[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 197 (Thursday, October 10, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 82238-82239]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-23474]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2023-0580; FRL-12332-01-OMS]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) Influent Per- and 
Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Study and National Sewage Sludge 
Survey (NSSS) (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), Publicly Owned Treatment Works 
(POTW) Influent Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Study and 
National Sewage Sludge Survey (NSSS) (EPA ICR Number 2799.01, OMB 
Control Number 2040-NEW) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review and approval in 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 March 26, 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 November 12, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-
OW-2023-0580, to EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred 
method), by email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ade2fa80e9c2cec6c8d9edc8ddcc83cac2db"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="85cad2a8c1eae6eee0f1c5e0f5e4abe2eaf3">[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: Sean Dempsey, Engineering and Analysis 
Division, Office of Science and Technology, (4303T), Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone number: 202-564-5088; email address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#93d7f6fee3e0f6eabdc0f6f2fdd3f6e3f2bdf4fce5"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7135141c010214085f2214101f311401105f161e07">[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 March 26, 2024 during a 60-day comment period (89 FR 20962). 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,

[[Page 82239]]

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 data collection is intended to gather essential data 
to identify and quantify sources of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances 
(PFAS) discharges, prioritize industrial categories for potential 
regulation, and establish a current national data set of sewage sludge 
characteristics. The data collection will support two separate EPA 
studies--the POTW Influent PFAS Study and the National Sewage Sludge 
Survey (NSSS).
    The Clean Water Act directs the EPA to develop national regulations 
known as Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards (ELGs) to place 
limits on the pollutants that are discharged by categories of industry 
to surface waters and POTWs. Additionally, Section 405(d) of the Clean 
Water Act requires that the EPA establish requirements for the use or 
disposal of sewage sludge and review the regulations every two years to 
identify additional pollutants.
    For many decades, industrial facilities have used and discharged 
PFAS into the environment. PFAS are a class of synthetic chemicals of 
concern to the EPA because of their widespread use and potential to 
accumulate in the environment. Certain PFAS are known to cause adverse 
ecological and human health effects.
    The EPA will require, through an OMB-approved Information 
Collection Request, a subset of large POTWs across the United States to 
complete an electronic questionnaire and collect and analyze wastewater 
and sewage sludge samples. The data collection activities will produce 
a robust data set that will characterize the type and quantity of PFAS 
in wastewater discharges from industrial users (including industrial 
categories that the EPA has determined historically or currently use 
PFAS but for which there is insufficient PFAS monitoring data 
available), domestic wastewater or sewage, and POTW influent, effluent, 
and sewage sludge. The wastewater sampling data will primarily be used 
to identify and prioritize industrial point source categories where 
additional study or regulations may be warranted to control PFAS 
discharges. The sewage sludge sampling will fulfill the EPA's data 
needs for the upcoming NSSS by establishing a current national data set 
of sewage sludge characteristics which the EPA will subsequently use to 
inform upcoming risk assessments and the need for future regulations 
and guidance pertaining to the management of sewage sludge.
    As part of the POTW Influent PFAS Study and NSSS, the EPA estimates 
that approximately 400 POTWs (individual wastewater or standalone 
wastewater treatment plans, as defined by Section 212 of the Clean 
Water Act, which is owned by a state or municipality) with a daily 
design flow rates greater than or equal to 10 million gallons per day 
(MGD) and a service population greater than or equal to 50,000 people 
will be required to complete an electronic questionnaire. The 
questionnaire will gather POTW-specific information and data on 
industrial users discharging to the POTW, known or suspected sources of 
PFAS discharges to the POTW, and wastewater and sewage sludge 
management practices of the POTW. The EPA will use the information and 
data collected in the questionnaire to select a subset of 200 to 300 of 
the 400 POTWs to participate in the POTW Influent PFAS Study and the 
NSSS's sampling programs.
    Form numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: 400 POTWs with a daily design flow 
rate greater than or equal to 10 million gallons per day (MGD) and a 
service population greater than or equal to 50,000 people will be 
required to complete an electronic questionnaire. 200-300 of the 400 
POTWs will be required to conduct wastewater and sewage sludge 
sampling.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory (Clean Water Act 
Section 308).
    Estimated number of respondents: 400 (total).
    Frequency of response: One-time data collection.
    Total estimated burden: 25,640 hours. Burden is defined at 5 CFR 
1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $5,486,816 (one-time cost), which includes 
$3,891,520 in 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, Regulatory Support Division.
[FR Doc. 2024-23474 Filed 10-9-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


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