Document ID: EPA-HQ-OA-2019-0370-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Environmental Impact Assessment of Nongovernmental Activities in Antarctica
Posted Date: 2019-09-30T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 189 (Monday, September 30, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51558-51560]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-21112]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OA-2019-0370; FRL-9047-2]

Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Final 
Rule at 40 CFR Part 8: Environmental Impact Assessment of 
Nongovernmental Activities in Antarctica (Renewal)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to submit an 
information collection request (ICR), ``Final Rule at 40 CFR part 8: 
Environmental Impact Assessment of Nongovernmental Activities in 
Antarctica'' (EPA ICR No. 1808.09, OMB Control No. 2020-0007) to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. Before doing so, the EPA 
is soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the proposed 
information collection as described below. This is a proposed extension 
of the ICR, which is currently approved through May 31, 2020. 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 Friday, November 29, 
2019.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OA-
2019-0370 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.
    The 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 or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie Roemele, NEPA Compliance 
Division, Office of Federal Activities, Mail Code 2203A, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone number: 202-564-5632; fax number: 202-564-0070; email 
address: roemele.julie@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.
    Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the 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. The 
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, the 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: The EPA's regulations at 40 CFR part 8, Environmental 
Impact Assessment of Nongovernmental Activities in Antarctica (Rule), 
were promulgated pursuant to the Antarctic Science, Tourism, and 
Conservation Act of 1996 (Act), 16 U.S.C. 2401 et seq., as amended, 16 
U.S.C. 2403a, which implements the Protocol on Environmental Protection 
(Protocol) to the Antarctic Treaty of 1959 (Treaty). The Rule provides 
for assessment of the environmental impacts of nongovernmental 
activities in Antarctica, including tourism, for which the United 
States is required to give advance notice under Paragraph 5 of Article 
VII of the Treaty, and for coordination of the review of information 
regarding environmental impact assessments received from other Parties 
under the Protocol. The requirements of the Rule apply to operators of 
nongovernmental expeditions organized or proceeding from the territory 
of the United States to Antarctica and include commercial and non-
commercial expeditions. Expeditions may include ship-based tours; 
yacht, skiing or mountaineering expeditions; privately funded research 
expeditions; and other nongovernmental activities. The Rule does not 
apply to individual U.S. citizens or groups of citizens planning travel 
to Antarctica on an expedition for which they are not acting as an 
operator. (Operators, for example, typically acquire use of vessels or 
aircraft, hire expedition staff, plan itineraries, and undertake other 
organizational responsibilities.) The rule provides nongovernmental 
operators with the specific requirements they need to meet in order to 
comply with the requirements of Article 8 and Annex I to the Protocol. 
The provisions of the Rule are intended to ensure that potential 
environmental effects of nongovernmental activities undertaken in 
Antarctica are appropriately identified and considered by the operator 
during the planning process and that to the extent practicable

[[Page 51559]]

appropriate environmental safeguards which would mitigate or prevent 
adverse impacts on the Antarctic environment are identified by the 
operator.
    Environmental Documentation. Persons subject to the Rule must 
prepare environmental documentation to support the operator's 
determination regarding the level of environmental impact of the 
proposed expedition. Environmental documentation includes a Preliminary 
Environmental Review Memorandum (PERM), an Initial Environmental 
Evaluation (IEE), or a Comprehensive Environmental Evaluation (CEE). 
The environmental document is submitted to the Office of Federal 
Activities (OFA). If the operator determines that an expedition may 
have: (1) Less than a minor or transitory impact, a PERM needs to be 
submitted no later than 180 days before the proposed departure to 
Antarctica; (2) no more than minor or transitory impacts, an IEE needs 
to be submitted no later than 90 days before the proposed departure; or 
(3) more than minor or transitory impacts, a CEE needs to be submitted. 
Operators who anticipate such activities are encouraged to consult with 
EPA as soon as possible regarding the date for submittal of the CEE. 
(Article 3(4), of Annex I of the Protocol requires that draft CEEs be 
distributed to all Parties and the Committee for Environmental 
Protection 120 days in advance of the next Antarctic Treaty 
Consultative Meeting at which the CEE may be addressed.)
    The Protocol and the Rule also require an operator to employ 
procedures to assess and provide a regular and verifiable record of the 
actual impacts of an activity which proceeds on the basis of an IEE or 
CEE. The record developed through these measures needs to be designed 
to: (a) Enable assessments to be made of the extent to which 
environmental impacts of nongovernmental expeditions are consistent 
with the Protocol; and (b) provide information useful for minimizing 
and mitigating those impacts and, where appropriate, on the need for 
suspension, cancellation, or modification of the activity. Moreover, an 
operator needs to monitor key environmental indicators for an activity 
proceeding based on a CEE. An operator may also need to carry out 
monitoring in order to assess and verify the impact of an activity for 
which an IEE would be prepared. For activities that require an IEE, an 
operator should be able to use procedures currently being voluntarily 
utilized by operators to provide the required information. Should an 
activity require a CEE, the operator should consult with the EPA to: 
(a) Identify the monitoring regime appropriate to that activity, and 
(b) determine whether and how the operator might utilize relevant 
monitoring data collected by the U.S. Antarctic Program. OFA would 
consult with the National Science Foundation and other interested 
Federal agencies regarding the monitoring regime.
    In cases of emergency related to the safety of human life or of 
ships, aircraft, equipment and facilities of high value, or the 
protection of the environment which would require an activity to be 
undertaken without completion of the documentation procedures set out 
in the Rule, the operator would need to notify the Department of State 
within 15 days of any activities which would have otherwise required 
preparation of a CEE, and provide a full explanation of the activities 
carried out within 45 days of those activities. (During the time the 
Interim Final and Final Rules have been in effect, there were no 
emergencies requiring notification by U.S. operators. An Interim Final 
Rule was in effect from April 30, 1997, until replaced on December 6, 
2001, by the Final Rule).
    Environmental documents (e.g., PERM, IEE, CEE) are submitted to 
OFA. Environmental documents are reviewed by OFA, in consultation with 
the National Science Foundation and other interested Federal agencies 
and made available to other Parties and the public as required under 
the Protocol or otherwise requested. OFA notifies the public of 
document availability via the World Wide Web at: https://www.epa.gov/international-cooperation/receipt-environmental-impact-assessments-eias-regarding-nongovernmental.
    The types of nongovernmental activities currently being carried out 
(e.g., ship-based tours, land-based tours, flights, and privately 
funded research expeditions) are typically unlikely to have impacts 
that are more than minor or transitory, thus an IEE is the typical 
level of environmental documentation submitted. For the 1997-1998 
through 2018-2019 austral summer seasons during the time the Rule has 
been in effect, all respondents submitted IEEs except for three PERMs. 
Paperwork reduction provisions in the Rule that are used by the 
operators include: (a) Incorporation of material in the environmental 
document by referring to it in the IEE, (b) inclusion of all proposed 
expeditions by one operator within one IEE; (c) use of one IEE to 
address expeditions being carried out by more than one operator; and 
(d) use of multi-year environmental documentation to address proposed 
expeditions for a period of up to five consecutive austral summer 
seasons.
    Coordination of Review of Information Received From Other Parties 
to the Treaty. The Rule also provides for the coordination of review of 
information received from other Parties and the public availability of 
that information including: (1) A description of national procedures 
for considering the environmental impacts of proposed activities; (2) 
an annual list of any IEEs and any decisions taken in consequence 
thereof; (3) significant information obtained and any action taken in 
consequence thereof with regard to monitoring from IEEs to CEEs; and 
(4) information in a final CEE. This provision fulfills the United 
States' obligation to meet the requirements of Article 6 of Annex I to 
the Protocol. The Department of State is responsible for coordination 
of these reviews of drafts with interested Federal agencies, and for 
public availability of documents and information. This portion of the 
Rule does not impose paperwork requirements on any nongovernmental 
person subject to U.S. regulation.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: Entities potentially affected by 
this action are all nongovernmental operators with activities in 
Antarctica, including tour operators, for which the United States is 
required to give advance notice under paragraph 5 of Article VII of the 
Antarctic Treaty of 1959; this includes all nongovernmental expeditions 
to and within Antarctica organized in or proceeding from the territory 
of the United States.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory (40 CFR part 8).
    Estimated number of respondents: 25 (total).
    Frequency of response: Annual.
    Total estimated burden: 1,544 hours (per year). Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $133,780 (per year), includes $0 annualized 
capital or operation & maintenance costs.
    Changes in Estimates: There is an increase of 330 hours in the 
total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently 
approved by OMB. This increase is the result of a change to the number 
of operators that the EPA anticipates will submit environmental 
documentation as well as the inclusion of a potential PERM, CEE and 
Emergency Report submitted by every three years.

[[Page 51560]]

    Dated: September 24, 2019.
Robert Tomiak,
Director, Office of Federal Activities.
[FR Doc. 2019-21112 Filed 9-27-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P