Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that the following Information Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval: Correction of Misreported Chemical Substances on the TSCA Inventory; EPA ICR No. 1741.06, OMB No. 2070-0145. The ICR, which is abstracted below, describes the nature of the information collection activity and its expected burden and costs.

DATES:

Additional comments may be submitted on or before April 18, 2011.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, referencing docket ID Number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2010-0497 to (1) EPA online using http://www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), or by mail to: Document Control Office (DCO), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code: 7407T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, D.C. 20460, and (2) OMB at: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Attention: Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Pamela Myrick, Director, Environmental Assistance Division, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 7408-M, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-554-1404; e-mail address: TSCA-Hotline@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

EPA has submitted the following ICR to OMB for review and approval according to the procedures prescribed in 5 CFR 1320.12. On August 6, 2010 (75 FR 47589), EPA sought comments on this renewal ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received one comment during the comment period, which is addressed in the Supporting Statement. Any additional comments related to this ICR should be submitted to EPA and OMB within 30 days of this notice.

EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID No. EPA EPA-HQ-OPPT-2010-0497, which is available for online viewing at http://www.regulations.gov,, or in person inspection at the OPPT Docket in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public Reading Room is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Reading Room is 202-566-1744, and the telephone number for the Pollution Prevention and Toxics Docket is 202-566-0280. Use EPA's electronic docket and comment system at http://www.regulations.gov to submit or view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the public docket, and to access those documents in the public docket that are available electronically. Once in the system, select “docket search,” then key in the docket ID number identified above.

EPA's policy is that public comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper, will be made available for public viewing in http://www.regulations.gov as EPA receives them and without change, unless the comment contains copyrighted material, confidential business information (CBI), or other information whose public disclosure is restricted by statute. When EPA identifies a comment containing copyrighted material, EPA will provide a reference to that material in the version of the comment that is placed in http://www.regulations.gov. The entire printed comment, including the copyrighted material, will be available in the public docket. Although identified as an item in the official docket, information claimed as CBI, or whose disclosure is otherwise restricted by statute, is not included in the official public docket, and will not be available for public viewing in http://www.regulations.gov. For further information about the electronic docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov.

Title: Correction of Misreported Chemical Substances on the TSCA Inventory; EPA ICR No. 1741.06, OMB No. 2070-0145.

ICR Status: This is a request to renew an existing approved collection that is scheduled to expire on April 30, 2011. Under 5 CFR 1320.10, the Agency may continue to conduct or sponsor the collection of information while this submission is pending at OMB.

Abstract: Section 8(b) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requires EPA to compile and keep current an Inventory of Chemical Substances in Commerce, which is a listing of chemical substances manufactured, imported, and processed for commercial purposes in the United States. The purpose of the Inventory is to define, for the purpose of TSCA, what chemical substances exist in U.S. commerce. Since the Inventory thereby performs a regulatory function by distinguishing between existing chemicals and new chemicals, which TSCA regulates in different ways, it is imperative that the Inventory be accurate.

However, from time to time, EPA or respondents discover that substances have been incorrectly described by the original reporting company. Reported substances have been unintentionally misidentified as a result of simple typographical errors, the misidentification of substances, or the lack of sufficient technical or analytical capabilities to characterize fully the exact chemical substances. EPA has developed guidelines (45 FR 50544, July 29, 1980) under which incorrectly described substances listed in the Inventory can be corrected. The correction mechanism ensures the accuracy of the Inventory without imposing an unreasonable burden on the chemical industry. Without the Inventory correction mechanism, a company that submitted incorrect information would have to file a premanufacture notification (PMN) under TSCA section 5 to place the correct chemical substance on the Inventory whenever the previously reported substance is found to be misidentified. This would impose a much greater burden on both EPA and the submitter than the existing correction mechanism. This information collection applies to reporting and recordkeeping activities associated with the correction of misreported chemical substances found on the TSCA Inventory.

Responses to the collection of information are voluntary. Respondents may claim all or part of a notice as CBI. EPA will disclose information that is covered by a CBI claim only to the extent permitted by, and in accordance with, the procedures in 40 CFR part 2.

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 EPA's regulations in title 40 of the CFR, after appearing in the Federal Register, are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and included on the related collection instrument or form, if applicable.

Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average about 2.25 hours per response. Burden is defined in 5 CFR 1320.3(b).

Respondents/Affected Entities: Entities potentially affected by this action are manufacturers or importers of chemical substances, mixtures or categories listed on the TSCA Inventory and regulated under TSCA section 8, who had reported to the initial effort to establish the TSCA Inventory in 1979, and who need to make a correction to that submission.

Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

Estimated average number of responses for each respondent: 1.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 9.

Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 20 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Costs: $1,174.

Changes in Burden Estimates: This request reflects no change in the total estimated respondent burden from that currently in the OMB inventory.