E8-442. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Transition Program for Equipment Manufacturers (Renewal); EPA ICR No. 1826.04, OMB Control No. 2060-0369

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION:

Notice.

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 February 13, 2008.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2004-0058, to (1) EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), by e-mail to [e-mail], or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Air Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 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:

Nydia Yanira Reyes-Morales, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Mail Code 6403J, Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-343-9264; fax number: 202-343-2804; e-mail address: [e-mail].

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 September 26, 2007 (72 FR 54654), 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-2004-0058, which is available for online viewing at www.regulations.gov,, or in person viewing at the Air 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 Docket is 202-566-1742.

Use EPA's electronic docket and comment system at 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 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 www.regulations.gov.

Title: Transition Program for Equipment Manufacturers (Renewal)

ICR Numbers: EPA ICR No. 1826.04, OMB Control No. 2060-0369.

ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on January 31, 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, 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: When EPA establishes new regulations with tighter engine emission standards, engine manufacturers often need to change the design of their engines to achieve the required emissions reductions. Consequently, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) may also need to redesign their products to accommodate these engine design changes. Sometimes, OEMs have trouble making the necessary adjustments by the effective date of the regulations. In an effort to provide OEMs with some flexibility in complying with the regulations, EPA created the Transition Program for Equipment Manufacturers (TPEM). Under this program, OEMs are allowed to delay compliance with the new standards for up to seven years as long as they comply with certain limitations. Participation in the program is voluntary. Participating OEMs and engine manufacturers who provide the noncompliant engines are required to keep records and submit reports of their activities under the program.

In 2008, a new TPEM phase will start as the new, nonroad compression-ignition emission regulations (also known as Tier 4 regulations) become effective. This ICR Renewal incorporates the requirements that will be in effect during the active period of this supporting statement. The Tier 4 TPEM program is codified at 40 CFR Part 1039.625 while the Tier 1-Tier 3 program is codified at 40 CFR Part 89.102.

The information is collected for compliance purposes by the Engine Programs Group, Certification and Compliance Division, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, Office of Air and Radiation. Confidentiality of proprietary information is granted in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, EPA regulations at 40 CFR 2, and class determinations issued by EPA's Office of General Counsel.

Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 86 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 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: Entities potentially affected by these actions are manufacturers of compression-ignition engines and equipment.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 99.

Frequency of Response: Annually and on occasion.

Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 8,547.

Estimated Total Annual Cost: $652,930, includes $123,558 annualized capital or O&M costs.

Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 8,522 hours in the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of Approved ICR Burdens. Burden has decreased due to a program change (new regulations). The current phase, as described in the previous ICR (the Tier 1-Tier 3 Program codified at 40 CFR Part 89), is nearing its end and a new phase with new requirements is starting in 2008 (Tier 4, 40 CFR Part 1039). Some overlap exists between the two programs. Although the new requirements impose a slightly larger burden on respondents, EPA estimates that fewer respondents will participate in the Tier 4 phase. The increase in O&M costs is due largely to foreign OEMs that must post a bond before importing their equipment “to cover any potential enforcement actions under the Clean Air Act.”

Dated: January 8, 2008.

Sara Hisel-McCoy,

Director, Collection Strategies Division.