Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request, 73520-73521 [2013-29192]

Agencies

• ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 235 (Friday, December 6, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73520-73521]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-29192]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPPT-2013-0715; FRL-9902-85]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), this 
document announces that EPA is planning to submit an Information 
Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). 
The ICR, entitled: ``Survey of the Public and Commercial Building 
Industry'' and identified by EPA ICR No. 2494.01 and OMB Control No. 
2070-NEW, represents a new request. Before submitting the ICR to OMB 
for review and approval, EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects 
of the proposed information collection that is summarized in this 
document. The ICR and accompanying material are available in the docket 
for public review and comment.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before February 4, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2013-0715, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Document Control Office (7407M), Office of Pollution 
Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.
     Hand Delivery: OPPT Document Control Office (DCO), EPA 
East Bldg., Rm. 6428, 1201 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC. ATTN: 
Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2013-0715. The DCO is open from 8 a.m. to 
4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone 
number for the DCO is (202) 564-8930. Such deliveries are only accepted 
during the DCO's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements 
should be made for deliveries of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPPT-
2013-0715. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the docket without change and may be made available online at https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, 
unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to 
be CBI or otherwise protected through regulations.gov or email. The 
regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, which means 
EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you 
provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an email comment 
directly to EPA without going through regulations.gov, your email 
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the 
comment that is placed in the docket and made available on the 
Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you 
include your name and other contact information in the body of your 
comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your 
comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for 
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic 
files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of 
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the docket index 
available at https://www.regulations.gov. Although listed in the index, 
some information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other 
material, such as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only 
in hard copy. Publicly available docket materials are available 
electronically at https://www.regulations.gov, or, if only available in 
hard copy, at the OPPT Docket. The OPPT Docket is located in the EPA 
Docket Center (EPA/DC) at Rm. 3334, EPA West Bldg., 1301 Constitution 
Ave. NW., Washington, DC. The EPA/DC Public Reading Room hours of 
operation are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding 
legal holidays. The telephone number of the EPA/DC Public Reading Room 
is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the OPPT Docket is 
(202) 566-0280. Docket visitors are required to show photographic 
identification, pass through a metal detector, and sign the EPA visitor 
log. All visitor bags are processed through an X-ray machine and 
subject to search. Visitors will be provided an EPA/DC badge that must 
be visible at all times in the building and returned upon departure.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical information contact: 
Judith Brown, Economics, Exposure and Technology Division (7406M), 
Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental Protection 
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; 
telephone number: (202) 564-3218; fax number: (202) 564-8893; email 
address: brown.judith@epa.gov.
    For general information contact: The TSCA-Hotline, ABVI-Goodwill, 
422 South Clinton Ave., Rochester, NY 14620; telephone number: (202) 
554-1404; email address: TSCA-Hotline@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. What Information is EPA Particularly Interested in?

    Pursuant to PRA section 3506(c)(2)(A) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), 
EPA specifically solicits comments and information to enable it to:
    1. 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.
    2. Evaluate the accuracy of the Agency's estimates of the burden of 
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used.
    3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected.
    4. 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. In particular, EPA is requesting comments from 
very small businesses (those that employ less than 25) on examples of 
specific additional efforts that EPA could make to reduce the paperwork 
burden for very small businesses affected by this collection.

II. What Information Collection Activity or ICR Does this Action Apply 
to?

    Title: Survey of the Public and Commercial Building Industry.
    ICR number: EPA ICR No. 2494.01.
    OMB control number: OMB Control No. 2070-NEW.

[[Page 73521]]

    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 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), after appearing 
in the Federal Register when 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 for certain EPA 
regulations is consolidated in 40 CFR part 9.
    Abstract: EPA has initiated a proceeding to investigate whether and 
what type of regulatory action might be appropriate to control 
exposures to lead dust resulting from renovation, repair, and painting 
(RRP) activities in public and commercial buildings (PnCBs). These 
proceedings have been described in previous Federal Register documents, 
entitled ``Lead; Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program for Public 
and Commercial Buildings'' (advance notice of proposed rulemaking) (75 
FR 24848, May 6, 2010) (FRL-8823-6); ``Lead; Renovation, Repair, and 
Painting Program for Public and Commercial Buildings; Request for 
Information and Advance Notice of Public Meeting'' (77 FR 76996, 
December 31, 2012) (FRL-9373-7); and ``Lead; Renovation, Repair, and 
Painting Program for Public and Commercial Buildings; Notice of Public 
Meeting and Reopening of Comment Period'' (78 FR 27906, May 13, 2013) 
(FRL-9385-6).
    EPA plans to conduct a survey to collect information on: Building 
and activity patterns that may affect exposures to lead dust from RRP 
activities in PnCBs; the number of firms that perform RRP activities in 
PnCBs; the types and numbers of RRP activities that are performed; the 
extent to which various work practices are currently being used in RRP 
jobs in PnCBs; and the extent to which various work practices that help 
with the containment and cleanup of lead dust are currently being used 
in RRP jobs performed in PnCBs.
    The information collected through the survey (along with 
information submitted to EPA in response to the previous Federal 
Register documents for this proceeding, as well as other data sources) 
will allow EPA to predict a baseline for the incidence of different 
types of RRP activities that disturb lead-based paint in PnCBs, the 
methods that are used to conduct these activities, the work practices 
that are used to contain and clean the resulting dust, and the 
characteristics of the buildings where the work is performed. EPA will 
use this information to estimate the resulting exposures to lead dust, 
which will inform Agency decisionmaking about the need for and scope of 
potential regulatory or other actions to reduce exposures to lead dust 
from RRP activities in PnCBs. If EPA determines that a regulation is 
needed, the Agency will use this data to assess the incremental 
benefits and costs of potential options to reduce such exposures. The 
information collected through the survey is necessary to inform Agency 
decisionmakers about the need for and scope of regulatory or other 
actions to protect against risks created by RRP activities disturbing 
lead-based paint in PnCBs.
    The information collection will be a one-time data collection. 
Participation will be voluntary. Establishments will be selected using 
a stratified random sampling method. EPA plans to have a total of 402 
respondents complete a questionnaire. The information collection will 
utilize separate questionnaires for contractors that perform RRP 
activities in PnCBs; lessors and managers of PnCBs that use their own 
staff to perform RRP activities; and building owners and occupants of 
PnCBs that use their own staff to perform RRP activities. The survey 
asks for readily available information, e.g., information known or 
easily accessible by respondents.
    Burden statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 3 
minutes per response for the screening portion of the survey, 30 
minutes for the contractor questionnaire, 5 minutes for the property 
lessor/manager questionnaire, and 5 minutes for the building owner/
occupant questionnaire. Burden is defined in 5 CFR 1320.3(b).
    The ICR, which is available in the docket along with other related 
materials, provides a detailed explanation of the collection activities 
and the burden estimate that is only briefly summarized here:
    Respondents/Affected Entities: Entities potentially affected by 
this ICR are RRP contractors that work in PnCBs, lessors and managers 
of PnCBs, and owners and occupants of PnCBs.
    Estimated total number of potential respondents: 402.
    Frequency of response: One occasion (one time).
    Estimated total average number of responses for each respondent: 1.
    Estimated total annual burden hours: 672 hours.
    Estimated total annual costs: $ 39,191. This includes an estimated 
burden cost of $ 39,191 and an estimated cost of $ 0 for capital 
investment or maintenance and operational costs.

 III. What is the Next Step in the Process for this ICR?

    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 pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.12. EPA will issue another 
Federal Register document pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.5(a)(1)(iv) to 
announce the submission of the ICR to OMB and the opportunity to submit 
additional comments to OMB. If you have any questions about this ICR or 
the approval process, please contact the technical person listed under 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: November 27, 2013.
James Jones,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2013-29192 Filed 12-5-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P