E7-6711. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission To OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements Regarding the Sulfur Content of Motor Vehicle Gasoline Under the Tier 2 Rule (Renewal), EPA ICR ...

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 for a renewal of an existing approved collection. This ICR is scheduled to expire on 4/30/07. This ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated burden and cost.

DATES:

Additional comments may be submitted on or before May 10, 2007.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number EPA-HQ-OAR-2003-0171, to (1) EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), by e-mail to [e-mail], or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center, Mail Code 6102T, 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:

Marilyn Bennett, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, Mail Code 6406J, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-343-9624; fax number: 202-343-2802; 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 December 1, 2006, (71 FR 69558), 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. EPA-HQ-OAR-2003-0171, which is available for online viewing at www.regulations.gov,, or in person viewing at the Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., 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 Office of Air and Radiation Docket is [phone].

Use 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 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 EPA receives them and without change, unless the comment contains copyrighted material, CBI, or other information whose public disclosure is restricted by statute. For further information about the electronic docket, go to www.regulations.gov.

Title: Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements Regarding the Sulfur Content of Motor Vehicle Gasoline under the Tier 2 Rule (Renewal).

ICR Numbers: EPA ICR No. 1907.04, OMB Control Number 2060-0437.

ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on April 30, 2007. 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 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 requirements covered under this ICR are included in the final Tier 2 rule, published on the February 10, 2000 (65 FR 6698). A minor additional ICR requirement was added to the Tier 2 rule on June 12, 2002 (67 FR 40169).

The scope of the recordkeeping and reporting requirements for each type of party (e.g., refiners, importers, distributors, or retailers of gasoline), and therefore the cost to that party, reflects the party's opportunity to create, control or alter the sulfur content of gasoline. As a result, refiners and importers have significant requirements, which are necessary both for their own tracking and that of downstream parties, and for EPA enforcement, while parties downstream from the gasoline production or import point, such as retailers, have minimal burdens under the rule. Many of the reporting and recordkeeping requirements for refiners and importers regarding the sulfur content of gasoline on which the Tier 2 sulfur program relies currently exist under EPA's reformulated gasoline (RFG) and conventional gasoline (CG) anti-dumping programs. The ICR for the RFG/CG programs covered the majority of the start-up costs associated with the reporting of gasoline sulfur content. Consequently, much of the cost associated with the sulfur-control requirements under the sulfur program has already been accounted for under the ICR for the RFG/CG programs.

The information under this ICR will be collected by EPA's Compliance and Innovative Strategies Division (CISD), Office of Transportation and Air Quality, Office of Air and Radiation (OAR), and by EPA's Air Enforcement Division, Office of Regulatory Enforcement, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA). The information collected will be used by EPA to evaluate compliance with the gasoline sulfur control requirements under the Tier 2 rule. This oversight by EPA is necessary to ensure attainment of the air quality goals of the Tier 2 program. Proprietary information will be submitted by refiners and importers for demonstrating compliance with the sulfur standards, and for establishing baseline sulfur levels under the credit trading and hardship programs associated with the rule. Confidentiality is handled in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act and EPA regulations at 40 CFR part 2.

Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average between 12 and 500 hours per respondent, depending on the information collection requirements of the particular party. The average number of hours per response is estimated to be approximately 1 hour. 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: Refiners, Importers, Gasoline Terminals, Pipelines, Users of R&D Gasoline.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,380.

Frequency of Response: On occasion, monthly and annually.

Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 38,573.

Estimated Total Annual Cost: $2,573,954, includes $0 annualized capital or O&M costs.

Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 169 hours in the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of Approved ICR Burdens because some activities are no longer required under the rule.

Dated: April 2, 2007.

Robert Gunter,

Acting Director, Collection Strategies Division.