Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; TSCA Section 402 and Section 404 Training and Certification, Accreditation and Standards for Lead-Based Paint Activities; EPA ICR No. 1715.06, OMB No. 2070-0155

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 the following Information Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval: TSCA Section 402 and Section 404 Training and Certification, Accreditation and Standards for Lead-Based Paint Activities; EPA ICR# 1715.06; OMB# 2070-0155. This is a request to renew an existing approved collection. This ICR is scheduled to expire on August 31, 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 cost.

DATES:

Additional comments may be submitted on or before December 20, 2004.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, referencing docket ID Number OPPT-2004-0081, to (1) EPA online using EDOCKET (our preferred method), by email to oppt.ncic@epa.gov or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 7407T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., 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:

Barbara Cunningham, Acting Director, Environmental Assistance Division, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 7408, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-554-1404; e-mail address: TSCA-Hotline@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 June 1, 2004, EPA sought comments on this renewal ICR (69 FR 30904). EPA sought comments on this ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received no comments during the comment period.

EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID No. OPPT-2004-0081, which is available for public viewing at the OPPT Docket in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public Reading Room is open from 8 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 Pollution Prevention and Toxics Docket is 202-566-0280. 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. Once 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, 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: TSCA Section 402 and Section 404 Training and Certification, Accreditation and Standards for Lead-Based Paint Activities.

Abstract: This information collection applies to reporting and recordkeeping requirements found in sections 402 and 404 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and applicable regulations at 40 CFR 745. The purposes of the requirements under TSCA section 402 are to ensure that individuals conducting activities that prevent, detect and eliminate hazards associated with lead-based paint in residential facilities, particularly those occupied or used by children, are properly trained and certified, that training programs providing instruction in such activities are accredited, and that these activities are conducted according to reliable, effective and safe work practice standards. The TSCA section 404 regulations include reporting and recordkeeping requirements that apply to states and Indian Tribes that seek Federal authorization to administer and enforce state and tribal programs that regulate lead-based paint activities based on the section 402 regulations. The overall goals of the section 402 and section 404 regulations and the reporting and recordkeeping requirements found therein are to ensure the availability of a trained and qualified workforce to identify and address lead-based paint hazards in residences, and to protect the general public from exposure to lead hazards.

Responses to the collection of information are mandatory (see 40 CFR part 745). Respondents may claim all or part of a notice as CBI. EPA will disclose information that is covered by a CBI claim only to the extent permitted by, and in accordance with, the procedures in 40 CFR part 2.

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 40 CFR are listed in 40 CFR part 9 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 range between 0.4 hours and 79.6 hours per response, depending on the type of respondent. 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: Companies or firms that provide training in lead-based paint activities; companies or firms that are engaged in lead-based paint activities; state agencies that administer lead-based paint activities.

Frequency of Collection: Annually.

Estimated No. of Respondents: 23,433.

Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 440,813 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Costs: $15,648,532.

Changes in Burden Estimates: There is an increase of 49,639 hours (from 391,174 hours to 440,813 hours) in the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of Approved ICR Burdens. This increase results from revisions in the number of respondents and/or the number of activities or events for which respondents must provide information, based on EPA's experience since the approval of the most recent ICR. This increase represents an adjustment.