Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 174 / Thursday, September 8, 2011 / Notices 55667 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OPPT–2010–0910; FRL–9461–4 ] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to OMB for 

Review and Approval; Comment 

Request; PCBs, Consolidated 

Reporting and Recordkeeping 

Requirements 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 

3501 et seq.), this document announces 

that the following Information 

Collection Request (ICR) has been 

forwarded to the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) for review and 

approval: PCBs, Consolidated Reporting 

and Record Keeping Requirements; EPA 

ICR No. 1446.10, OMB No. 2070–0112. 

The ICR, which is abstracted below, 

describes the nature of the information 

collection activity and its expected 

burden and costs. 

DATES: Additional comments may be 

submitted on or before October 11, 

2011. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

referencing docket ID Number EPA– 

HQ–OPPT–2010–0910 to (1) EPA online 

using www.regulations.gov (our 

preferred method), by e-mail to 

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

Document Control Office (DCO), Office 

of Pollution Prevention and Toxics 

(OPPT), Environmental Protection 

Agency, Mail Code: 7407T, 1200 

Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, 

DC 20460, and (2) OMB at: Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB), Attention: Desk Officer for EPA, 

725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 

20503. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Pamela Myrick, Acting Director, 

Environmental Assistance Division, 

Office of Pollution Prevention and 

Toxics, Environmental Protection 

Agency, Mail code: 7408–M, 1200 

Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, 

DC 20460; telephone number: 202–554– 

1404; e-mail address: TSCA– 

Hotline@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA has 

submitted the following ICR to OMB for 

review and approval according to the 

procedures prescribed in 5 CFR 1320.12. 

On December 29, 2010 (75 FR 82007), 

EPA sought comments on this renewal 

pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA 

received two comments during the 

comment period, which are addressed 

in the Supporting Statement. Any 

comments related to this ICR should be 

submitted to EPA and OMB within 30 

days of this notice. 

EPA has established a public docket 

for this ICR under Docket ID No. EPA 

EPA–HQ–OPPT–2010–0910, which is 

available for online viewing at http:// 

www.regulations.gov, or in person 

inspection at the OPPT Docket in the 

EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA 

West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution 

Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA 

Docket Center 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 Pollution 

Prevention and Toxics Docket is 202– 

566–0280. Use http:// 

www.regulations.gov to submit or view 

public comments, access the index 

listing of the contents of the public 

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 above. 

EPA’s policy is that public comments, 

whether submitted electronically or in 

paper, will be made available for public 

viewing in http://www.regulations.gov 

as EPA receives them and without 

change, unless the comment contains 

copyrighted material, confidential 

business information (CBI), or other 

information whose public disclosure is 

restricted by statute. When EPA 

identifies a comment containing 

copyrighted material, EPA will provide 

a reference to that material in the 

version of the comment that is placed in 

http://www.regulations.gov. The entire 

printed comment, including the 

copyrighted material, will be available 

in the public docket. Although 

identified as an item in the official 

docket, information claimed as CBI, or 

whose disclosure is otherwise restricted 

by statute, is not included in the official 

public docket, and will not be available 

for public viewing in http:// 

www.regulations.gov. For further 

information about the electronic docket, 

go to http://www.regulations.gov. 

Title: PCBs, Consolidated Reporting 

and Record Keeping Requirements. 

ICR Status: This is a request to renew 

an existing approved collection. This 

ICR is scheduled to expire on October 

31, 2011. Under OMB regulations, the 

Agency may continue to conduct or 

sponsor the collection of information 

while this submission is pending at 

OMB. 

Abstract: Section 6(e)(1) of the Toxic 

Substances Control Act (TSCA), 15 

U.S.C. 2605(e), directs EPA to regulate 

the marking and disposal of PCBs. 

Section 6(e)(2) bans the manufacturing, 

processing, distribution in commerce, 

and use of PCBs in other than a totally 

enclosed manner. Section 6(e)(3) 

establishes a process for obtaining 

exemptions from the prohibitions on the 

manufacture, processing, and 

distribution in commerce of PCBs. Since 

1978, EPA has promulgated numerous 

rules addressing all aspects of the life 

cycle of PCBs as required by the statute. 

The regulations are intended to prevent 

the improper handling and disposal of 

PCBs and to minimize the exposure of 

human beings or the environment to 

PCBs. These regulations have been 

codified in the various subparts of 40 

CFR part 761. There are approximately 

100 specific reporting, third-party 

reporting, and recordkeeping 

requirements covered by 40 CFR part 

761. 

To meet its statutory obligations to 

regulate PCBs, EPA must obtain 

sufficient information to conclude that 

specified activities do not result in an 

unreasonable risk of injury to health or 

the environment. EPA uses the 

information collected under the 40 CFR 

part 761 requirements to ensure that 

PCBs are managed in an 

environmentally safe manner and that 

activities are being conducted in 

compliance with the PCB regulations. 

The information collected by these 

requirements will update the Agency’s 

knowledge of ongoing PCB activities, 

ensure that individuals using or 

disposing of PCBs are held accountable 

for their activities, and demonstrate 

compliance with the PCB regulations. 

Specific uses of the information 

collected include determining the 

efficacy of a disposal technology; 

evaluating exemption requests and 

exclusion notices; targeting compliance 

inspections; and ensuring adequate 

storage capacity for PCB waste. This 

collection addresses the several 

information reporting requirements 

found in the PCB regulations. 

Responses to the collection of 

information are mandatory (see 40 CFR 

part 761). Respondents may claim all or 

part of a notice as CBI. EPA will 

disclose information that is covered by 

a CBI claim only to the extent permitted 

by, and in accordance with, the 

procedures in 40 CFR part 2. 

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, are listed in 40 CFR 


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55668 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 174 / Thursday, September 8, 2011 / Notices 

part 9 and included on the related 

collection instrument or form, if 

applicable. 

Burden Statement: The annual public 

reporting and recordkeeping burden for 

this collection of information is 

estimated to average about 1.27 hours 

per response. Burden is defined in 5 

CFR 1320.3(b). 

Respondents/Affected Entities: 

Entities potentially affected by this 

action are persons who currently 

possess PCB items, PCB-contaminated 

equipment, or other PCB waste. 

Frequency of Collection: On occasion. 

Estimated average number of 

responses for each respondent: Varies. 

Estimated No. of Respondents: 

538,335. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 685,335 hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Labor Costs: 

$21,842,536. 

Changes in Burden Estimates: This 

request reflects a decrease of 10,720 

hours (from 696,055 hours to 685,335 

hours) in the total estimated respondent 

burden from that currently in the OMB 

inventory. This decrease reflects 

improved estimates of the number of 

respondents EPA expects to be affected 

by this information collection, based on 

EPA’s actual experience in 

administering this program. The 

Supporting Statement provides details 

about the change in burden estimate. 

The change is an adjustment. 

Dated: September 1, 2011. 

John Moses, Director, 

Collection Strategies Division. 

[FR Doc. 2011–22991 Filed 9–7–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9461–1] 

New York State Prohibition of 

Discharges of Vessel Sewage; Final 

Affirmative Determination 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of determination. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that, 

pursuant to Clean Water Act, Section 

312(f)(3) (33 U.S.C. 1322(f)(3)), the State 

of New York has determined that the 

protection and enhancement of the 

quality of the New York State areas of 

the Long Island Sound (LIS or Sound) 

requires greater environmental 

protection, and has petitioned the 

United States Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA), Region 2, for a 

determination that adequate facilities 

for the safe and sanitary removal and 

treatment of sewage from all vessels are 

reasonably available for those waters, so 

that the State may completely prohibit 

the discharge from all vessels of any 

sewage, whether treated or not, into 

such waters. 

New York State has proposed to 

establish a ‘‘Vessel Waste No Discharge 

Zone’’ for the Long Island Sound that 

encompasses approximately 760 square 

miles, and includes the open waters, 

harbors, bays and navigable tributaries 

of the Sound and a portion of the East 

River, from the Hell Gate Bridge in the 

west to the northern bounds of Block 

Island Sound in the east. Today’s action 

does not pertain to the waters of 

Mamaroneck Harbor, HuntingtonNorthport Bay Complex, Port Jefferson 

Complex, Hempstead Harbor and Oyster 

Bay/Cold Spring Harbor Complex, 

which have been previously designated 

as No Discharge Zones. The New York 

State Department of Environmental 

Conservation (NYSDEC) certified the 

need for greater protection of the water 

quality. EPA hereby makes a final 

affirmative determination that adequate 

facilities for the safe and sanitary 

removal and treatment of sewage from 

all vessels are reasonably available for 

the New York State areas of the Long 

Island Sound. 

EPA published a tentative affirmative 

determination on April 11, 2011 in the 

Federal Register. Public comments were 

solicited for 30 days and the comment 

period ended on May 11, 2011. EPA 

received a total of twenty (20) comments 

via letter and e-mail. The comment tally 

was ten (10) in favor and ten (10) 

questioning or opposing the No 

Discharge Zone designation. All the 

relevant comments received have been 

considered in the final affirmative 

determination. This Federal Register 

document will address all comments 

submitted in response to the April 11, 

2011 (76 FR 19989)), Federal Register 

document. 

Response to Comments 

1. Comment: Several commenter’s 

including boaters, county legislators, 

non-governmental organizations, and 

community advocates expressed strong 

support of EPA’s action to establish a 

vessel waste no discharge zone for the 

New York State portions of the LIS. One 

commenter further pointed out this 

action will reduce pathogens and 

chemicals, aid lobster population and 

further protect and restore the LIS. 

EPA Response: EPA is in full 

agreement that designating the NYS 

portions of the LIS is an important step 

to further protect this valuable natural 

resource, water quality and habitats 

throughout the entire LIS waterbody. 

2. Comment: One commenter stated 

that this application should be denied 

until New York State can adequately 

cover the area with at least one 

pumpout facility for every 150 vessels. 

Another commenter argued that the 

sixty eight (68) cited pumpout facilities, 

while on paper produces the claimed 

ratio of 1:179.3 boats, ignores the 

disparate location of these facilities 

compared to the many harbors, marinas 

and yacht clubs that cover the hundreds 

of miles of shoreline that are involved. 

EPA Response: The criterion 

established pursuant to the Clean Vessel 

Act (CVA) for an adequate number of 

pumpouts is one pumpout per 300 to 

600 vessels. Overall, the NYS area of the 

LIS exceeds this criterion, with a ratio 

of one pumpout station for every 179.3 

vessels. Therefore, EPA’s determination 

of adequacy is justified. EPA recognizes 

the importance of adequate pumpouts to 

service the boating activity within a 

given waterbody, and notes that all of 

the pumpouts are located in the vicinity 

of a port, where the vast majority of 

vessels’ trips begin and end, so they are 

conveniently located and accessible. In 

addition, pumpout vessels (‘‘honey 

dippers’’) can be hired to provide waterbased mobile pumpout services to 

vessels anywhere in the Sound. 

Pumpout vessels can be found by 

searching business listings for pumpout 

boats, mobile pumpout, or septic boats. 

3. Comment: Several commenters 

stated that discharges from vessels with 

the required Marine Sanitation Devices 

(MSDs) are a relatively small source of 

pollution compared to the pollution 

caused by agricultural run-off, lawn 

fertilizer runoff and discharges of 

untreated sewage from Combined Sewer 

Overflows (CSOs), and therefore, 

banning vessel sewage discharges is 

unnecessary and unfair. Another 

commenter stated that vessel owners 

had spent thousands of dollars to install 

MSDs, and therefore banning discharges 

from those devices would be unfair. 

EPA Response: These comments go 

beyond the scope of EPA’s authority in 

this action. Because EPA’s authority 

here is limited to determining whether 

adequate pumpout facilities exist, it 

cannot base its determination on 

whether vessel sewage is comparable in 

quantity or impact to other sources of 

pollution, or whether banning such 

discharges is otherwise unfair to 

boaters. However, it is noted that the 

sewage discharged from MSDs is treated 

with chlorine, quaternary ammonia and 

formaldehyde, which can all pose 

threats to the marine environment, 

especially, if present in substantial, 


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