The agency is
reminded to include all modes of collection and a Supporting
Statement B upon resubmission of this package.
Inventory as of this Action
Requested
Previously Approved
36 Months From Approved
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The Clean Water Act (CWA) directs the
President to issue regulations ‘‘establishing procedures, methods,
and equipment and other requirements for equipment to prevent
discharges of oil and hazardous substances from . . .onshore
facilities and offshore facilities, and to contain such
discharges’’ (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)(1)(C)). In 1978, EPA designated a
list of hazardous substances under the authority of CWA section
311(b)(2)(A). This list is found at 40 CFR part 116. EPA
concurrently proposed requirements to prevent the discharge of
designated hazardous substances from facilities subject to
permitting requirements under the National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES) of the CWA (43 FR 39276); the proposed
regulations were never finalized. On July, 21, 2015, several
parties filed a lawsuit against EPA for unreasonable delay/failure
to perform a nondiscretionary duty to establish regulations for
hazardous substances under CWA section 311(j)(1)(C). According to a
settlement agreement reached in that case and filed with the United
States District Court, Southern District of New York, on February
16, 2016, EPA is to sign a proposed regulatory action no later than
June 16, 2018. EPA is developing a regulatory proposal regarding
the prevention of CWA hazardous substance discharges. EPA does not
directly receive reports on specific types and amounts of hazardous
substances stored and used at facilities across the country. Much
of that information is collected under the Emergency Planning and
Community Right-to-Know Act (42 U.S. Code Chapter 116; EPCRA) which
requires Tier II facilities to report the maximum and average daily
amounts of hazardous chemicals onsite during the preceding year to
their respective state, Tribal, or territorial authority.
Therefore, the Agency has developed a short voluntary survey to be
sent to states, tribes and territories of the United States
requesting information on the number and type of EPCRA Tier II
facilities reporting CWA hazardous substances onsite, as well as
information about historical discharges of CWA hazardous
substances, ecological and human health impacts of those
discharges, and existing state and tribal regulatory programs that
serve to prevent discharges of hazardous substances. This
information will assist EPA in estimating the universe of
facilities nationwide potentially subject to discharge prevention
regulations for hazardous substances designated at 40 CFR part 116.
EPA anticipates this information will inform the rulemaking
process, assisting in the identification of potentially affected
entities, evaluation of potential regulatory approaches, and
estimating economic impacts.
This is a new ICR for a
one-time, voluntary survey supporting the development of a proposed
rulemaking regarding the prevention of CWA hazardous substance
discharges.
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.