[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 124 (Friday, June 27, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38322-38323]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-16330]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OAR-2003-0097, FRL-7519-6]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; EPA's Mobile Air Conditioner Retrofitting Program

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 document announces that EPA is planning to submit the 
following continuing Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB): Information Collection Activities 
Associated with EPA's Mobile Air Conditioner Retrofitting Program; EPA 
ICR Number 1774.03, OMB Number 2060-0350, expiring September 30, 2003. 
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 August 26, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted electronically, by mail, or 
through hand delivery/courier. Follow the detailed instructions as 
provided below in SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dave Godwin, Global Programs Division, 
Office of Atmospheric Programs, Mail Code 6205J, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone number: 202-564-3517; fax number: 202-565-2155; email 
address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA has established a public docket for this 
ICR under Docket ID number OAR-2003-0097, which is available for public 
viewing at the Air and Radiation Docket in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/
DC), EPA West, Room B102, 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 (202) 566-1744, and the 
telephone number for the Air and Radiation Docket is (202) 566-1742. An 
electronic version of the public docket is available through EPA 
Dockets (EDOCKET) at http://www.epa.gov/edocket. Use EDOCKET to obtain 
a copy of the draft collection of information, submit or view public 
comments, access the index listing of the contents of the public 
docket, and to access those documents in the public docket that are 
available electronically. Once in the system, select ``search,'' then 
key in the docket ID number identified above.
    Any comments related to this ICR should be submitted to EPA within 
60 days of this notice, and according to the following detailed 
instructions: Submit your comments to EPA online using EDOCKET (our 
preferred method), by email to [email protected], or by mail to: 
EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Air and Radiation 
Docket, Mail Code 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 
20460.
    EPA's policy is that public comments, whether submitted 
electronically or in paper, will be made available for public viewing 
in EDOCKET as 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. 
When EPA identifies a comment containing copyrighted material, EPA will 
provide a reference to that material in the version of the comment that 
is placed in EDOCKET. The entire printed comment, including the 
copyrighted material, will be available in the public docket. Although 
identified as an item in the official docket, information claimed as 
CBI, or whose disclosure is otherwise restricted by statute, is not 
included in the official public docket, and will not be available for 
public viewing in EDOCKET. For further information about the electronic 
docket, see EPA's Federal Register notice describing the electronic 
docket at 67 FR 38102 (May 31, 2002), or go to http://www.epa.gov/edocket.

[[Page 38323]]

    Affected entities: Entities potentially affected by this action are 
new and used car dealers, gas service stations, top and body repair 
shops, and general automotive repair shops (including air conditioning 
and radiator specialty shops).
    Title: Information Collection Activities Associated with EPA's 
Mobile Air Conditioner Retrofitting Program (OMB Control Number 2060-
0350; EPA ICR Number 1774.03 expiring 9/30/2003).
    Abstract: Section 612 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) requires EPA to 
promulgate rules making it unlawful to replace any ozone-depleting 
substance with any substitute that the Administrator determines may 
present adverse effects to human health or the environment where the 
Administrator has identified an alternative that (1) reduces the 
overall risk to human health and the environment, and (2) is currently 
or potentially available. In 1994, the Significant New Alternatives 
Policy (SNAP) Program was enacted, enabling the Agency to review 
available substitutes for ozone-depleting substances and determine 
their acceptability. The SNAP program includes review of potential 
alternatives to ozone-depleting refrigerants used for air conditioning 
motor vehicles. EPA is concerned that the existence of several 
substitutes in this end-use may increase the likelihood of significant 
refrigerant cross-contamination and potential failure of both air 
conditioning systems and recovery/recycling equipment. In addition, 
continuing the smooth transition to the use of substitutes strongly 
depends on the continued purity of the recovered, recycled and/or 
reclaimed R-12 supply. The purpose of this Information Collection 
Request (ICR) is to estimate the burden associated with the 40 Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 82 requirement that service technicians 
label mobile air conditioners with information about new refrigerants 
when they retrofit a system. These labels acknowledge that the 
retrofitting has been completed and that the mobile air conditioner 
should no longer use chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerant. In addition, 
the labels provide essential information to technicians about the 
specific refrigerant used in the air conditioning system. The following 
information is required on the label:
    [sbull] The name and address of the technician and the company 
performing the retrofit.
    [sbull] The date of the retrofit.
    [sbull] The trade name, charge amount, and, when applicable, the 
numerical designation of the refrigerant as determined under the latest 
version of Standard 34 of the American Society of Heating, 
Refrigerating, and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), Inc.
    [sbull] The type, manufacturer, and amount of lubricant used.
    [sbull] If the refrigerant is or contains an ozone-depleting 
substance, the phrase ``ozone depleter''.
    [sbull] If the refrigerant displays flammability limits as measured 
according to latest version of Standard E681 of the American Society 
for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International, the statement ``This 
refrigerant is FLAMMABLE. Take appropriate precautions.''
    This information assists the technician in avoiding service 
practices that might result in cross-contamination, system failure and/
or system performance degradation. Responses to the collection 
information are mandatory (section 612 of the CAA and 40 CFR part 82). 
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 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: The U.S. Department of Labor statistics indicate 
there are 168,630 automotive body and related repairers (Standard 
Occupation Classification [SOC] System Code Number 49-3021) and 701,150 
automotive service technicians and mechanics (SOC Code Number 49-3023) 
in the U.S., some of whom will be responsible for retrofitting an 
estimated 3,000,000 motor vehicle air conditioners by September 30, 
2006, the date this ICR will expire. EPA estimates the time to complete 
and apply the label at 5 minutes per instance, making the total burden 
250,000 hours. At an average labor rate of $70 per hour, the overall 
cost associated with the burden hours is $17,500,000. The cost for 
designing, typesetting, printing and distributing 3,000,000 labels is 
estimated to be $300,000 ($0.10 per label). Adding the labor and 
capital costs together yields a total cost burden of $17,800,000. 
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: June 19, 2003.
Edward Callahan,
Acting Director, Office of Atmospheric Programs.
[FR Doc. 03-16330 Filed 6-26-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P