[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 190 (Tuesday, October 1, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52104-52105]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-21327]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2013-0691; FRL-10000-72-OAR]


Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; 
Implementation of the Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) National Ambient 
Air Quality Standards (Renewal)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to 
submit an information collection request (ICR), ``Fine Particulate 
Matter (PM2.5) NAAQS Implementation Rule (Renewal)'' (EPA 
ICR No. 2258.05, OMB Control No. 2060-0611), to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). Before doing so, the EPA is 
soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the proposed 
information collection as described below. This is a proposed renewal 
of the existing ICR for the PM2.5 NAAQS State Implementation 
Plan (SIP) Requirements Rule, which is currently approved through 
January 31, 2020. An Agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is 
not required to a collection of information unless it displays a 
currently valid OMB control number.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before December 2, 2019.

[[Page 52105]]


ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2013-0691, online using http://www.regulations.gov (our preferred 
method), or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection 
Agency, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 
20460.
    The 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, or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Leigh Herrington, Office of Air 
Quality Planning and Standards, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 
by phone at (919) 541-0882 or by email at herrington.leigh@epa.gov.

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 http://www.regulations.gov, or in person at the EPA Docket Center, WJC West, 
Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC The telephone 
number for the Docket Center is (202) 566-1744. For additional 
information about EPA's public docket, visit http://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    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. 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.
    Abstract: The final PM2.5 NAAQS State Implementation 
Plan (SIP) Requirements Rule (PM2.5 SIP Requirements Rule) 
was effective on October 24, 2016 (81 FR 58010). This rule provides the 
framework of Clean Air Act (CAA) requirements for air agencies to 
develop state implementation plans to help attain and maintain the 
PM2.5 NAAQS. States have applied this framework to develop 
attainment plans and redesignation requests and maintenance plans for 
areas designated nonattainment for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS, the 
2006 PM2.5 NAAQS, and the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS.
    The ICR finalized with the PM2.5 NAAQS SIP Requirements 
Rule estimated, for the 3 years following the ICR approval date, the 
burden associated with plan development and plan revisions related to 
ongoing implementation efforts in 31 areas designated nonattainment for 
the 1997, 2006 and 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS. The estimates included 
the burden to develop and submit, and the burden to the EPA to review 
and to approve or disapprove, attainment plans to meet the requirements 
prescribed in CAA sections 110 and part D, subparts 1 and 4 of title I. 
A PM2.5 NAAQS attainment plan contains rules and other 
measures designed to improve air quality and achieve the NAAQS by the 
deadlines established under the CAA. It also must address several 
additional CAA requirements related to demonstrating timely attainment 
and must contain contingency measures in the event the nonattainment 
area does not achieve reasonable further progress throughout the 
attainment period or in the event the area does not attain the NAAQS by 
its attainment date. States that have attained by the applicable 
attainment date may be eligible to submit a redesignation request and 
maintenance plan to receive a redesignation from ``nonattainment'' to 
``attainment.'' After a state submits an attainment or maintenance 
plan, the CAA requires the EPA to approve or disapprove the plan. 
Tribes may develop or submit attainment plans, but are not required to 
do so.
    This ICR supersedes the existing ICR--for which the EPA is 
proposing renewal in this action--for purposes of PM2.5 
NAAQS implementation.
    Respondents/affected entities: State and local governments.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory.
    Estimated number of responses: 18.
    Frequency of response: Once per triggering event [i.e., an air 
agency is required to revise and submit a SIP revision when the area is 
reclassified to a higher classification, when an areas fails to achieve 
reasonable further progress, when a Serious nonattainment area fails to 
timely attain, and/or when a state requests redesignation for a 
PM2.5 nonattainment area that attains the NAAQS)].
    Estimated burden for respondents: 25,500 hours per year. Burden is 
defined at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Estimated labor cost for respondents: $1.6M (present value) per 
year.
    Estimated cost: $0 annualized capital or operation & maintenance 
costs.
    Changes in estimates: The EPA expects there to be a reduction in 
excess of 50 percent in the total estimated respondent burden for the 
period covered by this ICR (February 1, 2020-January 31, 2023) compared 
with the information collection that is currently approved by OMB. This 
decrease is due to the fact that the number of areas for which states 
have ongoing attainment planning obligations has decreased greatly. For 
the current ICR, the EPA estimated that 31 nonattainment areas would 
have planning requirements for the current three-year period (February 
1, 2017-January 31, 2020). For this renewal, the EPA estimates that 
only 18 nonattainment areas will have planning requirements to meet 
during the renewal period (February 1, 2020-January 31, 2023). Three of 
the areas are nonattainment for multiple PM2.5 NAAQS, thus 
allowing those affected states to take a streamlined approach to 
meeting their ongoing planning requirements. The burden estimate, 
detailed in the supporting statement located in the docket for this 
proposed renewal, accounts for potential new SIP revisions from states 
with nonattainment areas subject to reclassification and possible SIP 
revisions (in the form of maintenance plans) from states with areas 
that are attaining, or are expected to attain, the NAAQS.

    Dated: September 19, 2019.
Scott Mathias,
Acting Director, Air Quality Policy Division.
[FR Doc. 2019-21327 Filed 9-30-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


