2011-26237. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; NESHAP for Pesticide Active Ingredient Production (Renewal)

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 November 10, 2011.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number EPA-HQ-OECA-2011-0207, 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 2822IT, 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, Monitoring, Assistance, 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 May 9, 2011 (76 FR 26900), 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 both 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-2011-0207, which is available for public viewing online at http://www.regulations.gov, or 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 either 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: NESHAP for Pesticide Active Ingredient Production (Renewal).

ICR Numbers: EPA ICR Number 1807.05, OMB Control Number 2060-0370.

ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2011. Under OMB regulations, the Agency may continue to conduct or sponsor the collection of information while this submission is pending at OMB.

Abstract: The National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Pesticide Active Ingredient Production were proposed on November 10, 1997 (62 FR 60579), and promulgated on June 23, 1999, (64 FR 33550).

Owners or operators of pesticide active ingredient (PAI) production facilities to which this regulation applies must choose one of the compliance options that are described in the rule or install and monitor a specific control system that reduces hazardous air pollutant (HAP) emissions to the compliance level. The respondents are subject to sections of subpart A of 40 CFR part 63 relating to NESHAP. These requirements include those associated with the applicability determination; the notification that the facility is subject to the rule; the notification of testing [control device performance test and continuous monitoring system (CMS) performance evaluation]; the results of performance testing and CMS performance evaluations; startup, shutdown, and malfunction reports; semiannual or quarterly summary reports, and/or excess emissions reports; and CMS performance reports. In addition to the requirements of subpart A, many respondents are required to submit pre-compliance plan and leak detection and repair (LDAR) reports; and plants that wish to implement emissions averaging provisions must submit an emission-averaging plan.

Respondents electing to comply with the emission limit or emission reduction requirements for process vents, storage tanks, or wastewater must record the values of equipment operating parameters as specified in 40 CFR 63.1367 of the rule.

Owners or operators of PAI production facilities subject to the rule must maintain a file of these measurements, and retain the file for at least five years following the date of such measurements, maintenance reports, and records. All reports are sent to the delegated state or local authority. In the event that there is no such delegated authority, the reports are sent directly to the EPA regional office. This information is being collected to assure compliance with 40 CFR part 63, subpart MMM, as authorized in section 112 and 114(a) of the Clean Air Act. The required information consists of emissions data and other information that have been determined to be private.

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 Number for EPA's regulations are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and 48 CFR chapter 15, and are identified on the form and/or instrument, if applicable.

Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 57 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: Pesticide active ingredient production.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 15.

Frequency of Response: Initially, quarterly, and semiannually.

Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 3,666.

Estimated Total Annual Cost: $366,098, which includes $346,223 in labor costs, no capital/startup costs, and $19,875 in operation and maintenance (O&M) costs.

Changes in the Estimates: The adjustment decrease in burden from the most recently approved ICR is due to a more accurate estimate of existing and anticipated new sources. After consulting with the EPA Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS), and a number of trade associations, our data indicates that there are approximately fifteen sources subject to the rule, as compared with the active ICR that shows eighty-eight sources. There are no new facilities expected to be constructed over the next three years of this ICR. The decline in the number of sources is due to: (1) Plant closures, including the cost to retrofit aging facilities increased due to the down turn in the economy; (2) corporate mergers; and (3) foreign competition. Therefore, there is a net decrease in the burden to industry.

Because there are no new sources with reporting requirements, no capital/startup costs are incurred. The only cost that is incurred is for the operation and maintenance (O&M) of the monitoring equipment, which have decreased by $333,125 due to the decline in the number of sources, as explained above.

Dated: October 4, 2011.

John Moses,

Director, Collection Strategies Division.