Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Environmental Impact Assessment of Nongovernmental Activities in Antarctica; EPA ICR No. 1808.06, OMB Control No. 2020-0007, 2106-2107 [2011-498]

Agencies

• ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 8 (Wednesday, January 12, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2106-2107]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-498]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OECA-2007-0468; FRL-9251-4]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Environmental Impact Assessment 
of Nongovernmental Activities in Antarctica; EPA ICR No. 1808.06, OMB 
Control No. 2020-0007

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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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 to renew an existing 
approved 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 February 11, 
2011.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OECA-
2007-0468, to (1) EPA online using https://www.regulations.gov (our 
preferred method), by e-mail to docket.oeca.epa.gov or by mail to: EPA 
Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Enforcement and 
Compliance Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 2822T, 
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: Aimee Hessert, NEPA Compliance 
Division, Office of Federal Activities, 2252A, Environmental Protection 
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone 
number: 202-564-0993; fax number: 202-564-0072; e-mail address: 
hessert.aimee@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 July 30, 2010, (75 FR 44944), EPA sought comments on this 
ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received 1 comment during the 
comment period, which is addressed in the ICR. 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-OECA-2007-0468, which is available for online viewing at 
https://www.regulations.gov, or in person viewing at the Enforcement and 
Compliance 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 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 is 202-566-1511.
    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: Environmental Impact Assessment of Nongovernmental 
Activities in Antarctica.
    ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. [1808.06], OMB Control No. 2020-0007.
    ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on January 31, 2011. 
Under OMB regulations, the Agency may continue to conduct or sponsor 
the collection of information while this submission is pending at 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. The OMB control numbers for EPA's regulations 
in title 40 of the CFR, after appearing in the Federal Register when

[[Page 2107]]

approved, are listed in 40 CFR part 9, 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 Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) regulations 
at 40 CFR part 8, Environmental Impact Assessment of Nongovernmental 
Activities in Antarctica (Rule), were promulgated pursuant to the 
Antarctic Science, Tourism, and Conservation Act of 1996 (Act), 16 
U.S.C. 2401 et seq., as amended, 16 U.S.C. 2403a, which implements the 
Protocol on Environmental Protection (Protocol) to the Antarctic Treaty 
of 1959 (Treaty). The Rule provides for assessment of the environmental 
impacts of nongovernmental activities in Antarctica, including tourism, 
for which the United States is required to give advance notice under 
Paragraph 5 of Article VII of the Treaty, and for coordination of the 
review of information regarding environmental impact assessments 
received from other Parties under the Protocol. The requirements of the 
Rule apply to operators of nongovernmental expeditions organized or 
proceeding from the territory of the United States to Antarctica and 
include commercial and non-commercial expeditions. Expeditions may 
include ship-based tours; yacht, skiing or mountaineering expeditions; 
privately funded research expeditions; and other nongovernmental 
activities. The Rule does not apply to individual U.S. citizens or 
groups of citizens planning travel to Antarctica on an expedition for 
which they are not acting as an operator. The provisions of the Rule 
are intended to ensure that potential environmental effects of 
nongovernmental activities undertaken in Antarctica are appropriately 
identified and considered by the operator during the planning process 
and that to the extent practicable appropriate environmental safeguards 
which would mitigate or prevent adverse impacts on the Antarctic 
environment are identified by the operator.
    Environmental Documentation: Persons subject to the Rule must 
prepare environmental documentation to support the operator's 
determination regarding the level of environmental impact of the 
proposed expedition. Environmental documentation includes a Preliminary 
Environmental Review Memorandum (PERM), an Initial Environmental 
Evaluation (IEE), or a Comprehensive Environmental Evaluation (CEE). 
The environmental document is submitted to the Office of Federal 
Activities (OFA). If the operator determines that an expedition may 
have: (1) Less than a minor or transitory impact, a PERM needs to be 
submitted no later than 180 days before the proposed departure to 
Antarctica; (2) no more than minor or transitory impacts, an IEE needs 
to be submitted no later than 90 days before the proposed departure; or 
(3) more than minor or transitory impacts, a CEE needs to be submitted. 
Operators who anticipate such activities are encouraged to consult with 
EPA as soon as possible regarding the date for submittal of the CEE. 
The Protocol and the Rule also require an operator to employ procedures 
to assess and provide a regular and verifiable record of the actual 
impacts of an activity which proceeds on the basis of an IEE or CEE. 
Moreover, an operator needs to monitor key environmental indicators for 
an activity proceeding on the basis of a CEE. An operator may also need 
to carry out monitoring in order to assess and verify the impact of an 
activity for which an IEE would be prepared. For activities that 
require an IEE, an operator should be able to use procedures currently 
being voluntarily utilized by operators to provide the required 
information. In cases of emergency related to the safety of human life 
or of ships, aircraft, equipment and facilities of high value, or the 
protection of the environment which would require an activity to be 
undertaken without completion of the documentation procedures set out 
in the Rule, the operator would need to notify the Department of State 
within 15 days of any activities which would have otherwise required 
preparation of a CEE, and provide a full explanation of the activities 
carried out within 45 days of those activities. Environmental documents 
(e.g., PERM, IEE, CEE) are submitted to OFA. Environmental documents 
are reviewed by OFA, in consultation with the National Science 
Foundation and other interested Federal agencies, and also made 
available to other Parties and the public as required under the 
Protocol or otherwise requested.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1,708 
hours annually, or 78 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 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: Nongovernmental operators with 
activities in Antarctica.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 22.
    Frequency of Response: Annual.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,708 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $136,675, includes $4,256 annualized 
capital or O&M costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is an increase of 45 hours in the 
total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of 
Approved ICR Burdens. This increase is the result of a change in the 
type of environmental documentation EPA anticipates the respondents 
will submit.

    Dated: January 6, 2011.
John Moses,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 2011-498 Filed 1-11-11; 8:45 am]
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