2011-33123. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements for National Volatile Organic Compound Emission Standards for Architectural Coatings (Renewal)

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 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 January 26, 2012.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2011-0371, to (1) the EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), by email to [e-mail], or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code 28221T, 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:

Kim Teal, Office of Air and Radiation, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Mail Code D243-04, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711, telephone number: [phone]; fax number: [phone]; email 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 June 27, 2011 (76 FR 37347), the EPA sought comments on this ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). The EPA received no comments during the comment period. Any additional comments on this ICR should be submitted to the EPA and OMB within 30 days of this notice.

The EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2011-0371, which is available for online viewing at www.regulations.gov,, or in person viewing at the Air and Radiation Docket Information Center 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 [phone], and the telephone number for the Air and Radiation Docket Information Center is [phone].

Use the 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 the 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 the 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: National Volatile Organic Compound Emission Standards for Architectural Coatings (Renewal).

ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 1750.06, OMB Control No. 2060-0393.

ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2011. 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 the 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: The EPA is required under section 183(e) of the Clean Air Act to regulate volatile organic compound emissions from the use of consumer and commercial products. Pursuant to section 183(e)(3), the EPA published a list of consumer and commercial products and a schedule for their regulation (60 FR 15264). Architectural and industrial maintenance coatings were included on the list, and the standards for such coatings are codified at 40 CFR part 59, subpart D. The information collection includes initial reports and periodic recordkeeping necessary for the EPA to ensure compliance with Federal standards for volatile organic compounds in architectural coatings. Respondents are manufacturers, distributors, and importers of architectural coatings. Responses to the collection are mandatory under 40 CFR part 59, subpart D—National Volatile Organic Compound Emission Standards for Architectural Coatings. All information submitted to the EPA for which a claim of confidentiality is made will be safeguarded according to the agency policies set forth in 40 CFR part 2, subpart B— Confidentiality of Business Information.

Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 29 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 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: Manufacturers and importers of architectural coatings.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 500.

Frequency of Response: On occasion.

Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 14,661.

Estimated Total Annual Cost: $1,261,526, there are no annualized capital or O&M costs.

Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 1,980 hours in the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of Approved ICR Burdens. This decrease is a result of fewer tonnage exemptions and exceedance fees reports.

Dated: December 16, 2011.

John Moses,

Director, Collection Strategies Division.