[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 77 (Tuesday, April 22, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19810-19811]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-9912]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[OW-2002-0063; FRL-7486-3]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission of EPA ICR
No. 0168.08 (OMB No. 2040-0057) to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment
Request
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501
et seq.), this document announces that the following Information
Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) for review and approval: NPDES and Sewage Sludge
Management State Programs. This ICR describes the nature of the
information collection and its estimated burden and cost.
DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before May 22, 2003.
ADDRESSES: Follow the detailed instructions in SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jack Faulk, Water Permits Division,
Office of Wastewater Management, Mail Code 4203M, Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460;
telephone number: 202-564-0768; fax number: (202) 564-6431; e-mail
address: faulk.jack@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA has submitted the following ICR to OMB
for review and approval according to the procedures prescribed in 5 CFR
1320.12. On January 10, 2003, (68 FR 1454), EPA sought comments on this
ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received no comments.
EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID
No. OW-2002-0063, which is available for public viewing at the Water
Docket in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room B102, 1301
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public
Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Reading
Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the Water Docket
is (202) 566-2426. An electronic version of the public docket is
available through EPA Dockets (EDOCKET) at http://www.epa.gov/edocket.
Use EDOCKET to submit or view public comments, access the index listing
of the contents of the public docket, and to access those documents in
the public docket that are available electronically. Once in the
system, select ``search,'' then key in the docket ID number identified
above.
Any comments related to this ICR should be submitted to EPA and OMB
within 30 days of this notice, and according to the following detailed
instructions: (1) Submit your comments to EPA online using EDOCKET (our
preferred method), by e-mail to OW-Docket@epa.gov, or by mail to: EPA
Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Water Docket, Mail
Code: 4101T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, and (2)
Mail your comments to OMB at: Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Attention: Desk Officer
for EPA, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503.
EPA's policy is that public comments, whether submitted
electronically or in paper, will be made available for public viewing
in EDOCKET as EPA receives them and without change, unless the comment
contains copyrighted material, CBI, or other information whose public
disclosure is restricted by statute. When EPA identifies a comment
containing copyrighted material, EPA will provide a reference to that
material in the version of the comment that is placed in EDOCKET. The
entire printed comment, including the copyrighted material, will be
available in the public docket. Although identified as an item in the
official docket, information claimed as CBI, or whose disclosure is
otherwise restricted by statute, is not included in the official public
docket, and will not be available for public viewing in EDOCKET. For
further information about the electronic docket, see EPA's Federal
Register notice describing the electronic docket at 67 FR 38102 (May
31, 2002), or go to http://www.epa.gov/edocket.
Title: NPDES and Sewage Sludge Management State Programs (OMB
Control Number 2040-0057, EPA ICR Number 0168.08). This is a request to
renew an existing approved collection that is scheduled to expire on
April 30, 2003. Under OMB regulations, the Agency may continue to
conduct or sponsor the collection of information while this submission
is pending at OMB.
Abstract: Under the NPDES program, States, Federally Recognized
Indian Tribes, and U.S. Territories, hereafter referred to as States,
may acquire the authority to issue permits. These governments have the
option of acquiring authority to issue general
[[Page 19811]]
permits (permits that cover a category or categories of similar
discharges). States with existing NPDES programs must submit requests
for program modifications to add Federal facilities, or general permit
authority. In addition, as federal statutes and regulations are
modified, States must submit program modifications to ensure that their
program continues to meet Federal requirements.
States have the option of obtaining a sludge management program.
This program may be a component of a State NPDES Program, or it may be
administered as a separate program. To obtain a NPDES or sludge
program, a State must submit an application that includes a program
description, an Attorney General's Statement, draft Memorandum of
Agreement (MOA) with the EPA Region, and copies of the State's statutes
and regulations.
Once a State obtains authority for an NPDES or sludge program, it
becomes responsible for implementing the program in that jurisdiction.
The State must retain records on the permittees and perform
inspections. In addition, when a State obtains NPDES or sludge
authority, EPA must oversee the program. Thus, States must submit
permit information and compliance reports to the EPA.
When EPA issues a permit in an unauthorized State, that State must
certify that the permit requirements comply with State water laws.
According to the Clean Water Act (CWA) (section 510), States may adopt
discharge requirements that are equal to or more stringent than
requirements in the CWA or Federal regulations.
There are three categories of reporting requirements that are
covered by this ICR. The first category, ``State Program Requests,''
includes the activities States must complete to request a new NPDES or
sludge program, or to modify an existing program. The second category,
``State Program Implementation,'' includes the activities that approved
States must complete to implement an existing program, such as
certification of EPA-issued permits by non-NPDES States. The third
category, ``State Program Oversight,'' includes activities required of
NPDES States so that EPA may satisfy its statutory requirements for
state program oversight.
The information collected by EPA is used to evaluate the adequacy
of a State's NPDES or sludge program and to provide EPA with the
information necessary to fulfill its statutory oversight functions over
State program performance and individual permit actions. EPA will use
this information to evaluate State requests for full or partial program
approval and program modifications. In order to evaluate the adequacy
of a State's proposed program, appropriate information must be provided
to ensure that proper procedures, regulations, and statutes are in
place and consistent with the CWA requirements.
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. The OMB control numbers for EPA's
regulations are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and 48 CFR chapter 15, and are
identified on the form and/or instrument, if applicable.
Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 50.3
hours per response for each state activity. Burden means the total
time, effort, or financial resources expended by persons to generate,
maintain, retain, or disclose or provide information to or for a
Federal agency. This includes the time needed to review instructions;
develop, acquire, install, and utilize technology and systems for the
purposes of collecting, validating, and verifying information,
processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and providing
information; adjust the existing ways to comply with any previously
applicable instructions and requirements; train personnel to be able to
respond to a collection of information; search data sources; complete
and review the collection of information; and transmit or otherwise
disclose the information.
Respondents/Affected Entities: States, Territories, and American
Indian Tribal Entities.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 613.
Frequency of Response: Semi-annually, quarterly, on occasion, every
5 years, on-going.
Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 966,966 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Cost: $30,169,349, includes $0 annualized
capital or O&M costs.
Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 173,828 hours in
the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of
Approved ICR Burdens. This decrease in the applicant respondent and
NPDES-authorized state burden is due primarily to a significant cleanup
of the database used to track NPDES permittees.
Dated: April 10, 2003.
Oscar Morales,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 03-9912 Filed 4-21-03; 8:45 am]
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