[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 44 (Thursday, March 5, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12920-12921]
[FR Doc No: 2020-04466]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OA-2019-0370; FRL-10004-25-OMS]

Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and
Approval; Comment Request; Environmental Impact Assessment of
Nongovernmental Activities in Antarctica (Renewal)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an
information collection request (ICR), Environmental Impact Assessment
of Nongovernmental Activities in Antarctica (EPA ICR Number 1808.09,
OMB Control Number 2020-0007) to the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act. This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is
currently approved through May 31, 2020. Public comments were
previously requested via the Federal Register on September 30, 2019
during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30
days for public comments. A fuller description of the ICR is given
below, including its estimated burden and cost 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.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before April 6, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OA-
2019-0370 online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred method) or by
mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code
28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460, and (2) OMB
via email to<EMAIL_ADDRESS>Address comments to OMB Desk
Officer for the EPA.
    The EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in
the public docket without change including any personal information
provided, unless the comment includes profanity, threats, information
claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie Roemele, NEPA Compliance
Division, Office of Federal Activities, Mail Code 2203A, Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460;
telephone number:<PHONE_NUMBER>; fax number:<PHONE_NUMBER>; email
address<EMAIL_ADDRESS>
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supporting documents, which explain in
detail the information that the EPA will be collecting, are available
in the public docket for this ICR. The docket can be viewed online at
www.regulations.gov or in person at the EPA Docket Center, WJC West,
Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC. The telephone
number for the Docket Center is<PHONE_NUMBER>. For additional
information about EPA's public docket, visit http://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    Abstract: The EPA's regulations at 40 CFR part 8, Environmental
Impact Assessment of Nongovernmental Activities in Antarctica (Rule),
were promulgated pursuant to the Antarctic

Science, Tourism, and Conservation Act of 1996 (Act), 16 U.S.C. 2401 et
seq., as amended, 16 U.S.C. 2403a, which implements the Protocol on
Environmental Protection (Protocol) to the Antarctic Treaty of 1959
(Treaty). The Rule provides for assessment of the environmental impacts
of nongovernmental activities in Antarctica, including tourism, for
which the United States is required to give advance notice under
Paragraph 5 of Article VII of the Treaty, and for coordination of the
review of information regarding environmental impact assessments
received from other Parties under the Protocol. The requirements of the
Rule apply to operators of nongovernmental expeditions organized or
proceeding from the territory of the United States to Antarctica and
include commercial and non-commercial expeditions. Expeditions may
include ship-based tours; yacht, skiing or mountaineering expeditions;
privately funded research expeditions; and other nongovernmental
activities. The Rule does not apply to individual U.S. citizens or
groups of citizens planning travel to Antarctica on an expedition for
which they are not acting as an operator. (Operators, for example,
typically acquire use of vessels or aircraft, hire expedition staff,
plan itineraries, and undertake other organizational responsibilities.)
The rule provides nongovernmental operators with the specific
requirements they need to meet in order to comply with the requirements
of Article 8 and Annex I to the Protocol. The provisions of the Rule
are intended to ensure that potential environmental effects of
nongovernmental activities undertaken in Antarctica are appropriately
identified and considered by the operator during the planning process
and that to the extent practicable appropriate environmental safeguards
which would mitigate or prevent adverse impacts on the Antarctic
environment are identified by the operator.
    Persons subject to the Rule must prepare environmental
documentation to support the operator's determination regarding the
level of environmental impact of the proposed expedition. The
environmental document is submitted to the Office of Federal Activities
(OFA). If the operator determines that an expedition may have: (1) Less
than a minor or transitory impact, a Preliminary Environmental Review
Memorandum (PERM) needs to be submitted no later than 180 days before
the proposed departure to Antarctica; (2) no more than minor or
transitory impacts, an Initial Environmental Evaluation (IEE) needs to
be submitted no later than 90 days before the proposed departure; or
(3) more than minor or transitory impacts, a Comprehensive
Environmental Evaluation (CEE) needs to be submitted.
    Environmental documents are reviewed by OFA, in consultation with
the National Science Foundation and other interested Federal agencies.
OFA notifies the public of document availability at: https://www.epa.gov/international-cooperation/receipt-environmental-impact-assessments-eias-regarding-nongovernmental. The types of
nongovernmental activities currently being carried out are typically
unlikely to have impacts that are more than minor or transitory, thus
an IEE is the typical level of environmental documentation submitted.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: Operators of nongovernmental
expeditions organized or proceeding from the territory of the United
States to Antarctica.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory (40 CFR part 8).
    Estimated number of respondents: 25 (total).
    Frequency of response: Annual.
    Total estimated burden: 1,544 hours (per year). Burden is defined
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $133,780 (per year), includes $0 annualized
capital or operation & maintenance costs.
    Changes in Estimates: There is an increase of 327 hours in the
total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently
approved by OMB. This increase is the result of a change to the number
of operators that the EPA anticipates will submit environmental
documentation as well as the inclusion of a potential PERM, CEE and
Emergency Report submitted by every three years.

Courtney Kerwin,
Director, Regulatory Support Division.
[FR Doc. 2020-04466 Filed 3-4-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P