[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 96 (Thursday, May 19, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28935-28936]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-10014]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OAR-2005-0037, FRL-7914-8]


Agency Information Collection Activities Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Recordkeeping and Periodic 
Reporting of the Production, Import, Recycling, Transshipment and 
Feedstock Use of Ozone Depleting Substances (Critical Use Exemption) 
(Renewal) EPA ICR Number 2179.02, OMB Control Number 2060-0564

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 to renew and existing 
approved collection. This ICR describes the nature of the information 
collection and its estimated burden and cost.

DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before June 20, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number OAR-2005-
0037, to (1) EPA online using EDOCKET (our preferred method), by email 
to [email protected], or by mail to: Environmental Protection 
Agency, EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), Air and Radiation Docket and 
Information Center, 1200 Pennsylvania Avene, NW., Mail Code 6102T, 
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: Hodayah Finman, Office of Air and 
Radiation (6205J), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 343-9246; 
fax number: (202) 343-2338; 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 August 25, 2004 (69 FR 52366), EPA sought comments on this 
ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA has addressed the comments 
received.
    EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID 
number OAR-2005-0037, 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 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 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 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 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, 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: Recordkeeping and Periodic Reporting of the Production, 
Import, Recycling, Transshipment and Feedstock Use of Ozone Depleting 
Substances (Critical Use Exemption) (Renewal)
    Abstract: With this Information Collection Request (ICR), the 
Office of Air and Radiation (OAR) is seeking permission to require the 
submission of data from regulated industries to the Environmental 
Protection Agency and to require recordkeeping of key documents to 
ensure compliance with the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete 
the Ozone Layer (Protocol) and the Clean Air Act under the critical use 
exemption program (CUE).
    Entities applied to EPA for a critical use exemption that would 
allow for the continued production and import of methyl bromide after 
the phaseout in January 2005. EPA used the data submitted by users of 
methyl bromide to create a nomination of critical uses that was 
submitted to the Montreal Protocol's Ozone Secretariat for review by an 
international panel of experts. The uses authorized internationally by 
the Parties to the Protocol have been made available in the U.S. 
through a regulatory action completed by EPA on December 23, 2004. This 
ICR seeks to characterize the burden associated with producing, 
importing, distributing, and using critically exempted methyl

[[Page 28936]]

bromide as described in the final rule at 40 CFR part 82.
    A proposed rule seeking comment and a final rule implementing the 
deregulatory action associated with the reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements outlined in this document were published in the Federal 
Register on August 25, 2004 (69 FR 52366) and on December 23, 2004 (69 
FR 76982) respectively. However, the Agency mistakenly did not have an 
ICR approved by OMB during the development of the rulemaking and is 
seeking OMB approval for the burden hours associated with the prior 
rulemaking this time. Although the Agency published the ICR information 
with the proposed rule and received and reconciled comments on the 
burden of the rulemaking, the appropriate paperwork had not been 
resubmitted to OMB for their consideration with the final rule and 
therefore the Agency is now seeking approval for burden associated with 
the CUE requirements. At the present time, an emergency ICR 
2179.01, is in place to facilitate the recordkeeping and 
reporting requirements added to 40 CFR part 82 by the final CUE rule 
(69 FR 76982).
    This information collection is authorized under section 604(d)(6) 
of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, added by section 764 of the 
1999 Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act 
(Pub. L. No. 105-277; October 21, 1998).
    EPA drew upon experience implementing similar regulations among the 
same entities in order to derive estimates of the burden associated 
with the reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
    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 0.49 
hours per response (1,371 hours divided by 2,802 responses). 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: Entities potentially affected by 
this action are producers, importers, distributors, and custom 
applicators of methyl bromide as well as users of methyl bromide who 
are farmers of minor vegetable crops and companies that store 
agricultural commodities.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 2054.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion, quarterly, annually.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 1,371.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $154,602, which includes $0 annualized 
capital/startup costs, $0 annual O&M costs, and $154,602 annual labor 
costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is a increase of 577 hours in the 
total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of 
Approved ICR Burdens. This increase is due to changes in the regulatory 
program which allows for exemptions to the phaseout of methyl bromide 
under certain circumstances which must be reported to EPA.

    Dated: May 11, 2005.
Richard T. Westlund,
Acting Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 05-10014 Filed 5-18-05; 8:45 am]
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