[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 17 (Tuesday, January 27, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3913-3914]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-1682]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OAR-2003-0171; FRL-7614-2]


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, EPA ICR Number 1907.03, OMB Control Number 2060-
0437

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 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 
January 31, 2004. Under OMB regulations, the Agency may continue to 
conduct or sponsor the collection of information while this submission 
is pending at OMB. This ICR describes the nature of the information 
collection and its estimated burden and cost.

DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before February 26, 
2004.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number OAR-2003-
0171, to (1) 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, and (2) OMB 
at: 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: [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 October 20, 2003, (68 FR 59934), 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-2003-0171, 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 Avenue, 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 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 and OMB 
within 30 days of this notice. 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 (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

[[Page 3914]]

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: Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements Regarding the 
Sulfur Content of Motor Vehicle Gasoline Under the Tier 2 Rule.
    Abstract: The requirements covered under this ICR are included in 
the final Tier 2 rule, published on 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 approved under 
OMB Control Number 2060-0277 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 
Transportation and Regional Programs Division, 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.
    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 40 CFR are listed in 40 CFR part 9 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 
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 approximately 1 hour. The total number of annual 
responses is estimated to be 37,818.
    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.
    Respondents/Affected Entities: Refiners, Importers, Gasoline 
Terminals, Pipelines, Users of Research & Development Gasoline.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,380.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion, monthly and annually.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 38,742.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $2,405,185, includes $0 annualized 
capital/startup costs, $0 annual O&M costs, and $2,405,185 labor costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is an increase of 26,210 hours in 
the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of 
Approved ICR Burdens. This increase reflects a change in the 
information collection burdens beginning on January 1, 2004. Some of 
the burdens associated with the initial phase of the program will not 
be required after January 1, 2004, while other burdens will be imposed 
beginning on January 1, 2004. The increase is largely due to a 
requirement that refiners and importers sample and test each batch of 
gasoline for compliance with the gasoline sulfur standards, which 
become effective on January 1, 2004. The difference in the total number 
of responses in the early years of the program (192,268) and subsequent 
years (37,818) is due to the large number of small gasoline 
distributors and retail gasoline service stations that needed to become 
familiar with the requirements of the new program. The new 
requirements, however, do not impose additional recordkeeping burdens 
on these parties beyond what they currently are required to keep under 
the reformulated gasoline program.

    Dated: January 13, 2004.
Deborah Williams,
Acting Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 04-1682 Filed 1-26-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P