2019-11699. Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Federal Implementation Plan for Oil and Natural Gas Well Production Facilities, Fort Berthold Indian Reservation (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation), North Dakota (Renewal)

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), “Federal Implementation Plan for Oil and Natural Gas Well Production Facilities, Fort Berthold Indian Reservation (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation), North Dakota (Renewal).” (EPA ICR No. 2478.03, OMB Control No. 2008-0001) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). Before doing so, the EPA is soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described below. This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through January 31, 2020. 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.

DATES:

Written comments must be received on or before August 5, 2019.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R08-OAR-2012-0479 at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from www.regulations.gov. The EPA may publish any comment received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA will generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of the primary submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or other file sharing system). For additional submission methods, the full EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please visit http://www2.epa.gov/​dockets/​commenting-epa-dockets.

Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the www.regulations.gov index. 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 either electronically in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Air and Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 8, 1595 Wynkoop Street, Denver, Colorado 80202-1129. The EPA requests that if at all possible, you contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to view the hard copy of the docket. You may view the hard copy of the docket Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., excluding federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Gail Fallon, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8, Air and Radiation Division, (Mail Code 8P-ARD), 1595 Wynkoop Street, Denver, Colorado 80202-1129, [phone], [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Supporting documents which explain in detail the information that the EPA will be collecting are available in the public docket for this ICR. Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the EPA is soliciting comments and information to enable it 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. The 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. At that time, the EPA will issue another Federal Register notice to announce the submission of the ICR to OMB and the opportunity to submit additional comments to OMB.

Abstract

This ICR covers information collection requirements in the final Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) for Oil and Natural Gas Well Production Facilities; Fort Berthold Indian Reservation (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation), North Dakota (40 CFR part 49, subpart K, §§  49.4161 through 49.4168), herein referred to as the FBIR FIP. In general, owners or operators are required to: (1) Conduct certain monitoring; (2) keep specific records to be made available at the EPA's request; and (3) to prepare and submit an annual report (40 CFR part 49, subpart K, §§  49.4166 through 49.4168). These records and reports are necessary for the EPA Administrator (or the tribal agency if delegated), for example, to: (1) Confirm compliance status of stationary sources; (2) identify any stationary sources not subject to the requirements and identify stationary sources subject to the regulations; and (3) ensure that the stationary source control requirements are being achieved. All information submitted to us pursuant to the recordkeeping and reporting requirements for which a claim of confidentiality is made is safeguarded according to the agency policies set forth in 40 CFR part 2, subpart B.

Form Numbers: None.

Respondents/affected entities: Owners or operators of oil and natural gas facilities.

Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory (42 U.S.C. 7414).

Estimated number of respondents: 7,326 (total).

Frequency of response: On occasion, annually.

Total estimated burden: 112,000 hours (per year). Burden is defined at 5 CFR 1320.3(b)

Total estimated cost: $24,900,000 (per year), includes $8,470,000 annualized capital or operation and maintenance costs.

Changes in Estimates: There is likely an increase of 67,500 hours in the total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently approved by OMB. A burden, as defined by 5 CFR 1320.3(b), is the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or provide information to or for the EPA. The increase in total estimated respondent burden hours is due to the anticipated industry growth projected to occur over the next three-year period of this ICR. The increase in labor costs from the most-recently approved ICR is due to adjustments in increased labor rates. Also, the number of respondents has been updated to reflect the new estimated increased number of respondents since the approval of the prior ICR. Lastly, as a result of these increases and adjusting to 2018 dollars, the Average Annual Capital/Startup Costs and Total Operations & Maintenance Costs have both increased from the most-recently approved ICR.

Dated: May 30, 2019.

Debra Thomas,

Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region 8.