[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 246 (Friday, December 20, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67328-67330]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-32351]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-5668-6]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Standards for Reformulated Gasoline ICR 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 EPA is planning to submit the 
following proposed and/or continuing Information Collection Request 
(ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB): Standards for 
Reformulated Gasoline; OMB No. 2060-0277; expires 03/31/97. Before 
submitting the ICR to OMB for review and approval, EPA is soliciting 
comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as 
described below.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before February 18, 1997.

ADDRESSES: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air and 
Radiation, Office of Mobile Sources (6406J), 401 M street S.W., 
Washington, D.C. 20460; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of 
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, Office of Regulatory Enforcement 
(2242A), 401 M Street S.W., Washington, D.C. 20460. Copies of the ICR 
can be obtained free of charge by contacting Ervin Pickell as provided 
below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ervin Pickell, Telephone: (303) 969-
6485; Facsimile number: (303) 969-6490; E-MAIL: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

    Affected entities: Entities potentially affected by this action are 
those which produce, import, distribute, sell, transport or dispense 
reformulated and conventional gasoline.
    Title: Standards for Reformulated Gasoline; OMB No. 2060-0277; 
expires 03/31/97.
    Abstract: Section 211(k) of the Clean Air Act requires EPA to 
regulate reformulated gasoline and conventional gasoline. The Act 
requires schemes for tracking and trading credits and allows for 
averaging certain gasoline parameters for compliance. In order to 
enforce the requirements of the Act, EPA regulations (in effect since 
January 1, 1995) require recordkeeping, reporting and testing. Certain 
responses

[[Page 67329]]

covered by the ICR are voluntary quality assurance efforts. All other 
responses are mandatory. EPA has authority to require this information 
under section 211 of the Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 7545, section 114 of the 
Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 7414 and section 208 of the Act, 42 U.S.C. 
Sec. 7542.
    The only parties with reporting requirements are refiners, 
importers and oxygenate blenders (and their independent labs); these 
parties have the greatest opportunity to affect and control the quality 
of gasoline. Truck distributors are subject to minimal recordkeeping 
requirements and voluntary (affirmative defense) quality assurance 
testing provisions. Retailers and wholesale purchaser-consumers in 
reformulated gasoline areas only are required to accept and maintain 
transfer documents (something they already do as a customary business 
practice (CBP)). Retailers and wholesale purchaser-consumers in 
conventional gasoline areas have no recordkeeping requirements. 
Individual motorists are subject to no recordkeeping requirements under 
the regulations. Confidentiality of information reported or obtained 
from parties is protected under 40 C.F.R. Part 2.
    The recordkeeping and reporting enables EPA to enforce the RFG and 
conventional gasoline requirements. The requirements also are necessary 
to enable each party receiving product to know what the product is and 
to ensure that party's ability to comply.
    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 listed in 40 CFR Part 9 and 48 CFR Chapter 15.
    The following background information is provided to enable persons 
responding to this notice to have sufficient information to comment on 
the information collection. In addition to this information, you may 
obtain a copy of the draft ICR supporting statement as provided above. 
The requirements of the rule can be found at 40 C.F.R. Secs. 80.40-
80.130. In general the requirements are greatest for those who can 
affect gasoline quality the most (refiners/importers). Requirements are 
minimal for typically smaller businesses such as retailers and truck 
distributors. The requirements are all aimed to assure compliance with 
the Clean Air Act requirements in order to assure contemplated 
emissions reductions are realized and to assure noncomplying parties do 
not realize a competitive economic advantage over complying parties. A 
program based on gasoline sampling alone would not assure compliance 
because refiners and oxygenate blenders can achieve compliance based on 
averaging, and credits can be traded. Further, gasoline from different 
refiners is commingled before it arrives at terminals and retail 
outlets. Therefore, records must be kept to ensure these parties meet 
compliance for fuel as it leaves their control and after any averaging 
and credit trading is accounted for.
    Assumptions used for this ICR are largely the same as for the 
previous ICR. This is because labor rates appear to be relatively flat 
and the rule's recordkeeping requirements have not been substantially 
changed. No new equipment costs are anticipated to comply with 
recordkeeping and sampling/testing requirements. However, the proposed 
ICR does reflect some increased and decreased burdens or costs based on 
industry information. For example, the tentative estimated cost of 
refiner/importer gasoline sampling and testing surveys have been 
significantly increased due to information from an industry source. EPA 
specifically seeks comment regarding the costs of the surveys for 1998 
and beyond and the specific rationale regarding such costs.
    Refiners and importers who produce RFG or conventional gasoline are 
required to register with EPA so that EPA has complete information as 
to which entities are subject to which requirements (RFG and/or 
conventional gasoline) and their location. Testing requirements for RFG 
and conventional gasoline by refiners/importers are necessary for the 
regulated entity as well as for EPA to determine if the gasoline 
complies with requirements (per gallon or on average, as applicable). 
Testing requirements have been minimized to the extent practicable and 
many of the parameters were already tested for by refiners before this 
rule was published. Independent sampling and testing of a limited 
number of batches of gasoline per year is needed to ensure that 
refinery or importer testing is accurate and to assure samples of 
specific product will be available for EPA to test at a later date, if 
necessary. Refiners/importers ``certify'' that each batch of gasoline 
produced meets applicable requirements (e.g., for summertime RFG). 
However, this certification entails no reporting to EPA or additional 
recordkeeping; the testing (and recording test results) and release of 
product constitutes certification. Refiners/importers must designate 
each batch of gasoline produced (e.g., as any-oxygenate RBOB or ether-
only RBOB; this is necessary information to determine compliance and is 
necessary information for downstream parties). They must include 
sufficient information on product transfer documents to demonstrate 
what the product is e.g., RFG or conventional gasoline; whether there 
are use restrictions based on time of year (whether VOC-controlled 
gasoline). This not only facilitates EPA compliance determinations but 
is also necessary information for parties downstream, such as terminals 
and distributors, so that appropriate product goes to appropriate areas 
at the appropriate time of year.
    Refiners/importers and oxygenate blenders (and their independent 
labs) are the only parties with reporting burdens. Reports can be filed 
electronically or by mail. Conventional gasoline refiners and importers 
file a year-end report. The RFG compliance reporting burden can be 
minimized to a single report if compliance is based on a per gallon 
standard. Otherwise quarterly reports are filed but compliance is based 
on the year end report and the 3rd quarter report (for RVP, VOC 
emissions performance and oxygen content for the high ozone season). 
Compliance attest engagements are required to give both the refiner/
importer/oxygenate blender and EPA feedback regarding whether 
compliance reporting is accurate and identify mistakes in how 
compliance was determined or in the reporting of the compliance 
information. Based on experience with other gasoline averaging programs 
such as lead phase-down, errors in reporting occurred relatively 
frequently. Flexibility is provided to allow in-house audits to meet 
the attest engagement requirements and the audits require only a 
statistically significant sampling of records to be examined.
    Gasoline sampling and testing surveys are required because the Act 
contemplated that reformulated gasoline compliance demonstrations would 
be at the covered area level. However, in the negotiated regulation 
process refiners and other parties expressed a desire to have 
compliance demonstrated primarily at the refinery level. EPA allowed 
the compliance point to be at the refinery, and allowed for compliance 
averaging. However, to assure actual program effectiveness at the 
covered area level, a program of sampling and testing surveys was 
selected as the negotiated solution.
    Refiners who rely on external oxygenate blenders to add oxygenate 
to RFG can either use regulatory assumptions to determine the 
gasoline's characteristics or they can contract with

[[Page 67330]]

oxygenate blenders and perform a quality assurance program to assure 
and verify that appropriate oxygenate blending is taking place.
    There are several other areas relating to quality assurance where 
recordkeeping is voluntary, for defense purposes. Refiners can perform 
downstream quality assurance to verify quality of branded gasoline 
downstream. This is not required, but may be necessary to meet the 
refiner's defense where a violation is found. Oxygenate blenders are 
also subject to a sampling and testing affirmative defense provision. 
Terminals, pipelines and distributors also can perform a voluntary 
sampling program for defense purposes.
    Retailers and wholesale purchaser-consumers in RFG areas must 
maintain transfer documents so EPA can determine that the gasoline 
complies with requirements for the geographic area and time of year at 
the location it is dispensed. However, because conventional gasoline 
compliance is determined at the refinery level, and without time or use 
restrictions, retailers and wholesale purchaser-consumers in non-RFG 
areas do not need to maintain product transfer information related to 
the regulatory program.
    All parties that must maintain records under the regulation have a 
5 year retention requirement.
    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, including the validity of 
the methodology and assumptions used;
    (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 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses.
    Burden Statement: Refiner/Importer hours per year per respondent is 
about 138 for RFG compliance, including voluntary quality assurance 
programs, and about 27 hours per year per respondent for conventional 
gasoline compliance, including voluntary quality assurance. There are 
about 150 respondents for RFG purposes and about 230 for conventional 
gasoline. The frequency of response and associated yearly hourly burden 
for refiners/importers for RFG compliance is as follows: Registration 
is a one-time requirement that all respondents should have completed; 
Designate and certify each batch of RFG (100 per year; 1.5 hrs. per 
yr.); Test each batch of RFG (100 per yr. (largely CBP); 40 hrs. per 
yr.); Product transfer document for each batch (100 per yr. (largely 
CBP); 0 hrs.); Contracts with oxygenate blenders (for 10 parties who 
choose to do this method, frequency is 5 per yr.; 16 hrs. per party); 
Quality assurance efforts with oxygenate blenders (for the 10 parties 
who choose this method, 20 samples per yr., 30 hrs. per yr.); Report 
compliance (4 responses per yr.; EDI ok; 4 hrs. per response (16 hrs. 
per yr.)); and Compliance audit (one per year; 80 hrs. (See 
conventional gasoline burden for additional hrs.)).
    The frequency of response and associated hourly burden for 
refiners/importers of conventional gasoline is as follows: Registration 
(one-time burden already completed); Test gasoline produced (12 
responses; 2 hrs. per yr. (See additional cost breakdown below); Batch 
designations (158 responses per yr.; 1.5 hrs. per year); Product 
transfer documents (158 per yr.; 0 hrs (largely CBP)); Compliance 
report (1 per yr.; 3.3 hrs); and Compliance audit (1 per yr.; 20 hrs.).
    Purchase of services costs for refiners and importers (150 
respondents) of RFG are as follows: Surveys (industry-wide with cost 
spread among all refiner/importer respondents; 60 surveys in 1997 and 
50 in subsequent years) ($20,000 per respondent in 1997 and possibly 
greater than $30,000 or more per respondent in subsequent years (EPA 
seeks comment regarding the cost, and the rationale for the cost, of 
the surveys in 1998 and subsequent years)); RFG batch testing by 
outside laboratory ($15,000 per year (beyond CBP)); RFG in-line audits 
($826 per party); RFG independent laboratory testing ($9,013 per 
party); and voluntary quality assurance ($9,000 per party).
    Purchase of services costs by refiners/importers of conventional 
gasoline are as follows: Laboratory testing ($1,200 per party). There 
are 230 parties.
    Hourly burdens for RFG oxygenate blenders are as follows: Register 
(1-time burden accomplished by most parties); Quality assurance testing 
for terminal tank blenders (100 respondents; 18 responses per yr. 
taking 16 hrs. per yr.); Quality assurance for truck blenders (250 
respondents; 12 responses per yr.; 7.9 hrs. per yr.); and Compliance 
reporting (350 respondents; 1 per yr.; 3.4 hrs.).
    Purchase of services costs for oxygenate blenders: $450 for lab 
testing for each of 350 respondents and $286 for compliance audit for 
each of 350 parties.
    Hourly burdens for RFG distributors: Product transfer documents for 
truckers (mostly CBP; 0 hrs.; 1,360 responses per yr.; 2,200 
respondents); Product transfer documents for terminals: (mostly CBP; 0 
hrs.; 12,000 responses per yr.; 250 respondents); Terminal quality 
assurance ((non-oxygenate); 10 responses; 6.5 hrs. per yr.; 250 
respondents); Retailer RFG product transfer document requirement 
((mostly CBP); 0 hrs.; 45 responses; 75,000 respondents).
    Hourly burdens for distributors of conventional gasoline: Product 
transfer documents for truckers ((mostly CBP); 0 hrs.; 1,360 responses; 
5,400 respondents); Product transfer documents for terminals ((mostly 
CBP); 0 hrs.; 9,000 responses; 880 parties).
    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; 
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.

    Dated: December 6, 1996.
Sylvia K. Lowrance,
Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Enforcement and 
Compliance Assurance.
[FR Doc. 96-32351 Filed 12-19-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P