[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 100 (Thursday, May 24, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29160-29161]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-2586]


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 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0947, FRL 8317-4]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; NOX Budget Trading Program to 
Reduce the Regional Transport of Ozone, EPA ICR Number 1857.04, OMB 
Control Number 2060-0445

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (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. The ICR, which is abstracted below, 
describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated 
burden and cost.

DATES: Additional comments must be submitted on or before June 25, 
2007.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2006-0947, to (1) EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred 
method), by e-mail to [email protected], or by mail to: 
EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Air and Radiation 
Docket and Information Center, Environmental Protection Agency, 
Mailcode: 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, and 
(2) OMB by mail to: 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: Kenon Smith,, Clean Air Markets 
Division, Office of Air and Radiation, (6204J), Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone number: 202-343-9164; fax number: 202-343-2361; 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 December 6, 2006 (71 FR 70756), EPA sought comments on this 
ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received no comments during the 
comment period. Any additional comments on this ICR should be submitted 
to EPA and OMB within 30 days of this notice.
    EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0947, which is available for online viewing at 
www.regulations.gov, or in person viewing at the Air and Radiation 
Docket in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA/DC Public Reading Room 
is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding 
legal holidays. The telephone number for the

[[Page 29161]]

Reading Rom is 202-566-1744, and the telephone number for the Air and 
Radiation Docket is 202-566-1742.
    Use EPA's electronic docket and comment system at 
www.regulations.gov, to submit or view public comments, access the 
index listing of the contents of the docket, and to access those 
documents in the docket that are available electronically. Once in the 
system, select ``docket search,'' then key in the docket ID number 
identified above. Please note that EPA's policy is that public 
comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper, will be made 
available for public viewing at www.regulations.gov as EPA receives 
them and without change, unless the comment contains copyrighted 
material, CBI, or other information whose public disclosure is 
restricted by statute. For further information about the electronic 
docket, go to www.regulations.gov.
    Title: NOX Budget Trading Program to Reduce the Regional 
Transport of Ozone.
    ICR Numbers: EPA ICR no. 1857.04, OMB Program Control No. 2060-
0445.
    ICR status: This ICR is currently scheduled to expire on May 31, 
2007. Under OMB regulations, the Agency may continue to conduct or 
sponsor the collection of information while this submission is pending 
at OMB. 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 title 40 of the CFR, after appearing in the Federal 
Register when approved, are listed in 40 CFR part 9, are displayed 
either by publication in theFederal Register or by other appropriate 
means, such as on the related collection instrument or form, if 
applicable. The display of OMB control numbers in certain EPA 
regulation is consolidated in 40 CFR part 9.
    Abstract: The NOX Budget Trading Program is a market-
based cap and trade program created to reduce emissions of nitrogen 
oxides (NOX) from power plants and other large combustion 
sources in the eastern United States. NOX is a prime 
ingredient in the formation of ground-level ozone (smog), a pervasive 
air pollution problem in many areas of the eastern United States. The 
NOX Budget Trading program was designed to reduce 
NOX emissions during the warm summer months, referred to as 
the ozone season, when ground-level ozone concentration are highest. 
This information collection is necessary to implement the 
NOX Budget Trading Program. While States were not required 
to adopt an emissions trading program, every State adopted the basic 
Federal model trading program for fossil fuel-fired NOX 
sources. This trading program burden includes the paper work burden 
related to; transferring and tracking allowances, the allocation of 
allowances to affected units, permitting, annual year end compliance 
certification, and meeting the monitoring and reporting requirements of 
the program. This information collection is mandatory under 40 CFR part 
96. All data received by EPA will be treated as public information. 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 41 
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 tie 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 which have subsequently changed; 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: Electric Utilities, Industrial 
Sources, and other persons.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 700.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion, quarterly, and annually.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 471,734.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $57,069,211, includes $28,278,800 
annualized capital or O&M costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 11,335 hours in 
the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of 
Approved ICR Burdens. This is due to adjustments, including changes to 
the number of responses and the time it takes to respond to a 
particular activity.

    Dated: May 17, 2007.
Sara Hisel-McCoy,
Acting Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 07-2586 Filed 5-23-07; 8:45 am]
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