[Federal Register: December 13, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 239)]
[Notices]
[Page 70836-70837]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13de07-48]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2004-0077; FRL-8505-7]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Significant New Alternatives
Policy (SNAP) Program (Renewal), EPA ICR Number 1596.07, OMB Control
Number 2060-0226
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 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. This ICR, which is abstracted below, describes the
nature of the information collection and its expected burden and cost.
DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before January 14,
2008.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OAR-2004-0077, to (1) EPA online using http://www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), by e-mail to a-and-r-docket@epamail.epa.gov, or by
mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Air and
Radiation Docket, Mail Code 2822T, 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: Monica Shimamura, Stratospheric
Protection Division, Alternatives and Emission Reductions Branch, Mail
Code 6205J, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave.,
NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 343-9337; fax
number: (202) 343-2362; e-mail address: shimamura.monica@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 June 11, 2007 (72 FR 32095), 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-2004-0077, which is available for online viewing at
http://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 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 http://www.regulations.gov
, to submit or view public comments, to 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 http://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 http://www.regulations.gov
.
Title: Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) Program (40 CFR
part 82, subpart G) (Renewal).
ICR numbers: EPA ICR Number 1596.07, OMB Control Number 2060-0226.
ICR status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2007.
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 and 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: Information collected under this rulemaking is necessary
to implement the requirements of the Significant New Alternatives
Policy (SNAP) program for evaluating and regulating substitutes for
ozone-depleting chemicals being phased out under the stratospheric
ozone protection provisions of the Clean Air Act (CAA). Under CAA
section 612, EPA is authorized to identify and restrict the use of
substitutes for class I and class II ozone-depleting substances where
EPA determines other alternatives exist that reduce overall risk to
human health and the environment. The SNAP program, based on
information collected from the manufacturers, formulators, and/or
sellers of such substitutes, identifies acceptable substitutes.
Responses to the collection of information are mandatory under section
612 for anyone who sells, or in certain cases, uses substitutes for an
ozone-depleting substance after April 18, 1994, the effective date of
the final rule. Under CAA section 114(c), emissions information may not
be claimed as confidential.
To develop the lists of acceptable and unacceptable substitutes,
the Agency must assess and compare ``overall risks to human health and
the environment'' posed by use of substitutes in the context of
particular applications. EPA requires submission of information
covering a wide range of health and environmental factors. These
include intrinsic properties such as physical and chemical information,
ozone depleting potential, global warming potential, toxicity and
flammability, and use-specific data such as substitute applications,
process description, environmental release data, environmental fate and
transport and cost information. Once a completed submission has been
received, a 90-day review period under the SNAP program will commence.
Any substitute which is a new chemical must also be submitted to the
Agency under the Premanufacture Notice program under the Toxic
Substances Control Act (TSCA). Alternatives that will be used in
pesticide formulations must be filed jointly with EPA's Office of
Pesticide Programs and with SNAP.
Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 30
hours per respondent. 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
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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: Manufacturers, importers,
formulators and processors of substitutes for ozone depleting
substances.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 268.
Frequency of Response: Annual.
Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 8,204 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Costs: $511,430. This includes an estimated
$492,252 in labor costs, $18,918 in capital costs and $260 in O&M
costs.
Changes in Estimates: The total number of burden hours requested
for this information collection has decreased from 8,927 to 8,204. The
SNAP burden hours have been decreasing since 2000 from 10,363 to 8,927
to 8,204 hours. The reason for this change in burden is the smaller
number of respondents keeping records for alternatives that are subject
to more narrowed use limits than three years ago because of the
development of new substitutes. For example, users of some restricted
fire suppressants now have other options available with no restriction,
and thus no paperwork requirement. In addition, a smaller number of
SNAP petitions are being filed than EPA estimated three years ago. The
recordkeeping estimates remain the same.
Dated: December 6, 2007.
Sara Hisel-McCoy,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. E7-24159 Filed 12-12-07; 8:45 am]
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