E5-6601. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Reporting Requirements Under EPA's Voluntary Aluminum Industrial Partnership (VAIP) (Renewal), EPA ICR Number 1867.03, OMB Control Number ...

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 December 31, 2005. 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 28, 2005.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number OAR-2003-0034, 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, 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:

Sally Rand, Office of Atmospheric Programs, 6207J, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-343-9739; fax number: 202-343-2208; 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 25, 2005 (70 FR 49920), 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-2003-0034, 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 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 www.epa.gov/​edocket.

Title: Reporting Requirements Under EPA's Voluntary Aluminum Industrial Partnership (VAIP) (Renewal).

Abstract: EPA's Voluntary Aluminum Industrial Partnership (VAIP) was initiated in 1995 and is an important voluntary program contributing to the overall reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases. This program focuses on reducing direct greenhouse gas emissions including perfluorocarbon (PFC) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from the production of primary aluminum. Seven of the eight U.S. producers of primary aluminum participate in this program. PFCs are very potent greenhouse gases with global warming potentials several thousand times that of carbon dioxide and they persist in the atmosphere for thousands of years. CO₂ is emitted from consumption of the carbon anode. EPA has developed this ICR to renew authorization to collect information from companies in the VAIP. Participants voluntarily agree to the following: Designating a VAIP liaison; undertaking technically feasible and cost-effective actions to reduce PFC and direct CO₂ emissions; and reporting to EPA, on an annual basis, the PFC and CO₂ emissions or production parameters use to estimate emissions. The information contained in the annual reports of VAIP members is used by EPA to assess the success of the program in achieving its goals. The information contained in the annual reports may be considered confidential business information and is maintained as such. 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.

Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 98 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: Primary Production of Aluminum.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 7.

Frequency of Response: Annually.

Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 689.

Estimated Total Annual Cost: $51,478, which includes $0 annualized capital/startup costs, $0 annual O&M costs, and $51,478 annual labor costs.

Changes in the Estimates: There is an increase of 105 hours in the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of Approved ICR Burdens. This increase is due to additional incremental effort to collect and report annual direct carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions data in addition to perfluorocarbon (PFC) data. Direct CO₂ emissions result from the consumption of the carbon anode during the production of primary aluminum.

Dated: November 16, 2005.

Oscar Morales,

Director, Collection Strategies Division.