Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Environmental Impact Assessment of Nongovernmental Activities in Antarctica (Renewal), 52965-52967 [2022-18642]

Agencies

• ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 167 (Tuesday, August 30, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52965-52967]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-18642]


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

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OA-2019-0370; FRL-OP-OFA-032]


Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; 
Environmental Impact Assessment of Nongovernmental Activities in 
Antarctica (Renewal)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to submit an 
information collection request (ICR), ``Environmental Impact Assessment 
of Nongovernmental Activities in Antarctica (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR No. 
1808.09, OMB Control No. 2020-0007) to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA). Before doing so, the EPA is soliciting public 
comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as 
described below. This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is 
currently approved through April 30, 2023. 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 October 31, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OA-
2019-0296, 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.

[[Page 52966]]

    The 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: Julie Roemele, NEPA Compliance 
Division, Office of Federal Activities, Mail Code 2501G, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone number: 202-564-5632; 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 the EPA's public docket, visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the 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. The 
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, the 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 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 provides 
nongovernmental operators with the specific requirements they need to 
meet to comply with the requirements of Article 8 and Annex I to the 
Protocol. 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. 
(Article 3(4), of Annex I of the Protocol requires that draft CEEs be 
distributed to all Parties and the Committee for Environmental 
Protection 120 days in advance of the next Antarctic Treaty 
Consultative Meeting at which the CEE may be addressed.)
    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 based on an IEE or CEE. 
The record developed through these measures needs to be designed to: 
(a) enable assessments to be made of the extent to which environmental 
impacts of nongovernmental expeditions are consistent with the 
Protocol; and (b) provide information useful for minimizing and 
mitigating those impacts and, where appropriate, on the need for 
suspension, cancellation, or modification of the activity. Moreover, an 
operator needs to monitor key environmental indicators for an activity 
proceeding based on a CEE. An operator may also need to carry out 
monitoring 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. Should an activity 
require a CEE, the operator should consult with the EPA to: (a) 
identify the monitoring regime appropriate to that activity, and (b) 
determine whether and how the operator might utilize relevant 
monitoring data collected by the U.S. Antarctic Program. OFA would 
consult with the National Science Foundation (NSF) and other interested 
Federal agencies regarding the monitoring regime.
    Environmental documents (e.g., PERM, IEE, CEE) are submitted to 
OFA. Environmental documents are reviewed by OFA, in consultation with 
the NSF and other interested Federal agencies and made available to 
other Parties and the public as required under the Protocol or 
otherwise requested. OFA notifies the public of document availability 
at: https://www.epa.gov/international-cooperation/receipt-environmental-impact-assessments-eias-regarding-nongovernmental.
    The types of nongovernmental activities currently being carried out 
(e.g., ship-based tours, land-based tours, flights, and privately 
funded research expeditions) are typically unlikely to have impacts 
that are more than minor

[[Page 52967]]

or transitory, thus an IEE is the typical level of environmental 
documentation submitted. For the 1997-1998 through 2021-2022 austral 
summer seasons during the time the Rule has been in effect, all 
respondents submitted IEEs except for three PERMs. Paperwork reduction 
provisions in the Rule that are used by the operators include: (a) 
incorporation of material in the environmental document by referring to 
it in the IEE, (b) inclusion of all proposed expeditions by one 
operator within one IEE; (c) use of one IEE to address expeditions 
being carried out by more than one operator; and (d) use of multi-year 
environmental documentation to address proposed expeditions for a 
period of up to five consecutive austral summer seasons.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: Entities potentially affected by 
this action are all nongovernmental operators with activities in 
Antarctica, including tour operators, for which the United States is 
required to give advance notice under paragraph 5 of Article VII of the 
Antarctic Treaty of 1959; this includes all nongovernmental expeditions 
to and within Antarctica organized in or proceeding from the territory 
of the United States.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory (40 CFR part 8).
    Estimated number of respondents: 28 (total).
    Frequency of response: Annual.
    Total estimated burden: 2,228 hours (per year). Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $167,100 (per year), includes $0 annualized 
capital or operation & maintenance costs.
    Changes in Estimates: There is an increase of 684 hours in the 
total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently 
approved by OMB. This increase is the result of a change to the number 
of operators that the EPA anticipates will submit environmental 
documentation due to more operators traveling to the Antarctic.

    Dated: August 24, 2022.
Robert Tomiak,
Director, Office of Federal Activities.
[FR Doc. 2022-18642 Filed 8-29-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P