[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 189 (Monday, September 30, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79585-79586]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-22295]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2023-0287; FRL-12303-01-OMS]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Textile Mills Industry Data Collection (New)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an 
information collection request (ICR), Textile Mills Industry Data 
Collection (EPA ICR Number 2798.01, OMB Control Number 2040-NEW) to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in

[[Page 79586]]

accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. This is a request for 
approval of a new collection. Public comments were previously requested 
via the Federal Register on November 28, 2023 during a 60-day comment 
period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public 
comments.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before October 30, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-
OW-2023-0287, to EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred 
method), by email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#703f275d341f131b1504301500115e171f06"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="115e463c557e727a7465517461703f767e67">[email protected]</span></a>, or by mail to: EPA Docket 
Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460. 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 (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute.
    Submit written comments and recommendations to OMB for the proposed 
information collection within 30 days of publication of this notice to 
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information 
collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for 
Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Schriner, Engineering and 
Analysis Division, mail code 4301M, Environmental Protection Agency, 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 101-
566-1076; email address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#147b7d66754b676176797d67677d7b7a547b79763a717b643a737b62"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e28d8b9083bd9197808f8b91918b8d8ca28d8f80cc878d92cc858d94">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a request for approval of a new 
collection. 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.
    Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register 
on November 28, 2023 during a 60-day comment period (88 FR 83125). This 
notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. 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 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.
    Abstract: Under the Clean Water Act (CWA), the EPA develops 
effluent limitations guidelines (ELGs) to limit pollutants discharged 
from industrial point source categories. The EPA initially promulgated 
the Textiles Mills ELGs in 1974 (39 FR 24736, July 5, 1974) and amended 
the regulations in 1977 (42 FR 26979, May 26, 1977) and 1982 (47 FR 
38810, September 2, 1982). Textiles mills receive and prepare fibers, 
transforming these materials into yarn, thread or webbing. Other mills 
convert yarns and webbing into fabric or related products and finish 
these materials. Many textile mills produce a final consumer product 
such as thread, yarn, fabric, hosiery, sheets, towels, and carpet. The 
current regulation covers wastewater discharges from textile mills 
which perform one or more of the following operations and discharge 
process wastewater directly to surface waters or indirectly to surface 
waters through publicly owned treatment works (POTWs): wool scouring, 
wool finishing, yarn and unfinished fabric manufacturing, woven fabric 
finishing, knit fabric finishing, carpet finishing, and nonwoven 
textile products of wool, cotton, synthetics, or blends of such 
fabrics.
    As announced in the Effluent Guidelines Program Plan 15 (88 FR 
6258, January 31, 2023), the EPA is continuing to evaluate the 
available data on types and concentrations of PFAS in wastewater 
discharged from textile mills. A questionnaire for the textile mills 
industry is necessary for the EPA to determine if the current 
regulations remain appropriate and, if warranted, to develop and 
propose new regulations. If new regulations are deemed to be warranted, 
the questionnaire is essential for the EPA to complete the detailed 
technical analysis necessary for the rulemaking. The EPA has identified 
and compiled mailing addresses for approximately 2,200 textile 
manufacturing facilities in the United States. A subsequent wastewater 
sampling program will require a subset of approximately 20 textile 
manufacturing facilities that completed the questionnaire to also 
collect wastewater samples and submit them to an EPA-contracted 
laboratory. Wastewater sampling data are critical for characterizing 
the wastewater generated and discharged by textile manufacturing 
facilities, as well as evaluating the effectiveness of pollution 
control practices and technologies to reduce or eliminate PFAS in 
discharges. Additional objectives of the questionnaire and sampling 
will be to confirm the current population of textile mills, estimate 
the volume of wastewater discharged from the industry, confirm which 
mills still use PFAS in their processes, and gather facility-specific 
information and data relevant to generation and discharge of PFAS-
containing wastewater by the industry.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: Up to 2,243 textile mills in the 
U.S. will receive the questionnaire and no more than 20 facilities will 
be asked to conduct specific wastewater sampling.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory (Clean Water Act 
section 308).
    Estimated number of respondents: 2,243 (total).
    Frequency of response: One-time data collection.
    Total estimated burden: 22,863 hours. Burden is defined at 5 CFR 
1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $1,615,788 (per year), which includes $10,576 
annualized capital or operation & maintenance costs.
    Changes in the estimates: This is a new data collection request and 
is a one-time temporary increase to the Agency's burden.

Courtney Kerwin,
Director, Information Engagement Division.
[FR Doc. 2024-22295 Filed 9-27-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


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