[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 101 (Thursday, May 26, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30437-30438]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-10477]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OAR-2003-0017; FRL-7918-2]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Protection of Stratospheric 
Ozone: Request for Applications for Critical Use Exemption From the 
Phaseout of Methyl Bromide (Renewal), EPA ICR Number 2031.02, OMB 
Control Number 2060-0482

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 an existing 
approved collection. This ICR is scheduled to expire on May 31, 2005. 
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 June 27, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number OAR-2003-
0017 (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, MC 6102T, 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue, 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: Marta Montoro, Office of Air and 
Radiation, Stratospheric Protection Division (6205J), Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone number: (202) 343-9321; fax number: (202) 343-2338; email 
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 February 11, 2005, (70 FR 7254), EPA sought comments on 
this ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received one comment and has 
addressed it below.
    EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID 
No. OAR-2003-0017, 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 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 www.epa.gov/edocket.
    Title: Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Request for Applications 
for Critical Use Exemption from the Phaseout of Methyl Bromide 
(Renewal).
    Abstract: With this Information Collection Request (ICR), EPA's 
Office of Air and Radiation (OAR) and Office of Pollution Prevention 
and Toxic Substances (OPPTS), are continuing the existing request for 
critical use exemption applications for methyl bromide, under the Clean 
Air Act (CAA) and in accordance with U.S. obligations under the 
Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer 
(Protocol). This information is collected so that the U.S. government 
can submit a technically valid and robust methyl bromide critical use 
exemption Nomination to the Ozone Secretariat of the United Nations 
Environment Programme on an annual basis. Since 2002, this information 
has primarily been collected through agricultural consortia, and also 
through individuals who have submitted applications to EPA. If an 
applicant indicates that the application contains Confidential Business 
Information (CBI), that information will be treated as such by EPA. 
Responses to the collection of information are required for users to 
obtain a critical use exemption benefit. EPA may consider a different 
format for the application in conjunction with this Information 
Collection Request Renewal, in order to reduce Agency burden during the 
compilation of the annual Nomination.
    EPA received one comment on the Notice published on February 11, 
2005 (70 FR 7254) requesting the Agency to not exempt any methyl 
bromide for critical uses and opposing use of methyl bromide. The CAA 
allows the Agency to create an exemption for critical uses to the 
extent consistent with the Protocol. The Protocol authorizes exemptions 
to the extent decided by the Parties.
    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 50 
hours per response. 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

[[Page 30438]]

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: 100.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 100.
    Frequency of Response: Annually.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 5,000.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $199,300, which includes $0 annualized 
capital/startup costs, $0 annual O&M costs, and $199,300 annual labor 
costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 92,605 hours in 
the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of 
Approved ICR Burdens. This decrease is due to adjustments to the 
estimates based on changed labor rates and the change in the number of 
respondents over the last three years.

    Dated: May 18, 2005.
Oscar Morales,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 05-10477 Filed 5-25-05; 8:45 am]
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