Document ID: EPA-HQ-OAR-2023-0138-0004
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Regional Haze Regulations
Posted Date: 2023-09-27T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 186 (Wednesday, September 27, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66447-66448]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-21036]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2023-0138; FRL-11433-01-OMS]

Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and 
Approval; Comment Request; Regional Haze Regulations (Renewal)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an 
information collection request (ICR), Regional Haze Regulations (EPA 
ICR Number 2540.04, OMB Control Number 2060-0704) to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act. This is a proposed extension of the ICR, 
which is currently approved through September 30, 2023. Public comments 
were previously requested via the Federal Register on March 31, 2023, 
during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 
days for public comments.

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

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2023-0138 to EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred 
method) 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: Macie Moore, Air Quality Policy 
Division, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, mail code C539-
04, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 
27709; telephone number: (919) 541-7873; email address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a proposed extension of the ICR, 
which is currently approved through September 30, 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.
    Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register 
on March 31, 2023 during a 60-day comment period (88 FR 19301). 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 is for activities related to the implementation 
of the EPA's regional haze rule, for the time period between September 
30, 2023, and September 30, 2026, and renews the previous ICR. The 
regional haze rule codified at 40 CFR parts 308 and 309, as authorized 
by sections 169A and 169B of the Clean Air Act, requires states to 
develop implementation plans to protect visibility in 156 federally 
protected Class I areas. Tribes may choose to develop implementation 
plans. For this time period, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, 
and the U.S. Virgin Islands will be developing and submitting periodic 
progress reports. Further, 14 states/territories will be developing and 
submitting periodic comprehensive implementation plan revisions to 
comply with the regulations.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: State, local and tribal air quality 
agencies, regional planning organizations and facilities potentially 
regulated under the Regional Haze Rule.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory [40 CFR 51.308(b), 
(f) and (g)].
    Estimated number of respondents: 52 (total).
    Frequency of response: Approximately every 5 years.
    Total estimated burden: 15,846 hours (per year). Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $932,062 (per year), which includes $0 
annualized capital or operation & maintenance costs.

[[Page 66448]]

    Changes in Estimates: There is decrease of 22,409 hours in the 
total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently 
approved by OMB. This decrease in burden reflects changes in the 
activities conducted due to the normal progression of the program, 
especially the fact that all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 
the U.S. Virgin Islands will be developing and submitting progress 
reports by January 31, 2025, while 14 states/territories will be 
submitting periodic comprehensive State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
revisions. In the previous ICR period, we assumed 52 states/territories 
would be developing and submitting comprehensive SIP revisions.

Courtney Kerwin,
Director, Regulatory Support Division.
[FR Doc. 2023-21036 Filed 9-26-23; 8:45 am]
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