2011-28259. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; NESHAP for Pulp and Paper Production (Renewal)

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 December 1, 2011.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number EPA-HQ-OECA-2011-0208, to: (1) EPA online using http://www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), or by email to [e-mail], or by mail to: EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), Environmental Protection Agency, Enforcement and Compliance Docket and Information Center, mail code 2822IT, 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:

Learia Williams, Monitoring, Assistance, and Media Programs Division, Office of Compliance, Mail Code 2223A, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: [phone]; fax number: [phone]; email 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 May 9, 2011 (76 FR 26900), 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 both EPA and OMB within 30 days of this notice.

EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under docket ID number EPA-HQ-OECA-2011-0208, which is available for public viewing online at http://www.regulations.gov,, or in person viewing at the Enforcement and Compliance Docket 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 either 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 Pulp and Paper Production (Renewal).

ICR Numbers: EPA ICR Number 1657.07, OMB Control Number 2060-0387.

ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2011. Under OMB regulations, the Agency may continue to conduct or sponsor the collection of information while this submission is pending at OMB.

Abstract: The National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Pulp and Paper Production were proposed on December 17, 1993, and promulgated on April 15, 1998.

This NESHAP covers emissions from the pulping process relies on the capture and destruction of hazardous air pollutants (HAP) by either burning them in a boiler or kiln or by introducing them into the wastewater treatment system. The HAPs captured from bleaching systems are controlled with a chlorine gas scrubber.

Pulp mill owners or operators (respondents) are required to submit initial notifications, 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. Respondents are required to monitor and keep records of specific operating parameters for each control device and to perform and document periodic inspections of the closed vent and wastewater conveyance systems. In order to reduce the burden as much as possible, the compliance monitoring and recordkeeping requirements are designed to cover parameters that are already being monitored as part of the manufacturing process. All respondents must submit semiannual summary reports of monitored parameters, and they must submit an additional monitoring report during each quarter in which monitored parameters were outside the ranges established in the standard or during initial performance tests. A source identified to be out of compliance with the NESHAP will be required to submit quarterly reports until the Administrator is satisfied that the source has corrected its compliance problem.

Owners or operators of pulp and paper production facilities subject to the rule must 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 EPA regional office. This information is being collected to assure compliance with 40 CFR part 63, subpart S, as authorized in section 112 and 114(a) of the Clean Air Act. The required information consists of emissions data and other information that have been determined to be private.

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 the EPA 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 111 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: Pulp and paper production.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 115.

Frequency of Response: Initially, occasionally, annually, and semiannually.

Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 35,358.

Estimated Total Annual Cost: $3,711,577, which includes $3,339,077 in labor costs, no capital/startup costs, and $372,500 in operation and maintenance (O&M) costs.

Changes in the Estimates: The adjustment decrease in burden from the most recently approved ICR is due to a more accurate estimate of existing and anticipated new sources. After consulting the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS) and trade associations, and based on a recently completed research conducted by EPA, our data indicates that there are approximately 115 sources subject to the rule, as compared with the active ICR that shows 137 sources. No new facilities are expected to be constructed over the next three years of this ICR. The decline in the number of sources is mainly due to plant closures. The industry is undergoing widespread consolidation and corporate restructuring. However, there is an increase in cost per labor hours due to the updated labor rates.

Because there are no new sources with reporting requirements, no capital/startup costs are incurred. The only cost that is incurred is for the operation and maintenance (O&M) of the monitoring equipment.

Dated: October 25, 2011.

John Moses,

Director, Collection Strategies Division.