Document ID: EPA-HQ-OGC-2020-0020-0007
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Confidential Business Information Substantiation (Renewal)
Posted Date: 2023-01-25T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 16 (Wednesday, January 25, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4822-4823]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-01411]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OGC-2020-0020; FRL-10569-01-OGC]

Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Renewal 
of Existing Information Collection Request for Confidential Business 
Information Substantiation

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to 
submit an information collection request (ICR), ``Renewal of Existing 
Information Collection Request for Confidential Business Information 
Substantiation'' (EPA ICR No. 1665.15, OMB Control No. 2020-0003) to 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). Before doing so, EPA 
is soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the proposed 
information collection as described below. This is a proposed extension 
of the ICR, which is currently approved through September 20, 2023. 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.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before March 27, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OGC-
2020-0020 online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), by 
email to [email protected], 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: Brandon A. Levine, Office of General 
Counsel, (2310A), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-564-6625; email 
address: [email protected].

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 http://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: EPA established the requirements set forth in 40 CFR part 
2, subpart B, ``Confidentiality of Business Information.'' The 
requirements govern CBI claims. The requirements include the handling 
by the Agency of business information, which is or may be entitled to 
confidential treatment; requiring business submitters to substantiate 
CBI claims; and determining whether such information is entitled to 
confidential treatment for reasons of business confidentiality. This 
request to renew an existing ICR allows the Agency to continue 
collecting information the Agency requires to make final determinations 
regarding whether information claimed as confidential is entitled to 
confidential treatment under EPA's CBI regulations.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: Respondents include any entity 
submitting information claimed as CBI to EPA. EPA receives such 
information from both the manufacturing (SIC codes 20-39) and non-
manufacturing sectors (no SIC codes identified).

[[Page 4823]]

    Respondent's obligation to respond: Voluntary and mandatory.
    Estimated number of respondents: 225 (per year) (total).
    Frequency of response: One-time submission for information claimed 
as CBI.
    Total estimated burden: 3,217.5 hours (per year). Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $1,287,000 (per year), includes $0 annualized 
capital or operation & maintenance costs.
    Changes in Estimates: There is an increase of 2,465.1 hours in the 
total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently 
approved by OMB. Since the last ICR renewal, the Agency has experienced 
a modest increase in the number of respondents. Additionally, after 
consulting with a sample of respondent businesses (or respective 
outside counsels), EPA determined the average estimated burden for each 
response has increased compared with the ICR currently approved by OMB. 
Calculating the burden for responding to a substantiation request 
letter is fact-specific, and the burden can vary based on the following 
factors: a respondent's familiarity with recent changes in the 
applicable law, the volume and complexity of the CBI claims asserted, 
and/or familiarity with the CBI substantiation request letters and 
substantiation process. As part of consulting with respondent 
businesses, EPA received burden estimates ranging from as few as 5 
hours to as many as nearly 40 hours to substantiate varying amounts of 
CBI claims. The average estimated burden across the responses that the 
Agency received is approximately 14.3 hours per response. The median 
estimated burden is approximately 10 hours per response. For purposes 
of this ICR renewal, the Agency calculated the estimated burden using 
the average.

Charlotte Youngblood,
Acting Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2023-01411 Filed 1-24-23; 8:45 am]
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