2015-18660. Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; NESHAP for Asbestos (Renewal)

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Environmental Protection Agency has submitted an information collection request (ICR), “NESHAP for Asbestos (40 CFR part 61, subpart M) (Renewal)” (EPA ICR No. 0111.14, OMB Control No. 2060-0101) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through July 31, 2015. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register (79 FR 30117) on May 27, 2014 during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. A fuller description of the ICR is given below, including its estimated burden and cost to the public. 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:

Additional comments may be submitted on or before August 31, 2015.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-OECA-2014-0025, to (1) EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), by email to [e-mail], or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460, and (2) OMB via email to [e-mail]. Address comments to OMB Desk Officer for EPA.

EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the public docket without change including any personal information provided, unless the comment includes profanity, threats, information claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI), or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Patrick Yellin, Monitoring, Assistance, and Media Programs Division, Office of Compliance, Mail Code 2227A, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: [phone]; fax number: [phone]; email address: [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. The docket can be viewed online at www.regulations.gov or in person at the EPA Docket Center, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC. The telephone number for the Docket Center is [phone]. For additional information about EPA's public docket, visit www.epa.gov/​dockets.

Abstract: The affected entities are subject to the General Provisions of the NESHAP at 40 CFR part 61, subpart A, and any changes, or additions to the General Provisions specified at 40 CFR part 61, subpart M. Owners or operators of the affected facilities must submit initial notification, performance tests, and periodic reports and results. 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. Reports, at a minimum, are required semiannually.

Form Numbers: None.

Respondents/affected entities: Demolition and renovation facilities; disposal of asbestos wastes; asbestos milling, manufacturing and fabricating; use of asbestos on roadways; asbestos waste conversion facilities; and the use of asbestos insulation and spray-on materials.

Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory (40 CFR part 61, subpart M).

Estimated number of respondents: 9,603 (total).

Frequency of response: Initially, occasionally, quarterly and semiannually.

Total estimated burden: 292,050 hours (per year). Burden is defined at 5 CFR 1320.3(b).

Total estimated cost: $29,370,000 (per year), includes $0 annualized capital or operation & maintenance costs.

Changes in the Estimates: There is an increase in the total estimated burden as currently identified in the OMB Inventory of Approved Burdens. The change is due to an increase in the asbestos demolition and renovation operations each year; it is not due to any program changes. We have updated respondent and Agency burdens to reflect EPA's current estimates of sources subject to the rule. We have also updated respondent and Agency labor rates, which were referenced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and OPM, respectively.

During the preparation of this ICR, EPA identified several discrepancies related to rule reporting/recordkeeping requirements and associated burdens. We have updated the respondent and Agency burden tables accordingly in order to reconcile the discrepancies. For example, the previous ICR did not correctly reflect the number of demolition/renovation contractors that will participate in refresher training. The revisions did not result in a substantial burden change, as the average reporting and recordkeeping burden hours per response in this ICR is equal to that of the previous ICR.

Courtney Kerwin,

Acting Director, Collection Strategies Division.