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[Federal Register: June 21, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 118)]
[Notices]               
[Page 35021-35023]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21jn10-80]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0719, FRL-9164-9; EPA ICR No. 2060.04; OMB Control No. 
2040-0257]

 
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Information Collection Request for Cooling Water 
Intake Structure Phase II Existing Facilities (Renewal)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that EPA is planning to 
submit a request to renew an existing approved Information Collection 
Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This ICR is 
scheduled to expire on August 31, 2010. Before submitting the ICR to 
OMB for review and approval, EPA is soliciting comments on specific 
aspects of the information collection as described below.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before August 20, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2008-0719, by one of the following methods:
    http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the online instructions 
for submitting comments.
     E-mail: ow-docket@epa.gov (Identify Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OW-2008-0719, in the subject line).
     Mail: Water Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, 
Mailcode: 4203M, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. 
Please include a total of three copies.
     Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center, EPA West, Room B102, 
1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC. Such deliveries are only 
accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation, and special 
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments identified by the Docket ID No. 
EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0719. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be 
included in the public docket without change and may be made available 
online at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal 
information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed 
to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information 
that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through 
www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site 
is an ``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your 
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of 
your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without 
going through http://www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be 
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is 
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you 
submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name 
and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any 
disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA 
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid 
the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of 
any defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA's public 
docket, visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amelia Letnes, State and Regional 
Branch, Water Permits Division, OWM Mail Code: 4203M, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone number: (202) 564-5627; e-mail address: 
letnes.amelia@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

How can I access the docket and/or submit comments?

    EPA has established a public docket for the ICR identified in this 
document

[[Page 35022]]

(ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0719), which is available for online viewing at 
http://www.regulations.gov, or in person viewing at the Water Docket in 
the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution 
Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA/DC 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 Water Docket is 202-566-2426.
    Use http://www.regulations.gov to obtain a copy of the existing 
collection of information, submit or view public comments, access the 
index listing of the contents of the 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 in this document.

What information is EPA particularly interested in?

    Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, EPA specifically 
solicits comments and information to enable it to:
    (i) Evaluate whether the 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 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. In particular, EPA is requesting comments from 
very small businesses (those that employ less than 25) on examples of 
specific additional efforts that EPA could make to reduce the paperwork 
burden for very small businesses affected by this collection.

What should I consider when I prepare my comments for EPA?

    You may find the following suggestions helpful for preparing your 
comments:
    1. Explain your views as clearly as possible and provide specific 
examples.
    2. Describe any assumptions that you used.
    3. Provide copies of technical information/data you used that 
support your views.
    4. If you estimate potential burden or costs, explain how you 
arrived at the estimate that you provide.
    5. Offer alternative ways to improve the collection activity.
    6. Make sure to submit your comments by the deadline identified 
under DATES.
    7. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, be sure to identify the docket 
ID number assigned to this action in the subject line on the first page 
of your response. You may also provide the name, date, and Federal 
Register citation.

What information collection activity or ICR does this apply to?

    Affected Entities: Entities potentially affected by this action 
include existing electric power generating facilities meeting the 
applicability criteria of the 316(b) Phase II Existing Facility rule at 
40 CFR 125.91.
    Title: Information Collection Request for Cooling Water Intake 
Structure Phase II Existing Facilities (Renewal)
    ICR Numbers: EPA ICR No. 2060.04, OMB Control No. 2040-0257.
    ICR Status: This ICR is currently scheduled to expire on August 31, 
2010. 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 when approved, are listed in 40 CFR Part 9, and displayed 
either by publication in the Federal Register or by other appropriate 
means, such as on the related collection instrument or form, if 
applicable. The display of OMB control numbers in certain EPA 
regulations is consolidated in 40 CFR Part 9.
    Abstract: The section 316(b) Phase II Existing Facility rule 
requires the collection of information from existing point source 
facilities that generate and transmit electric power (as a primary 
activity) or generate electric power but sell it to another entity for 
transmission, use a cooling water intake structure (CWIS) that uses at 
least 25 percent of the water it withdraws from waters of the U.S. for 
cooling purposes, and have a design intake flow of 50 million gallons 
per day (MGD) or more. Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) 
requires that any standard established under section 301 or 306 of the 
CWA and applicable to a point source must require that the location, 
design, construction and capacity of CWISs at that facility reflect the 
best technology available (BTA) for minimizing adverse environmental 
impact. Such impact occurs as a result of impingement (where fish and 
other aquatic life are trapped on technologies at the entrance to CWIS) 
and entrainment (where aquatic organisms, eggs, and larvae are taken 
into the cooling system, passed through the heat exchanger, and then 
pumped back out with the discharge from the facility). The 316(b) Phase 
II rule establishes requirements applicable to the location, design, 
construction, and capacity of CWISs at Phase II existing facilities. 
These requirements establish the BTA for minimizing adverse 
environmental impact associated with the use of CWISs.
    The 316(b) Phase II rule was signed on February 16, 2004. Industry 
and environmental groups, and a number of States filed legal challenges 
to the rule. Several issues were heard by the Second Circuit's Court of 
Appeals, which issued a decision on January 25, 2007 remanding portions 
of the rule (see Riverkeeper, Inc. v. U.S. EPA, No. 04-6692-ag(L) [2d 
Cir. Jan. 25, 2007]). Industry groups also petitioned the Supreme Court 
on several issues, which issued a decision on April 1, 2009. (Entergy 
Corp. v. Riverkeeper, Inc., No. 07-588). EPA subsequently suspended the 
316(b) Phase II rule on July 9, 2007 and is currently in the process of 
developing a revised rule for existing facilities. However, permitting 
authorities are still required under section 301 of the CWA to 
establish BTA permit limits using best professional judgment. The 
existing Phase II rule provides a framework for the type of information 
a permit authority needs to establish appropriate BTA limits for CWISs. 
This ICR does not address the results of court decisions or any 
proposed regulation.
    Burden Statement: The annual average reporting and record keeping 
burden for the collection of information by facilities responding to 
the Section 316(b) Phase II Existing Facility rule is estimated to be 
2,071 hours per respondent (i.e., an annual average of 977,293 hours of 
burden divided among an anticipated annual average of 472 facilities). 
The State Director reporting and record keeping burden for the review, 
oversight, and administration of the rule is estimated to average 1,101 
hours per respondent (i.e., an annual average of 46,228 hours of burden 
divided among an anticipated 42 States on average per year). Burden 
means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by 
persons to generate, maintain, or disclose or provide information to or 
for a Federal agency. This includes the time needed to review

[[Page 35023]]

instructions; develop, acquire, install, and use 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 information.
    The ICR provides a detailed explanation of the Agency's estimate 
for the existing ICR, which is only briefly summarized here:
    Estimated total number of potential respondents: 548 (506 
facilities and 42 States).
    Frequency of response: Bi-annually, every five years.
    Estimated total average number of responses for each respondent: 9.
    Estimated total annual burden hours: 1,023,521 hours.
    Estimated total annual costs: $74,199,667. This includes an 
estimated burden cost of $64,224,198 and an estimated cost of 
$9,975,469 for capital investment or maintenance and operational costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: The change in burden results mainly from 
the shift from the approval period to the renewal period of the 316(b) 
Phase II Existing Facilities rule. The currently approved ICR (EPA ICR 
No. 2060.03) covers the last 2 years of the permit approval period 
(i.e., years 4 and 5 after implementation) and the first year of the 
renewal period (i.e., year 6 after implementation). This proposed ICR 
covers renewal of permits only (years 7 to 9 after implementation). 
Activities for renewing an NPDES permit already issued under the 316(b) 
Phase II Existing Facilities rule are less burdensome than those for 
issuing a permit for the first time.

What is the next step in the process for this ICR?

    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 pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.12. At that time, EPA will 
issue another Federal Register notice pursuant to 5 CFR 
1320.5(a)(1)(iv) to announce the submission of the ICR to OMB and the 
opportunity to submit additional comments to OMB. If you have any 
questions about this ICR or the approval process, please contact the 
technical person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

    Dated: June 14, 2010.
James A. Hanlon,
Director, Office of Wastewater Management.
[FR Doc. 2010-14917 Filed 6-18-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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