39856 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 142 / Friday, July 24, 1998 / Notices

Name Case No.

WATCHTOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY OF NY ...................................................................................................................... RF272–98962

[FR Doc. 98–19815 Filed 7–23–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–6130–5]

Agency Information Collection

Activities: Submission for OMB

Review; Comment Request;

Environmental Impact Assessment of

Nongovernmental Activities in

Antarctica

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: Environmental Impact

Assessment of Nongovernmental

Activities in Antarctica, OMB Control

No. 2020–0007, expiring August 8,

1998. The ICR describes the nature of

the information collection and its

expected burden and cost; where

appropriate, it includes the actual data

collection instrument.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on

or before August 24, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Contact Sandy Farmer at EPA by phone

at (202) 260–2740, by email at

farmer.sandy@epamail.epa.gov, or

download off the Internet at http://

www.epa.gov/icr and refer to EPA ICR

No. 1808.02.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Environmental Impact

Assessment of Nongovernmental

Activities in Antarctica, EPA ICR No.

1808.02, OMB Control No. 2020–0007,

expiring August 31, 1998. This is a

request for extension of a currently

approved collection.

Abstract: The EPA promulgated an

Interim Final Rule for Environmental

Impact Assessment of Nongovernmental

Activities in Antarctica, 40 CFR part 8,

in accordance with the Antarctic

Science, Tourism, and Conservation Act

(Act) of 1996, 16 U.S.C. 2401 et seq., as

amended 16 U.S.C. 2403a, which

implements the Protocol on

Environmental Protection (Protocol) to

the Antarctic Treaty of 1959 (Treaty).

The Interim Final Rule provides for

assessment of the environmental

impacts of nongovernmental activities

in Antarctica, including tourism, and for

coordination of the review of

information regarding environmental

impact assessments received from other

Parties under the Protocol. The

requirements of the Interim Final Rule

apply to operators of nongovernmental

expeditions organized in or proceeding

from the territory of the United States to

Antarctica and include commercial and

noncommercial expeditions. The

Interim Final Rule does not apply to

individual U.S. citizens or groups of

citizens planning to travel to Antarctica

on an expedition for which they are not

acting as an operator.

Persons subject to the Interim Final

Rule at 40 CFR part 8 must prepare

environmental documentation, as

appropriate to support the operator’s

determination regarding the level of

environmental impact of the proposed

expedition. Environmental

documentation includes a Preliminary

Environmental Review Memorandum

(PERM), an Initial Environmental

Evaluation (IEE), or a Comprehensive

Environmental Evaluation (CEE). The

environmental documentation must be

submitted to the Office of Federal

Activities (OFA) in accordance with the

schedule for the level of environmental

documentation as provided in the

Interim Final Rule.

The Protocol and the Interim Final

Rule also require an operator to employ

procedures to assess and provide a

regular and verifiable record of the

actual impacts of an activity which

proceeds on the basis of an IEE or a CEE,

including monitoring of key

environmental indicators for an activity

proceeding on the basis of a CEE, or, if

necessary, an IEE.

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 are listed

in 40 CFR part 9 and 48 CFR Chapter

15. The Federal Register document

required under 5 CFR 1320.8(d),

soliciting comments on this collection

of information, was published on April

22, 1998 (63 FR 19912). Four comment

letters were received. Responses to

comments are included in the ICR

document.

Burden Statement: For the initial year

no PERMs or CEEs were submitted; four

IEEs were submitted on behalf of nine

operators with an estimated average

burden of 216 hours per IEE, or 96 hours

per operator, including assessment and

verification procedures. For each of the

subsequent years, four IEEs that fully

incorporate paperwork reduction

provisions of the Interim Final Rule are

anticipated on behalf of eleven

operators with an estimated annual

average burden of 25 hours per operator,

including assessment and verification

procedures. Burden means the total

time, effort, or financial resources

expended by persons to generate,

maintain, retain, or disclose or provide

information to or for a Federal agency.

This includes the time needed to review

instructions; develop, acquire, install,

and utilize 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 the information.

Respondents/Affected Entities:

Commercial tour operators and all other

nongovernmental entities including

privately funded research expeditions.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

11.

Frequency of Response: Once per

year.

Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden:

1415 hours.

Estimated Total Annualized Cost

Burden: 0

Send comments on the Agency’s need

for this information, the accuracy of the

provided burden estimates, and any

suggested methods for minimizing

respondent burden, including through

the use of automated collection

techniques, to the following addresses.

Please refer to EPA ICR No. 1808.02,

and OMB Control No. 2020–0007 in any

correspondence.

Ms. Sandy Farmer, .S. Environmental

Protection Agency, OP Regulatory

Information Division (2137), 401 M

Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460;

and
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 142 / Friday, July 24, 1998 / Notices 39857

1When post-change emissions from a changed

unit and all other affected units are significant, the

proposed change at the source may nevertheless

avoid review if, when considering any other

contemporaneous emission increases and decreases

at the source, the net emissions increase is less than

significant. The summing of increases and deceases

at a source that are contemporaneous with, but not

resulting from, a proposed change for the purpose

Continued

Office of Information and Regulatory

Affairs, Office of Management and

Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for

EPA, 725 17th Street, NW,

Washington, DC 20503.

Dated: July 20, 1998.

Joseph Retzer,

Director, Regulatory Information Division.

[FR Doc. 98–19840 Filed 7–23–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–6128–5]

Notice of Availability; Alternatives for

New Source Review (NSR)

Applicability for Major Modifications;

Solicitation of Comment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

SUMMARY: The EPA is soliciting

comments on a specific alternative for

determining the applicability of NSR to

modifications of major stationary

sources, under the Prevention of

Significant Deterioration (PSD) and the

nonattainment provisions of the Clean

Air Act (Act). This alternative would

allow any source to legally avoid major

NSR review for a physical or operational

change to an existing emissions unit by

taking an enforceable temporary limit

on emissions from that unit for a period

of at least 10 years after the change. In

addition, the Agency is seeking

comment upon when and under what

circumstances permitting authorities

should have to revise the emissions

level set under a plantwide applicability

limitation (PAL) for any given source.

DATES: Written comments must be

received on or before August 24, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be

identified by the docket number [A–90–

37], and should be submitted (in

duplicate, if possible) to: Air and

Radiation Docket and Information

Center (6102), Attention Docket Number

A–90–36, Room M–1500, U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency, 401

M Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20460.

The EPA requests a separate copy also

be sent to the contact person listed

below (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT).

Comments may also be submitted

electronically by sending electronic

mail (e-mail) to: a-and-rdocket@epamail.epa.gov. Submit

comments as an ASCII file avoiding the

use of special characters and any form

of encryption. Comments and data will

also be accepted on a diskette in

WordPerfect 5.1 or 6.1 or ASCII file

format. Identify all comments and data

in electronic form by docket number A–

90–37. No Confidential Business

Information (CBI) should be submitted

through e-mail.

Information submitted as a comment

concerning this document may be

claimed confidential by marking any

part or all of that information as CBI.

Information so marked will not be

disclosed except in accordance with

procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.

A copy of the comment that does not

contain CBI must be submitted for

inclusion in the public record.

Information not marked confidential

will be included in the public docket by

EPA without prior notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: By

mail: David Solomon, Integrated

Implementation Group, Information

Transfer and Program Integration

Division, (MD–12), Environmental

Protection Agency, Research Triangle

Park, N.C. 27711, telephone 919–541–

5375, facsimile 919–541–5509, or e-mail

solomon.david@epamail.epa.gov. For

information on the section of this notice

addressing PAL’s, contact Mike Sewell

at the above address, telephone 919–

541–0873, facsimile 919-541–5509, or email sewell.mike@epamail.epa.gov.

Electronic Availability: Internet

Electronic copies of this document

also are available from the EPA home

page at the Federal Register—

Environmental Documents entry for this

document under ‘‘Laws and

Regulations’’ (http://www.epa.gov/

fedrgstr/) or from the Office of Air and

Radiation home page at http://

www.epa.gov.ttn/oarpg.

I. Purpose

The first purpose of this notice is to

solicit comment from the interested

public on a specific policy option for

determining the applicability of NSR to

modifications at existing major

stationary sources. Although this option

was one of many proposed in an earlier

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, EPA

now seeks comment on a single

alternative in order to ensure that the

public has full opportunity to evaluate

its merit. Second, the Agency is seeking

comment on a specific approach with

regard to PAL’s. Previously EPA

solicited and received several hundred

comments on its NSR reform package

proposed in July 1996. The EPA has

reviewed and is duly considering these

comments. For purposes of this Notice

of Availability, commenters should

limit their remarks to the issues

discussed below. Because of the

opportunity provided previously for

comment on the NSR Reform items,

comments relating to issues other than

those set forth in this Notice will not be

considered.

II. Background

On July 23, 1996, EPA proposed to

make significant changes to the existing

major NSR program (‘‘NSR Reform’’)

[See 61 FR 38249]. In large part, these

proposed changes concern the

applicability of the major NSR

requirements to modifications at

existing stationary sources. The Agency

solicited comment on a number of

methodologies for determining NSR

applicability when a source undergoes a

modification [See id. at 38266–70]. As a

result of comments received, changed

circumstances, and further review of the

issues by the Agency, EPA is seeking

further comment on one particular

methodology.

In the same earlier notice, EPA

proposed to authorize permitting

authorities to establish facility-specific

PAL’s based on the source’s historic

actual emissions. The Agency solicited

public comment on what circumstances

would necessitate revision of PAL

limits. Several commenters suggested

that PAL’s must be periodically changed

to reflect recent actual emissions. The

EPA is also concerned that legal

considerations may require a periodic

evaluation of the PAL limit.

III. Applicability Methodology for

Modifications to Existing Major Sources

A. Current NSR Applicability Test for

Major Modifications

1. In General

Major NSR—that is, PSD or

nonattainment NSR—applies to all

‘‘major modifications.’’ A ‘‘major

modification’’ is ‘‘any physical change

or change in the method of operation of

a major stationary source that would

result in a significant net emissions

increase of any pollutant subject to

regulation under the Act.’’ In other

words, major NSR applies if, as a result

of the change, the total emissions from

new and existing emission units at the

source, which are otherwise affected by

or part of the change, exceed the current

actual emissions of those units by a

significant amount (as defined in the

regulations). 1