E9-24056. Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request for Reformulated Gasoline Commingling Provisions; EPA ICR No. 2228.03; OMB Control No. 2060-0566

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 EPA is planning to submit a request to renew an existing approved Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This request is to renew an emergency ICR that is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2009.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before December 7, 2009.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0745, by one of the following methods:

• www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
• E-mail: [e-mail]
• Mail: Air Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code: 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460.
• Fax or Hand Delivery: EPA's Public Reading Room is located in Room 3334 of the EPA West Building, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. Docket hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., excluding legal holidays. In order to ensure to arrange for proper fax or hand delivery of materials, please call the Air Docket at 202-566-1742.

Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0745. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the public docket without change and may be made available online at www.regulations.gov,, including any personal information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information for which disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The www.regulations.gov website is an “anonymous access” system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov,, your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA's public docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/​epahome/​dockets.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Geanetta Heard, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, Transportation and Regional Programs Division, Mail Code 6406J, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: [phone]; fax number: [phone]; e-mail address: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

How Can I Access the Docket and/or Submit Comments?

EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0745. The docket is available for online viewing at www.regulations.gov,, and for in-person viewing at EPA's Public Reading Room. The Public Reading Room was temporarily closed due to flooding and reopened in the EPA Headquarters Library, Infoterra Room (Room 3334), in the EPA West Building, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) in its new location, Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Air Docket is 202-566-1742.

Use www.regulations.gov to obtain a copy of the draft collection of information, submit or view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the docket, and to access those documents in the public docket that are available electronically. Once in the system, select “search,” then key in the docket ID number identified in this document.

What Information Is EPA Particularly Interested in?

Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act, EPA specifically solicits comments and information to enable it to:

(i) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;

(ii) evaluate the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;

(iii) enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and

(iv) minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses. In particular, EPA is requesting comments from very small businesses (those that employ less than 25) on examples of specific additional efforts that EPA could make to reduce the paperwork burden for very small businesses affected by this collection.

What Should I Consider When I Prepare My Comments for EPA?

You may find the following suggestions helpful for preparing your comments:

1. Explain your views as clearly as possible and provide specific examples.

2. Describe any assumptions that you used.

3. Provide copies of any technical information and/or data you used that support your views.

4. If you estimate potential burden or costs, explain how you arrived at the estimate that you provide.

5. Offer alternative ways to improve the collection activity.

6. Make sure to submit your comments by the deadline identified under DATES.

7. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, be sure to identify the docket ID number assigned to this action in the subject line on the first page of your response. You may also provide the name, date, and Federal Register citation.

What Information Collection Activity or ICR Does This Apply to?

Affected entities: Entities potentially affected by this action are gasoline retailers, wholesale purchaser-consumers, gasoline stations, gasoline stations with convenience stores and gasoline stations without convenience stores.

Title: Reformulated Gasoline Commingling Provisions.

ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 2228.03, OMB Control No. 2060-0566.

ICR status: This ICR is currently scheduled to expire on December 31, 2009. 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 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: With this information collection request (ICR), we are seeking permission to accept notifications from gasoline retailers and wholesale purchaser-consumers related to commingling of ethanol blended and non-ethanol-blended reformulated gasoline (RFG) under section 1513 of the Energy policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) and 40 CFR 80.78(a)(8)(ii)(B); and to provide for a compliance option whereby a retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer may demonstrate compliance via test results under § 80.78(a)(8)(iii)(A). These provisions are designed to grant compliance flexibility. An emergency ICR has been put in place and expires December 31, 2009. We are requesting that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) renew this ICR and request that it be effective three years after approval.

Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 0.50 hours (30 minutes) per respondent and 0.25 hours (15 minutes) per response. Burden means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by a person to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or provide information to (or for) a Federal agency. This includes the time needed to review instructions; to develop, acquire, install, and utilize technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, and verifying information; to process and maintain information; to disclose and provide information; to adjust the existing ways to comply with any previously applicable instructions and requirements which have subsequently changed; to train personnel to be able to respond to a collection of information; to search data sources; to complete and review the collection of information; and to transmit or otherwise disclose the information.

The ICR provides a detailed explanation of the Agency's estimate, which is only briefly summarized here:

Estimated total number of potential respondents: 56,700.

Frequency of response: Occasional.

Estimated total average number of responses for each respondent: 2.

Estimated total annual burden hours: 27,675 hours.

Estimated total annual costs: $885,600.

Are There Changes in the Estimates From the Last Approval?

There is a reduction of $1,079,325 in the total estimated respondent burden compared with that identified in the previous ICR. This change is due to the use of a more correct Bureau of Labor Statistics table reflecting costs for the gasoline retail station industry.^[1]

What Is the Next Step in the Process for This ICR?

EPA will consider the comments received and amend the ICR as appropriate. The final ICR package will then be submitted to OMB for review and approval pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.12. At that time, EPA will issue another Federal Register notice pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.5(a)(1)(iv) to announce the submission of the ICR to OMB and the opportunity to submit additional comments to OMB. If you have any questions about this ICR or the approval process, please contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Dated: September 30, 2009.

Lori Stewart,

Acting Director, Office of Transportation and Air Quality.

Footnotes

1.  For this ICR, we have used the “May 2008 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates: NAICS 44710—Gasoline Stations,” as the basis for our estimates. See http://www.bls.gov/​oes/​2008/​may/​naics4_​447100.htm (accessed September 8, 2009).