79584 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 189 / Monday, September 30, 2024 / Notices 

DATES: Comments must be submitted on 

or before November 29, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

referencing Docket ID No. EPA–HQ– 

OEI–2011–0096, online using 

www.regulations.gov (our preferred 

method), by email to docket_oms@

epa.gov, 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. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Nathan Wilkes, Office of Information 

Management, Office of Mission Support 

(2824T), Environmental Protection 

Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 

Washington, DC 20460; telephone 

number: 202–566–0335; email address: 

wilkes.nathan@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 

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 https://

www.epa.gov/dockets. 

Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of 

the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq), EPA is 

soliciting 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. 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, 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. 

Abstract: The scope of this ICR is the 

electronic reporting components of the 

Cross-Media Electronic Reporting Rule 

(CROMERR), which is designed to: (i) 

allow EPA to comply with the 

Government Paperwork Elimination Act 

of 1998; (ii) provide a uniform, 

technology-neutral framework for 

electronic reporting across all EPA 

programs; (iii) allow EPA programs to 

offer electronic reporting as they 

become ready for CROMERR; and (iv) 

provide states with a streamlined 

process—together with a uniform set of 

standards—for approval of their 

electronic reporting provisions for all 

their EPA-authorized programs. 

Responses to the collection of 

information are voluntary. In order to 

accommodate CBI, the information 

collected must be in accordance with 

the confidentiality regulations set forth 

in 40 CFR part 2, subpart B. 

Additionally, EPA will ensure that the 

information collection procedures 

comply with the Privacy Act of 1974 

and the OMB Circular 108. 

Form Numbers: None. 

Respondents/affected entities: Entities 

that report electronically to EPA and 

state or local government authorized 

programs; and state and local 

government authorized programs 

implementing electronic reporting. 

Respondent’s obligation to respond: 

Voluntary, required to obtain or retain a 

benefit (CROMERR was established to 

ensure compliance with the 

Government Paperwork Elimination Act 

(GPEA)). 

Estimated number of respondents: 

About 144,800 (total). 

Frequency of response: On occasion. 

Total estimated burden: About 

117,000 hours (per year). Burden is 

defined at 5 CFR 1320.03(b). 

Total estimated cost: About 

$7,177,800 (per year), includes 

$1,276,700 annualized capital or 

operation & maintenance costs. 

Changes in Estimates: The annual 

respondent burden estimate in the 

currently approved CROMERR ICR (EPA 

ICR Number 2002.08) is 81,985 hours. 

The annual respondent burden estimate 

for this ICR (EPA ICR Number 2002.09) 

is anticipated to be about 117,000 hours. 

This represents an increase of 35,015 

hours in the total estimated respondent 

burden compared with the ICR currently 

approved by OMB. 

The increase in respondent burden 

can be attributed primarily to an 

estimated increase in the annual 

number of registrants with EPA’s 

electronic document receiving system 

(i.e., the Central Data Exchange (CDX)) 

over the past three years. In addition, as 

a result of technological improvements, 

the Agency now is able to obtain real 

world data on the frequency and 

amount of time a respondent spends 

accessing CDX pages and features. 

Based on this information, EPA has 

revised the burden estimates associated 

with some of the CDX registration and 

identity proofing activities. The Agency 

believes that the revised burden 

estimates more accurately reflect the 

resources spent by respondents 

conducting the various CDX activities. 

The overall change in respondent 

burden is considered an ‘‘adjustment,’’ 

because it results from changes in the 

respondent universe estimates used in 

the development of the ICR. 

Courtney Kerwin, 

Director, Information Engagement Division. 

[FR Doc. 2024–22306 Filed 9–27–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OAR–2016–0731; FRL–12299–01– 

OMS] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget for Review 

and Approval; Comment Request; 

EPA’s Methane Challenge and Natural 

Gas STAR Programs (Renewal) 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) has submitted an 

information collection request (ICR), 

EPA’s Methane Challenge and Natural 

Gas STAR Programs (EPA ICR Number 

2547.03, OMB Control Number 2060– 

0722) to the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) for review and approval 

in accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act. This is a proposed 

revision of the current ICR, which is 

currently approved through December 

31, 2024. Public comments were 

previously requested via the Federal 

Register on June 5, 2024 during a 60-day 

comment period. This notice allows for 

an additional 30 days for public 

comments. 

DATES: Comments may be submitted on 

or before October 30, 2024. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 189 / Monday, September 30, 2024 / Notices 79585 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

referencing Docket ID Number EPA– 

HQ–OAR–2016–0731, to EPA online 

using www.regulations.gov (our 

preferred method), by email to a-and-rDocket@epa.gov 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: 

Andrew Meluch, Office of Atmospheric 

Programs, Climate Change Division, 

(6207A), Environmental Protection 

Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 

Washington, DC 20460; telephone 

number: (202) 564–4762; email address: 

meluch.andrew@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

proposed revision of the ICR, which is 

currently approved through December 

31, 2024. 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 

June 5, 2024, during a 60-day comment 

period (89 FR 48164). 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: This ICR revision proposes 

to significantly pare down the 

information reported to EPA’s Natural 

Gas STAR and Methane Challenge 

Programs. Specifically, it proposes to 

remove all of the partnership-specific 

reporting elements, based on the 

Programs’ changes to sunset the 

‘‘Partnership’’ aspects of the programs. 

EPA proposes to retain one key element 

of the ICR, the Service Provider 

Directory. 

The oil and natural gas industry is the 

second largest source of anthropogenic 

methane emissions in the U.S., 

according to the Inventory of U.S. 

Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 

1990–2022. Since 1993, the U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency’s 

(EPA) Natural Gas STAR Program has 

encouraged oil and natural gas 

companies to adopt cost-saving 

technologies and practices that improve 

operational efficiency and reduce 

methane emissions. In 2016, EPA 

launched the Methane Challenge 

Program, which created a mechanism 

for oil and natural gas companies to 

make ambitious, voluntary 

commitments to reduce their methane 

emissions. 

EPA has recently taken historic steps 

to tackle wasteful methane emissions 

from the oil and gas sector beyond 

voluntary action. The Inflation 

Reduction Act directed EPA to 

implement a suite of actions to swiftly 

reduce methane emissions through the 

creation of the Methane Emissions 

Reduction Program (MERP). On 

December 2, 2023, EPA announced final 

New Source Performance Standards and 

Emissions Guidelines (NSPS/EG) to 

regulate the oil and gas industry under 

the Clean Air Act, resulting in ambitious 

requirements to reduce methane from 

both new and existing sources. 

In 2022, EPA announced the 

sunsetting of the Natural Gas STAR 

Program partnership agreements, 

implementation plans, and annual 

reporting. Based on the limited 

remaining potential for voluntary 

actions to reduce methane emissions, 

EPA will also be sunsetting the Methane 

Challenge Partnership at the end of 

2024. EPA will be transitioning the 

Natural Gas STAR Program outreach 

efforts to advance ambitious, sectorwide methane reductions through 

technical assistance and outreach under 

the Methane Emissions Reduction 

Program. 

Therefore, based on these 

significantly reduced programmatic 

elements, for this revision of the 

program ICR, EPA proposes to remove 

all partnership reporting data elements 

and partnership-related information 

collection forms for both programs. This 

includes the removal of annual 

reporting forms, partnership 

agreements, and implementation plans. 

The sole programmatic element 

involving voluntary information 

collection that EPA plans to retain is the 

Service Providers Directory. This 

directory’s purpose is to share 

information about service and 

technology providers that can facilitate 

methane emission reduction activities 

in the oil and gas sector. These changes 

will result in a significant overall 

decrease in burden for this ICR. 

Form Numbers: 5900–502. 

Respondents/affected entities: 

Stakeholders seeking to join the Service 

Provider Directory. 

Respondent’s obligation to respond: 

Voluntary. 

Estimated number of respondents: 50 

per year (total). 

Frequency of response: Respondents 

may fill out the Service Provider 

Directory form any time. 

Total estimated burden: 12.5 hours 

(per year). Burden is defined at 5 CFR 

1320.03(b). 

Total estimated cost: $1,394 (per 

year), which includes $0 annualized 

capital or operation & maintenance 

costs. 

Changes in the Estimates: There is a 

decrease of 4,846 hours in the total 

estimated respondent burden compared 

with the ICR currently approved by 

OMB. This decrease is due to the 

removal of all previous forms associated 

with the Natural Gas STAR and 

Methane Challenge Programs, 

maintaining only the Service Provider 

Directory form. 

Courtney Kerwin, 

Director, Information Engagement Division. 

[FR Doc. 2024–22296 Filed 9–27–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

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. 

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 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1