efforts by air 
agencies in areas designated nonattainment for the 1997 and 2006 
PM2.5 NAAQS, as well as to new efforts in areas recently 
designated nonattainment for the most recent 2012 PM2.5 
NAAQS. As part of its proposed implementation rule, the EPA also 
proposed a new ICR to cover the 3-year period after the ICR is approved 
by OMB, which would account for both the burden associated with plan 
revisions related to ongoing implementation efforts for the 1997 and 
2006 PM2.5 NAAQS as well as the additional cost burden to 
air agencies developing attainment plans for areas designated 
nonattainment for the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS. Once final, the new 
ICR will supersede the existing ICR--for which the EPA is proposing 
renewal in this action--for purposes of PM2.5 NAAQS 
implementation. In the meantime, while the EPA completes its current 
rulemaking and finalizes the new ICR, the agency is hereby proposing a 
renewal of the existing ICR that would continue to apply during this 
interim period.
    Respondents/affected entities: State and local governments.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory.
    Currently approved estimated number of respondents: 95 (total).
    Frequency of response: Once per triggering event [i.e., each air 
agency with a newly-designated nonattainment area or an area 
reclassified to a higher classification is required to revise its State 
Implementation Plan (SIP)].
    Currently approved total estimated burden: 175,400 hours (per 
year). Burden is defined at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $0 annualized capital or operation & 
maintenance costs.
    Changes in estimates: The EPA expects there to be a reduction in 
excess of 50 percent in the total estimated respondent burden compared 
with the information collection that is currently approved by OMB. This 
decrease is due to the fact that the EPA estimates that only six areas 
may be candidates for reclassification triggering new submittal 
requirements for the 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS, as compared to 31 
nonattainment areas initially designated for that NAAQS. In addition, 
one of the six areas (San Joaquin Valley, CA) remains nonattainment for 
the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS. The burden estimate, detailed in the 
supporting statement located in the docket for this proposed renewal, 
accounts for new SIP revisions from states with nonattainment areas 
potentially subject to reclassification.

    Dated: May 21, 2015.
Stephen D. Page,
Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Office of Air 
and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 2015-13131 Filed 5-29-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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