Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Focus Groups as Used by EPA for Economics Projects (Renewal), 23458-23459 [2018-10793]

Download as PDF sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES 23458 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 98 / Monday, May 21, 2018 / Notices title-v-operating-permits/title-v-petitiondatabase. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brad Toups, EPA Region 6, by phone (214) 665–7258, or email at toups.brad@ epa.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CAA affords the EPA a 45-day period to review and object to, as appropriate, operating permits proposed by state permitting authorities under title V of the CAA. Section 505(b)(2) of the CAA authorizes any person to petition the EPA Administrator to object to a title V operating permit within 60 days after the expiration of the EPA’s 45-day review period if the EPA has not objected on its own initiative. Petitions must be based only on objections to the permit that were raised with reasonable specificity during the public comment period provided by the state, unless the petitioner demonstrates that it was impracticable to raise these issues during the comment period or unless the grounds for the issues arose after this period. The EPA received the Petitions from the Petitioners dated March 30, 2017 and August 3, 2017, requesting that the EPA object to the issuance of operating permit no. 1560–00295–V1, issued by the LDEQ to YCI in St. James Parish, Louisiana. The Petitioners requested that the Administrator object to the proposed operating permit on several bases which are described in detail in Section IV of the Order. In summary, the issues raised include: Emissions limits for preconstruction purposes were not properly made (various claims, introduction to Order Section IV); and numerous claims concerning monitoring of emissions, such as the Steam Methane Reformer (SMR) carbon monoxide (CO) and Auxiliary Boiler CO emissions (Section IV.A.); claims concerning SMR volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions (Section IV.B.); claims concerning Auxiliary Boiler VOC emissions (Section IV.C.); claims concerning fugitive CO emissions (Section IV.D.), claims concerning truck, railcar, and marine loading VOC emissions (Section IV.E.); claims concerning storage tank VOC and hazardous air pollutant (HAP) emissions (Section IV.F.); and claims concerning flare VOC, particulate matter (PM), and CO emissions (Section IV.G.). The Order issued on April 2, 2018 responds to all claims in both petitions and explains the basis for the EPA’s decision. Sections 307(b) and 505(b)(2) of the CAA provide that a petitioner may request judicial review of those portions of an order that deny issues in a petition. Any petition for review shall VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:20 May 18, 2018 Jkt 244001 be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit no later than June 11, 2018. Dated: May 14, 2018. Anne Idsal, Regional Administrator, Region 6. [FR Doc. 2018–10774 Filed 5–18–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560–50–P ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [EPA HQ–OA–2008–0701; FRL–9977–91– OA] Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Focus Groups as Used by EPA for Economics Projects (Renewal) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), ‘‘Focus Groups as used by EPA for Economics Projects (Renewal)’’ (EPA ICR No. 2205.17, OMB Control No. 2090–0028) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. Before doing so, EPA is soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described below. This is a proposed renewal of the ICR, which is currently approved through September 30, 2018. 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: Comments must be submitted on or before July 20, 2018. ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA–HQ– OA–2008–0701, online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), by email to oei.docket@ epa.gov, 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: Nathalie Simon, Office of Policy, (MC SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 1809T), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202–566–2347; fax number: 202–566–2338 email address: simon.nathalie@epa.gov. 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 https://www.epa.gov/dockets. Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, EPA is soliciting 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. 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. At that time, EPA will issue another Federal Register notice to announce the submission of the ICR to OMB and the opportunity to submit additional comments to OMB. Abstract: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking renewal of a generic information collection request (ICR) for the conduct of focus groups and protocol interviews (hereafter jointly referred to as focus groups) related to economics projects. Over the next three years, the Agency anticipates working on a number of survey development efforts associated with a variety of economics projects including those related to valuation of ecosystems, health risk reductions, and improvements to coastal waters, to name a few. Focus groups are an important part of any survey development process, allowing E:\FR\FM\21MYN1.SGM 21MYN1 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 98 / Monday, May 21, 2018 / Notices researchers to directly gauge what specific issues are important to the public and providing a means for explicitly testing draft survey materials. Through these focus groups, the Agency will be able to gain a more in-depth understanding of the public’s attitudes, beliefs, motivations and feelings regarding specific issues and will provide valuable information regarding the quality of draft survey instruments. The information collected in the focus groups will be used to develop and improve economics-related surveys. To the extent that these surveys are ultimately successfully administered, they will serve to expand the Agencies understanding of benefits and costs of a variety of actions and could provide the means to quantitatively assess the effects of others. Participation in the focus groups will be voluntary and the identity of the participants will be kept confidential. Form Numbers: None. Respondents/affected entities: Individuals. Respondent’s obligation to respond: Voluntary. Estimated number of respondents: 1,584 (total). Frequency of response: Once. Total estimated burden: 2,745 hours (total). Burden is defined at 5 CFR 1320.03(b). Total estimated cost: $0, includes $0 annualized capital or operation & maintenance costs. Changes in estimates: There is no change in the total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently approved by OMB. Dated: May 1, 2018. Al McGartland, Director, National Center for Environmental Economics, Office of Policy. [FR Doc. 2018–10793 Filed 5–18–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560–50–P ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES [FRL–9977–98—Region 6] Clean Air Act Operating Permit Program; Petitions for Objection to State Operating Permit for Pasadena Refining System, Pasadena Refinery, Harris County, Texas Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice of final Order on Petition for objection to Clean Air Act title V operating permit. AGENCY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:04 May 18, 2018 Jkt 244001 The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator signed an Order dated May 1, 2018, granting in part and denying in part a Petition dated November 8, 2016 from the Environmental Integrity Project, Sierra Club, Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services, and Air Alliance Houston. The Petition requested that the EPA object to a Clean Air Act (CAA) title V operating permit issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to Pasadena Refining System (Pasadena) for its Pasadena Refinery located in Harris County, Texas. SUMMARY: The EPA requests that you contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to view copies of the final Order, the Petition, and other supporting information. You may review copies of the final Order, the Petition, and other supporting information at the EPA Region 6 Office, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202–2733. You may view the hard copies Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., excluding federal holidays. If you wish to examine these documents, you should make an appointment at least 24 hours before the visiting day. Additionally, the final Order and Petition are available electronically at: https://www.epa.gov/ title-v-operating-permits/title-v-petitiondatabase. ADDRESSES: FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Aimee Wilson, EPA Region 6, (214) 665–7596, wilson.aimee@epa.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CAA affords EPA a 45-day period to review and object to, as appropriate, operating permits proposed by state permitting authorities under title V of the CAA. Section 505(b)(2) of the CAA authorizes any person to petition the EPA Administrator to object to a title V operating permit within 60 days after the expiration of the EPA’s 45-day review period if the EPA has not objected on its own initiative. Petitions must be based only on objections to the permit that were raised with reasonable specificity during the public comment period provided by the state, unless the petitioner demonstrates that it was impracticable to raise these issues during the comment period or unless the grounds for the issue arose after this period. The EPA received the Petition from the Environmental Integrity Project, Sierra Club, Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services, and Air Alliance Houston dated November 8, PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 23459 2016, requesting that the EPA object to the issuance of operating permit no. O3711, issued by TCEQ to Pasadena Refinery in Harris County, Texas. The Petition claims that: (1) The proposed permits’ incorporation by reference of minor NSR authorizations fails to assure compliance with applicable requirements, (2) the proposed permits’ incorporation by reference of Permit by Rule (PBR) and Standard Exemption authorizations fails to assure compliance with applicable requirements, (3) the proposed permits’ incorporation by reference of minor NSR permits and PBRs that apply to the same emission unit makes it impossible to determine the emission limits that apply to such units, (4) the proposed permit fails to require monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements that assure compliance with applicable limits (PBRs and Standard Exemptions), (5) the proposed permit fails to establish monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements that assure compliance with emission limits for multiple emission units (Claims C, D, E, F, and G), (6) the proposed permit fails to require monitoring that assures compliance with the emission limits for Pasadena Refining’s flares, (7) the proposed permit fails to require monitoring that assures compliance with the 90% removal efficiency requirement for the acid relief neutralization system, and (8) the proposed permit fails to specify and assure compliance with planned maintenance, startup, and shutdown emission limits and operating requirements for boiler #6. On May 1, 2018, the EPA Administrator issued an Order granting in part and denying in part the Petition. The Order explains the basis for EPA’s decision. Sections 307(b) and 505(b)(2) of the CAA provide that a petitioner may request judicial review of those portions of an order that deny issues in a petition. Any petition for review shall be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit no later than July 20, 2018. Dated: May 14, 2018. Anne L. Idsal, Regional Administrator, Region 6. [FR Doc. 2018–10761 Filed 5–18–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560–50–P E:\FR\FM\21MYN1.SGM 21MYN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 98 (Monday, May 21, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23458-23459]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-10793]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA HQ-OA-2008-0701; FRL-9977-91-OA]


Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Focus 
Groups as Used by EPA for Economics Projects (Renewal)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to submit an 
information collection request (ICR), ``Focus Groups as used by EPA for 
Economics Projects (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR No. 2205.17, OMB Control No. 
2090-0028) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and 
approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. Before doing 
so, EPA is soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the 
proposed information collection as described below. This is a proposed 
renewal of the ICR, which is currently approved through September 30, 
2018. 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: Comments must be submitted on or before July 20, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OA-
2008-0701, 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: Nathalie Simon, Office of Policy, (MC 
1809T), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-566-2347; fax number: 202-
566-2338 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 https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, EPA is soliciting 
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. 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. At that time, EPA will issue another Federal Register notice 
to announce the submission of the ICR to OMB and the opportunity to 
submit additional comments to OMB.
    Abstract: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking 
renewal of a generic information collection request (ICR) for the 
conduct of focus groups and protocol interviews (hereafter jointly 
referred to as focus groups) related to economics projects. Over the 
next three years, the Agency anticipates working on a number of survey 
development efforts associated with a variety of economics projects 
including those related to valuation of ecosystems, health risk 
reductions, and improvements to coastal waters, to name a few. Focus 
groups are an important part of any survey development process, 
allowing

[[Page 23459]]

researchers to directly gauge what specific issues are important to the 
public and providing a means for explicitly testing draft survey 
materials. Through these focus groups, the Agency will be able to gain 
a more in-depth understanding of the public's attitudes, beliefs, 
motivations and feelings regarding specific issues and will provide 
valuable information regarding the quality of draft survey instruments.
    The information collected in the focus groups will be used to 
develop and improve economics-related surveys. To the extent that these 
surveys are ultimately successfully administered, they will serve to 
expand the Agencies understanding of benefits and costs of a variety of 
actions and could provide the means to quantitatively assess the 
effects of others. Participation in the focus groups will be voluntary 
and the identity of the participants will be kept confidential.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: Individuals.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Voluntary.
    Estimated number of respondents: 1,584 (total).
    Frequency of response: Once.
    Total estimated burden: 2,745 hours (total). Burden is defined at 5 
CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $0, includes $0 annualized capital or 
operation & maintenance costs.
    Changes in estimates: There is no change in the total estimated 
respondent burden compared with the ICR currently approved by OMB.

    Dated: May 1, 2018.
Al McGartland,
Director, National Center for Environmental Economics, Office of 
Policy.
[FR Doc. 2018-10793 Filed 5-18-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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