Notification of Episodic Releases of Oil and Hazardous Substances (Renewal)

Forms and Documents

Document Name	Status
1049ss14.docx Supporting Statement A	2018-09-18

IC Document Collections

IC ID	Document Title	Status
23819	Notification of Episodic Releases of Oil and Hazardous Substances	Modified

ICR Details

OMB Control No: 2050-0046	ICR Reference No: 201809-2050-005
Status: Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 201401-2050-002
Agency/Subagency: EPA/OLEM	Agency Tracking No: 1049.14
Title: Notification of Episodic Releases of Oil and Hazardous Substances (Renewal)
Type of Information Collection: Extension without change of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Regular
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved without change	Conclusion Date: 05/27/2019
	Date Received in OIRA: 09/24/2018
Terms of Clearance:

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	05/31/2022	36 Months From Approved	05/31/2019
Responses	18,447	0	23,864
Time Burden (Hours)	18,816	0	97,842
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0

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Abstract: Section 103(a) of Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), as amended, requires the person in charge of a facility or vessel to immediately notify the National Response Center (NRC) of a hazardous substance release into the environment if the amount of the release equals or exceeds the substances reportable quantity (RQ) limit. The RQs for the hazardous substance can be found in Table 302.4 of 40 CFR 302.4. Section 311 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), as amended, requires the person in charge of a vessel to immediately notify the NRC of an oil spill into U.S. navigable waters if the spill causes a sheen, violates applicable water quality standards, or causes a sludge or emulsion to be deposited beneath the surface of the water or upon adjoining shorelines. The reporting of a hazardous substance release that is at or above the substances RQ allows the Federal government to determine whether a Federal response action is required to control or mitigate any potential adverse effects to public health or welfare or the environment. Likewise, the reporting of oil spills allows the Federal government to determine whether cleaning up the oil spill is necessary to mitigate or prevent damage to public health or welfare or the environment. The hazardous substance and oil release information collected under CERCLA section 103(a) and CWA section 311 also is available to EPA program offices and other Federal agencies that use the information to evaluate the potential need for additional regulations, new permitting requirements for specific substances or sources, or improved emergency response planning. Release notification information, which is stored in the national Emergency Response Notification System (ERNS) data base, is available to state and local government authorities as well as the general public. State and local government authorities and the regulated community use release information for purposes of local emergency response planning. Members of the general public, who have access to release information through the Freedom of Information Act, may request release information for purposes of maintaining an awareness of what types of releases are occurring in different localities and what actions, if any, are being taken to protect public health and welfare and the environment. ERNS fact sheets, which provide summary and statistical information about hazardous substance and oil release notifications, also are available 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. The OMB control numbers for EPAs regulations in 40 CFR are listed in 40 CFR part 9.

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Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 33 USC 1321 Name of Law: Oil and hazardous substance liability
   PL: Pub.L. 302 - 40 311 Name of Law: Clean Water Act (CWA)
   US Code: 42 USC 9603 Name of Law: Notification requirements respecting released substances
  

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

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Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

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Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	83 FR 15562	04/11/2018
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	83 FR 48311	09/24/2018
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? Yes

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Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 1

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Notification of Episodic Releases of Oil and Hazardous Substances

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ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved	Change Due to New Statute	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA
Annual Number of Responses	18,447	23,864	0	0	-5,417	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	18,816	97,842	0	0	-79,026	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0	0	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: Compared to the previous ICR (1049.13), both the unit burden hours and annual burden hours for industry and government have decreased in this ICR (1049.14). In the case of unit burden hours, updated estimates of reporting burden were provided by facilities that have recently reported a spill event to the NRC. Regarding annual burden hours, the projected number of release notifications per annum in this ICR (1049.14) is less than the projected number of release notifications per annum in the previous ICR (1049.13). The previous ICR (1049.13) projected 23,864 incidents would be reported to the NRC annually; while this renewal ICR (1049.14) projects 18,447 incidents will be reported to the NRC annually. Comparing this ICR (1049.14) to the previous ICR (1049.13) annual burden hours for industry is lower by 79,026 hours and for EPA by 5,417 hours. As shown in Exhibit 6 in the Supporting Statement, this ICR (1049.14) projects a lower number of incidents reported to the NRC annually. Combined with a reduction in the time it takes to complete the required tasks compared to the last ICR, EPA estimates an overall lower cost to industry. The previous ICR (1049.13) estimated the cost to industry as $3,320,485; this renewal estimates the cost to industry will be $1,046,314, or $2,274,171 less than the previous estimate. The cost to government is projected to decrease from $1,102,708 to $641,587, a decrease of $461,121. This lower estimate is due to a lower projected number of reportable releases and changes in the wage rates used in the analysis.

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Annual Cost to Federal Government: $641,587

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     No

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? Uncollected

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Common Form ICR:  No

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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:

(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;

(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;

(c) It reduces burden on small entities;

(d) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous language that is understandable to respondents;

(e) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices;

(f) It indicates the retention periods for recordkeeping requirements;

(g) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8 (b)(3) about:

(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;

(h) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected.

(i) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable); and

(j) It makes appropriate use of information technology.

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.

Certification Date: 09/24/2018

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