[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 191 (Tuesday, October 4, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57867-57868]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-19840]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OAR-2004-0389; FRL-7979-2]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Servicing of Motor Vehicle Air 
Conditioners, EPA ICR Number 1617.05, OMB Control Number 2060-0247

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 September 30, 
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 November 3, 
2005.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number OAR-2004-
0389, to (1) EPA online using EDOCKET (our preferred method), by e-mail 
to [email protected], or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, 
Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Air Docket, MC6102T, 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: Nancy Smagin, Office of Atmospheric 
Programs, MC 6205J, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-343-9126; 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 April 11, 2005, (70 FR 18395), 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-2004-0389, which is available for public viewing at the EPA Air 
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 EPA Air 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 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: Servicing of Motor Vehicle Air Conditioners.
    Abstract: In 1992, EPA developed regulations under section 609 of 
the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (Act) for the recycling of 
chlorofluorocarbons and their substitutes in motor vehicle air

[[Page 57868]]

conditioners (MVACs). These regulations were published in 57 FR 31261 
on July 14, 1992, and are codified at 40 CFR part 82, subpart B (Sec.  
82.30 et seq.). The information required to be collected under the 
section 609 regulations is described below. This information is 
currently approved for use through September 30, 2005.
    The information required to be collected includes the following: 
submission of a program plan to EPA by organizations who want to 
participate as an EPA-technician certification program, submission of 
an application by independent laboratories that proves their general 
capacity to certify refrigerant recovery and/or recycling equipment to 
meet the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) standards for recycled 
refrigerant, and for equipment manufacturers or owners wanting to 
grandfather their equipment, the submission of an application, 
supporting documents, flow sheets, equipment components and other 
information which would indicate that the equipment is capable of 
recycling or recovering the refrigerant to standards set forth in 
Appendices A, B, C, D, E and F to the regulations.
    Motor vehicle air conditioning service establishments are required 
by section 609 of the Act to certify that they have purchased 
refrigerant recycling and/or recovery equipment by January 1, 1992. The 
Stratospheric Programs Division (SPD) uses the certificates to confirm 
compliance with section 609.
    In order for technicians to service or maintain MVACs, they must 
pass a certification test as stipulated in section 609 of the Act. In 
the interest of providing national harmony in promoting technician 
awareness in the proper handling of refrigerant, the Agency is charged 
through section 609 with the establishment of minimum national 
standards for technician certification. The SPD uses the information 
submitted by technician certification programs to determine if programs 
meet the standards established by the Agency. In addition, the SPD uses 
the information to insure that the programs are at least as stringent 
as the SAE J standards of the Society of Automotive Engineers.
    The information requested for all entities that service MVACs is 
required by section 609(d) of the Act with regard to the following:
    (1) Technician certification programs: Proposed automotive 
technician certification programs are required to be approved by EPA in 
accordance with section 609(b)(4);
    (2) Business certification requirements: Section 609(b)(2)(A) 
requires EPA approval of independent laboratories that certify 
equipment for the extraction and reclamation of refrigerant from MVACs;
    (3) Manufacturers' certification of recovery equipment: The 
submission of data for EPA determination of substantially identical 
equipment is addressed by section 609(b)(2)(B) (substantially identical 
equipment is equipment certified before the proposal of regulations 
under section 609 that is substantially identical to equipment 
currently meeting EPA's standards);
    (4) Recordkeeping requirements: The recordkeeping requirements for 
the motor vehicle recycling program are derived from section 114 of the 
Act.
    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.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 0.11 
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 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: New and used motor vehicle dealers, 
gasoline service stations, truck rental and leasing without drivers, 
passenger car rental, top, body, upholstery repair and paint shops, 
general automotive repair shops and automotive repair shops not 
elsewhere classified.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 25,013.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 2,865.
    Estimated Total Annual Capital and O&M Costs: $0.
    Changes in the Estimates: The decrease in burden results from the 
fact that the number of service facilities entering the market and 
changing ownership was overstated in the original ICR and was adjusted 
downward in the last revision to this ICR. In this revision to the ICR, 
we were able to acknowledge significant cost reductions in the public 
sector, because the Bureau of Labor Statistics' data on salaries shows 
that our previous salary assumptions were arbitrarily inflated. In 
addition, a number of erroneous entries and inconsistencies were 
detected in the previous revision to the ICR. Correcting those errors 
has resulted in significant reductions in resultant burden.

    Dated: September 24, 2005.
Oscar Morales,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 05-19840 Filed 10-3-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P