[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 184 (Friday, September 22, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55474-55476]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-8071]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'').

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The information collection requirements described below will 
be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') for 
review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA'') (44 U.S.C. 
3501-3520). The FTC is seeking public comments on its proposal to 
extend through May 31, 2009 the current PRA clearance for information 
collection requirements contained in its Alternative Fuel Rule, 16 CFR 
Part 309. That clearance expires on November 30, 2006.

DATES: Comments must be filed by November 21, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments. 
Comments should refer to ``Alternative Fuel Rule: FTC File No. 
R311002'' to facilitate the organization of comments. A comment filed 
in paper form should include this reference both in the text and on the 
envelope and should be mailed or delivered, with two complete copies, 
to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Room H 135 (Annex 
J), 600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20580. Because paper 
mail in the Washington area and at the Commission is subject to delay, 
please consider submitting your comments in electronic form, (in ASCII 
format, WordPerfect, or Microsoft Word) as part of or as an attachment 
to email messages directed to the following email box: 
[email protected]. However, if the comment contains any material 
for which confidential treatment is requested, it must be filed in 
paper form, and the first page of the document must be clearly labeled 
``Confidential.''\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Commission Rule 4.2(d), 16 CFR 4.2(d). The comment must be 
accompanied by an explicit request for confidential treatment, 
including the factual and legal basis for the request, and must 
identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from 
the public record. The request will be granted or denied by the 
Commission's General Counsel, consistent with applicable law and the 
public interest. See Commission Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The FTC Act and other laws the Commission administers permit the 
collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding as 
appropriate. All timely and responsive public comments will be 
considered by the Commission and will be available to the public on the 
FTC Web site, to the extent practicable, at http://www.ftc.gov. As a 
matter of discretion, the FTC makes every effort to remove home contact 
information for individuals from the public comments it receives before 
placing those comments on the FTC Web site. More information, including 
routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, may be found in the FTC's 
privacy policy at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for copies of the collection 
of information and supporting documentation should be addressed to 
Hampton Newsome, Attorney, Division of Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer 
Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326-3228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA''), 
44 U.S.C. 3501-3520, federal agencies must obtain approval from OMB for 
each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. ``Collection of 
information'' means agency requests or requirements that members of the 
public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third 
party. 44 U.S.C. 3502(3); 5 CFR 1320.3(c). As required by section 
3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the FTC is providing this opportunity for 
public comment before requesting that OMB extend the existing paperwork 
clearance for the regulations noted herein.
    The FTC invites comments on: (1) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who 
are to respond, including through the use of appropriate

[[Page 55475]]

automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting 
electronic submission of responses.All comments should be filed as 
prescribed in the ADDRESSES section above, and must be received on or 
before November 21, 2006.
    The Alternative Fuel Rule (``Rule''), 16 CFR Part 309, which 
implements the Energy Policy Act of 1992, Public Law 102-486, requires 
disclosure of specific information on labels posted on fuel dispensers 
for non-liquid alternative fuels and on labels on Alternative Fueled 
Vehicles (AFVs). To ensure the accuracy of these disclosures, the Rule 
also requires that sellers maintain records substantiating product-
specific disclosures they include on these labels.

Burden Statement

    It is common practice for alternative fuel industry members to 
determine and monitor fuel ratings in the normal course of their 
business activities. This is because industry members must know and 
determine the fuel ratings of their products in order to monitor 
quality and to decide how to market them. ``Burden'' for PRA purposes 
is defined to exclude effort that would be expended regardless of any 
regulatory requirement. 5 CFR 1320.2(b)(2). Moreover, as originally 
anticipated when the Rule was promulgated in 1995, many of the 
information collection requirements and the originally-estimated hours 
were associated with one-time start up tasks of implementing standard 
systems and processes.
    Other factors also limit the burden associated with the Rule. 
Certification may be a one-time event or require only infrequent 
revision. Disclosures on electric vehicle fuel dispensing systems may 
be useable for several years.\2\ Nonetheless, there is still some 
burden associated with posting labels. There also will be some minimal 
burden associated with new or revised certification of fuel ratings and 
recordkeeping. The burden on vehicle manufacturers is limited because 
only newly-manufactured vehicles will require label posting and 
manufacturers produce very few new models each year.

    \2\ Label specifications were designed to produce labels to 
withstand the elements for several years.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Estimated total annual hours burden: 24,000 total burden hours, rounded 
to the nearest thousand.

Non-Liquid Alternative Fuels

    Certification: Staff estimates that the Rule's fuel rating 
certification requirements will affect approximately 550 industry 
members (compressed natural gas producers and distributors and 
manufacturers of electric vehicle fuel dispensing systems) and consume 
approximately one hour each per year for a total of 550 hours.
    Recordkeeping: Staff estimates that all 1,900 industry members 
(non-liquid fuel producers, distributers, and retailers) will be 
subject to the Rule's recordkeeping requirements (associated with fuel 
rating certification) and that compliance will require approximately 
one-tenth hour each per year for a total of 190 hours.
    Labeling: Staff estimates that labeling requirements will affect 
approximately nine of every ten industry members (or roughly 1,700 
members), but that the number of annually affected members is only 340 
because labels may remain effective for several years (staff assumes 
that in any given year approximately 20% of 1,700 industry members will 
need to replace their labels). Staff estimates that industry members 
require approximately one hour each per year for labeling their fuel 
dispensers for a total of 340 hours.

Sub-total: 1,080 hours (550 + 190 + 340)

AFV Manufacturers

    Recordkeeping: Staff estimates that all 58 manufacturers will 
require 30 minutes to comply with the Rule's recordkeeping requirements 
for a total of 29 hours.
    Producing labels: Staff estimates 2.5 hours as the average time 
required of manufacturers to produce labels for each of the five new 
AFV models introduced industry wide each year for a total of 12.5 
hours.
    Posting labels: Staff estimates 2 minutes as the average time to 
comply with the posting requirements for each of the approximately 
680,000 new AFVs manufactured each year for a total of 22,667 hours.

Sub-total: Approximately 22,709 hours (29 + 12.5 + 22,667)

    Thus, the total burden for these industries combined is 
approximately 24,000 hours (1,080 + 22,667), rounded to the nearest 
thousand.

Estimated labor costs: $698,000, rounded to the nearest thousand.

    Labor costs are derived by applying appropriate hourly cost figures 
to the burden hours described above. According to Bureau of Labor 
Statistics staff, the average compensation for producers and 
distributors in the fuel industry is $19.34 per hour and $9.45 per hour 
for service station employees; the average compensation for workers in 
the vehicle industry is $29.90 per hour.

Non-Liquid Alternative Fuels

    Certification and labeling: Generally, all of the estimated hours 
except for recordkeeping will be performed by producers and 
distributors of fuels. Thus, the associated labor costs would be 
$17,212.60 ((550 certification hours + 340 labeling hours) x $19.34).
    Recordkeeping: Only \1/6\ of the total 190 recordkeeping hours will 
be performed by the producers and distributors of fuels (\1/6\ of 190 
hours = approximately 32 hours; 32 hours x $19.34 = $618.88); the other 
\5/6\ is attributable to service station employees (\5/6\ of 190 hours 
= approximately 158 hours; 158 hours x $9.45 = $1,493.10) Thus, the 
labor cost due to recordkeeping for the entire industry is 
approximately $2,111.98 ($618.88 for producers and distributors of 
fuels + $1,493.10 for service station employees) and the total 
paperwork related labor cost for the entire industry is approximately 
$19,324.58 ($17,212.60 for certification and labeling costs + $2,111.98 
for recordkeeping costs).

AFV Manufacturers

    The maximum labor cost for the entire industry is approximately 
$678,999.10 per year for recordkeeping and producing and posting labels 
(22,709 total hours x $29.90/hour).
    Thus, the estimated total labor cost for both industries for all 
paperwork requirements is $698,000 ($19,324.58 + $678,999.10) per year, 
rounded to the nearest thousand.

Estimated annual non-labor cost burden: $259,000 rounded.

Non-Liquid Alternative Fuels

    Staff believes that there are no current start-up costs associated 
with the Rule, inasmuch as the Rule has been effective since 1995. 
Industry members, therefore, have in place the capital equipment and 
means necessary to determine automotive fuel ratings and comply with 
the Rule. Industry members, however, incur the cost of procuring fuel 
dispenser and AFV labels to comply with the Rule. The estimated annual 
fuel labeling cost, based on estimates of 540 fuel dispensers 
(assumptions: An estimated 20% of 1,350 total fuel retailers need to 
replace labels in any given year given an approximate five-year life 
for labels--i.e., 270 retailers--multiplied by an average of two 
dispensers per retailer) at thirty-eight cents for each label (per

[[Page 55476]]

industry sources), is $205.00 ($0.38 x 540).

AFV Manufacturers

    Here, too, staff believes that there are no current start-up costs 
associated with the Rule, for the same reasons as stated immediately 
above regarding the non-liquid alternative fuel industry. However, 
based on the labeling of an estimated 680,000 new and used AFVs each 
year at thirty-eight cents for each label (per industry sources), the 
annual AFV labeling cost is estimated to be $258,400 ($0.38 x 680,000).
    Thus, estimated total annual non-labor cost burden associated with 
the Rule is $259,000 ($205 + $258,400), rounded to the nearest 
thousand.

William Blumenthal,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 06-8071 Filed 9-21-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P