Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Air Emissions Reporting Requirements (Renewal), 59711 [2021-23502]

Agencies

• ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 206 (Thursday, October 28, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Page 59711]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-23502]



[[Page 59711]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2004-0489; FRL-9207-01-OMS]


Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and 
Approval; Comment Request; Air Emissions Reporting Requirements 
(Renewal)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an 
information collection request (ICR), Air Emissions Reporting 
Requirements (EPA ICR Number 2170.08, OMB Control Number 2060-0580) to 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. This is a proposed 
extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through December 31, 
2021. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal 
Register on May 7, 2021, during a 60-day comment period. This notice 
allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. A fuller 
description of the ICR is given below, including its estimated burden 
and cost to the public. 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: Additional comments may be submitted on or before November 29, 
2021.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-
OAR-2004-0489, online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred method) 
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.
    Submit written comments and recommendations to OMB for the proposed 
information collection within 30 days of publication of this notice to 
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information 
collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for 
Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marc Houyoux, Air Quality Assessment 
Division, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, (C339-02), 
Environmental Protection Agency, 109 TW Alexander Drive, RTP, NC 27711; 
telephone number: (919) 541-3649; 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.
    Abstract: The EPA promulgated the Air Emissions Reporting 
Requirements (AERR) (40 CFR part 51, subpart A) to coordinate emissions 
inventory reporting requirements with existing requirements of the 
Clean Air Act and 1990 Amendments. Under this reporting, 54 state and 
territorial air quality agencies, including the District of Columbia, 
as well as an estimated 31 local and tribal air quality agencies, must 
submit emissions data every 3 years for all point, non-point, and some 
non-road mobile sources of volatile organic compounds, oxides of 
nitrogen, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter less than 
or equal to 10 micrometers in diameter, particulate matter less than or 
equal to 2.5 micrometers in diameter, ammonia, and lead. These agencies 
must also submit emissions model input data every 3 years for on-road 
mobile and non-road mobile equipment, except for California, which must 
submit emissions for these data categories of the same pollutants 
listed above. In addition, the air quality agencies must submit 
annually emission data for point sources with the potential to emit at 
greater than specified levels of those pollutants.
    Fewer agencies are required to report during these interim years 
because of higher emissions thresholds, with an estimated 54 states/
territories and 23 local and tribal agencies required to report. The 
average numbers of annual respondents over a 3-year period are 54 
states/territories and 26 local and tribal agencies. The EPA needs the 
data collected from the emission reporting to compile and provide to 
the public a national inventory of air pollutant emissions. A 
comprehensive inventory updated at regular intervals is essential to 
allow the EPA to fulfill its mandate to monitor and plan for the 
attainment and maintenance of the national ambient air quality 
standards established for criteria pollutants.
    The number and frequency of data collection and submittal is 
expected to remain the same for 2022-2024.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: State, territorial, and local 
government air quality managements programs. Tribal governments are not 
affected unless they have sought and obtained treatment as state status 
under the Tribal Authority Rule and on that basis, are authorized to 
implement and enforce the AERR rule.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory under 23 U.S.C. 101; 
42 U.S.C 7401-7671q, and the authority of the AERR. This information is 
mandatory and, as specified, cannot be treated as confidential by the 
EPA.
    Estimated annual average number of respondents: 80 (total).
    Frequency of response: Annual.
    Total estimated burden: 49,502 hours (per year). Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $4,783,367 (per year), includes $255,000 
annualized capital or operation & maintenance costs.
    Changes in the estimates: There is an increase of 2,254 hours and 
$30,000 in the total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR 
previously approved by OMB. The increase does not reflect a change in 
burden for each respondent, but rather reflects the latest counts of 
local agencies that report their emissions.

Courtney Kerwin,
Director, Regulatory Support Division.
[FR Doc. 2021-23502 Filed 10-27-21; 8:45 am]
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