Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Proposed Collection; Toxic Chemical Release Reporting; Request for Comments on Proposed Renewal of Form R and Form A, 11783-11787 [2014-04611]

Agencies

• ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 41 (Monday, March 3, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11783-11787]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-04611]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OEI-2013-0803; FRL 9907-40-OEI]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Proposed Collection; Toxic Chemical Release 
Reporting; Request for Comments on Proposed Renewal of Form R and Form 
A

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency plans to submit a request 
to renew an existing approved Information Collection Request (ICR), 
``Toxic

[[Page 11784]]

Chemical Release Reporting; Request for Comments on Proposed Renewal of 
Form R and Form A'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). The current ICR expires on October 31, 2014. 
Before submitting a request to renew this ICR, EPA is soliciting public 
comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as 
described below.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before May 2, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OEI-2013-0803, by one of the following methods:
     https://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Email: oei.docket@epa.gov.
     Fax: 202-566-0715.
     Mail: Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460.
     Hand Delivery: Public Reading Room, EPA West Building, 
Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20004. Such 
deliveries are only accepted during the docket's normal hours of 
operations, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding 
legal holidays. Special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OEI-
2013-0803. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change and made available online at 
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 www.regulations.gov or email. The 
www.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 www.regulations.gov, your email 
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the 
comment that is placed in the public 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 or any form of 
encryption and must be free of any defects or viruses. For additional 
information about EPA's public docket, visit the EPA Docket Center 
homepage at https://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cassandra Vail, Toxics Release 
Inventory Program Division, Office of Information Analysis and Access 
(2844T), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number, 202-566-0753; email address, 
vail.cassandra@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

How can I access the docket and/or submit comments?

    EPA has established a public docket for the ICR described in this 
notice under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OEI-2013-0803, which is available for 
on-line viewing at www.regulations.gov. Go to www.regulations.gov to 
obtain a copy of the proposed collection of information, to submit or 
view public comments, to obtain an index of the docket contents, and to 
obtain those documents in the public docket that are available 
electronically. Once in the system, select ``search,'' then enter the 
docket ID number identified in this document.
    The docket is also available for viewing in person at the OEI 
Docket, 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 
https://www.epa.gov/dockets.

In which information is EPA particularly interested?

    Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, EPA solicits 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. In particular, EPA 
requests comments from very small businesses (those with fewer than 25 
employees) on examples of specific additional efforts that EPA could 
make to reduce the paperwork burden for very small businesses affected 
by this collection.

What should I consider when I prepare my comments for EPA?

    You may find the following suggestions helpful for preparing your 
comments:
    1. Explain your views as clearly as possible and provide specific 
examples;
    2. Describe any assumptions that you used;
    3. Provide copies of any technical information and/or data you used 
that support your views;
    4. If you provide estimates of potential burden hours or labor 
costs, explain how you arrived at your estimates;
    5. Offer alternative ways to improve the collection activity;
    6. Make sure to submit your comments by the deadline identified 
under Dates; and
    7. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, identify the docket ID number 
assigned to this action in the subject line on the first page of your 
response. You may also provide the name, date, and Federal Register 
citation.

What information collection activity or ICR does this apply to?

    Affected Entities: This ICR applies to facilities that submit 
annual reports under section 313 of the Emergency Planning and 
Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and section 6607 of the Pollution 
Prevention Act (PPA). The applicability criteria are outlined in part 
372, subpart B, of Title 40 of the Code Federal Regulations, and 
potentially affected categories and entities may include, but are not 
limited to the following:

[[Page 11785]]



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                                      Examples of Potentially Affected
             Category                             Entities
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Industry..........................  Facilities included in the following
                                     NAICS manufacturing codes
                                     (corresponding to SIC codes 20
                                     through 39): 311*, 312*, 313*,
                                     314*, 315*, 316, 321, 322, 323*,
                                     324, 325*, 326*, 327, 331, 332,
                                     333, 334*, 335*, 336, 337*, 339*,
                                     111998*, 211112*, 212324*, 212325*,
                                     212393*, 212399*, 488390*, 511110,
                                     511120, 511130, 511140*, 511191,
                                     511199, 512220, 512230*, 519130*,
                                     541712*, or 811490*.
                                    *Exceptions and/or limitations exist
                                     for these NAICS codes.
                                    Facilities included in the following
                                     NAICS codes (corresponding to SIC
                                     codes other than SIC codes 20
                                     through 39): 212111, 212112, 212113
                                     (correspond to SIC 12, Coal Mining
                                     (except 1241)); or 212221, 212222,
                                     212231, 212234, 212299 (correspond
                                     to SIC 10, Metal Mining (except
                                     1011, 1081, and 1094)); or 221111,
                                     221112, 221113, 221118, 221121,
                                     221122, 221330 (Limited to
                                     facilities that combust coal and/or
                                     oil for the purpose of generating
                                     power for distribution in commerce)
                                     (correspond to SIC 4911, 4931, and
                                     4939, Electric Utilities); or
                                     424690, 425110, 425120 (Limited to
                                     facilities previously classified in
                                     SIC 5169, Chemicals and Allied
                                     Products, Not Elsewhere
                                     Classified); or 424710 (corresponds
                                     to SIC 5171, Petroleum Bulk
                                     Terminals and Plants); or 562112
                                     (Limited to facilities primarily
                                     engaged in solvent recovery
                                     services on a contract or fee basis
                                     (previously classified under SIC
                                     7389, Business Services, NEC)); or
                                     562211, 562212, 562213, 562219,
                                     562920 (Limited to facilities
                                     regulated under the Resource
                                     Conservation and Recovery Act,
                                     subtitle C, 42 U.S.C. 6921 et seq.)
                                     (correspond to SIC 4953, Refuse
                                     Systems).
Federal Government................  Federal facilities.
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    If you have questions regarding the applicability of this action to 
a particular entity, consult the individual listed in the preceding FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
    Title: Toxic Chemical Release Reporting; Request for Comments on 
Proposed Renewal of Form R and Form A.
    ICR Number: EPA ICR No. 1363.23, TRI Form R and TRI Form A 
Certification Statement, OMB Control No. 2025-0009.
    ICR Status: The ICR for the TRI Form R and the TRI Form A 
Certification Statement is scheduled to expire on October 31, 2014.
    Abstract: Pursuant to section 313 of EPCRA, certain facilities that 
manufacture, process, or otherwise use specified toxic chemicals in 
amounts above reporting threshold levels must submit annually to EPA 
and to designated State or Tribal officials toxic chemical release 
forms containing information specified by EPA. 42 U.S.C. 11023. In 
addition, pursuant to section 6607 of the Pollution Prevention Act 
(PPA), facilities reporting under section 313 of EPCRA must also report 
pollution prevention and waste management data, including recycling 
information, for such chemicals. 42 U.S.C. 13106. EPA compiles and 
stores these reports in a publicly accessible database known as the 
Toxics Release Inventory (TRI).
    Regulations at 40 CFR part 372, subpart B, require facilities that 
meet all of the following criteria to report:
    1. The facility has 10 or more full-time employee equivalents 
(i.e., a total of 20,000 hours worked per year or greater; see 40 CFR 
372.3); and
    2. The facility is included in a North American Industry 
Classification System (NAICS) Code listed at 40 CFR 372.23 or under 
Executive Order 13148, federal facilities regardless of their industry 
classification; and
    3. The facility manufactures (defined to include importing), 
processes, or otherwise uses any EPCRA section 313 (TRI) chemical in 
quantities greater than the established thresholds for the specific 
chemical in the course of a calendar year.
    Facilities that meet the criteria must file a Form R report or, in 
some cases, may submit a Form A Certification Statement, for each 
listed toxic chemical for which the criteria are met. As specified in 
EPCRA section 313(a), facilities must submit report(s) for any calendar 
year on or before July 1 of the following year. For example, reporting 
year 2012 data should have been submitted and certified on or before 
July 1, 2013.
    EPA maintains the list of toxic chemicals subject to TRI reporting 
at 40 CFR 372.65 and the Agency publishes this list each year as Table 
II in the Toxics Release Inventory Reporting Forms and Instructions. 
The current TRI chemical list contains 594 chemicals and 30 chemical 
categories.
    Environmental agencies, industry, and the public use TRI data for a 
wide variety of purposes. EPA program offices use TRI data, along with 
other data, to help establish programmatic priorities, evaluate 
potential hazards to human health and the natural environment, and 
undertake appropriate regulatory and/or enforcement activities. 
Environmental and public interest groups use the data to better 
understand toxic chemical releases at the community level and to work 
with industry, government agencies, and others to promote reductions in 
toxic chemical releases. Industrial facilities use the TRI data to 
evaluate the efficiency of their production processes and to help track 
and communicate their progress in achieving pollution prevention goals.
    The TRI data are unique in providing a multi-media (air, water, and 
land) picture of toxic chemical releases, transfers, and other waste 
management activities by covered facilities on a yearly basis. While 
other environmental media programs provide some toxic chemical data and 
related permit data, TRI data are unique with regard to the types of 
chemicals and industry sectors covered as well as the frequency of 
reporting. Facilities subject to TRI reporting must submit reports for 
each calendar year to EPA and the State or Indian Country in which they 
are located by July 1 of the following year.
    Respondents may claim trade secrecy for a chemical's identity as 
described in EPCRA Section 322 and its implementing regulations in 40 
CFR part 350. EPA will disclose information covered by a claim of trade 
secrecy only to the extent permitted by and in accordance with the 
procedures in 40 CFR part 350 and 40 CFR part 2.
    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 40 CFR are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and are identified on 
the form and/or instrument, if applicable.
    Burden Statement: EPA estimates average annual public reporting and 
recordkeeping burden for this collection of information to be 
approximately 35.71 hours for Form R and approximately 21.96 hours for 
a Form A. 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,

[[Page 11786]]

acquire, install, and utilize technology and systems for the purposes 
of collecting/validating/verifying information, processing and 
maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; 
adjust existing ways to comply with any previously applicable 
instructions and requirements that have subsequently changed; train 
personnel to respond to a collection of information; search data 
sources; complete and review the collection of information; and 
transmit or otherwise disclose the information.
    The ICR Supporting Statement provides a detailed explanation of the 
Agency's estimate for TRI program burden, including Form R/A burden. 
Below is a brief summary of the burden estimated for annual TRI 
reporting:
     Estimated total number of respondents (i.e., facilities): 
21,025.
     Frequency of response: annual.
     Estimated total average number of responses: 74,869.
     Estimated total average number of responses for each 
respondent: 3.56.
     Estimated total annual burden hours: 3,555,998 hours.
     Estimated total annual costs: $183,418,377.

What Changes Does this ICR Propose?

    OMB approved the ICR for Form R and for the Form A Certification 
Statement on October 14, 2011, with the original expiration date of 
October 31, 2014. The OMB approved burden numbers are 3,327,436 hours 
for Form R and 195,300 hours for Form A for a total of 3,522,736 hours. 
Change in burden estimates since OMB approved of the combined Form R/A 
ICR on October 14, 2011, include:
     the lifting of the Administrative Stay of the Toxics 
Release Inventory reporting requirements for hydrogen sulfide on 
October 17, 2011. EPA received the first submissions for hydrogen 
sulfide for reporting year 2012; the total number of form submissions 
used to calculate the overall program burden therefore includes these 
hydrogen sulfide submissions.
     the addition of o-Nitrotoluene Rule, which the Federal 
Register included in its publication on November 7, 2013. EPA estimates 
this rule will increase the number of newly reporting facilities by 1 
and the total number of Form Rs and Form As submitted by 17 and 5 
respectively, with an associated ongoing steady state burden increase 
of 717 hours.
    Over the last few years, the number of facilities reporting to TRI 
increased slightly. Based on the latest data for RY 2012 with updates 
to reflect the estimated burden due to the addition of o-Nitrotoluene, 
EPA now estimates the total number of combined Form R and Form A 
responses to be 74,869, the associated total annual burden hours to be 
3,555,998, and the annual cost to be $183,418,377. For a detailed 
explanation of the Agency's estimates of the respondent reporting 
burden and labor costs, please refer to the proposed TRI Form R and A 
Supporting Statement which are available in the docket.
    EPA proposes making several changes to the TRI reporting forms and 
associated instructions, however, these changes are estimated to have a 
negligible effect on form unit burden. The proposed changes, which are 
outlined below, are designed to enhance the overall utility of the data 
collected under the TRI Program.
    1. Add an optional extension to all phone numbers which would allow 
facilities to ensure that incoming calls are directed to the 
appropriate person.
    2. Add an optional field to allow facilities to indicate the 
section of a water body that received the surface water discharge. 
Specifically, facilities could provide a reach code, which is a unique 
identifier for a linear, unbranched section of a water body. (Part II: 
Sec. 5.3). Rationale: Linking TRI discharges to a reach code (a unique 
identifier for a linear, unbranched section of a water body) provides 
regulatory agencies and researchers the ability to model the potential 
impact of TRI chemicals to downstream and intermediate receiving 
waterbodies and water resources, and to assess the potential cumulative 
environmental impacts of TRI chemical releases to surface waters. While 
optional, this field would populate automatically when selecting their 
receiving water body in the TRI-MEweb user interface for this section.
    3. EPA proposes moving the header ``5.5 Disposal to land on-site'' 
to precede Sections 5.4 and 5.5 on Form R so that it covers both 5.4 
and 5.5. Furthermore, EPA proposes rewording 5.4.1 and 5.4.2 to fit 
under the new header as follows: Section 5.4-5.5: Disposal to land on-
site, Section 5.4.1: Class 1 Underground Injection Wells, Section 5.4.2 
Class II-V Underground Injection Wells. The remaining sections of 
Section 5.5 are unchanged. Rationale: This change clarifies that 
releases to underground injection wells are considered releases to 
land.
    4. Provide the heading, ``Production-related waste managed'' for 
Sections 8.1-8.7 and re-label Section 8.8 ``Non-production-related 
waste managed,'' with a footnote indicating that this Section 
``includes quantities released to the environment or transferred off-
site as a result of remedial actions, catastrophic events, or other 
one-time events not associated with production processes (Part II: Sec. 
8.1-8.8). Rationale: Re-labeling these Sections clearly indicates what 
quantities facilities must report in them and makes it easier for TRI 
data users to refer to these Sections in a concise and consistent 
manner.
    5. Add checkboxes to indicate whether a facility has provided a 
``Production Ratio'' or an ``Activity Ratio'' (Part II: Sec. 8.9). 
Rationale: Facilities are required to submit a ratio of either 
production or an activity other than production for the purposes of 
normalizing year-to-year changes in TRI chemical quantities, but TRI 
data users currently cannot determine which type of ratio was used.
    6. Add a new column where facilities can provide an optional 
percentage range indicating the estimated annual reduction in chemical 
waste generation associated with a given source reduction activity 
(Part II: Sec. 8.10). Rationale: This change makes it easier to report 
and assess the effectiveness of different types of source reduction 
activities and thus promote the adoption and recognition of successful 
pollution prevention practices.
    7. Provide optional barrier codes that facilities can use in 
Section 8.11 to indicate why they could not implement any source 
reduction activities during the reporting year. (Part II: Sec. 8.11). 
Rationale: Facilities are required to pick a code if they perform a new 
source reduction activity. However, there is currently no way for a 
facility to indicate why they didn't implement a source reduction 
activity. While these codes would be optional, they would allow EPA to 
assist facilities in overcoming barriers to implementing source 
reduction activities.
    8. Allow facilities to categorize optional free-text information 
entered in Sections 8.11 and 9.1 by selecting from a list of topics 
provided in TRI-MEweb (no changes to Form R itself). Rationale: Letting 
facilities flag their free-text entries as relevant to certain 
commonly-used topics would improve TRI tools that display free-text 
information, data quality efforts, and the overall analytical utility 
of the dataset.
    Additionally, the EPA proposes modifying TRI-MEweb to collect, as 
optional, information that some facilities have historically provided, 
unsolicited, to EPA on matters related to TRI (collectively called 
miscellaneous TRI documents). Examples of these miscellaneous TRI 
documents include

[[Page 11787]]

updates to contact and location information for the facility and 
reasons for non-reporting. Some of this information is useful to the 
Agency and could be useful to the public. Currently, the EPA receives 
this unsolicited information on paper.
    This proposed modification would allow for an online means for the 
EPA to receive miscellaneous documents, reducing the cost of processing 
their submission and aligning how EPA processes such documents with the 
recent requirement to submit TRI reporting forms electronically. In 
other words, with this change, facilities could use TRI-MEweb to 
provide details on specific categories of information that they have 
been providing on a voluntary basis to the EPA throughout the existence 
of the program (e.g., supplemental information on updates to the 
facility's name, status, location, and/or parent company; supplemental 
information on updates on whom to contact for technical and/or public 
matters; and reasons for not reporting (indicating the facility did not 
meet thresholds or did not report for any other appropriate reason)). 
Receipt and processing of this information would not affect any 
reporting forms certified and submitted to the agency, but rather would 
allow facilities to provide an electronic means to submit contextual 
information concerning their facilities that can enhance the context of 
TRI data for the EPA as well as for the public.

What is the next step in the process for these ICRs?

    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. At that time, EPA will 
issue another Federal Register notice for the ICR 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 
individual listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

    Dated: February 24, 2014.
Arnold Layne,
Director,
    Office of Information Analysis and Access
    Office of Environmental Information.
[FR Doc. 2014-04611 Filed 2-28-14; 8:45 am]
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