[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 92 (Friday, May 10, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21460-21462]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-11755]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-5502-9]
Agency Information Collection Activities Up for Renewal
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501
et seq.), this notice announces that the Information Collection Request
(ICR) listed below is coming up for renewal. Before submitting the
renewal package to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) is soliciting
comments on specific aspects of the collection as described below.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before July 9, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Phaseout Manager, Stratospheric Protection Division, U.S.
EPA (6205J), 401 M Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20460. Materials
relevant to this proposed rulemaking are contained in Public Docket No.
A-92-13. This docket is located in Room M-1500, Waterside Mall (Ground
Floor), U.S. EPA, 401 M Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20460. Dockets
may be inspected from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. A
reasonable fee may be charged for copying docket materials.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Land, Stratospheric Protection
Division, U.S. EPA (6205J), 401 M Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20460,
(202) 233-9185, phone: (202) 233-9185, fax: (202) 233-9637. For
questions only, you may use the electronic address:
land.tom@epamail.epa.gov. All comments must be sent to the docket.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Affected entities: Entities affected by this action are companies
that produce, import, export, transform, and destroy controlled ozone-
depleting substances, as well as suppliers of laboratory ozone-
depleting chemicals and companies deemed to have an essential use of
these chemicals beyond the phaseout.
Title: ``Recordkeeping and Periodic Reporting of the Production,
Import, Export, Recycling, Destruction, Transhipment and Feedstock Use
of Ozone-depleting Substances.'' OMB Control Number: 2060-0170. EPA
Control Number: 1617.06. Expiration Date: September 30, 1996.
Abstract: EPA accelerated the phaseout of controlled class I ozone-
depleting substances under Section 606 of the Clean Air Act Amendments
of 1990 (CAA) in regulations published on December 10, 1993, in the
Federal Register (58 FR 65018) and codified in 40 CFR Subpart B
(Sec. 82.1 et seq.) These regulations were amended in the Federal
Register on May 10, 1995, (60 FR 24970) in order to ensure an orderly
phaseout and account for exempted production and consumption. Under the
Montreal Protocol and Title VI of the CAA, consumption is defined as
production plus imports minus exports. The ICR renewal indicates
changes in reporting requirements resulting from the phaseout. The
reasons information is collected, the way information is used, and
whether the requirements are mandatory, voluntary, or required to
obtain a benefit, are described below. The ICR renewal will not include
any burden for third-party or public disclosures not previously
reviewed and approved by OMB.
EPA monitors production, import, export, transformation,
destruction of controlled substances and special
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exemptions beyond the phaseout of class I controlled substances through
reporting requirements published in regulations. These reporting
requirements are designed to:
(1) Satisfy U.S. obligations under the international treaty, the
Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer;
(2) Fulfill statutory obligations under Section 603(b) of Title VI
of the CAA;
(3) Report to Congress on the production, use and consumption of
class I and class II controlled substances as statutorily required in
Section 603(d) of the CAA;
(4) Address Federal and industry concerns regarding illegal imports
of newly produced and previously used controlled substances that are
undercutting U.S. markets.
The information submitted to EPA is maintained in a Tracking System
that allows the Agency:
(1) to maintain control over total production and consumption of
controlled substances to satisfy conditions of the CAA and fulfill U.S.
obligations under the Protocol,
(2) to monitor compliance with limits and restrictions on
production, imports, exports and specific exemptions to the phaseout
for individual U.S. companies
(3) to enforce against illegal importers and other violations
related to the control of class I and class II controlled substances.
The Montreal Protocol and Title VI of the CAA establish limits on
total U.S. production, import and export of class I and class I
controlled substances. As of January 1, 1996, the U.S. is obligated
under the Protocol to cease production and import of class I controlled
substances (except methyl bromide) with exemptions for essential-uses,
transformation, destruction and previously used material. The Protocol
also establishes a limit on total consumption of class II controlled
substances beginning in 1996. The CAA has its own limits on production
and consumption of controlled substances that EPA must enforce using
the information submitted.
To ensure U.S. compliance with the limits and restrictions
established by the Protocol and the CAA, the regulation establishes
controls on individual companies. The limits and restrictions for
individual U.S. companies are monitored by EPA through the reporting
requirements established in the regulation. The information provided is
entered into EPA's Stratospheric Protection Tracking System. The
Tracking System allows EPA to conduct compliance monitoring for
individual companies, as well as compliance monitoring for the U.S.
with respect to Protocol obligations and statutory requirements under
the CAA.
EPA uses the information to direct special attention to illegal
activities associated with the import of both newly produced and
previously used controlled substances. Illegal imports and the
avoidance of the tax on these chemicals make them more available,
reduce the incentive to shift to alternatives, and penalize companies
who are complying with U.S. laws. EPA is an active part of the Federal
inter-agency taskforce conducting nation-wide enforcement actions. The
information provided to EPA in response to the accelerated phaseout
regulations often form the basis for cases.
The regulation outlines both recordkeeping and reporting
requirements. EPA has produced a new Guidance Document that explains
the simplifications and changes in post-phaseout reporting and includes
the revised forms. In conjunction with the new Guidance Document, EPA
is developing a new industry electronic version of the reporting/
tracking system for industry reporting. EPA is also initiating a review
of all reporting requirements under the Montreal Protocol and plans on
leading an international effort to simplify them to reduce U.S. burden
and burden for reporting companies.
The EPA would like to solicit comments to:
(i) 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;
(ii) Evaluate the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden
of the proposed collection of information;
(iii) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information
to be collected; and
(iv) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated
collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g.,
permitting electronic submission of responses.
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 are displayed in 40 CFR Part 9.
Burden Statement: The burden hours shown represent the hours in the
information collection request (ICR) renewal. The renewal significantly
reduces overall burden hours due to the transition to the post-phaseout
period. The annual burden hours prior to the phaseout were estimated to
be 34,110 hours. Today's ICR renewal estimates annual burden hours to
be 10,532 hours.
The following is a Table summarizing the burden hours for compiling
information and submitting it to EPA Headquarters:
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Number of Responses/ Total Hours per
Collection activity respondents respondent responses response Total hours
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Producer's Report.............................. 8 4 32 16 512
Importer's Report.............................. 6 4 24 16 384
Notification of Trade.......................... 2 1 2 2 4
Export Report.................................. 10 1 10 120 1200
Lab Certification.............................. 1000 1 1000 1 1000
Class II Report................................ 14 4 56 16 896
Transformation and Destruction................. 15 1 15 120 1800
Essential Use and.............................. 12 4 48 32 1536
Lab Suppliers.................................. 25 4 100 32 3200
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Total burden hrs......................... ........... ........... ........... ........... 10532
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This estimate 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
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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.
Send comments regarding these matters, or any other aspects of the
information collection, including suggestions for reducing the burden,
to the address listed above under ADDRESS near the top of this Notice.
Dated: April 30, 1996.
Paul M. Stolpman,
Director, Office of Atmospheric Programs.
[FR Doc. 96-11755 Filed 5-9-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
