[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 228 (Tuesday, November 27, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60848-60849]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-25777]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-SFUND-2015-0100; FRL-9985-48-OEI]


Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and 
Approval; Comment Request; Continuous Release Reporting Requirement 
Including Analysis for Use of Continuous Release Reporting Forms 
(Renewal)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an 
information collection request (ICR), Continuous Release Reporting 
Requirement Including Analysis for Use of Continuous Release Reporting 
Forms (EPA ICR No. 1445.14, OMB Control No. 2050-0086) to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act. This is a proposed extension of the ICR, 
which is currently approved through November 30, 2018. Public comments 
were previously requested via the Federal Register on May 30, 2018 
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 December 27, 
2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
SFUND-2015-0100, online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred 
method), by email to [email protected] or by mail to: EPA Docket 
Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460.
    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: Wendy Hoffman, Regulations 
Implementation Division, Office of

[[Page 60849]]

Emergency Management, (5104A), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 
564-8794; email address: [email protected].

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, 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.
    Abstract: Continuous Release Reporting Requirements (CRRR) under 
Section 103(a) of CERCLA, as amended, requires the person in charge of 
a vessel or facility immediately to notify the National Response Center 
(NRC) of a hazardous substance release into the environment if the 
amount of the release equals or exceeds the substance's reportable 
quantity (RQ). If the source and chemical composition of the continuous 
release do not change and the level of the continuous release does not 
significantly increase, a follow-up written report to the EPA Region 
one year after submission of the initial written report is also 
required. The person in charge must notify the NRC and EPA Region of a 
change in the source or composition of the release, and under section 
103(a) of CERCLA, a significant increase must be reported immediately 
to the NRC. Finally, any change in information submitted in support of 
a continuous release notification must be reported to the EPA Region. 
Section 103(f)(2) of CERCLA provides facilities relief from per-
occurrence notification release requirements if the subject release is 
continuous and stable in quantity and rate.
    CRR allows the Federal government to determine whether a Federal 
response action is required to control or mitigate any potential 
adverse effects to public health, welfare or the environment. The 
release information is also available to EPA program offices and other 
Federal agencies who evaluate the potential need for additional 
regulations, new permitting requirements for specific substances or 
sources, or improved emergency response planning. State and local 
government authorities and facilities subject to the CRRR use release 
information for local emergency response planning. The public, which 
has access to release information through the Freedom of Information 
Act, may request release information on what types of releases are 
occurring in different localities and what actions, if any, are being 
taken to protect public health, welfare and the environment.
    Form numbers: EPA Form 6100-10, Continuous Release Reporting Form.
    Respondents/affected entities: Entities potentially affected by 
this action are not defined. The use and release of hazardous 
substances are pervasive throughout industry. EPA expects many 
different industrial categories to report hazardous substance releases 
under the provisions of the CRRR. No one industry sector or group of 
sectors is disproportionately affected by the information collection 
burden.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory if respondents want 
reduced reporting for continuous releases.
    Estimated number of respondents: 4,192.
    Frequency of response: On occasion.
    Total estimated burden: 334,472 hours (average per year). Burden is 
defined at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $19,797,899 (average per year), including 
$243,200 annualized capital or operation & maintenance costs (average 
per year).
    Changes in estimates: There is an increase of 8,890 hours in the 
total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently 
approved by OMB. This increase in burden results primarily from use of 
data on the actual number of continuous release reports from several 
regions and applying a growth rate consistent with prior years 
reporting. The average annual percent increase in facilities in the 
previous ICR was approximately 7.5%. The same percent increase was 
assumed for this ICR. The unit burden hours per respondent information 
collection activity remains the same as the previous ICR. In addition, 
this ICR includes the requirements under EPCRA section 304, which were 
inadvertently omitted in the previous renewal.

Courtney Kerwin,
Director, Regulatory Support Division.
[FR Doc. 2018-25777 Filed 11-26-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


