Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review and Approval; Comment Request; NSPS for Sewage Sludge Treatment Plants (40 CFR Part 60, Subpart O) (Renewal), ICR Number 1063.09, OMB Number 2060-0035

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, 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. This ICR is scheduled to expire on September 30, 2004. Under OMB regulations, the Agency may continue to conduct or sponsor the collection of information while this submission is pending at OMB. This ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated burden and cost.

DATES:

Additional comments may be submitted on or before August 23, 2004.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number OECA-2003-0141, to (1) EPA online using EDOCKET (our preferred method), by e-mail to docket.oeca@epa.gov, or by mail to: Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), Enforcement and Compliance Docket and Information Center, EPA West, Mail Code 2201T, 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 (Mail Code 2223A), Office of Compliance, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 564-4113; fax number: (202) 564-0050; e-mail address: williams.learia@epa.gov.

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 3, 2003 (68 FR 62289), EPA sought comments on this ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received no comments.

EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID Number OECA-2003-0141, which is available for public viewing at the Enforcement and Compliance Docket and Information Center in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room B102, 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 (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the Enforcement and Compliance Docket and Information Center Docket is: (202) 566-1752. An electronic version of the public docket is available through EPA Dockets (EDOCKET) at http://www.epa.gov/edocket. Use EDOCKET to submit or view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the public docket, and to access those documents in the public docket that are available electronically. When in the system, select “search,” then key in the docket ID number identified above.

Any comments related to this ICR should be submitted to EPA and OMB within 30 days of this notice. EPA's policy is that public comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper, will be made available for public viewing in EDOCKET 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. When EPA identifies a comment containing copyrighted material, EPA will provide a reference to that material in the version of the comment that is placed in EDOCKET. The entire printed comment, including the copyrighted material, will be available in the public docket. Although identified as an item in the official docket, information claimed as CBI, or whose disclosure is otherwise restricted by statute, is not included in the official public docket, and will not be available for public viewing in EDOCKET. For further information about the electronic docket, see EPA's Federal Register notice describing the electronic docket at 67 FR 38102 (May 31, 2002), or go to http://www.epa.gov/edocket.

Title: NSPS for Sewage Sludge Treatment Plants (40 CFR part 60, subpart O) (Renewal).

Abstract: This ICR contains recordkeeping and reporting requirements that are mandatory for compliance with 40 CFR part 60, subpart O, New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for sewage sludge treatment plant incinerators.

The control of emissions of particulate matter from sewage treatment plant incinerators requires not only the installation of properly designed equipment, but also the operation and maintenance of that equipment. Particulate matter emissions from sewage treatment plant incinerators are the result of the physical and chemical characteristics of the sludge feed and fuel use, the excess air rate, the temperature profile within the incinerator, the pressure drop across the control device, and operating procedures. These standards rely on the reduction of particulate matter emissions by wet scrubbers.

In order to ensure compliance with these standards, adequate recordkeeping is necessary. In the absence of such information, enforcement personnel would be unable to determine whether the standards, that are protectively of public health, are being met on a continuous basis, as required by the Clean Air Act.

These standards require initial notification reports with respect to construction, modification, reconstruction, startups, shutdowns, and malfunctions. The standards also require reports on initial performance tests and semiannual reports of noncompliance.

Under the standard, the data collected by the affected industry is retained at the facility for a minimum of two (2) years and make it available for inspection by the Administrator.

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 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 55 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; 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: Owners/operators of Sewage Sludge Treatment Plants.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 54.

Frequency of Response: Initially and semiannually.

Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 6,214 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Costs: $2,380,931, which includes $100,000 annualized capital/startup costs, $1,890,000 annual O&M costs, and $390,931 annual labor costs.

Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 2,875 hours in the total estimated burden. This decrease in the burden from the most recently approved ICR is due to more accurate estimates of existing and anticipated new sources.