Document ID: EPA-HQ-OPPT-2021-0728-0007
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Section 8 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
Posted Date: 2022-08-30T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 167 (Tuesday, August 30, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52967-52968]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-18709]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPPT-2021-0728; FRL-10179-01-OMS]

Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and 
Approval; Comment Request; Section 8 of the Toxic Substances Control 
Act (TSCA)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an 
information collection request (ICR), Section 8 of the Toxic Substances 
Control Act (TSCA) (EPA ICR Number 2703.01, OMB Control Number 2070-
NEW) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and 
approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. This is a 
request to consolidate certain activities currently covered under other 
existing ICRs. Public comments were previously requested via the 
Federal Register on March 8, 2022, during a 60-day comment period. This 
notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. A fuller 
description of the ICR is given below, including its estimated burden 
and cost to the public. 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: Additional comments may be submitted on or before September 29, 
2022.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments to EPA, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-
HQ-OPPT-2021-0728, online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred 
method), by email to https://www.epa.gov/dockets, or by mail to: EPA 
Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code 2821T, 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: Katherine Sleasman, Regulatory Support 
Branch (7602M), Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, 
DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 566-1204; email address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supporting documents, which explain in 
detail the information that the EPA will be collecting, are available 
in the 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 dockets, visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    Abstract: This new ICR consolidates information collection 
activities established under TSCA section 8 currently approved by OMB 
under Control numbers: 2070-0004; 2070-0017; 2070-0054; and 2070-0067. 
Although imposed for a specific chemical substance, the activities are 
already established and only vary based on the specific authority under 
TSCA section 8 and the need for the information for that chemical. EPA 
is consolidating the existing ICRs to streamline the presentation of 
paperwork burden estimates, thereby reducing the administrative burden 
for both the public and the Agency and allowing a better assessment of 
the burden and costs for reporting and recordkeeping activities under 
TSCA section 8.
    This ICR covers reporting and recordkeeping requirements in TSCA 
section 8, for persons who manufacture, import, or process chemical 
substances, mixtures, or categories, or distribute them in commerce. 
The purpose of the ICR activities is to collect data that will help EPA 
evaluate the potential for human health and environmental risks caused 
by the manufacture, processing, and distribution in commerce of 
chemical substances, mixtures, or categories.
    Under TSCA section 8(a), persons who manufacture, import, or 
process certain chemical substances or mixtures, or propose to 
manufacture, import, or process certain chemical substances or 
mixtures, are required to comply with the Preliminary Assessment 
Information Rule (PAIR)--which requires

[[Page 52968]]

manufacturers and importers of certain chemical substances to submit 
information about production, use, and/or exposure-related data--and 
also potentially chemical-specific ``8(a) rules'' requiring additional, 
more detailed, information.
    Under TSCA section 8(c), persons who manufacture, import, process, 
or distribute in commerce any chemical substance or mixture must keep 
records of significant adverse reactions to health or the environment, 
as determined by the Administrator by rule. Allegations of adverse 
reactions to the health of employees be kept for thirty years, and all 
other allegations be kept for five years. The rule also prescribes the 
conditions under which a firm must submit or make the records available 
to a duly designated representative of the Administrator.
    Finally, under TSCA section 8(d), persons, who manufacture, import, 
process, or distribute in commerce (or propose to manufacture, import, 
process, or distribute in commerce) certain chemical substances and 
mixtures, are required to submit to EPA lists and copies of health and 
safety studies which relate to health and/or environmental effects of 
the chemical substances and mixtures. To comply with an ``8(d)'' rule, 
respondents must search their records to identify any health and safety 
studies in their possession, make copies of relevant studies, list 
studies that are currently in progress, and submit this information to 
EPA.
    Form Numbers: 7710-51; 7710-35.
    Respondents/Affected entities: Manufacturers (including imports) or 
processors of chemical substances of mixtures, NAICS Codes 325 & 324.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory (TSCA Section 8 and 
40 CFR 704; 712; 716; 717; & 766).
    Estimated number of respondents: 13,294 (total).
    Frequency of response: On occasion.
    Total estimated burden: 26,226 hours (per year). Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.3(b).
    Total estimated cost: $5,109,515 (per year), includes $0 annualized 
capital or operation & maintenance costs.
    Changes in the estimates: This information collection combines the 
burdens from four previously approved ICRs. The total burden hours 
requested for this ICR is 26,226 and the total estimated cost is 
$5,109,515. There was an increase in the estimated number of responses 
for Section 8(d) Health and Safety Studies and Chemical Specific 
Section 8(a) because of the reinstatement of this ICR, and increased 
number of potential Section 8(d) submissions. The increase for these 
two information collections is 50 responses, 7 for Section 8(d) Health 
and Safety Studies and 43 Chemical Specific Section 8(a) respectively, 
from the two previously approved ICRs. The total combined cost burden 
from the Section 8(d) Health and Safety Studies and the Chemical 
Specific Section 8(a) currently approved ICRs is $23,501 ($23,501 + 
$0), respectively, and the total cost burden requested for these 
information collections is ICR is $56,397 ($41,607 + $14,790).

Courtney Kerwin,
Director, Regulatory Support Division.
[FR Doc. 2022-18709 Filed 8-29-22; 8:45 am]
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