Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 181 / Thursday, September 18, 1997 / Notices 49007

The FEIS addresses the potential

environmental effects of the

construction and operation on the

following facilities:

• The PNGTS Project, which

includes:

—About 141.6 miles of 24-inchdiameter mainline between Pittsburg,

New Hampshire and Westbrook,

Maine;

—About 0.7 mile of 8-inch-diameter

pipeline (Groveton Lateral);

—About 26.9 miles of 12-inch-diameter

pipeline (Rumford Lateral);

—About 16.6 miles of 12-inch-diameter

pipeline (Jay Lateral); and

—Three new meter stations and other

associated aboveground facilities.

• The Phase II Joint Facilities, which

include:

—About 35.2 miles of 30-inch-diameter

mainline between Wells, Maine and

Westbrook, Maine;

—About 3.8 miles of 12-inch-diameter

pipeline (Westbrook Lateral); and

—Three new meter stations and other

associated aboveground facilities.

The FEIS will be used in the

regulatory decision-making process at

the Commission. While the period for

filing interventions in this case has

expired, motions to intervene out-oftime can be filed with the FERC in

accordance with the Commission’s

Rules of Practice and Procedure, 18 CFR

385.214(d). Furthermore, anyone

desiring to file a protest with the FERC

should do so in accordance with 18 CFR

385.211.

The FEIS has been placed in the

public files of the FERC and is available

for public inspection at: Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission, Public

Reference and Files Maintenance

Branch, Room 2A, 888 First Street, N.E.,

Washington, DC 20426, (202) 208–1371.

A limited number of copies are

available at this location.

Copies of the FEIS have been mailed

to Federal, state, and local agencies,

public interest groups, interested

individuals, newspapers, and parties to

this proceeding.

Additional information about the

proposed project is available from Paul

McKee in the Commission’s Office of

External Affairs, at (202) 208–1088.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97–24819 Filed 9–17–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–M

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–5895–1]

Agency Information Collection

Activities

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: In compliance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.

3501 et seq.), this notice announces that

the United States Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to

request approval from the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) to

conduct a screener survey of facilities

potentially subject to Section 316(b) of

the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C 1326(b).

Before the Agency submits the proposed

Information Collection Request (ICR) to

OMB for review and approval, EPA is

soliciting comments from the public on

the proposed ‘‘Industry Screener

Questionnaire for Cooling Water Intake

Structures.’’

DATES: Comments and requests for

information must be received by EPA no

later than November 17, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Address comments on the

draft screener questionnaire to Ms.

Deborah G. Nagle, U.S. EPA,

Engineering and Analysis Division, Mail

Code (4303), Office of Science and

Technology, 401 M Street S.W.,

Washington, DC 20460. EPA will also

accept comments electronically. The Email address for comments is

‘‘nagle.deborah@epamail.epa.gov.’’

Electronic comments must include the

sender’s name, address, and telephone

number. A copy of the proposed

screener questionnaire can be obtained

from the Internet at ‘‘http://

www.epa.gov/owm/wm030000.htm.’’

You must use ADOBE ACROBAT

READER to read the document; the

document is a PDF file. If you do not

have Internet access, you may obtain a

copy of the screener questionnaire by

faxing a request to Deborah Nagle at

(202)260–7185. The draft screener that

is being made available includes all

pertinent instructions, information

request questions, and definitions.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Affected Entities: Entities potentially

affected by this action are those which

are subject to section 316(b) of the Clean

Water Act, which utilize a cooling water

intake structure. These entities include,

among others, facilities in the Nonutility Steam Electric Generation, Paper

and Allied Products, Chemical and

Allied Products, Petroleum and Coal

Products, Primary Metal Industry

sectors. EPA also plans to collect

information related to the regulatory

burden that would be created by

implementation of a final Section 316(b)

rule on state governmental authorities

responsible for issuing National

Pollutant Discharge Elimination systems

permits. Impacts on these state

government entities could include

either increased costs as a result of

additional efforts needed to implement

a final section 316(b) rule or cost

savings realized from using a final

section 316(b) rule instead of facilityspecific best professional judgment to

establish permit requirements.

Title: Industry Screener

Questionnaire: Cooling Water Intake

Structures.

Abstract: The U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) is currently

developing regulations under Section

316(b) of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C.

1326(b). Section 316(b) provides that

any standard established pursuant to

Sections 301 or 306 of the Clean Water

Act (CWA) and applicable to a point

source shall require that the location,

design, construction, and capacity of

cooling water intake structures shall

reflect the best technology available

(BTA) for minimizing adverse

environmental impact. Such impacts

occur as a result of impingement (where

fish and other aquatic life are trapped in

cooling water intake screens) and

entrainment (where aquatic organisms,

eggs and larvae are sucked into the

cooling system, through the heat

exchanger, and then pumped back out).

As the result of a lawsuit by a coalition

of environmental groups headed by the

Hudson Riverkeeper (Cronin, et al. v.

Reilly, 93 Civ. 0314 (AGS)), the United

States District Court, Southern District

of New York entered a Consent Decree

on October 10, 1995. The Consent

Decree established a seven year

schedule for EPA to take final action

with respect to regulations addressing

impacts from cooling water intake

structures.

To ensure that the regulation is based

upon accurate information, EPA is

conducting a variety of data-gathering

activities. The screener questionnaire

represents one mechanism through

which EPA is gathering background data

on cooling water design and use. EPA is

using a screener survey for two reasons.

First, EPA will use data collected by the

survey in determining the number and

type of facilities that the Section 316(b)

regulations will cover. Second, EPA will

use the information collected to design

a sampling plan for a detailed technical

questionnaire that will be administered

after the screener. EPA will send the
49008 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 181 / Thursday, September 18, 1997 / Notices

detailed questionnaire to a subset of the

facilities that received the screener

questionnaire. EPA has designed the

screener questionnaire to collect

information on such topics as cooling

water use within industry groups,

cooling water intake structure

capacities, types of intake water sources,

and intake structure design

configurations and control technologies.

In addition, EPA is requesting facility

and firm level economic data. This

economic data will enable EPA to

consider cooling water use across a

broad variety of facility and firm sizes.

Ultimately, the screener questionnaire

will help EPA reduce the administrative

burden of the detailed technical

questionnaire on industry.

The screener questionnaire will be

administered under authority of Section

308 of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C.

1318; therefore, all recipients of the

screener questionnaire are required to

complete and return the questionnaire

to EPA. The survey instrument will be

mailed after OMB approves the ICR. 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 are listed in 40 CFR

Part 9 and 48 CFR Chapter 15. The ICR

that EPA intends to submit to OMB will

include a discussion of the comments

on the draft screener questionnaire that

EPA has received to date and the

comments received as the result of

today’s announcement. EPA solicits

comment on all aspects of the screener

questionnaire, and specifically solicits

comment on the following issues:

(I) Whether the proposed screener is

necessary for the proper performance of

the functions of the Agency, including

whether the information will have

practical utility;

(ii) The accuracy of the Agency’s

estimate of the burden of the proposed

screener, including the validity of the

methodology and assumptions used;

(iii) The screener’s quality, utility,

and clarity; and

(iv) Minimization of the burden of the

screener on those who are to respond,

including through the use of appropriate

automated electronic, mechanical, or

other technology collection techniques

or other forms of information

technology collection techniques or

other forms of information technology,

e.g., permitting electronic submission of

responses.

Burden Statement:

The total national burden estimate for

all parts of this screener is 368,500

hours. The burden estimates are based

on EPA administering 6,700 screener

questionnaires. EPA estimates that each

facility will require, on the average, fifty

five hours to complete the screener

questionnaire. Burden means the total

time, effort or financial resources

expended by persons to generate,

maintain, retain, or disclose or provide

information to or for a Federal agency.

This includes the time needed to review

instructions; develop, acquire, install,

and utilize 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 the information.

In developing the screener

questionnaire, EPA conducted a

program of outreach to industry and

other government entities with the

objective of minimizing reporting

burden. The outreach program included

distribution of the draft screener

questionnaire to industry associations

and environmental groups plus a

meeting to discuss comments. EPA also

made presentations at many

professional and industry association

meetings. The following are the industry

associations that participated in the EPA

outreach program: Utility Water Act

Group, American Forest and Paper

Association, American Iron and Steel

Institute, American Petroleum Institute,

Chemical Manufacturers Association,

and Edison Electric Institute. EPA also

requested comments on the screener

questionnaire from the Electric Power

Research Institute. Based on comments

received from these early outreach

activities, EPA decided to first

administer a screener questionnaire

(except to electric utilities) followed by

a detailed technical questionnaire. The

screener is designed to assist EPA in

selecting an appropriate sample of

facilities that employ cooling water

intake structures to receive the detailed

technical questionnaire. Electric utilities

will receive only the detailed technical

questionnaire because for these facilities

the Agency has the majority of the data

that is being requested in the screener.

Consistent with the Energy Information

Administration’s (EIA) definition of a

electric utility, EPA for the purposes of

this screener questionnaire has defined

electric utility as ‘‘a corporation, person,

agency, authority, or other legal entity

or instrumentality that owns and/or

operates facilities within the United

States, its territories, or Puerto Rico for

the generation, transmission,

distribution, or sale of electric energy

primarily for use by the public and files

forms listed in the Code of Federal

Regulation, Title 18, Part 141.’’ The

Agency has coordinated extensively

with EIA to determine what information

is publicly available. EPA does not

intend to include questions that seek

publicly available information in the

questionnaires.

EPA significantly lowered the burden

to industry by systematically reducing

the number of industrial facilities to

receive the screener questionnaire from

a possible 412,000 facilities to about

6,700 facilities. Based on water intake

and cooling water use from the 1982

Census of Manufacturers, EPA

identified six industrial sectors to

receive the screener questionnaire or the

detailed technical questionnaire or both.

These six industrial sectors are: Utility

Steam Electric, Nonutility Steam

Electric, Chemicals & Allied Products,

Primary Metals Industry, Petroleum &

Coal Products, and Paper & Allied

Products. Together, EPA estimates that

these six sectors account for over 99

percent of all cooling water withdrawals

and total 50,000 facilities. EPA also

eliminated industrial subcategories

which documented zero or minimal

cooling water use, thereby further

reducing the number to be surveyed to

about 7,514 facilities. Of these 7,514

facilities, there are 874 operating utility

steam electric facilities that will not

receive the screener questionnaire,

bringing the number of facilities to

receive the screener questionnaire down

to about 6,700. This number may be

reduced even more as EPA continues to

refine the ‘‘sample frames’’ for the

categories of facilities that will receive

the screener questionnaire. (A ‘‘sample

frame’’ identifies all the individual

facilities within a category across the

United States.) However, limiting the

survey sample frame as described above

is not intended to limit the scope or

applicability of the 316(b) regulation.

Since the nonutilities are scattered

throughout many industrial categories,

the nonutility sample frame will include

facilities from multiple industries.

Consistent with EIA’s definition of a

nonutility, EPA for the purposes of this

screener questionnaire has defined a

nonutility as ‘‘a corporation, person,

agency, authority, or other legal entity

or instrumentality that owns electric

generating capacity and is not an

electric utility. Nonutility power

producers include Federal Energy

Regulatory commission (FERC)

Qualifying Cogenerators, FERC

Qualifying Small Power Producers, and
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 181 / Thursday, September 18, 1997 / Notices 49009

Other Nonutility Generators (including

Independent Power Producers) without

a designated franchised service area,

and which do not file forms listed in the

Code of Federal Regulations, Title 18,

Part 141.’’ For the purposes of this

screener questionnaire EPA has defined

other nonutility generators to include

independent power producers (IPP)

which are wholesale electricity

producers other than qualifying

facilities under Public Utility Regulatory

Policy Act (PURPA), that are

unaffiliated with franchised utilities in

the area in which the IPP’s are selling

power and that lack significant

marketing power. IPPs do not possess

transmission facilities and do not sell

power in any retail service territory

where they have a franchise.

Finally, EPA will maintain a

temporary, no-charge telephone number

that survey recipients may call to obtain

assistance in completing the data

collection surveys. EPA believes that the

no-charge telephone number will greatly

reduce burden by helping recipients to

answer specific questions within the

context of their individual operations.

Dated: September 3, 1997.

Tudor T. Davies,

Director, Office of Science and Technology.

[FR Doc. 97–24835 Filed 9–17–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–5894–1]

Open Meeting of the Industrial NonHazardous Waste Stakeholders Focus

Group

AGENCY: U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency.

ACTION: Notice of open meeting of the

Industrial Non-Hazardous Waste

Stakeholders Focus Group.

SUMMARY: As required by section

10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory

Committee Act (Pub. L. 92–463), EPA is

giving notice of the fifth meeting of the

Industrial Non-Hazardous Waste Policy

Dialogue Committee, also known as the

Industrial Non-Hazardous Waste

Stakeholders Focus Group. The purpose

of this committee is to advise EPA and

ASTSWMO (the Association of State

and Territorial Solid Waste Management

Officials) in developing voluntary

guidance for the management of

industrial non-hazardous waste in

landfills, waste piles, surface

impoundments, and land application

units. The Focus Group will facilitate

the exchange of information and ideas

among the interested parties relating to

the development of such guidance. The

purpose of the fifth meeting will be to

continue discussion of issues related to

the development of such guidance.

Issues to be discussed include land

application, corrective action, potential

air emission risk tools/controls, and

additional ground-water modeling/risk

results (i.e., leachate concentration

threshold values for the Tier I national

approach and the user interface screens

associated with the Tier II location

adjustment approach). In addition, time

will be set aside on the agenda to

receive Focus Group comments on

additional chapters that have been

previously discussed within the Focus

Group. There will also be a short

presentation of the CD–ROM being

developed as part of this project. The

CD–ROM will be the electronic version

of the voluntary guidance being

developed. There will be an opportunity

for limited public comment at the end

of each day of the meeting.

DATES: The committee will meet on

October 8 and 9, 1997, from 9:00 a.m.

to 5:00 p.m. on October 8, and from 8:30

a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on October 9.

ADDRESSES: The location of the meeting

is the Hotel Washington, 515 15th

Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20004.

The phone number is 202–638–5900.

The seating capacity of the room is

approximately 60 people, and seating

will be on a first-come basis. Supporting

materials are available for viewing at

Docket #F–96–INHA–FFFFF in RCRA

Information Center (RIC), located at

Crystal Gateway One, 1235 Jefferson

Davis Highway, First Floor, Arlington,

VA. The RIC is open from 9:00 a.m. to

4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday,

excluding federal holidays. To review

docket materials, the public must make

an appointment by calling (703) 603–

9230. The public may copy a maximum

of 100 pages from any regulatory docket

at no charge. Additional copies cost

$.15/page. The material to be discussed

at the October Focus Group meeting will

be available for viewing in the above

docket on and after September 24, 1997.

For general information, contact the

RCRA Hotline at 1–800–424–9346 or

TDD 1–800–553–7672 (hearing

impaired). In the Washington

metropolitan area, call 703–412–9610 to

TDD 703–412–3323.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Persons needing further information on

the committee should contact Paul

Cassidy, Municipal and Industrial Solid

Waste Division, Office of Solid Waste, at

(703) 308–7281.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

EPA and ASTSWMO have formed a

State/EPA Steering Committee to jointly

develop voluntary facility guidance for

the management of industrial

nonhazardous waste in land-based

disposal units. The purpose of the

guidance document is to provide a

guide to facility managers so that they

can provide safe industrial waste

management. The guidance document

will address such topics as appropriate

controls for ground-water protection,

liner designs, air emissions, run-on/runoff, public participation, daily operating

practices, monitoring and corrective

action, and closure and post-closure

considerations.

The State/EPA Steering Committee

has convened this Stakeholders Focus

Group to obtain recommendations from

individuals who are member of a broad

spectrum of public interest groups and

affected industries. All

recommendations from Focus Group

participants will be forwarded to the

State/EPA Steering Committee for

considerations, as the Stakeholders’

Focus Group will not strive for

consensus. The State/EPA Steering

Committee will also provide an

opportunity for public comment on the

draft guidance document.

Copies of the minutes of all

Stakeholders Focus Group meetings will

be made available through the docket at

the RCRA Information Center, including

minutes of the previous four Focus

Group meetings, which were held on

April 11–12, 1996, September 11–12,

1996, February 19–20, 1997, and May

20–21, 1997.

Dated: September l, 1997.

Matthew Hale,

Acting Director, Office of Solid Waste.

[FR Doc. 97–24842 Filed 9–17–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–M

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–5893–9]

Proposed Administrative Order on

Consent; Denver Radium—Operable

Unit VIII Site, Denver County, CO

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (U.S. EPA).

ACTION: Proposed section 122 (g)(4) and

(h)(1) settlement.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

requirements of section 122(g)(4) of the

Comprehensive Environmental

Response, Compensation, and Liability