Request for Comments: National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Radionuclides; Information Collection Activities Up for Renewal (OMB Control Number 2060-0191)

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6153-1]

Request for Comments: National Emission Standards for Hazardous

Air Pollutants: Radionuclides; Information Collection Activities Up for

Renewal (OMB Control Number 2060-0191)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501

et seq.), this document announces that the Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) is planning to submit the following continuing Information

Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB):

National Emission Standards for Hazardous Pollutants; Radionuclides,

EPA ICR Number: 1100.09, which expires on January 31, 1999. Before

submitting the ICR to OMB for review and approval, EPA is soliciting

comments on specific aspects of the collection as described below.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before October 26, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Office of Radiation and Indoor Air, Radiation Protection

Division, Center for Federal Guidance, Air Standards and

Communications, Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M Street, SW,

6602J, Washington, DC 20460.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eleanor Thornton-Jones, telephone:

(202) 564-9773, fax: (202) 565-2065, E-mail: [email protected]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Affected Entities: Entities affected by this action are Department

of Energy (DOE), facilities, elemental phosphorus plants, phosphogypsum

stacks, underground uranium mines and uranium mill tailings piles.

Title: National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants:

Radionuclides, OMB No. 2060-0191; EPA ICR No. 1100.09 expiring 1/31/99.

Abstract: On December 15, 1989 pursuant to section 112 of the Clean

Air act as amended in 1977 (42 U.S.C. 1857), EPA promulgated NESHAPs to

control radionuclide emissions from several source categories. The

regulations were published in 54 FR 51653, and are codified at 40 CFR

part 61, subparts B, H, I, K, R, T, and W. Due to petitions for

reconsideration, EPA rescinded subpart T (July 15, 1994, 59 FR 36280)

as it applies to owners and operators or uranium mill tailings disposal

sites licensed by NRC or an affected Agreement State.

Since the last ICR, EPA also has rescinded subpart I as it applies

to NRC-licensed facilities, effective December 30, 1996 (61 FR 68971).

EPA rescinded subpart I for NRC licensees because in the 1990 Clean Air

Act amendments, Congress directed EPA to stop regulating radionuclide

emissions from NRC licensed facilities if EPA determines that the NRC

regulatory program protects the public health with an ample margin of

safety. After careful review, EPA determined that public health would

be protected with an ample margin of safety by NRC's program. EPA's

decision was based on NRC's promulgation of the constraint rule, 10 CFR

part 20 (61 FR 65120, December 10, 1996), requiring licensees to

establish a dose constraint for air emissions of radionuclides of 10

mrem/year total effective dose equivalent for dose to members of the

public; a 1992 survey conducted by EPA which found no facility

exceeding EPA's 10 mrem/yr effective doses equivalent standard; and

data collected during implementation of subpart I. The existing subpart

I of the radionuclide NESHAP now only applies to non-DOE federal

facilities not licensed by NRC.

Information is being collected pursuant to Federal regulation 40

CFR part 61. The pertinent sections of the regulation for reporting and

recordkeeping are listed below for each source category:

Department of Energy--Sections 61.93, 61.94, 61.95

Elemental Phosphorous--Sections 61.123, 61.124, 61.126

Phosphogypsum Stacks--Sections 61.203, 61.206, 61.207, 61.208, 61.209

Underground Uranium Mines--Sections 61.24, 61.25

Uranium Mill Tailings Piles--Sections 61.253, 61.254, 61.255, 61.223,

61.224

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 are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and 48 CFR Chapter 15.

The EPA would like to solicit comments 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;

(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

collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g.,

permitting electronic submission of responses.

Burden Statement: Data and information collected is used by EPA to

ensure that public health continues to be protected from the hazards of

airborne radionuclides by compliance with the National Emission

Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP). Compliance is

demonstrated through emission testing and/or dose calculation. Results

are submitted to EPA annually for verification of compliance and

maintained for a period of 5 years. EPA needs this information to

ensure that the regulated facilities are in compliance with the

standard, to identify violators, and take corrective action to bring

the facilities back into compliance.

Other 40 CFR 61 Facilities--The estimates in this ICR renewal

include burden on DOE facilities, elemental phosphorous plants, non-DOE

federal facilities not licensed by NRC, phosphogypsum stacks,

underground uranium mines and uranium mill tailings piles. For purposes

of the burden estimates, it is assumed that all facilities will perform

emission testing in lieu of analytical analysis to estimate emissions

because, although testing is more time consuming than analytic

analysis, the ICR estimates are required to represent a worst case

scenario by a factor of about 20. Required activities consist of

reading and understanding the regulatory provisions and compliance

procedures, preparing a test plan, performing testing, performing data

analysis, preparing a report, and storing and maintaining data.

Accordingly, it is estimated that the burden will not exceed 288 hours

per response and more likely be in a 29 to 288 hour range. The overall

radionuclide NESHAP burden has already been reduced by 80 percent due

to the rescission of subpart I in December 30, 1996.

[[Page 45810]]

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Number of Annual burden

Respondent facilities Burden hours hours

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Department of Energy............................................ 40 1,002 40,080

Elemental Phosphorous........................................... 3 268 804

Non-DOE not licensed by NRC..................................... 20 40 800

Phosphogypsum Stacks............................................ 20 132 2,640

Phosphogypsum Stacks............................................ 10 100 1,000

Underground Uranium Mines....................................... 10 300 3,000

Uranium Mill Tailings Piles, Subpart T.......................... 19 96 1,824

Uranium Mill Tailings Piles, Subpart W.......................... 10 56 560

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Total..................................................... 132 1994 50,708

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It is estimated that 132 facilities would be required to report

emissions and/or effective dose equivalent annually and retain

supporting records for five years. Estimated annualized capital/start

up costs are: $45,000 and the annual operation and maintenance costs

are: $1,744,950.

Burden means the total time, effort, or financial resources

expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or

provide information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time

needed to review instructions; develop, acquire, install, and utilize

technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, and

verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and

disclosing and providing information; adjust the existing ways to

comply with any previously applicable instructions and requirements;

train personnel to be able to respond to a collection of information;

search data sources; complete and review the collection of information;

and transmit or otherwise disclose the information.

Send comments regarding these matters, or any other aspect of the

information collection, including suggestions for reducing the burden,

to the address listed above.

Dated: August 19, 1998.

Frank Marcinowski,

Acting Director, Office of Radiation and Indoor Air.

[FR Doc. 98-23081 Filed 8-26-98; 8:45 am]

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