"EPA: Survey of Airport Deicing Operations"

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment
Request; Survey of Airport Deicing Operations, EPA ICR Number 2171.01
The Federal Register


DATES: For both the Airline and Airport Questionnaires, comments must be
submitted on or before May 16, 2005. (The Airport Questionnaire was
previously announced on January 28, 2005.)

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number OW-2004-0038,
to EPA online using EDocket (our preferred method), by e-mail to
ow-docket@xxxxxxx, or by mail to: Water Docket, 4101T, Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric Strassler, EPA Office of Water,
telephone 202-566-1026, e-mail strassler.eric@xxxxxxxx

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA has established a public docket for this ICR
under Docket ID number OW-2004-0038, which is available for public viewing
at the Water Docket in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room B102,
1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public
Reading Room is open from 8:30 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 Water Docket is 202-566-2422.
An electronic version of the public docket is available through EPA Dockets
(EDocket) at http://www.epa.gov/edocket. Use EDocket to obtain a copy of the
draft collection of information, 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 "Search," then key in the docket ID number identified
above.

Any comments related to this ICR should be submitted to EPA within 60 days
of this notice. EPA's policy is that public comments, whether submitted
electronically or in paper, will be made available for public viewing in
EDocket 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
EDocket. 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 EDocket. For further
information about the electronic docket, see EPA's Federal Register
notice describing the electronic docket at 67 FR 38102 (May 31, 2002), or go
to http://www.epa.gov/edocket.

Affected Entities: Entities potentially affected by this action are airport
owners/operators.

Title: Survey of Airport Deicing Operations (Airline Questionnaire).

Abstract: EPA is developing wastewater discharge standards, called "effluent
guidelines," for airports pursuant to the Agency's 2004 Effluent
Guidelines Plan (69 FR 53719, September 2, 2004). The focus of the
rulemaking is on wastewater discharges from aircraft and runway deicing
operations. EPA will send survey questionnaires to a sample of air carriers
to help the Agency compile a national assessment of deicing operations. The
survey will include questions on the deicing technologies employed, amount
of deicing chemicals used, pollution prevention techniques, and economic and
financial information. Each air carrier receiving a questionnaire package
would be asked to provide responses for a specified sample of locations at
which the airline operates. Completion of this one-time survey will be
mandatory pursuant to sec. 308 of the Clean Water Act.

EPA has prepared a separate draft questionnaire for airports. This
questionnaire was announced at 70 FR 4117, January 28, 2005, with a comment
deadline of March 29, 2005. EPA is hereby extending the comment deadline for
the Airport Questionnaire to match the deadline for the Airline
Questionnaire, namely May 16, 2005.

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 40
CFR are listed in 40 CFR part 9.

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, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;

(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 electronic,
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of
information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.

Burden Statement. The estimated burden for this survey is 24 hours per air
carrier site (i.e. an air carrier's operational facility at a specific
airport). The total number of air carrier sites is 300, producing an
approximate total burden of 7,200 hours. 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.

Dated: March 10, 2005.
Mary T. Smith,
Acting Director, Office of Science and Technology.


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