Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Coalbed Methane Extraction Sector Survey (New), EPA ICR Number 2291.01, OMB Control No. 2040-NEW, 40575-40576 [E8-16117]
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 136 / Tuesday, July 15, 2008 / Notices
not serve to make protestants parties to
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appropriate. Such notices, motions, or
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comment date, it is not necessary to
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electronic submission of protests and
interventions in lieu of paper using the
‘‘eFiling’’ link at https://www.ferc.gov.
Persons unable to file electronically
should submit an original and 14 copies
of the protest or intervention to the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,
888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC
20426.
This filing is accessible on-line at
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‘‘eLibrary’’ link and is available for
review in the Commission’s Public
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There is an ‘‘eSubscription’’ link on the
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Comment Date: 5 p.m. Eastern Time
on July 15, 2008.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E8–16050 Filed 7–14–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[EPA–HQ–OW–2006–0771, FRL–8692–2]
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission to OMB for
Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Coalbed Methane Extraction
Sector Survey (New), EPA ICR Number
2291.01, OMB Control No. 2040–NEW
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: In compliance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (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 for a new
collection. The ICR, which is abstracted
below, describes the nature of the
VerDate Aug<31>2005
15:01 Jul 14, 2008
Jkt 214001
information collection and its estimated
burden and cost.
DATES: Additional comments may be
submitted on or before August 14, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
referencing Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–
OW–2006–0771 to (1) EPA online using
https://www.regulations.gov (our
preferred method), by e-mail to OW–
Docket@epa.gov, or by mail to: EPA
Docket Center, Environmental
Protection Agency, Water Docket, Mail
Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave.,
NW., Washington, DC 20460, and (2)
OMB by mail to: 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: Mr.
Carey A. Johnston, Office of Science and
Technology, Mail Code 4303T,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington,
DC 20460; telephone number: (202)
566–1014; fax number: (202) 566–1053;
e-mail address: johnston.carey@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 January 25, 2008 (73 FR 4556), EPA
sought comments on this ICR pursuant
to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received
comments during the comment period
from 35 individuals or organizations
including industry representatives;
Federal, State, and Tribal
representatives; public interest groups
and landowners; and water treatment
experts. These comments are
summarized in this notice and
addressed in the supporting statement
for this ICR (see DCN 05763). Any
additional comments on this ICR should
be submitted to EPA and OMB within
30 days of this notice.
EPA has established a public docket
for this ICR under Docket ID No. EPA–
HQ–OW–2006–0771, which is available
for online viewing at https://
www.regulations.gov, or in person
viewing at the Water Docket in the EPA
Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West,
Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave.,
NW., Washington, DC. The EPA/DC
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 Water Docket is 202–
566–2426.
Use EPA’s electronic docket and
comment system at https://
www.regulations.gov, to submit or view
public comments, access the index
PO 00000
Frm 00097
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
40575
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 https://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 https://www.regulations.gov.
Title: Coalbed Methane Extraction
Sector Questionnaire (New).
ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 2291.01,
OMB Control No. 2040–NEW.
ICR Status: This ICR is for a new
information collection activity. 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 title 40 of the CFR
are displayed either by publication in
the Federal Register or by other
appropriate means, such as on the
related collection instrument or form, if
applicable. The display of OMB control
numbers in certain EPA regulations is
consolidated in 40 CFR part 9.
Abstract: The Clean Water Act (CWA)
directs EPA to develop regulations,
called effluent guidelines, to limit the
amount of pollutants that are discharged
to surface waters or to sewage treatment
plants. Coalbed methane (CBM)
extraction activities accounted for about
9.4 percent of the total U.S. natural gas
production in 2006 and are expanding
in multiple basins across the United
States. EPA’s effluent guidelines do not
currently regulate pollutant discharges
from CBM extraction operations.
CBM extraction requires removal of
large amounts of water from
underground coal seams before CBM
can be released. CBM wells have a
distinctive production cycle
characterized by an early stage when
large amounts of water are produced to
reduce reservoir pressure which in turn
encourages release of gas; a stable stage
when quantities of produced gas
increase as the quantities of produced
water decrease; and a late stage when
the amount of gas produced declines
and water production remains low.
Pollutants often found in these
wastewaters include chloride, sodium,
sulfate, bicarbonate, fluoride, iron,
barium, magnesium, ammonia, and
arsenic.
E:\FR\FM\15JYN1.SGM
15JYN1
mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES
40576
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 136 / Tuesday, July 15, 2008 / Notices
EPA identified the CBM sector as a
candidate for a detailed study in the
final 2006 Effluent Guidelines Program
Plan (71 FR 76656; December 21, 2006)
and also identified that it would
develop an industry questionnaire to
support this detailed study and would
seek OMB approval under the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). EPA is
conducting this review to determine if
it would be appropriate to conduct a
rulemaking to revise the effluent
guidelines for the Oil and Gas
Extraction Point Source Category (40
CFR part 435) to control pollutants
discharged in CBM produced water.
EPA again announced it will conduct an
ICR in the preliminary 2008 Plan (72 FR
61343; October 30, 2007) and sought
comments on this ICR pursuant to 5
CFR 1320.8(d) (73 FR 4556; January 25,
2008). For each industrial sector, EPA’s
planning process considers four factors:
pollutants discharged, current and
potential pollution prevention and
control technology options, growth and
economic affordability, and
implementation and efficiency
considerations of revising existing
effluent guidelines or publishing new
effluent guidelines. EPA will use this
ICR to collect technical and economic
information from a wide range of CBM
operations to address these factors. EPA
plans to collect information on
geographical and geologic differences in
the characteristics of CBM produced
waters, environmental data, current
regulatory controls, and availability and
affordability of treatment technology
options. See final 2006 Plan (71 FR
76666). Response to the questionnaire
will be mandatory for recipients. EPA
will administer the questionnaire using
its authority under Section 308 of the
CWA, 33 U.S.C. 1318.
EPA received 35 public comments
from industry, landowners, public
interest groups, water treatment experts,
and Federal agencies in response to its
notice on January 25, 2008 (73 FR 4556).
Industry commenters noted that CBM
well circumstances (e.g., produced
water quantity and quality, available
and applicable produced waste
management and control technologies,
etc.) are diverse and complex
geographically and geologically, and
that the initial questionnaire did not
address this complexity and variation.
These commenters also expressed
concerns about the survey burden and
about how the Agency would use the
data. Several industry comments also
indicated that there is a general lack of
availability and documentation of
common technologies that can be used
for CBM produced water. Finally,
VerDate Aug<31>2005
15:01 Jul 14, 2008
Jkt 214001
industry representatives asserted that
EPA does not need detailed financial
data and technical information
requested in the draft questionnaire to
determine whether regulations should
be developed. Federal agencies
requested that EPA develop different
groupings for survey respondents to
ensure that the survey adequately
captures the heterogeneity of different
CBM produced waters and industry
practices. They also suggested
additional questions to the survey to
better inform EPA’s decision-making
(e.g., specifically collect data to assess
the amount of open water in acres that
could attract migratory aquatic birds).
Public interest groups indicated that
produced water discharges from CBM
production have had both quality and
quantity impacts on surface water. They
also requested that EPA include
questions in the survey to assess the
costs to communities of not limiting
these discharges. EPA has a summary of
the ICR modifications and comment
responses in the supporting statement to
address these comments (see DCN
05763).
Burden Statement: The annual public
reporting and recordkeeping burden for
this collection of information is
estimated to average 5 hours for the
screener survey response and
approximately 80 hours for the detailed
survey 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:
Companies operating wells that produce
coalbed methane.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
484.
Frequency of Response: Once For
Screener Survey, Once for Respondents
Selected for Detailed Survey.
Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden:
40,017.
Estimated Total Annual Cost:
$2,140,796, includes $28,415
annualized capital and O&M costs.
PO 00000
Frm 00098
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Changes in the Estimates: There is an
increase of 40,017 hours in the total
estimated burden currently identified in
the OMB Inventory of Approved ICR
Burdens. This increase is due to the fact
that this is a new ICR which identifies
this industry for a detailed study for
EPA’s effluent guidelines planning
program.
Dated: July 9, 2008.
Sara Hisel-McCoy,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. E8–16117 Filed 7–14–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[FRL–8692–3]
Science Advisory Board Staff Office;
Notification of Upcoming Meeting of
the Science Advisory Board Particulate
Matter Research Centers Program
Advisory Panel
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA or Agency) Science
Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office
announces a public meeting of the SAB
Particulate Matter (PM) Research
Centers Program Advisory Panel to
comment on the Agency’s current PM
research centers program and provide
advice to EPA concerning future
structures and strategic direction for the
program.
DATES: The meeting dates are
Wednesday, October 1, 2008, from 8:30
a.m. to 5:30 p.m. through Thursday,
October 2, 2008, from 8:30 a.m. to 3
p.m. (Eastern Time).
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in
the SAB Conference Center located at:
1025 F Street, NW., Room 3705,
Washington, DC 20004.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Members of the public who wish to
obtain further information about this
meeting must contact Mr. Fred
Butterfield, Designated Federal Officer
(DFO). Mr. Butterfield may be contacted
at the EPA Science Advisory Board
(1400F), U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue,
NW., Washington, DC 20460; or via
telephone/voice mail: 202–343–9994;
fax 202–233–0643; or e-mail at
butterfield.fred@epa.gov. General
information about the EPA SAB, as well
as any updates concerning the meeting
announced in this notice, may be found
on the SAB Web site at https://
www.epa.gov/sab.
E:\FR\FM\15JYN1.SGM
15JYN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 136 (Tuesday, July 15, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40575-40576]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-16117]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OW-2006-0771, FRL-8692-2]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Coalbed Methane Extraction Sector
Survey (New), EPA ICR Number 2291.01, OMB Control No. 2040-NEW
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (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 for a new
collection. The ICR, which is abstracted below, describes the nature of
the information collection and its estimated burden and cost.
DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before August 14,
2008.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2006-0771 to (1) EPA online using https://www.regulations.gov (our
preferred method), by e-mail to OW-Docket@epa.gov, or by mail to: EPA
Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Water Docket, Mail Code
28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, and (2) OMB
by mail to: 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: Mr. Carey A. Johnston, Office of
Science and Technology, Mail Code 4303T, Environmental Protection
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone
number: (202) 566-1014; fax number: (202) 566-1053; e-mail address:
johnston.carey@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 January 25, 2008 (73 FR 4556), EPA sought comments on this
ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received comments during the
comment period from 35 individuals or organizations including industry
representatives; Federal, State, and Tribal representatives; public
interest groups and landowners; and water treatment experts. These
comments are summarized in this notice and addressed in the supporting
statement for this ICR (see DCN 05763). Any additional comments on this
ICR should be submitted to EPA and OMB within 30 days of this notice.
EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID
No. EPA-HQ-OW-2006-0771, which is available for online viewing at
https://www.regulations.gov, or in person viewing at the Water Docket in
the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution
Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA/DC 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 Water Docket is 202-566-2426.
Use EPA's electronic docket and comment system at https://
www.regulations.gov, to 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 https://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 https://
www.regulations.gov.
Title: Coalbed Methane Extraction Sector Questionnaire (New).
ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 2291.01, OMB Control No. 2040-NEW.
ICR Status: This ICR is for a new information collection activity.
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 title 40 of the CFR are displayed either by publication in the
Federal Register or by other appropriate means, such as on the related
collection instrument or form, if applicable. The display of OMB
control numbers in certain EPA regulations is consolidated in 40 CFR
part 9.
Abstract: The Clean Water Act (CWA) directs EPA to develop
regulations, called effluent guidelines, to limit the amount of
pollutants that are discharged to surface waters or to sewage treatment
plants. Coalbed methane (CBM) extraction activities accounted for about
9.4 percent of the total U.S. natural gas production in 2006 and are
expanding in multiple basins across the United States. EPA's effluent
guidelines do not currently regulate pollutant discharges from CBM
extraction operations.
CBM extraction requires removal of large amounts of water from
underground coal seams before CBM can be released. CBM wells have a
distinctive production cycle characterized by an early stage when large
amounts of water are produced to reduce reservoir pressure which in
turn encourages release of gas; a stable stage when quantities of
produced gas increase as the quantities of produced water decrease; and
a late stage when the amount of gas produced declines and water
production remains low. Pollutants often found in these wastewaters
include chloride, sodium, sulfate, bicarbonate, fluoride, iron, barium,
magnesium, ammonia, and arsenic.
[[Page 40576]]
EPA identified the CBM sector as a candidate for a detailed study
in the final 2006 Effluent Guidelines Program Plan (71 FR 76656;
December 21, 2006) and also identified that it would develop an
industry questionnaire to support this detailed study and would seek
OMB approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). EPA is conducting
this review to determine if it would be appropriate to conduct a
rulemaking to revise the effluent guidelines for the Oil and Gas
Extraction Point Source Category (40 CFR part 435) to control
pollutants discharged in CBM produced water. EPA again announced it
will conduct an ICR in the preliminary 2008 Plan (72 FR 61343; October
30, 2007) and sought comments on this ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d)
(73 FR 4556; January 25, 2008). For each industrial sector, EPA's
planning process considers four factors: pollutants discharged, current
and potential pollution prevention and control technology options,
growth and economic affordability, and implementation and efficiency
considerations of revising existing effluent guidelines or publishing
new effluent guidelines. EPA will use this ICR to collect technical and
economic information from a wide range of CBM operations to address
these factors. EPA plans to collect information on geographical and
geologic differences in the characteristics of CBM produced waters,
environmental data, current regulatory controls, and availability and
affordability of treatment technology options. See final 2006 Plan (71
FR 76666). Response to the questionnaire will be mandatory for
recipients. EPA will administer the questionnaire using its authority
under Section 308 of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. 1318.
EPA received 35 public comments from industry, landowners, public
interest groups, water treatment experts, and Federal agencies in
response to its notice on January 25, 2008 (73 FR 4556). Industry
commenters noted that CBM well circumstances (e.g., produced water
quantity and quality, available and applicable produced waste
management and control technologies, etc.) are diverse and complex
geographically and geologically, and that the initial questionnaire did
not address this complexity and variation. These commenters also
expressed concerns about the survey burden and about how the Agency
would use the data. Several industry comments also indicated that there
is a general lack of availability and documentation of common
technologies that can be used for CBM produced water. Finally, industry
representatives asserted that EPA does not need detailed financial data
and technical information requested in the draft questionnaire to
determine whether regulations should be developed. Federal agencies
requested that EPA develop different groupings for survey respondents
to ensure that the survey adequately captures the heterogeneity of
different CBM produced waters and industry practices. They also
suggested additional questions to the survey to better inform EPA's
decision-making (e.g., specifically collect data to assess the amount
of open water in acres that could attract migratory aquatic birds).
Public interest groups indicated that produced water discharges from
CBM production have had both quality and quantity impacts on surface
water. They also requested that EPA include questions in the survey to
assess the costs to communities of not limiting these discharges. EPA
has a summary of the ICR modifications and comment responses in the
supporting statement to address these comments (see DCN 05763).
Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 5
hours for the screener survey response and approximately 80 hours for
the detailed survey 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: Companies operating wells that
produce coalbed methane.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 484.
Frequency of Response: Once For Screener Survey, Once for
Respondents Selected for Detailed Survey.
Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 40,017.
Estimated Total Annual Cost: $2,140,796, includes $28,415
annualized capital and O&M costs.
Changes in the Estimates: There is an increase of 40,017 hours in
the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of
Approved ICR Burdens. This increase is due to the fact that this is a
new ICR which identifies this industry for a detailed study for EPA's
effluent guidelines planning program.
Dated: July 9, 2008.
Sara Hisel-McCoy,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. E8-16117 Filed 7-14-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
