Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements of the HCFC Allowance System (Renewal); EPA ICR No. 2014.04, OMB Control No. 2060-0498, 36194-36195 [E9-17399]

Agencies

• ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 139 (Wednesday, July 22, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36194-36195]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-17399]



[[Page 36194]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2003-0039; FRL-8933-7]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Reporting and Recordkeeping 
Requirements of the HCFC Allowance System (Renewal); EPA ICR No. 
2014.04, OMB Control No. 2060-0498

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that an Information 
Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This is a request to renew an 
existing approved collection. The ICR, which is abstracted below, 
describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated 
burden and cost.

DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before August 21, 
2009.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2003-0039, to (1) EPA online using https://www.regulations.gov (our 
preferred method), by e-mail to a-and-r-Docket@epa.gov, or by mail to: 
EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Air and Radiation 
Docket and Information Center, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, and (2) OMB by mail to: 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: Robert Burchard, Office of Atmospheric 
Programs, Office of Air and Radiation, Mail Code 6205J, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone number: 202-343-9126; fax number: 202-343-2338; e-mail 
address: burchard.robert@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 February 24, 2009 (74 FR 8252), EPA sought comments on this 
ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received no comments. Any 
additional comments on 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-HQ-OAR-2003-0039, which is available for online viewing at 
https://www.regulations.gov, or in person viewing at the Air and 
Radiation Docket in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room 
3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA/DC 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 Air and 
Radiation Docket is 202-566-1742.
    Use EPA's electronic docket and comment system at https://www.regulations.gov, to submit or view public comments, access the 
index listing of the contents of the docket, and to access those 
documents in the docket that are available electronically. Once in the 
system, select ``docket search,'' then key in the docket ID number 
identified above. Please note that EPA's policy is that public 
comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper, will be made 
available for public viewing at https://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. For 
further information about the electronic docket, go to https://www.regulations.gov.
    Title: Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements of the HCFC 
Allowance System (Renewal).
    ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 2014.04, OMB Control No. 2060-0498.
    ICR status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on July 31, 2009. Under 
OMB regulations, the Agency may continue to conduct or sponsor the 
collection of information while this submission is pending at OMB. 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 when 
approved, are listed in 40 CFR part 9, are displayed either by 
publication in the Federal Register or by other appropriate means, such 
as on the related collection instrument or form, if applicable. The 
display of OMB control numbers in certain EPA regulations is 
consolidated in 40 CFR part 9.
    Abstract: The international treaty The Montreal Protocol on 
Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer (Protocol) and Title VI of the 
Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) established limits on total U.S. 
production, import, and export of class I and class II controlled ozone 
depleting substances (commonly referred to as ``controlled 
substances'').
    Under its Protocol commitments, the United States was obligated to 
cease production and import of class I controlled substances (e.g., 
chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs) with exemptions for essential uses, 
critical uses, previously used material, and material that is 
transformed, destroyed, or exported to developing countries. The 
Protocol also establishes limits and reduction schedules leading to the 
eventual phaseout of class II controlled substances (i.e., 
hydrochlorofluorocarbons or HCFCs).
    The U.S. is obligated to limit HCFC consumption (defined by the 
Protocol as production plus imports, minus exports). The schedule 
called for a 35 percent reduction on January 1, 2004, followed by a 75 
percent reduction on January 1, 2010, a 90 percent reduction on January 
1, 2015, a 99.5 percent reduction on January 1, 2020, and a total 
phaseout on January 1, 2030. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) is responsible for administering the phaseout. The U.S. 
comfortably met the 35% reduction of the cap, and is on schedule to 
meet the 75% reduction for January 1, 2010.
    To ensure the U.S. compliance with these limits and restrictions, 
EPA established an allowance system to control U.S. production and 
import of HCFCs by granting control measures referred to as baseline 
allowances. Baseline allowances are based on the historical activity of 
individual companies. There are two types of allowances: consumption 
and production allowances. Since each allowance is equal to 1 kilogram 
of HCFC, EPA is able to monitor the quantity of HCFCs being produced, 
imported and exported. Transfers of production and consumption 
allowances among producers and importers are allowed and are tracked by 
EPA.
    The limits and restrictions for individual U.S. companies are 
monitored by EPA through the recordkeeping and reporting requirements 
established in the regulations in 40 CFR part 82, subpart A. To submit 
required information, regulated entities can download reporting forms 
from EPA's Web site (https://www.epa.gov/ozone/record.index.html), 
complete them, and send them to EPA electronically, via mail, courier, 
or fax. Almost all of the large regulated companies use the EPA 
reporting forms.

[[Page 36195]]

    Upon receipt of the reports, the data is entered into the ODS 
Tracking System. The ODS Tracking System is a secure database that 
maintains the data submitted to EPA and helps the Agency: (1) Maintain 
oversight over total production and consumption of controlled 
substances; (2) monitor compliance with limits and restrictions on 
production, imports, and trades and specific exemptions from the 
phaseout for individual U.S. companies; (3) enforce against illegal 
imports; and (4) assess, and report on, compliance with the U.S. 
phasedown caps established under the Montreal Protocol.
    EPA has implemented an electronic reporting system through the 
Agency's Central Data Exchange (CDX) that allows regulated entities to 
prepare and submit data electronically. Coupled with the widespread use 
of the standardized forms, electronic reporting has improved data 
quality and made the reporting process efficient for both reporting 
companies and EPA. Most reports that are submitted to the Agency with 
the largest amount of data are submitted electronically.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 5 
hours per response. 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 which have subsequently changed; 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.
    Respondents/Affected Entities: Companies that produce, import, and 
export class II controlled ozone depleting substances
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 53
    Frequency of Response: Occasionally
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 1,860 hours
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $181,532, which includes $1,140 
annualized capital or O&M costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is an increase of 228 hours in the 
total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of 
Approved ICR Burdens. This change can be attributed to two major 
changes: (1) An increase in the number of responses for the Request for 
Additional Allowance Report and Domestic Transfer of Allowances/Inter-
pollutant Transfer Report and (2) an increase in the number of 
activities per year for the Petition to Import Used Substances.

    Dated: July 16, 2009.
John Moses,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. E9-17399 Filed 7-21-09; 8:45 am]
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