[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 145 (Monday, July 28, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43751-43753]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-17218]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2008-0153; FRL-8698-2]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Protection of Stratospheric 
Ozone: Critical Use Exemption From the Phaseout of Methyl Bromide 
(Renewal); EPA ICR No. 2031.03, OMB Control No. 2060-0482

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,

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

DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before August 27, 
2008.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2008-0153, 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 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: Jeremy Arling, Stratospheric 
Protection Division, Office of Atmospheric Programs (6205J), 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 343-9055; fax number: 
(202) 343-2338; e-mail address: [email protected]. You may also 
visit the Ozone Depletion Web site of EPA's Stratospheric Protection 
Division at http://www.epa.gov/ozone/strathome.html for further 
information about EPA's Stratospheric Ozone Protection regulations, the 
science of ozone layer depletion, and related topics.

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 March 10, 2008 (73 FR 12725), EPA sought comments on this 
ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received two comments during the 
comment period, which are addressed in the ICR. 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-2008-0153, 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 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, 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: Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Critical Use Exemption 
from the Phaseout of Methyl Bromide (Renewal).
    ICR Numbers: EPA ICR No. 2031.03, OMB Control No. 2060-0482.
    ICR Status: EPA ICR 2031.02 is currently scheduled to expire on 
August 31, 2008. In addition, EPA ICR 2179.03 is scheduled to expire on 
November 30, 2008. 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: EPA is seeking to renew EPA ICR 2031.02, which allows EPA 
to collect Critical Use Exemption (CUE) applications from regulated 
entities on an annual basis. EPA is also seeking to transfer the burden 
from EPA ICR 2179.03, which requires the submission of data from 
regulated industries to the EPA and requires recordkeeping of key 
documents to ensure compliance with the Montreal Protocol on Substances 
that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Protocol) and the Clean Air Act (CAA). 
Thus, the program for the critical use exemption of methyl bromide 
would operate under a single ICR.
    Entities applying for this exemption are asked to submit to EPA 
applications with data necessary to evaluate the need for a critical 
use exemption. This information collection is conducted to meet U.S. 
obligations under Article 2H of the Montreal Protocol on Substances 
that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Protocol). The information collection 
request is required to obtain a benefit under Section 604(d)(6) of the 
CAA, added by Section 764 of the 1999 Omnibus Consolidated and 
Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act (Pub. L. No. 105-277; October 
21, 1998).
    Since 2002, entities have applied to EPA for a critical use 
exemption that would allow for the continued production and import of 
methyl bromide after the phaseout in January 2005. These exemptions are 
for consumption only in those agricultural sectors that have 
demonstrated that there are no technically or economically feasible 
alternatives to methyl bromide. The applications are rigorously 
assessed and analyzed by EPA staff, including experts from the Office 
of Pesticide Programs. On an annual basis, EPA uses the data submitted 
by end users to create a nomination of critical uses which the U.S. 
Government submits to the Protocol's Ozone Secretariat for review by an 
international panel of experts and advisory bodies. These advisory 
bodies include the Methyl Bromide Technical Options Committee (MBTOC) 
and the Technical and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP). The uses 
authorized internationally by the Parties to the Protocol are made 
available in the U.S. on an annual basis.
    The applications will enable EPA to: (1) Maintain consistency with 
the Protocol by supporting critical use nominations to the Parties to 
the Protocol, in accordance with paragraph 2 of Decision IX/6 of the 
Protocol; (2) ensure that critical use exemptions comply with Section 
604(d)(6); and (3) provide EPA with necessary data to evaluate the 
technical and economic feasibility of methyl bromide alternatives in 
the circumstance of the specific use, as presented in an application 
for a critical use exemption. The reported data will enable EPA to: (1) 
Ensure that critical use exemptions comply with Section 604(d)(6); (2) 
maintain compliance with the Protocol requirements for annual data 
submission on the production of ozone depleting substances; (3) analyze 
technical use data to ensure that exemptions are used in accordance 
with requirements included in the annual authorization rulemakings.
    EPA informs respondents that they may assert claims of business 
confidentiality for any of the information they submit. Information 
claimed confidential will be treated in accordance with the procedures 
for

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handling information claimed as confidential under 40 CFR part 2, 
subpart B, and will be disclosed only if EPA determines that the 
information is not entitled to confidential treatment. If no claim of 
confidentiality is asserted when the information is received by EPA, it 
may be made available to the public without further notice to the 
respondents (40 CFR 2.203). Individual reporting data may be claimed as 
sensitive and will be treated as confidential information in accordance 
with procedures outlined in 40 CFR part 2.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 2 
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 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: Producers, importers, distributors, 
and custom applicators of methyl bromide, organizations, consortia, and 
associations of methyl bromide users, as well as individual methyl 
bromide users.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 2179.
    Frequency of Response: Quarterly for producers and importers, 
annually for distributors and applicators, periodically (at the time of 
purchase) for end users.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 4918.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $993,622, which includes no capital or 
O&M costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 82 hours in the 
total estimated respondent burden compared with the burden currently 
approved by OMB. This estimate for total burden hours includes updated 
burden estimates from this ICR as well as ICR 2060-0564, which is being 
transferred into this ICR.
    The reason for the decrease in burden hours is that the Agency has 
six years of experience managing the critical use exemption program, 
which has led to efficiency and greater accuracy in estimating future 
burden. Over the last four years, EPA has received on average 65 
applications each year, rather than the 100 estimated in the previous 
ICR. EPA continues to encourage users with similar circumstances to 
utilize grower and user organizations to aid in completion of the 
application, thereby reducing both the burden on applicants 
(particularly small businesses) and the Agency. The registration of 
additional alternatives since 2002 in the U.S. may also result in fewer 
applications received. Furthermore, stakeholders are more familiar with 
the critical use exemption program and have already organized 
associations to apply on behalf of multiple growers. Other reasons for 
burden reduction include the encouragement of electronic submission of 
applications and other data and very frequent EPA communication with 
methyl bromide stakeholders.

    Dated: July 22, 2008.
Sara Hisel-McCoy,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. E8-17218 Filed 7-25-08; 8:45 am]
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