[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 147 (Thursday, July 31, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44947-44949]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-19503]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OAR-2003-0018, FRL-7538-2]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission of EPA ICR 
No. 1626.08 (OMB No. 2060-0256) to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request

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 the following Information 
Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for review and approval: National Refrigerant 
Recycling and Emissions Reduction Program. This ICR describes the 
nature of the information collection and its expected burden and cost.

DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before September 2, 
2003.

ADDRESSES: Follow the detailed instructions in SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julius Banks, Global Programs 
Division, Office of Air and Radiation, Office of Atmospheric Programs; 
Mail Code 6205J; Environmental Protection Agency; 1200 Pennsylvania 
Ave., NW; Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 564-9870; fax 
number: (202) 565-2096; e-mail address: [email protected].

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 March 10, 2003 (68 FR 11389), 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. OAR-2003-0018, which is available for public viewing at the Air and 
Radiation Docket and Information Center 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 and Information 
Center 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 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 OMB and EPA 
within 30 days of this notice, and according to the following detailed 
instructions: (1) Mail your comments to OMB at: Office of Information 
and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB),

[[Page 44948]]

Attention: Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC 
20503, and (2) Submit your comments to EPA online using EDOCKET (our 
preferred method), by e-mail to: [email protected], or by mail to: 
EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Air and Radiation 
Docket and Information Center (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.
    Title: National Refrigerant Recycling and Emissions Reduction 
Program (OMB Control Number 2060-0256, EPA ICR Number 1626.08). This is 
a request to renew an existing approved collection that is scheduled to 
expire on July 31, 2003. Under OMB regulations, the Agency may continue 
to conduct or sponsor the collection of information while this 
submission is pending at OMB.
    Abstract: EPA has developed regulations under the Clean Air Act 
Amendments of 1990 (the Act) establishing standards and requirements 
regarding the use and disposal of class I and class II ozone-depleting 
substances used as refrigerants during the service, maintenance, 
repair, or disposal of refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment. 
Section 608(c) of the Act states that effective July 1, 1992, it is 
unlawful for any person in the course of maintaining, servicing, 
repairing, or disposing of refrigeration or air-conditioning equipment 
to knowingly vent or otherwise knowingly release or dispose of any 
class I or class II substance used as a refrigerant in the equipment in 
a manner which permits the substance to enter the environment.
    During 1993, EPA promulgated regulations under section 608 of the 
Act for the recycling of ozone-depleting refrigerants recovered during 
the servicing and disposal of air-conditioning and refrigeration 
equipment. These regulations were published on May 14, 1993 (58 FR 
28660) and codified in 40 CFR part 82, subpart F (82.150 et seq.).
    The regulations require persons servicing refrigeration and air-
conditioning equipment to observe certain service practices that reduce 
emissions of ozone depleting refrigerants. The regulations also 
establish certification programs for technicians, recycling and 
recovery equipment, and off-site refrigerant reclaimers. In addition, 
EPA requires that ozone depleting refrigerants contained ``in bulk'' in 
appliances be removed prior to disposal of the appliances and that all 
refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment, except for small 
appliances and room air conditioners, be provided with a servicing 
aperture that facilitates recovery of the refrigerant. Moreover, the 
Agency requires that substantial refrigerant leaks in equipment be 
repaired when they are discovered. These regulations significantly 
reduce emissions of ozone depleting refrigerants, and therefore aid 
U.S. and global efforts to minimize damage to the ozone layer and the 
environment as a whole.
    To facilitate compliance with and enforcement of section 608 
requirements, EPA requires reporting and record keeping requirements of 
technicians; technician certification programs; equipment testing 
organizations; refrigerant wholesalers and purchasers; refrigerant 
reclaimers; refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment owners; and 
other establishments that perform refrigerant removal, service, or 
disposal. The record keeping requirements and periodic submission of 
reports, to EPA's Office of Air and Radiation, Office of Atmospheric 
Programs, occur on an annual, biannual, onetime, or occasional basis 
depending on the nature of the reporting entity and the length of time 
that the entity has been in service. Specific reporting and record 
keeping requirements were published in 58 FR 28660 and codified under 
40 CFR part 82, subpart F (82.166). These reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements also allow EPA to evaluate the effectiveness of the 
refrigerant regulations, and help the Agency determine if we are 
meeting the obligations of the United States, under the 1987 Montreal 
Protocol, to reduce use and emissions of ozone-depleting substances to 
the lowest achievable level.
    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, and are 
identified on the form and/or instrument, if applicable.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average: 18 
hours for the two EPA-approved refrigerant recovery/recycling equipment 
testing organizations; 3,375 hours for an estimated 2,250 service 
establishments that will change ownership or enter the market; 375 
hours for an estimated 375 disposal establishments that change 
ownership or enter the market; 67,500 hours for the maintenance of 
copies of signed statements by an estimated 7,500 disposal 
establishments; 20 hours for certification of an estimated 4 
refrigerant reclaimers that change ownership or enter the market; 275 
hours for reclaimer reporting from an estimated 55 respondents; 40,000 
hours for an estimated 5,000 refrigerant wholesalers to maintain 
records of refrigerant sales transactions; 150 hours for an estimated 5 
technician certification programs applying for first-time approval; 
1,552 hours for 97 technician certification programs to maintain 
records; 90,000 hours for an estimated 30,000 technicians acquiring 
certification for the first time and maintaining certification cards; 
6,000 hours for an estimated 300,000 previously certified technicians 
to maintain their certification cards; 56 hours for an estimated 10 
owners of industrial process refrigeration equipment (appliances) who 
request a 30-day extension to the 30-day leak repair requirement or the 
retrofit requirement; 1,360 hours for an estimated 310 owners of 
industrial process refrigeration and commercial and comfort cooling 
equipment (appliances) who maintain information on purged/destroyed 
refrigerant that they wish to exclude from their leak rate 
calculations, records on the calculation of the full charge using a 
range, or plans to retire or retrofit their appliances.
    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

[[Page 44949]]

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.
    Respondents/Affected Entities: Entities potentially regulated by 
this action are those that recover, recycle, reclaim, sell, or 
distribute in interstate commerce refrigerants that contain 
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and/or hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs); and 
those that service, maintain, repair, or dispose of appliances 
containing CFC or HCFC-refrigerants. In addition, the owners or 
operators of appliances containing CFC or HCFC-refrigerants may be 
potentially regulated.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 345,608.
    Frequency of Response: Reporting requirements under this rulemaking 
are primarily required on an annual basis, with the exception of 
technician testing organizations who are required to report biannually. 
The frequency of recordkeeping requirements under this rulemaking vary 
depending upon the actions of the respondent but are generally required 
on a transactional basis.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 210,681.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $6,973,541, includes $0 annualized 
capital or O&M costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 208,865 hours in 
the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of 
Approved ICR Burdens. This decrease is not due to a change in any 
program requirement. The adjustment is the result of changes in EPA's 
estimates of labor rates, time required to submit reports and maintain 
records, and the overall number of respondents.

    Dated: July 22, 2003.
Doreen Sterling,
Acting Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 03-19503 Filed 7-30-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P