E8-1094. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; NESHAP for Primary Aluminum Reduction Plants (Renewal); EPA ICR Number 1767.05, OMB Control Number 2060-0360

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that an Information Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This is a request to renew an existing approved collection. The ICR which is abstracted below describes the nature of the collection and the estimated burden and cost.

DATES:

Additional comments may be submitted on or before February 22, 2008.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number EPA-HQ-OECA-2007-0127, to (1) EPA online using http://www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), or by e-mail to [e-mail], or by mail to: EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), Environmental Protection Agency, Enforcement and Compliance Docket and Information Center, mail code 2201T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460, and (2) 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

María Malavé, Compliance Assessment and Media Programs Division (Mail Code 2223A), Office of Compliance, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: [phone]; fax number: [phone]; e-mail address: [e-mail].

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 March 9, 2007 (72 FR 10735), EPA sought comments on this ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received no comments. Any additional comments on this ICR should be submitted to EPA and OMB within 30 days of this notice.

EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under docket ID number EPA-OECA-2007-0127, which is available for public viewing online at http://www.regulations.gov,, or in person viewing at the Enforcement and Compliance Docket and Information Center in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue, 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 [phone], and the telephone number for the Enforcement and Compliance Docket is [phone].

Use EPA's electronic docket and comment system at http://www.regulations.gov,, to submit or view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the docket, and to access those documents in the docket that are available electronically. Once in the system, select “docket search,” then key in the docket ID number identified above. Please note that EPA's policy is that public comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper, will be made available for public viewing at http://www.regulations.gov,, as EPA receives them and without change, unless the comment contains copyrighted material, Confidential Business Information (CBI), or other information whose public disclosure is restricted by statute. For further information about the electronic docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov.

Title: NESHAP for Primary Aluminum Reduction Plants (Renewal)

ICR Numbers: EPA ICR Number 1767.05, OMB Control Number 2060-0360

ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on February 29, 2008. Under OMB regulations, the Agency may continue to conduct or sponsor the collection of information while this submission is pending at OMB. 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 in title 40 of the CFR, after appearing in the Federal Register when approved, are listed in 40 CFR part 9, and displayed either by publication in the Federal Register or by other appropriate means, such as on the related collection instrument or form, if applicable. The display of OMB control numbers in certain EPA regulations is consolidated in 40 CFR part 9.

Abstract: The National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP), for the regulations published at 40 CFR part 63, subpart LL, were proposed on September 26, 1996 and promulgated on October 7, 1997. These standards apply to the owners or operators of new or existing potlines, paste production plants, or anode bake furnaces associated with primary aluminum production and located at a major source, and for each new pitch storage tank associated with a primary aluminum reduction plant that is a major source of hazardous air pollutants (HAP) emissions.

In general, all NESHAP standards require initial notifications, performance tests, and periodic reports. Owners or operators are also required to maintain records of the occurrence and duration of any startup, shutdown, or malfunction in the operation of an affected facility, or any period during which the monitoring system is inoperative. These notifications, reports, and records are essential in determining compliance, and are required of all sources subject to NESHAP.

Any owner or operator subject to the provisions of this part shall maintain a file of these measurements, and retain the file for at least five years following the date of such measurements, maintenance reports, and records. All reports are sent to the delegated state or local authority. In the event that there is no such delegated authority, the reports are sent directly to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regional office.

Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 2,001 (rounded) hours per response. 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 which have subsequently changed; 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: Owners or operators of primary aluminum reduction plants that are major sources of HAP emissions.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 16.

Frequency of Response: Initially, quarterly, semiannually, and on occasion.

Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 80,046 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Costs: $7,221,357, which includes $0 annualized capital/startup costs, $91,348 annualized Operating and Maintenance (O&M) costs, and $7,130,009 annualized labor costs.

Changes in the Estimates: The decrease in burden to industry from the most recently approved ICR is due to a decrease in the number of existing primary aluminum reduction plants that are subject to NESHAP subpart LL. The number of facilities in this renewal are less than in the previous ICR due to a more accurate estimate of the number of facilities and the closure of a number of facilities. The closures were caused by economic factors such as the cost of energy. The reduction in the number of respondents to this ICR also resulted in a decrease on the average annual cost for capital/startup and operation and maintenance costs to industry over the next three years of the ICR.

Dated: January 15, 2008.

Sara Hisel-McCoy,

Director, Collection Strategies Division.