[Federal Register: July 28, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 145)]
[Notices]
[Page 43751-43753]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28jy08-68]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2008-0153; FRL-8698-2]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Protection of Stratospheric
Ozone: Critical Use Exemption From the Phaseout of Methyl Bromide
(Renewal); EPA ICR No. 2031.03, OMB Control No. 2060-0482
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,
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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 27,
2008.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2008-0153, to (1) EPA online using http://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, Mail Code 6102T, 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: Jeremy Arling, Stratospheric
Protection Division, Office of Atmospheric Programs (6205J),
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 343-9055; fax number:
(202) 343-2338; e-mail address: arling.jeremy@epa.gov. You may also
visit the Ozone Depletion Web site of EPA's Stratospheric Protection
Division at http://www.epa.gov/ozone/strathome.html for further
information about EPA's Stratospheric Ozone Protection regulations, the
science of ozone layer depletion, and related topics.
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 March 10, 2008 (73 FR 12725), EPA sought comments on this
ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received two comments during the
comment period, which are addressed in the ICR. 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-2008-0153, 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 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, 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: Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Critical Use Exemption
from the Phaseout of Methyl Bromide (Renewal).
ICR Numbers: EPA ICR No. 2031.03, OMB Control No. 2060-0482.
ICR Status: EPA ICR 2031.02 is currently scheduled to expire on
August 31, 2008. In addition, EPA ICR 2179.03 is scheduled to expire on
November 30, 2008. 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: EPA is seeking to renew EPA ICR 2031.02, which allows EPA
to collect Critical Use Exemption (CUE) applications from regulated
entities on an annual basis. EPA is also seeking to transfer the burden
from EPA ICR 2179.03, which requires the submission of data from
regulated industries to the EPA and requires recordkeeping of key
documents to ensure compliance with the Montreal Protocol on Substances
that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Protocol) and the Clean Air Act (CAA).
Thus, the program for the critical use exemption of methyl bromide
would operate under a single ICR.
Entities applying for this exemption are asked to submit to EPA
applications with data necessary to evaluate the need for a critical
use exemption. This information collection is conducted to meet U.S.
obligations under Article 2H of the Montreal Protocol on Substances
that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Protocol). The information collection
request is required to obtain a benefit under Section 604(d)(6) of the
CAA, added by Section 764 of the 1999 Omnibus Consolidated and
Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act (Pub. L. No. 105-277; October
21, 1998).
Since 2002, entities have applied to EPA for a critical use
exemption that would allow for the continued production and import of
methyl bromide after the phaseout in January 2005. These exemptions are
for consumption only in those agricultural sectors that have
demonstrated that there are no technically or economically feasible
alternatives to methyl bromide. The applications are rigorously
assessed and analyzed by EPA staff, including experts from the Office
of Pesticide Programs. On an annual basis, EPA uses the data submitted
by end users to create a nomination of critical uses which the U.S.
Government submits to the Protocol's Ozone Secretariat for review by an
international panel of experts and advisory bodies. These advisory
bodies include the Methyl Bromide Technical Options Committee (MBTOC)
and the Technical and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP). The uses
authorized internationally by the Parties to the Protocol are made
available in the U.S. on an annual basis.
The applications will enable EPA to: (1) Maintain consistency with
the Protocol by supporting critical use nominations to the Parties to
the Protocol, in accordance with paragraph 2 of Decision IX/6 of the
Protocol; (2) ensure that critical use exemptions comply with Section
604(d)(6); and (3) provide EPA with necessary data to evaluate the
technical and economic feasibility of methyl bromide alternatives in
the circumstance of the specific use, as presented in an application
for a critical use exemption. The reported data will enable EPA to: (1)
Ensure that critical use exemptions comply with Section 604(d)(6); (2)
maintain compliance with the Protocol requirements for annual data
submission on the production of ozone depleting substances; (3) analyze
technical use data to ensure that exemptions are used in accordance
with requirements included in the annual authorization rulemakings.
EPA informs respondents that they may assert claims of business
confidentiality for any of the information they submit. Information
claimed confidential will be treated in accordance with the procedures
for
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handling information claimed as confidential under 40 CFR part 2,
subpart B, and will be disclosed only if EPA determines that the
information is not entitled to confidential treatment. If no claim of
confidentiality is asserted when the information is received by EPA, it
may be made available to the public without further notice to the
respondents (40 CFR 2.203). Individual reporting data may be claimed as
sensitive and will be treated as confidential information in accordance
with procedures outlined in 40 CFR part 2.
Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 2
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: Producers, importers, distributors,
and custom applicators of methyl bromide, organizations, consortia, and
associations of methyl bromide users, as well as individual methyl
bromide users.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 2179.
Frequency of Response: Quarterly for producers and importers,
annually for distributors and applicators, periodically (at the time of
purchase) for end users.
Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 4918.
Estimated Total Annual Cost: $993,622, which includes no capital or
O&M costs.
Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 82 hours in the
total estimated respondent burden compared with the burden currently
approved by OMB. This estimate for total burden hours includes updated
burden estimates from this ICR as well as ICR 2060-0564, which is being
transferred into this ICR.
The reason for the decrease in burden hours is that the Agency has
six years of experience managing the critical use exemption program,
which has led to efficiency and greater accuracy in estimating future
burden. Over the last four years, EPA has received on average 65
applications each year, rather than the 100 estimated in the previous
ICR. EPA continues to encourage users with similar circumstances to
utilize grower and user organizations to aid in completion of the
application, thereby reducing both the burden on applicants
(particularly small businesses) and the Agency. The registration of
additional alternatives since 2002 in the U.S. may also result in fewer
applications received. Furthermore, stakeholders are more familiar with
the critical use exemption program and have already organized
associations to apply on behalf of multiple growers. Other reasons for
burden reduction include the encouragement of electronic submission of
applications and other data and very frequent EPA communication with
methyl bromide stakeholders.
Dated: July 22, 2008.
Sara Hisel-McCoy,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. E8-17218 Filed 7-25-08; 8:45 am]
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