Document ID: EPA-HQ-OGC-2020-0020-0010
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Confidentiality Rules  (Renewal)
Posted Date: 2023-08-16T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 157 (Wednesday, August 16, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55690-55691]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-17572]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OGC-2020-0020; FRL11341-01-OMS]

Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Confidentiality Rules (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), Confidentiality Rules (EPA ICR 
Number 1665.15, OMB Control Number 2020-0003) to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval

[[Page 55691]]

in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. This is a proposed 
extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through September 20, 
2023. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal 
Register on January 25, 2023, 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 September 15, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2020-0020, to EPA 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.
    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: 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: 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.
    Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register 
on January 25, 2023 during a 60-day comment period (88 FR 4822). 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: 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: Any entity submitting information 
claimed as CBI to EPA.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Required to obtain or retain 
benefits.
    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 the estimates: There is an increase of 2,465.1 hours in 
the total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently 
approved by OMB. This increase is due to a combination of factors. 
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.

Courtney Kerwin,
Director, Regulatory Support Division.
[FR Doc. 2023-17572 Filed 8-15-23; 8:45 am]
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