[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 183 (Friday, September 20, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57847-57849]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-22927]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OECA-2007-0468; ER-FRL 9011-3]
Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request;
Environmental Impact Assessment of Nongovernmental Activities in
Antarctica (Renewal)
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), ``Final Rule at 40 CFR Part 8:
Environmental Impact Assessment of Nongovernmental Activities in
Antarctica'' (EPA ICR No. 1808.07, OMB Control No. 2020-0007) to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
Before doing so, 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
March 31, 2014. 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.
[[Page 57848]]
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before Tuesday, November 19,
2013.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OECA-
2007-0468 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie Roemele, Office of Federal
Activities, Mail Code 2252A, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202)
564-5632; fax number: (202) 564-0072; 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: The Environmental Protection Agency's (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 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 (ATCM) 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 on the basis of 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 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. The Office of
Federal Activities (OFA) would consult with the
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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 also 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: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/international/antarctica/index.html. 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 2012-2013 austral
summer seasons during the time the Rule has been in effect, all
respondents submitted IEEs with the exception of two 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: 18.
Frequency of response: Annual.
Total estimated burden: 1,254 hours.
Total estimated cost: $100,575 includes $3,390 annualized capital
or operation & maintenance costs.
Changes in Estimates: There is a decrease of 454 hours in the total
estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently approved by
OMB. This decrease is the result of a change to the level of
environmental documentation EPA anticipates the operators will submit
as well as an anticipated decrease of operators submitting
documentation.
Dated: September 17, 2013.
Cliff Rader,
Director, NEPA Compliance Division, Office of Federal Activities.
[FR Doc. 2013-22927 Filed 9-19-13; 8:45 am]
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