2011-8870. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Clean Air Act Tribal Authority (Renewal)

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (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 May 13, 2011 .

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-OAR-2004-0093, to (1) EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), by e-mail [e-mail], or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Air and Radiation Docket Information Center, Mail Code: 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460, and (2) OMB by mail to: 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:

Darrel Harmon, Office of Air and Radiation, Immediate Office, (6101A), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-564-7416; fax number: 202-564-0394; e-mail address: [e-mail] or Danielle Dixon, Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air and Radiation, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Outreach and Information Division, (C304-01), Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711; telephone number: 919-541-2808; fax number 919-541-0072; 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 November 29, 2010 (75 FR 73076), 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 No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2004-0093, which is available for public viewing on-line at http://www.regulations.gov,, or in person viewing at the Air Docket in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA/DC 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 202-566-1744, and the telephone number for the Air Docket is 202-566-1742.

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: Clean Air Act Tribal Authority (Renewal).

ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 1676.06, OMB Control No. 2060-0306.

ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on 05/31/2011. 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 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 in certain EPA regulations is consolidated in 40 CFR part 9.

Abstract: This Information Collection Request (ICR) seeks authorization for Tribes to demonstrate their eligibility to be treated in the same manner as states under the Clean Air Act (CAA) and to submit applications to implement a CAA program. This ICR extends the current collection of information period for determining eligibility, which expires May 31, 2011. The ICR also is revising the estimates of burden costs for Tribes in completing a CAA application.

The program regulation provides for Indian Tribes, if they so choose, to assume responsibility for the development and implementation of CAA programs. The regulation, Indian Tribes: Air Quality Planning and Management (Tribal Authority Rule [TAR] 40 CFR parts 9, 35, 49, 50 and 81), sets forth how Tribes may seek authority to implement their own air quality planning and management programs. The rule establishes: (1) Which CAA provisions Indian Tribes may seek authority to implement, (2) what requirements the Tribes must meet when seeking such authorization, and (3) what Federal financial assistance may be available to help Tribes establish and manage their air quality programs. The TAR provides Tribes the authority to administer air quality programs over all air resources, including non-Indian owned fee lands, within the exterior boundaries of a reservation and other areas over which the Tribe can demonstrate jurisdiction. An Indian Tribe that takes responsibility for a CAA program would essentially be treated in the same way as a state would be treated for that program.

Responses to the collection of information are required to obtain a benefit (40 CFR parts 9, 35, 49, 50 and 81). Any information submitted to the Agency for which a claim of confidentiality is made will be safeguarded according to the Agency policies set forth in Title 40, Chapter 1, part 2, subpart B—Confidentiality of Business Information (see 40 CFR 2; 41 FR 36902, September 1, 1976; amended by 43 FR 40000, September 8, 1978; 43 FR 42251, September 20, 1978; 44 FR 17674, March 23, 1979). There is no sensitive information required.

Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 40 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: States, locals, Indian Tribes.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 8.

Frequency of Response: One-time application.

Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 320.

Estimated Total Annual Cost: $18,896.00, which includes $0 annualized capital or O&M costs.

Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 40 hours in the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of Approved ICR Burdens. The total burden hours have been updated to reflect new estimates that are based on the number of applications the EPA received under the previous ICR and what EPA estimates it will receive in the upcoming years. There is no difference between the active ICR and this ICR in the number of hours per response.

Dated: April 7, 2011.

John Moses,

Director, Collection Strategies Division.