2013-29192. Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), this document announces that EPA is planning to submit an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The ICR, entitled: “Survey of the Public and Commercial Building Industry” and identified by EPA ICR No. 2494.01 and OMB Control No. 2070-NEW, represents a new request. Before submitting the ICR to OMB for review and approval, EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection that is summarized in this document. The ICR and accompanying material are available in the docket for public review and comment.

DATES:

Comments must be received on or before February 4, 2014.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, identified by docket identification (ID) number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2013-0715, by one of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
• Mail: Document Control Office (7407M), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.
• Hand Delivery: OPPT Document Control Office (DCO), EPA East Bldg., Rm. 6428, 1201 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC. ATTN: Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2013-0715. The DCO is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the DCO is [phone]. Such deliveries are only accepted during the DCO's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.

Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2013-0715. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the docket without change and may be made available online at http://www.regulations.gov,, including any personal information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through regulations.gov or email. The regulations.gov Web site is an “anonymous access” system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an email comment directly to EPA without going through regulations.gov, your email address will be automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the docket and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.

Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the docket index available at http://www.regulations.gov. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. Publicly available docket materials are available electronically at http://www.regulations.gov,, or, if only available in hard copy, at the OPPT Docket. The OPPT Docket is located in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC) at Rm. 3334, EPA West Bldg., 1301 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC. The EPA/DC Public Reading Room hours of operation are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number of the EPA/DC Public Reading Room is [phone], and the telephone number for the OPPT Docket is [phone]. Docket visitors are required to show photographic identification, pass through a metal detector, and sign the EPA visitor log. All visitor bags are processed through an X-ray machine and subject to search. Visitors will be provided an EPA/DC badge that must be visible at all times in the building and returned upon departure.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For technical information contact: Judith Brown, Economics, Exposure and Technology Division (7406M), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: [phone]; fax number: [phone]; email address: [e-mail].

For general information contact: The TSCA-Hotline, ABVI-Goodwill, 422 South Clinton Ave., Rochester, NY 14620; telephone number: [phone]; email address: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. What Information is EPA Particularly Interested in?

Pursuant to PRA section 3506(c)(2)(A) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), EPA specifically solicits comments and information to enable it to:

1. 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.

2. Evaluate the accuracy of the Agency's estimates of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used.

3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected.

4. 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. In particular, EPA is requesting comments from very small businesses (those that employ less than 25) on examples of specific additional efforts that EPA could make to reduce the paperwork burden for very small businesses affected by this collection.

II. What Information Collection Activity or ICR Does this Action Apply to?

Title: Survey of the Public and Commercial Building Industry.

ICR number: EPA ICR No. 2494.01.

OMB control number: OMB Control No. 2070-NEW.

ICR status: This ICR is for a new information collection activity. 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 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), after appearing in the Federal Register when approved, are listed in 40 CFR part 9, are 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 for certain EPA regulations is consolidated in 40 CFR part 9.

Abstract: EPA has initiated a proceeding to investigate whether and what type of regulatory action might be appropriate to control exposures to lead dust resulting from renovation, repair, and painting (RRP) activities in public and commercial buildings (PnCBs). These proceedings have been described in previous Federal Register documents, entitled “Lead; Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program for Public and Commercial Buildings” (advance notice of proposed rulemaking) (75 FR 24848, May 6, 2010) (FRL-8823-6); “Lead; Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program for Public and Commercial Buildings; Request for Information and Advance Notice of Public Meeting” (77 FR 76996, December 31, 2012) (FRL-9373-7); and “Lead; Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program for Public and Commercial Buildings; Notice of Public Meeting and Reopening of Comment Period” (78 FR 27906, May 13, 2013) (FRL-9385-6).

EPA plans to conduct a survey to collect information on: Building and activity patterns that may affect exposures to lead dust from RRP activities in PnCBs; the number of firms that perform RRP activities in PnCBs; the types and numbers of RRP activities that are performed; the extent to which various work practices are currently being used in RRP jobs in PnCBs; and the extent to which various work practices that help with the containment and cleanup of lead dust are currently being used in RRP jobs performed in PnCBs.

The information collected through the survey (along with information submitted to EPA in response to the previous Federal Register documents for this proceeding, as well as other data sources) will allow EPA to predict a baseline for the incidence of different types of RRP activities that disturb lead-based paint in PnCBs, the methods that are used to conduct these activities, the work practices that are used to contain and clean the resulting dust, and the characteristics of the buildings where the work is performed. EPA will use this information to estimate the resulting exposures to lead dust, which will inform Agency decisionmaking about the need for and scope of potential regulatory or other actions to reduce exposures to lead dust from RRP activities in PnCBs. If EPA determines that a regulation is needed, the Agency will use this data to assess the incremental benefits and costs of potential options to reduce such exposures. The information collected through the survey is necessary to inform Agency decisionmakers about the need for and scope of regulatory or other actions to protect against risks created by RRP activities disturbing lead-based paint in PnCBs.

The information collection will be a one-time data collection. Participation will be voluntary. Establishments will be selected using a stratified random sampling method. EPA plans to have a total of 402 respondents complete a questionnaire. The information collection will utilize separate questionnaires for contractors that perform RRP activities in PnCBs; lessors and managers of PnCBs that use their own staff to perform RRP activities; and building owners and occupants of PnCBs that use their own staff to perform RRP activities. The survey asks for readily available information, e.g., information known or easily accessible by respondents.

Burden statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 3 minutes per response for the screening portion of the survey, 30 minutes for the contractor questionnaire, 5 minutes for the property lessor/manager questionnaire, and 5 minutes for the building owner/occupant questionnaire. Burden is defined in 5 CFR 1320.3(b).

The ICR, which is available in the docket along with other related materials, provides a detailed explanation of the collection activities and the burden estimate that is only briefly summarized here:

Respondents/Affected Entities: Entities potentially affected by this ICR are RRP contractors that work in PnCBs, lessors and managers of PnCBs, and owners and occupants of PnCBs.

Estimated total number of potential respondents: 402.

Frequency of response: One occasion (one time).

Estimated total average number of responses for each respondent: 1.

Estimated total annual burden hours: 672 hours.

Estimated total annual costs: $ 39,191. This includes an estimated burden cost of $ 39,191 and an estimated cost of $ 0 for capital investment or maintenance and operational costs.

III. What is the Next Step in the Process for this ICR?

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 pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.12. EPA will issue another Federal Register document pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.5(a)(1)(iv) to announce the submission of the ICR to OMB and the opportunity to submit additional comments to OMB. If you have any questions about this ICR or the approval process, please contact the technical person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

List of Subjects

Environmental protection, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

Dated: November 27, 2013.

James Jones,

Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.