E8-4149. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; NSPS for Municipal Waste Combustors (Renewal); EPA ICR Number 1506.11, OMB Control Number 2060-0210

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 April 3, 2008.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number EPA-HQ-OECA-2007-0056, 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 2822T, 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, Compliance Assessment 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]; 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-HQ-OECA-2007-0056 which is available for public viewing online at http://www.regulations.gov,, 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 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: NSPS for Municipal Waste Combustors (Renewal).

ICR Numbers: EPA ICR Number 1506.11, OMB Control Number 2060-0210.

ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on April 30, 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 New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for Municipal Waste Combustors apply to municipal waste combustors with unit capacities greater than 225 megagrams per day. Owners or operators of the affected facilities must make one-time-only notifications and reports and must keep records of all facilities subject to NSPS requirements. 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. The pollutants of concern for subpart Ea are metals, municipal waste combustor (MWC) organics, MWC acid gases, and nitrogen oxides. In subpart Eb the additional pollutants of concern are cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg). Subparts Ea and Eb require owners and operators with unit capacity above 225 megagrams per day to notify the agency of intent to construct and initiate operation of a new, modified or reconstructed MWC. The notification must contain supporting information regarding unit design capacity; the calculations used to determine capacity, and estimated startup dates.

Owners and operators must submit semiannual and annual compliance reports. In addition, facilities subject to subpart Eb are required to keep records of the weekly amount of carbon used for activated carbon injection and to calculate the estimated hourly carbon injection rate for hours of operation as a means of determining continuous compliance for Hg. Annual reports of excess emissions are required under subpart Ea, while semiannual reports of excess emissions are required under subpart Eb. These notifications, reports, and records are essential in determining compliance and are required, in general, of all sources subject to the standard.

Notifications are used to inform the Agency or delegated authority when a source becomes subject to the standard. The reviewing authority may then inspect the source to check if the pollution control devices are properly installed and operated, and the standard is being met. Performance test reports are needed as these are the Agency's records of a source's initial capability to comply with the emission standards, and serve as a record of the operating conditions under which compliance was achieved. The information generated by monitoring, recordkeeping and reporting requirements described in this ICR is used by the Agency to ensure that facilities affected by the standard continue to operate the control equipment and achieve continuous compliance with the regulation.

Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 198 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: Municipal waste combustors.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 12.

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

Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 20,421.

Estimated Total Annual Cost: $1,635,293 which includes $60,000 annualized capital costs and $99,000 in O&M costs.

Changes in the Estimates: There is no change in the labor hours or cost in this ICR compared to the previous ICR. This is due to two considerations. First, the regulations have not changed over the past three years and are not anticipated to change over the next three years. Secondly, the growth rate for the industry is very low, negative or non-existent, so there is no significant change in the overall burden. Since there are no changes in the regulatory requirements and there is no significant industry growth, the labor hours and cost figures in the previous ICR are used in this ICR and there is no change in burden to industry.

Dated: February 20, 2008.

Sara Hisel-McCoy,

Director, Collection Strategies Division.