[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 38 (Wednesday, February 26, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8722-8724]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-4752]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-5694-2]
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request; Notification of Episodic Releases of Oil and Hazardous
Substances
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 notice announces that EPA is planning to submit the
following continuing Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB): Notification of Episodic Releases of
Oil and Hazardous Substances, EPA ICR Number 1049.07, OMB Control
Number 2050-0046, expiring June 30, 1997. Before submitting the ICR
renewal package to OMB for review and approval, EPA is soliciting
comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as
described below.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before April 28, 1997.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be submitted in triplicate to the following
address: Office of Emergency and Remedial Response (5201G), Attention:
Superfund Docket Clerk, Docket Number 102RQ-ER, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 401 M Street SW, Washington, DC 20460, (703) 603-
9232. Materials relevant to this rulemaking are contained in Public
Docket No. 102RQ-ER. This docket is located at 1235 Jefferson Davis
Highway (ground floor), Arlington, VA. Dockets may be inspected, by
appointment only, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. A
reasonable fee may be charged for copying docket material.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lynn Beasley, (703) 603-9086.
Facsimile number: (703) 603-9104. Electronic address:
beasley.lynn@epamail.epa.gov. Note that questions but not comments will
be accepted electronically.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Affected Entities: Entities potentially affected by this action are
those persons in charge of a facility or vessel that has released a
reportable quantity or more of a hazardous substance into the
environment or that has discharged oil into U.S. waters, causing a
sheen, violating applicable water quality standards, or causing a
sludge or emulsion to be deposited beneath the surface of the water or
upon adjoining shorelines.
Title: Notification of Episodic Releases of Oil and Hazardous
Substances, EPA ICR Number 1049.07, OMB Control Number 2050-0046,
expiring June 30, 1997.
Abstract: This ICR addresses the reporting and record keeping
activities required to comply with the release notification
requirements for hazardous substances and oil specified in section
103(a) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), as amended, and section 311 of the
Clean Water Act (CWA). These reporting requirements are codified at 40
CFR parts 110, 117, and 302. This ICR renews the collection activity
previously approved under OMB No. 2050-0046 and applies to the period
[[Page 8723]]
July 1, 1997 through June 30, 2000. Estimates of the burden placed on
industry to comply with the release notification requirements are
presented annually.
CERCLA section 103(a) and CWA section 311 require the person in
charge of a facility or vessel to immediately notify the National
Response Center (NRC) of hazardous substance releases into the
environment and oil discharges into U.S. waters. The regulated
community is expected to:
Gather necessary release data, such as the time, quantity,
and source of the release;
Brief the facility manager;
Consult with the environmental compliance expert;
Report the release to the NRC using a toll-free telephone
number, a facsimile number, or a telex number; and
Keep a log of release data such as the time, date, and
circumstance of the release. (This information is expected, but not
required under the regulations).
There are no record keeping requirements specified under CERCLA
section 103(a), CWA section 311, or their implementing regulations. The
person in charge of the facility or vessel, however, may elect to
maintain a log detailing the time, date, and circumstances associated
with the reported release. The purpose of maintaining a log of reported
releases is to track correspondence with response authorities and to
document compliance with release notification requirements under CERCLA
and the CWA. Because the respondent will probably perform this
activity, burden and cost estimates associated with record keeping are
included in the ICR.
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. For this
ICR, EPA would like to solicit comments 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.
Burden Statement: The current ICR assumes that notification
requires approximately two person-hours for releases of hazardous
substances and oil, including one hour of technical personnel time and
one hour of managerial time. Although neither CERCLA nor CWA require
that records of releases be kept, a facility would probably keep a log
of any calls made to government organizations. The burden associated
with internal record keeping is estimated at one technical hour and one
clerical hour per release; a ratio of one-tenth managerial hour to each
hour of clerical time is also assumed.
The estimated costs of completing the episodic release reports
required under CERCLA and the CWA are a function of the time expended
by industrial personnel and the hourly rates for the appropriate labor
categories. The number of burden hours is the same for the renewal ICR
as for the current ICR. The unit cost estimates for each category of
activities are based upon a managerial wage rate of $38.72 per hour, a
technical wage rate of $28.37 per hour, and a clerical wage rate of
$17.48 per hour. These wage rates, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
are the same as those used in the notice for renewal of the Spill
Prevention and Control Countermeasure ICR (61 FR 15246, April 5, 1996).
They include wages and salaries, benefit costs including paid leave,
supplemental pay, insurance, retirement and savings, legally required
benefits, severance pay, and supplemental unemployment benefits and
overhead costs, calculated in December, 1995 dollars.
Burden Hours and Unit Cost Per Respondent Activity and Annual Burden Hours and Costs Incurred by a Typical
Respondent
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Management Technical Clerical Total burden
Collection activity (38.72/hr) ($28.73/hr) $17.48/hr hours Unit cost
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Initial Telephone Call.......... 1.0 1.0 0 2.0 $67.09
Record keeping.................. 0.1 1.0 1.0 2.1 49.72
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Annual Burden for a Typical
Release........................ 1.1 2.0 1.0 4.1 116.81
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Past release reports were used to project future release reports.
The next exhibit shows the projected annual release reports, burden
hours, and costs under the current ICR. Projections were based on the
conservative use of assumptions and methodologies that tend to err on
the side of over predicting the number of releases.
Estimated Annual Burden Hours and Costs
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Number of Unit Total
Type of release Collection activity reportable burden Unit cost burden Annual cost
releases/year hours hours (Thousand $)
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All CERCLA Hazardous Substances................ Telephone Notification................ 6,519 2.0 $67.09 13,038 $437
Record keeping........................ 6,519 2.1 49.72 13,690 324
Oil............................................ Telephone Notification................ 22,685 2.0 67.09 45,307 1,522
Record keeping........................ 22,685 2.1 49.72 47,639 1,128
Total Aggregate Releases................... Telephone Notification................ 29,204 2.0 67.09 58,408 1,959
Record keeping........................ 29,204 2.1 49.72 61,329 1,452
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Annual Total............................. ...................................... 29,204 4.1 116.81 119,737 3,411
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[[Page 8724]]
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 purpose 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.
Dated: February 13, 1997.
Stephen D. Luftig,
Director, Office of Emergency and Remedial Response.
[FR Doc. 97-4752 Filed 2-25-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
