[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 212 (Friday, October 31, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64941-64943]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-26017]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2004-0501; FRL-8737-3]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Reporting Requirements Under 
EPA's Green Power Partnership and Combined Heat and Power (CHP) 
Partnership, ICR Number 2173.02 (Renewal), OMB Control No. 2060-0578

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

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 EPA is planning to 
submit a request to renew an existing approved information request ICR 
to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. 
This ICR is scheduled to expire on April 30, 2009. Before submitting 
the ICR to OMB for review and approval EPA is soliciting comments on 
specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described 
below.

DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before December 1, 
2008.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2004-0501, to (1) EPA online using http://www.regulations.gov 
(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, MC 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Avenue, 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: Blaine Collison, Climate Protection 
Partnerships Division, Office of Atmospheric Programs, 6202J, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 343-9139; fax number: 
(202) 565-2134; 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 November 10, 2005 (70 FR 68441), EPA sought comments on 
this ICR

[[Page 64942]]

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-2004-0501, which is available for online viewing at 
http://www.regulations.gov, or in person viewing at the Air and 
Radiation Docket and Information Center in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/
DC), EPA West Building, Room B102, 1301 Constitution Avenue, 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, 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 on 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: Reporting Requirements Under EPA's Green Power Partnership 
and Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Partnership.
    ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 2173.02, OMB Control No. 2060-0532.
    ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on April 30, 2009. 
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 included on the related 
collection instrument or form, if applicable.
    Abstract: In an effort to aid implementation of the President's May 
2001 National Energy Strategy, as well as the President's February 2002 
Climate Change Strategy, EPA launched two new partnership programs with 
industry and other stakeholders: the Green Power Partnership and the 
Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Partnership. These voluntary partnership 
programs encourage organizations to invest in clean, efficient energy 
technologies, including renewable energy and combined heat and power. 
To continue to be successful, it is critical that EPA collect 
information from Green Power and CHP Partners to ensure these 
organizations are meeting their renewable energy and CHP goals and to 
assure the creditability of these voluntary partnership programs.
    EPA has developed this ICR to obtain authorization to collect 
information from organizations participating in the Green Power 
Partnership and CHP Partnership. Organizations that join these programs 
voluntarily agree to the following respective actions: (1) Designating 
a Green Power or CHP liaison and filling out a Partnership Agreement or 
Letter of Intent (LOI) respectively, (2) for the Green Power 
Partnership, reporting to EPA, on an annual basis, their progress 
toward their green power commitment via a 2-page reporting form; (3) 
for the CHP Partnership, reporting to EPA information on their existing 
CHP projects and CHP development activity. EPA uses the data obtained 
from its partners to assess the success of these programs in achieving 
their national energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals. 
Partners are organizational entities that have volunteered to 
participate in either Partnership program.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to equal 5905 
hours and to average 3.24 hours per year per respondent. The average 
number of annual burden hours on first year partners for each type of 
one-time response is: 8.8 hours for a Partnership Agreement (a one-time 
burden for Green Power); 3.5 hours for a Letter of Intent (a one-time 
burden for CHP Partners), 2.6 hours for the Partner Yearly Report for 
the GPP, 3.94 hours for the Partner Yearly Report for the CHP 
Partnership.
    Partners from both programs may also submit voluntary updates of 
simple information, such as contact information or company profiles, 
via the Web site. These updates would take from 15 minutes to 0.5 hours 
per response. A subset of partners may participate in brief (i.e., 15 
minute) telephone calls with EPA to clarify questions pertaining to the 
Partnership Agreement or LOI, Green Power Partner Yearly Report or CHP 
Partner project reporting. All of these activities are included in the 
annual burden estimate.
    The estimated number of annual respondents averaged over three (3) 
years is 1,820 which includes an average of 1558 for the Green Power 
Partnership and 262 respondents for the CHP Partnership.
    There are no capital or start-up costs associated with this 
information collection. The average annual operation and maintenance 
cost resulting for this collection of information is $3 per respondent. 
The average annual labor cost is $287 per respondent. The resulting 
total annual cost averaged over the three year period is $521,937. In 
the previous ICR the total cost averaged over the 3-year period was 
$298,866. The total cost estimate increase for Partners is due to an 
increase in the number of Partners and increases in wages.
    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:
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,820.
    Frequency of Response: Annually, on Occasion, One time.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 5,905.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $663,992, which includes $0 annualized 
Capital Startup costs, $5,544 annualized Operating and Maintenance 
(O&M) costs and $658,448 annualized Labor costs. Changes in the 
Estimates: Since the last ICR renewal, both the Green Power Partnership 
and CHP Partnership have introduced program efficiencies to reduce 
program burden and simplified collection forms into pre-populated 
spreadsheets or documents. As a result of these changes, the average 
number of hours per Partner has decreased from 3.4 hours to 3.24 hours 
but the total

[[Page 64943]]

hourly burden still increased because of an increase in the number of 
Partners. For perspective on the magnitude of partner growth, the 
number of Partners at the end of 2004 was 865, whereas by year-end 
there will be an estimated 1,286.
    The total cost estimate over the 3 year period for this renewal ICR 
is $1,991,978, or an average of $663,992 per year, of which $16,632 is 
O&M costs. The total cost to GPP and CHP Partners is $1,549,178 (16,632 
is O&M), or $516,393 (5,544 is O&M) per year. In the previous 2004 ICR 
renewal, the total cost over the 3 year period was $1,101,749. The 
total cost estimate increase for Partners is due to an increase in the 
number of Partners and increases in wages.

    Dated: October 24, 2008.
Kathleen Hogan,
Director, Climate Protection Partnership Division.
[FR Doc. E8-26017 Filed 10-30-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P