E8-29219. Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Renewal and Consolidation of Several Currently Approved Collections; Comment Request; Pesticide Registration Fees Program; EPA ICR No. 2330.01, OMB Control No. 2070-new

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

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 and consolidate several existing approved Information Collection Requests (ICRs) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Before submitting the consolidated ICR to OMB for review and approval, EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of this information collection. The consolidated ICR, entitled: “Pesticide Registration Fees Program” and identified by EPA ICR No. 2330.01 and OMB Control No. 2070-new, will consolidate the following currently approved ICRs: “Product Registration Maintenance Fees” (EPA ICR No. 1214.07, OMB Control No. 2070-0100) and “Pesticide Registration Fee Waivers (PRIA)” (EPA ICR No. 2147.03, OMB Control No. 2070-0167).

DATES:

Comments must be received on or before February 9, 2009.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, identified by docket identification (ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0480, by one of the following methods:

• Federal Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
• Mail: Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) Regulatory Public Docket (7502P), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.
• Delivery: OPP Regulatory Public Docket (7502P), Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. S-4400, One Potomac Yard (South Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. Deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation (8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays). Special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information. The Docket Facility telephone number is [phone].

Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0480. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the docket without change and may be made available on-line at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through regulations.gov or e-mail. The 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 regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the 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.

Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the docket index available in http://www.regulations.gov. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet and will be publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket materials are available either in the electronic docket at http://www.regulations.gov, or, if only available in hard copy, at the OPP Regulatory Public Docket in Rm. S-4400, One Potomac Yard (South Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. The hours of operation of this Docket Facility are from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The Docket Facility telephone number is [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Rame Cromwell, Field and External Affairs Division (7506P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: [phone]; fax number: [phone]; e-mail address: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. What Information is EPA Particularly Interested in?

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

1. 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.

2. Evaluate the accuracy of the Agency's estimates of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used.

3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected.

4. 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.

II. 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. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns.

6. Offer alternative ways to improve the collection activity.

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

8. 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.

III. What Do I Need to Know About PRA?

An Agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information subject to PRA approval unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA's regulations in title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), after appearing in the preamble of the final rule, are further displayed either by publication in the Federal Register or by other appropriate means, such as on the related collection instruments or form, if applicable. The display of OMB control numbers for certain EPA regulations is consolidated in a list at 40 CFR 9.1.

PRA defines burden to mean 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.

IV. What ICR Does this Request Apply to?

Title: Pesticide Registration Fees Program.

ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 2330.01, OMB Control No. 2070-new.

ICR status: This ICR reflects the consolidation of the following currently approved ICRs: “Product Registration Maintenance Fees” (EPA ICR No. 1214.07, OMB Control No. 2070-0100; scheduled to expire on November 30, 2010) and “Pesticide Registration Fee Waivers (PRIA)” (EPA ICR No. 2147.03, OMB Control No. 2070-0167; scheduled to expire on October 31, 2010).

Affected entities: Entities potentially affected by this ICR are pesticide registrants holding currently active registrations under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) section 3 and section 24(c), which are subject to this information collection activity. These include pesticide companies and state governments, which may be identified by pesticide and other agricultural chemical manufacturing (North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code 325320) and regulation of agricultural marketing and commodities (NAICS code 9641).

Abstract: The proposed consolidation information collection reports the paperwork burden hours and costs for State initiated under either Pesticide Registration Fee Waivers (PRIA) or Pesticide Product Registration Maintenance Fee. PRIA authorizes EPA to process requests for waivers of fees. The ICR covers the collection activities associated with requesting a fee waiver and involves requesters submitting a waiver request, information to demonstrate eligibility for the waiver, and certification of eligibility. Waivers are available for small businesses, for minor uses, and for actions solely associated with the Inter-Regional Project Number 4 (IR-4). State and Federal agencies are exempt from the payment of fees. Maintenance fees are collected from pesticides registrants as required by law. Respondents complete and submit EPA Form 8570-30 indicating the respondent's liability for the registration maintenance fee. Annually the Agency provides registrants a list of the registered products currently registered with the Agency. Registrants are provided the opportunity to review the list, determine its accuracy, and remit payment of maintenance fee. The list of products has space identified for making those products to be supported and those products that are to be cancelled. The registrants are also instructed to identify any products on the list which they believe to be transferred to another company and to add to the list any products which the company believes to be registered that are not the Agency-provided list. The failure to pay the required fee for a product will result in cancellation of that product's registration.

Burden statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average a combined 2,109 hours annually. The consolidated ICR, a copy of which is available in the docket, provides a detailed explanation of this estimate, which is only briefly summarized here:

Estimated total number of potential respondents: 2,109.

Frequency of response: Annual.

Estimated total average number of responses for each respondent: 1.

Estimated total annual burden hours: 10,013 hours.

Estimated total annual costs: $647,703. This ICR does not involve any capital investment or maintenance and operational costs.

V. Are There Changes in the Estimates from the Last Approvals?

The consolidation of these ICRs will not result in a change of the 10,013 hours in the total estimated combined respondent burden that is currently approved by OMB.

VI. What is the Next Step in the Process for this ICR?

EPA will consider the comments received and amend the consolidated ICR as appropriate. The final ICR package will then be submitted to OMB for review and approval pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.12. 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 for the public to submit additional comments for OMB consideration.

If you have any questions about this ICR or the approval process, please contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

List of Subjects

• Environmental protection
• Reporting and recordkeeping requirements

Dated: December 2, 2008.

James B. Gulliford,

Assistant Administrator, Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances.