2019-03020. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”).

ACTION:

Notice; request for comments.

SUMMARY:

The FTC requests that the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) extend for an additional three years the current Paperwork Reduction Act (“PRA”) clearance for the information collection requirements in its Alternative Fuels Rule (“Rule”). That clearance expires on May 31, 2019.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before March 25, 2019.

ADDRESSES:

Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper, by following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write “Paperwork Comment: FTC File No. P134200” on your comment, and file your comment online at https://www.regulations.gov/​searchResults?​rpp=​25&​so=​DESC&​sb=​postedDate&​po=​0&​cp=​O&​a=​FTC by following the instructions on the web-based form. If you prefer to file your comment on paper, mail your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite CC-5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW, 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or copies of the proposed information requirements for the Alternative Fuels Rule should be directed to Hampton Newsome, Attorney, [phone], Division of Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Alternative Fuels Rule, 16 CFR part 309.

OMB Control Number: 3084-0094.

Type of Review: Extension of currently approved collection.

Abstract: Pursuant to the OMB regulations, 5 CFR part 1320, that implement the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., the FTC is providing a second opportunity for public comment while seeking OMB approval to renew the pre-existing clearance for the Rule. The Rule, which implements the Energy Policy Act of 1992, Public Law 102- 486, requires disclosure of specific information on labels posted on fuel dispensers for non-liquid alternative fuels. To ensure the accuracy of these disclosures, the Rule also requires that sellers maintain records substantiating product-specific disclosures they include on these labels.

It is common practice for alternative fuel industry members to determine and monitor fuel ratings in the normal course of their business activities. This is because industry members must determine the fuel ratings of their products in order to monitor quality and to decide how to market them. “Burden” for PRA purposes is defined to exclude effort that would be expended regardless of any regulatory requirement. 5 CFR 1320.2(b)(2). Moreover, as originally anticipated when the Rule was promulgated in 1995, many of the information collection requirements and the originally estimated hours were associated with one-time start up tasks of implementing standard systems and processes.

Other factors also limit the burden associated with the Rule. Certification may be a one-time event or require only infrequent revision. Disclosures on electric vehicle fuel dispensing systems may be useable for several years. Nonetheless, there is still some burden associated with posting labels. There also will be some minimal burden associated with new or revised certification of fuel ratings and recordkeeping. The burden on vehicle manufacturers is limited because only newly manufactured vehicles will require label posting and manufacturers produce very few new models each year.

On November 29, 2018, the Commission sought comment on the Rule's information collection requirements and staff's associated PRA burden estimates (“November 29, 2018 Notice”). One comment was received. The comment opined favorably on the Rule as a whole and, in particular, on the Rule's required disclosure of specific information on fuel dispenser labels, which the comment stated leads to more informed consumers. Further, it advocated for the FTC receiving renewed OMB clearance to enable the FTC “to properly consider [the Rule] and how it will affect the public” and to “allow the FTC more feedback and to create a more refined and effective rule when they enter the final rule phase.”

To clarify, neither the November 29, 2018 Notice or the instant publication concern a rulemaking. Rather, pursuant to the PRA, the Commission seeks OMB's continued clearance to impose and enforce the Rule's recordkeeping and disclosure requirements described above and detailed further in the November 29, 2018 Notice. Nonetheless, pursuant to Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the Commission sought in its preceding Notice public comments on (1) whether the recordkeeping and disclosure requirements are necessary, including whether the information will be practically useful; (2) the accuracy of our burden estimates, including whether the methodology and assumptions used are valid; (3) how to improve the quality, utility, and clarity of the disclosure requirements; and (4) how to minimize the burden of providing the required information to consumers. No further comment than that noted above was received. The Commission invites again further public comments pursuant to the above-stated criteria.

Estimated Annual Burden ¹

 

Hours: Recordkeeping (2,000) + certification (400) + labeling (3,600) = 6,000 hours.

Labor Costs: Recordkeeping ($31,037) + certification ($13,112) and labeling ($118,008) = $162,157.

Non-Labor Cost: $3,040 (estimated annual fuel labeling costs).

Request for Comment

You can file a comment online or on paper. For the FTC to consider your comment, we must receive it on or before March 25, 2019. Write “Paperwork Comment: FTC File No. P134200” on your comment. Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit your comments online, or to send them to the Commission by courier or overnight service. To make sure that the Commission considers your online comment, you must file it through the https://www.regulations.gov website by following the instructions on the web-based form provided. Your comment—including your name and your state—will be placed on the public record of this proceeding, including the https://www.regulations.gov website. As a matter of discretion, the Commission tries to remove individuals' home contact information from comments before placing them on www.regulations.gov.

If you file your comment on paper, write “Paperwork Comment: FTC File No. P134200” on your comment and on the envelope, and mail it to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite CC-5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW, 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 20024. If possible, submit your paper comment to the Commission by courier or overnight service.

Because your comment will be placed on the publicly accessible website at www.regulations.gov,, you are solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive or confidential information. In particular, your comment should not include any sensitive personal information, such as your or anyone else's Social Security number; date of birth; driver's license number or other state identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number; financial account number; or credit or debit card number. You are also solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive health information, such as medical records or other individually identifiable health information. In addition, your comment should not include any “trade secret or any commercial or financial information which . . . is privileged or confidential”—as provided by Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)—including in particular competitively sensitive information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.

Comments containing material for which confidential treatment is requested must be filed in paper form, must be clearly labeled “Confidential,” and must comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c). In particular, the written request for confidential treatment that accompanies the comment must include the factual and legal basis for the request, and must identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from the public record. See FTC Rule 4.9(c). Your comment will be kept confidential only if the General Counsel grants your request in accordance with the law and the public interest. Once your comment has been posted publicly at www.regulations.gov,, we cannot redact or remove your comment unless you submit a confidentiality request that meets the requirements for such treatment under FTC Rule 4.9(c), and the General Counsel grants that request.

The FTC Act and other laws that the Commission administers permit the collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding as appropriate. The Commission will consider all timely and responsive public comments that it receives on or before March 25, 2019. For information on the Commission's privacy policy, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, see https://www.ftc.gov/​site-information/​privacy-policy. For supporting documentation and other information underlying the PRA discussion in this Notice, see http://www.reginfo.gov/​public/​jsp/​PRA/​praDashboard.jsp.

Comments on the information collection requirements subject to review under the PRA also should be submitted to OMB. If sent by U.S. mail, they should be addressed to: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for the Federal Trade Commission, New Executive Office Building, Docket Library, Room 10102, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503. Comments sent to OMB by U.S. postal mail are subject to delays due to heightened security precautions and also can be sent by email to [e-mail].

Heather Hippsley,

Deputy General Counsel.

Footnotes

1.  The calculations underlying these estimates are detailed in the related November 29, 2018 Notice. See 83 FR at 61381.