[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 239 (Thursday, December 13, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70836-70837]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-24159]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2004-0077; FRL-8505-7]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Significant New Alternatives 
Policy (SNAP) Program (Renewal), EPA ICR Number 1596.07, OMB Control 
Number 2060-0226

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, which is abstracted below, describes the 
nature of the information collection and its expected burden and cost.

DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before January 14, 
2008.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OAR-2004-0077, to (1) EPA online using http://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, Mail Code 2822T, 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: Monica Shimamura, Stratospheric 
Protection Division, Alternatives and Emission Reductions Branch, Mail 
Code 6205J, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., 
NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 343-9337; fax 
number: (202) 343-2362; 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 June 11, 2007 (72 FR 32095), EPA sought comments on this 
ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received no comments. 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-2004-0077, which is available for online viewing at 
http://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 Reading Room 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 http://www.regulations.gov, to submit or view public comments, to 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 http://www.regulations.gov 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. For 
further information about the electronic docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov.
    Title: Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) Program (40 CFR 
part 82, subpart G) (Renewal).
    ICR numbers: EPA ICR Number 1596.07, OMB Control Number 2060-0226.
    ICR status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on December 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 and are displayed either by 
publication in the Federal 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 regulations is 
consolidated in 40 CFR part 9.
    Abstract: Information collected under this rulemaking is necessary 
to implement the requirements of the Significant New Alternatives 
Policy (SNAP) program for evaluating and regulating substitutes for 
ozone-depleting chemicals being phased out under the stratospheric 
ozone protection provisions of the Clean Air Act (CAA). Under CAA 
section 612, EPA is authorized to identify and restrict the use of 
substitutes for class I and class II ozone-depleting substances where 
EPA determines other alternatives exist that reduce overall risk to 
human health and the environment. The SNAP program, based on 
information collected from the manufacturers, formulators, and/or 
sellers of such substitutes, identifies acceptable substitutes. 
Responses to the collection of information are mandatory under section 
612 for anyone who sells, or in certain cases, uses substitutes for an 
ozone-depleting substance after April 18, 1994, the effective date of 
the final rule. Under CAA section 114(c), emissions information may not 
be claimed as confidential.
    To develop the lists of acceptable and unacceptable substitutes, 
the Agency must assess and compare ``overall risks to human health and 
the environment'' posed by use of substitutes in the context of 
particular applications. EPA requires submission of information 
covering a wide range of health and environmental factors. These 
include intrinsic properties such as physical and chemical information, 
ozone depleting potential, global warming potential, toxicity and 
flammability, and use-specific data such as substitute applications, 
process description, environmental release data, environmental fate and 
transport and cost information. Once a completed submission has been 
received, a 90-day review period under the SNAP program will commence. 
Any substitute which is a new chemical must also be submitted to the 
Agency under the Premanufacture Notice program under the Toxic 
Substances Control Act (TSCA). Alternatives that will be used in 
pesticide formulations must be filed jointly with EPA's Office of 
Pesticide Programs and with SNAP.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 30 
hours per respondent. 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

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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: Manufacturers, importers, 
formulators and processors of substitutes for ozone depleting 
substances.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 268.
    Frequency of Response: Annual.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 8,204 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Costs: $511,430. This includes an estimated 
$492,252 in labor costs, $18,918 in capital costs and $260 in O&M 
costs.
    Changes in Estimates: The total number of burden hours requested 
for this information collection has decreased from 8,927 to 8,204. The 
SNAP burden hours have been decreasing since 2000 from 10,363 to 8,927 
to 8,204 hours. The reason for this change in burden is the smaller 
number of respondents keeping records for alternatives that are subject 
to more narrowed use limits than three years ago because of the 
development of new substitutes. For example, users of some restricted 
fire suppressants now have other options available with no restriction, 
and thus no paperwork requirement. In addition, a smaller number of 
SNAP petitions are being filed than EPA estimated three years ago. The 
recordkeeping estimates remain the same.

    Dated: December 6, 2007.
Sara Hisel-McCoy,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
 [FR Doc. E7-24159 Filed 12-12-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P