Terms of the previous clearance remain in effect. OMB is withholding approval at this time. Prior to publication of the final rule, the agency should provide a summary of any comments related to the information collection and their response, including any changes made to the ICR as a result of comments. In addition, the agency must enter the correct burden estimates. This action has no effect on any current approvals.
table that charts list comparision
Inventory as of this Action
Requested
Previously Approved
12/31/2009
12/31/2009
06/30/2010
446,145
0
446,145
2,191,068
0
2,191,068
35,752,645
0
35,752,645
The Oil Pollution Prevention regulation at 40 CFR part 112 requires and establishes procedures for the preparation and implementation of Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plans. SPCC Plans help minimize the potential for oil discharges by non-transportation-related onshore and offshore facilities into or upon the navigable waters of the United States or adjoining shorelines or from affecting certain natural resources.
Owners and operators of regulated facilities must prepare SPCC Plans in accordance with good engineering practices and have them approved by a person with the authority to commit the resources necessary to implement the SPCC Plan. SPCC Plans address the following three areas: (1) operating procedures that prevent oil spills; (2) control measures installed to prevent a spill from reaching navigable waters or adjoining shorelines; and (3) countermeasures to contain, clean up, and mitigate the effects of an oil discharge that could reach navigable waters.
EPA is proposing to amend the SPCC Plan requirements to reduce the regulatory burden in eleven ways: (1) exempt hot-mix asphalt; (2) exempt pesticide application equipment and related mix containers used at farms; (3) exempt heating oil containers at a single-family residence; (4) amend the definition of "facility" to clarify the flexibility associated with defining a facility's boundaries; (5) amend the facility diagram requirement to provide additional flexibility for all facilities; (6) define "loading/unloading rack" to clarify the equipment subject to the provisions for facility tank car and tank truck loading/unloading racks; (7) provide streamlined requirements for a subset of qualified facilities; (8) amend the security requirements for all facilities; (9) amend the integrity testing requirements to allow a greater amount of flexibility in the use of industry standards at all facilities; (10) amend the integrity testing requirements for containers that store animal fats or vegetable oils and meet certain criteria; and (11) streamline a number of requirements at oil production facilities. EPA is also providing clarification to this proposed rule on additional issues raised by the regulated community, including the consideration of man-made structures in determining how to comply with the SPCC rule requirements; the applicability of the rule to underground emergency diesel generator tanks at nuclear power stations, and the applicability of the rule to wind turbines that are used to produce electricity.
Differences in burden and costs from the previous ICR are attributed to both adjustments and program changes. Adjustments capture updates to the number of affected facilities, wages, and unit costs in the absence of the proposed amendments. Program changes reflect the proposed revisions to the SPCC rule, which affect both per-facility costs and the number of affected facilities.
The Agency estimates that as a result of the proposed amendments to clarify and streamline certain SPCC requirements, the reporting and recordkeeping burden would decrease by 1.4 million hours. In total, the burden hours presented in this ICR would increase relative to the current OMB inventory. The new burden estimate shows a net annualized increase of approximately 2.9 million hours. An estimated increase in total burden hours of 4.3 million is primarily attributed to two major factors: a larger number of facilities expected to incur paperwork-related costs and the revisions made to the estimates for burden hours used in the analysis. The Agency estimates that the proposed amendments will reduce capital and O&M costs by approximately $43 million. The net effect on annualized capital and O&M costs to regulated facilities is estimated at $119 million, mainly due to a larger number of facilities expected to incur paperwork-related costs and the revisions made to the estimates of the per-facility capital and O&M costs.
The Agency estimates that as a result of the proposed amendments to clarify and streamline certain SPCC requirements, the reporting and recordkeeping burden would decrease by 1.4 million hours. In total, the burden hours presented in this ICR would increase relative to the current OMB inventory. The new burden estimate shows a net annualized increase of approximately 2.9 million hours. An estimated increase in total burden hours of 4.3 million is primarily attributed to two major factors: a larger number of facilities expected to incur paperwork-related costs and the revisions made to the estimates for burden hours used in the analysis. The Agency estimates that the proposed amendments will reduce capital and O&M costs by approximately $43 million. The net effect on annualized capital and O&M costs to regulated facilities is estimated at $119 million, mainly due to a larger number of facilities expected to incur paperwork-related costs and the revisions made to the estimates of the per-facility capital and O&M costs.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
0328ss14.doc
Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plans - State, Local or Tribal Governments