Document ID: EPA-HQ-RCRA-2015-0836-0012
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Anaerobic Digestion Facilities Processing Wasted Food to Support EPA's Sustainable Food Management Programs
Posted Date: 2018-10-03T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 192 (Wednesday, October 3, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49921-49922]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-21556]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-RCRA-2015-0836; FRL-9984-87--Region 3]

Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; 
Collection of Information on Anaerobic Digestion Facilities Processing 
Wasted Food To Support EPA's Sustainable Food Management Programs

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to submit an 
information collection request (ICR), ``Collection of Information on 
Anaerobic Digestion Facilities Processing Wasted Food to support EPA's 
Sustainable Food Management Programs'' (EPA ICR No. 2533.02, OMB 
Control No. 2050-0217) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. 
Before doing so, EPA is soliciting public comments on specific aspects 
of the proposed information collection as described below. This is a 
request for approval of a renewal of an existing ICR. 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 December 3, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-
2015-0836 online using www.regulations.gov or by mail to: EPA Docket 
Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code 228221T, 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: Melissa Pennington, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 3, Mail Code 3LC33, 1650 Arch Street, 
Philadelphia, PA 19103; telephone number: 215-814-3372; fax number: 
215-814-3114; 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, 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's Sustainable Food Management (SFM) Program promotes 
the sustainable management of food which is a systematic approach that 
seeks to reduce wasted food and its associated impacts over its' entire 
lifecycle. The lifecycle of food includes use of natural resources, 
manufacturing, sales, and consumption and ends with decisions on 
recovery or final disposal.

[[Page 49922]]

Diversion of food waste from landfills is a critical component of this 
effort. In order to effectively divert food waste from landfills, 
sufficient capacity to process the diverted materials is required. 
Knowledge of organics recycling capacity is needed to facilitate food 
waste diversion and anaerobic digestion facilities provide a 
significant amount of the needed capacity.
    EPA's food recovery hierarchy prioritizes potential actions to 
prevent and divert wasted food. According to the hierarchy, processing 
wasted food via anaerobic digestion is a more desirable option than 
landfilling or incineration because it creates more benefits for the 
environment, society and the economy. Anaerobic digestion of food waste 
and other organic materials generates renewable energy, reduces methane 
emissions to the atmosphere, and provides opportunities to improve soil 
health through the production of soil amendments. The SFM program 
supports these efforts by educating state and local governments and 
communities about the benefits of wasted food diversion. The SFM 
program also builds partnerships with state agencies and other 
strategic partners interested in developing organics recycling capacity 
and provides tools to assist organizations in developing anaerobic 
digestion (AD) projects.
    The nationwide collection of data about AD facilities processing 
food waste began in 2017 with a survey of all known AD facilities under 
the initial Information Collection Request (ICR No. 2533.01). EPA 
published the first annual report of findings based on this data in 
July 2018. This information collection consists of a request to renew 
ICR No. 2533.02 in order to continue to monitor growth and evaluate 
trends in the capacity for processing of food waste and the amount of 
food waste being processed via AD in the United States.
    Data will be collected using electronic surveys that will be 
distributed to respondents by email and will be available on EPA's AD 
website.
    Form numbers: EPA Form 6700-03, EPA Form 6700-04, EPA Form 6700-05.
    Respondents/affected entities: Project Developers, Project Owners 
or Plant Operators, and Livestock Farmers.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Voluntary.
    Estimated number of respondents: 382 (total).
    Frequency of response: Annually.
    Total estimated burden: 254 hours (per year). Burden is defined at 
5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $7,594 (per year), includes $0 annualized 
capital or operation & maintenance costs.
    Changes in estimates: The overall burden has slightly decreased 
from the original ICR. For this renewal, some questions have been 
revised for clarity, numerous questions have been eliminated and a 
series of questions have been streamlined. The time to complete the 
survey will decrease for operating years 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 for 
Respondents that previously provided data.

    Dated: September 24, 2018.
John A. Armstead,
Director, Land and Chemicals Division, EPA Region III.
[FR Doc. 2018-21556 Filed 10-2-18; 8:45 am]
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