PM2.5 National Ambient Air
Quality Standards (NAAQS) State Implementation Plan (SIP)
Requirements Rule (Renewal)
Extension without change of a currently approved collection
No
Regular
01/30/2020
Requested
Previously Approved
36 Months From Approved
01/31/2021
18
31
25,500
90,600
0
0
The EPA has established a suite of
PM2.5 standards based on numerous health studies and other evidence
demonstrating that serious health effects are associated with
exposure to elevated levels of PM2.5. Estimates show that
attainment of the PM2.5 standards would result in tens of thousands
fewer premature deaths each year, tens of thousands fewer hospital
admissions each year, and hundreds of thousands fewer doctor
visits, absences from work and school, and respiratory illnesses in
children annually. EPA initially established annual and 24-hour
PM2.5 standards in 1997. The 24-hour standard was subsequently
revised in 2006, and the primary annual standard was revised in
2012. The EPA finalized the PM2.5 NAAQS State Implementation Plan
(SIP) Requirements Rule (81 FR 58010) effective October 24, 2016,
to describe the Clean Air Act (CAA) requirements that must be met
by states with nonattainment areas to develop plans for attaining
and maintaining the NAAQS. The intended effect of the PM2.5 NAAQS
SIP Requirements Rule is to provide certainty to states regarding
their planning obligations related to SIP development. Only states
with nonattainment areas are required to submit SIPs that meet the
requirements of the rule. The information collection activities in
this proposed renewal have been submitted for approval to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction
Act (PRA). The PRA requires the EPA to assess the administrative
burden (in hours and dollars) for state air agencies to develop
plans to attain the PM2.5 NAAQS, and for EPA to review and take
action on such plans.
The EPA expects there to be a
reduction of 65,100 hours in average annual burden during the
period covered by this ICR (February 1, 2020-January 31, 2023)
compared with the information collection that is currently approved
by OMB. This decrease is due to the fact that the number of areas
for which states have ongoing attainment planning obligations has
decreased greatly. For the three-year period from February 1, 2017
to January 31, 2020, EPA estimated that 31 nonattainment areas
would have planning requirements for the current. For this renewal,
the EPA estimates that only 18 nonattainment areas will have
planning requirements to meet during the renewal period (February
1, 2020-January 31, 2023). Three of the areas are nonattainment for
multiple PM2.5 NAAQS, thus allowing those affected states to take a
streamlined approach to meeting their ongoing planning
requirements.
$190,627
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Leigh Herrington 919
541-0882
No
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:
(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;
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.