04-26078. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements Under the Perfluorocompound (PFC) Reduction/Climate Partnership for the Semiconductor Industry (...

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

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 is scheduled to expire on 11/30/04. Under OMB regulations, the Agency may continue to conduct or sponsor the collection of information while this submission is pending at OMB. This ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated burden and cost.

DATES:

Additional comments may be submitted on or before December 27, 2004.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number OAR-2004-0228, to (1) EPA online using EDOCKET (our preferred method), by E-mail to [e-mail], or by mail to: Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center, MC 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460, and (2) OMB at: 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:

Scott Bartos, Office of Atmospheric Programs, 6207J, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Aveue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: [phone]; fax number: [phone]; 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 August 23, 2004 (69 FR 51831), EPA sought comments on this ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received no comments.

EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID No. OAR-2004-0228, which is available for public viewing at the Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center 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 [phone], and the telephone number for the Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center is [phone]. An electronic version of the public docket is available through EPA Dockets (EDOCKET) at http://www.epa.gov/​edocket. Use EDOCKET to submit or view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the public 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 above.

Any comments related to this ICR should be submitted to EPA and OMB within 30 days of this notice. EPA's policy is that public comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper, will be made available for public viewing in EDOCKET 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. When EPA identifies a comment containing copyrighted material, EPA will provide a reference to that material in the version of the comment that is placed in EDOCKET. The entire printed comment, including the copyrighted material, will be available in the public docket. Although identified as an item in the official docket, information claimed as CBI, or whose disclosure is otherwise restricted by statute, is not included in the official public docket, and will not be available for public viewing in EDOCKET. For further information about the electronic docket, see EPA's Federal Register notice describing the electronic docket at 67 FR 38102 (May 31, 2002), or go to http://www.epa.gov/​edocket.

Title: Reporting and Record Keeping Requirements Under the Perfluorocompound (PFC) Reduction/Climate Partnership for the Semiconductor Industry (Renewal).

Abstract: The U.S. EPA's Office of Atmospheric Programs launched the PFC Reduction/Climate Partnership for the Semiconductor Industry in 1996. Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) are the most potent greenhouse gases known with atmospheric lifetimes of up to 50,000 years. These unique chemical compounds are required during two critical semiconductor manufacturing steps, plasma etching and CVD chamber cleaning. This important voluntary program contributes to the country's overall reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The program uses a pollution prevention approach to reduce emissions and tracks progress by annually collecting PFC emissions estimates from partners.

In 2003, EPA's semiconductor industry partners were recognized for their commitment and ongoing efforts to protect the climate as participants in the White House's Climate VISION initiative. All semiconductor manufacturers operating in the U.S. are invited to join this voluntary partnership. Participation in the program begins by completing a Memorandum of Understanding that defines a voluntary agreement between the company and EPA. By joining the partnership, a company agrees to track and report an estimate of its PFC emissions to EPA annually. A designated third party assembles the reported data and protects any confidential or sensitive information prior to EPA review. The partner companies' annual reports will provide an estimate of total PFC emissions and a description of the estimating method. The partnership will track progress as a group using the aggregate annual PFC emissions estimate.

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 40 CFR are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and are identified on the form and/or instrument, if applicable.

Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 533 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; 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: Semiconductor manufacturers.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 24.

Frequency of Response: Once annually.

Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 13,050.

Estimated Total Annual Cost: $1,253,982, which includes $0 annualized capital/startup costs, $132,936 annual O&M costs, and $1,121,046 annual labor costs.

Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 1,900 hours in the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of Approved ICR Burdens. This decrease is because the partnership has stabilized at 24 partner companies representing 80 percent of the U.S. industry and no new partners are expected to join over the next three years. Therefore, activities related to reviewing and signing a memorandum of understanding were removed from the burden estimate.

Dated: November 17, 2004.

Oscar Morales,

Director, Collection Strategies Division.