Document ID: EPA-HQ-OPPT-2020-0262-0008
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Asbestos Abatement Worker Protection (Renewal)
Posted Date: 2020-10-30T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 211 (Friday, October 30, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68875-68876]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-24127]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPPT-2020-0262; FRL-10013-38-OMS]

Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and 
Approval; Comment Request; Asbestos Abatement Worker Protection 
(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), Asbestos Abatement Worker 
Protection (EPA ICR Number 1246.14, OMB Control Number 2070-0072) 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 December 31, 
2020. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal 
Register on May 20, 2020 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 November 30, 
2020.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OPPT-
2020-0262 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

[[Page 68876]]

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: Sarah Cox, National Program Chemicals 
Division, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone number: (202) 564-3961; email address: cox.sarah@epa.gov.

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.
    Abstract: The 2000 Asbestos Worker Protection Rule (40 CFR part 
763, subpart G) (hereafter referred to as the ``2000 WPR,'' or simply 
``WPR'') establishes workplace standards for the protection of state 
and local government employees who work with asbestos and who are not 
covered by a state plan approved by the Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration (OSHA). Currently, state and local government employees 
in 24 states, the District of Columbia (DC), and three additional U.S. 
territories (DC and the territories are counted as one ``state 
equivalent'') who perform construction work, including building 
construction, renovation, demolition, and maintenance activities, and 
employees who perform brake and clutch repair work, are covered by 
EPA's WPR. The WPR incorporates, by reference, the OSHA Construction 
Industry Standard for Asbestos (29 CFR part 1926.1101) and the General 
Industry Standard for Asbestos (29 CFR part 1910.1001). As a result, 
the WPR requires state and local government employers to use 
engineering controls and appropriate work practices to control the 
release of asbestos fibers. Covered employers must monitor employee 
exposure to asbestos and provide employees with personal protective 
equipment, training, and medical surveillance to reduce the risk of 
asbestos exposure. Exposure monitoring records must be maintained for 
30 years, medical surveillance records for the duration of employment 
of the affected employees plus 30 years, and training records for the 
duration of employment plus one year. Employers must also establish 
written respiratory protection programs and maintain procedures and 
records of respirator fit tests for one year.
    The ICR, which is available in the docket along with other related 
materials, provides a detailed explanation of the collection activities 
and the burden estimate that is only briefly summarized here:
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/Affected Entities: States and local government 
employers in the 24 states, DC, and the U.S. territories of American 
Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands that have employees 
engaged in asbestos-related construction, custodial, and brake and 
clutch repair activities without OSHA-approved state plans.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory (40 CFR 763 Subpart 
G)
    Estimated number of respondents: 23,437 (total).
    Frequency of response: On occasion.
    Total estimated burden: 372,969 hours (per year). Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $16,894,178 (per year), includes $0 
annualized capital or operation & maintenance costs.
    Changes in the estimates: There is no change in the burden hours 
compared with the ICR currently approved by OMB.

Courtney Kerwin,
Director, Regulatory Support Division.
[FR Doc. 2020-24127 Filed 10-29-20; 8:45 am]
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