[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 126 (Thursday, July 2, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31729-31730]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-15690]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OECA-2009-0124; FRL-8925-5]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Auto Body Compliance Assessment 
Pilot Project (New); EPA ICR No. 2344.01, OMB Control No. 2020-NEW

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 for a new 
collection. The ICR, 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 3, 
2009.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA HQ-OECA-
2009-0124, to (1) EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred 
method), by e-mail to [email protected], or by mail to: EPA Docket 
Center (EPA/DC), Environmental Protection Agency, Enforcement and 
Compliance Docket and Information Center, mail code 28221T, 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: Kenneth Harmon, Office of Compliance, 
(2224A), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 564-7049; fax number: 
(202) 564-7083; 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 February 25, 2009 (74 FR 8534), 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-OECA-2009-0124, which is available for online viewing at 
www.regulations.gov, or in person viewing at the OECA 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 8:30 
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 OECA Docket is 202-566-1752.
    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, confidential business information (CBI), or other information 
whose public disclosure is restricted by statute. For further 
information about the electronic docket, go to www.regulations.gov.
    Title: Auto Body Compliance Assessment Pilot Project (New).
    ICR Numbers: EPA ICR No. 2344.01, OMB Control No. 2020-NEW.
    ICR Status: This ICR is for a new information collection activity. 
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 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: The purpose of the ICR is two-fold. First, it is to 
authorize the collection of information as part of a pilot study 
undertaken by EPA to evaluate whether and how EPA's specific compliance 
assistance activities in Region 1 helped owners or operators of auto 
body shops improve their operations. The ICR would authorize the 
administration of surveys, by telephone and on-site, to a random sample 
of auto body shops subject to National Emission Standards for Hazardous 
Air Pollutants: Paint Stripping and Miscellaneous Surface Coating 
Operations at Area Sources (NESHAP Subpart HHHHHH, hereinafter referred 
to as the Surface Coating Rule.). Specifically, the study has been 
designed to assess whether or not the assistance provided helped owners 
or operators understand these and other applicable environmental 
regulations, and whether or not the assistance helped owners or 
operators implement operational changes that improved environmental 
practices; including changes in behavior that resulted in the auto body 
shop either returning to compliance with regulations or taking steps 
toward achieving compliance. EPA has two objectives in collecting this 
information for the pilot study: (1) EPA's primary objective is to 
assess the degree to which its compliance assistance activities can be 
correlated to improved environmental performance at auto body shops; 
(2) EPA's secondary objective is to assess the validity of 
environmental performance information collected by telephone surveys. 
The Agency frequently relies on telephone surveys to gather information 
about environmental performance, but such self-reported data may not be 
accurate, and may suffer from non-response bias. The design for this 
study addresses both concerns.
    The second use for this ICR is to authorize the use of these 
surveys to collect anecdotal information as part of the Agency's 
efforts to assess outcomes associated with the Office of Air Quality 
Planning and Standard's Collision Repair Campaign (CRC). The CRC is a 
two-year campaign during which the EPA Headquarters Office of Air 
Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS) and the ten EPA Regions will 
address health threats by reducing toxic auto body coating emissions at 
the national level. Each EPA regional office involved in the campaign 
will work with its respective partners (e.g., community, industry,

[[Page 31730]]

small businesses, etc.) to help shop owners reduce paint, solvent and 
related hazardous waste disposal costs. The CRC also aims to achieve 
enhanced compliance with the Surface Coating Rule by encouraging shops 
to reduce pollutant emissions early and to levels beyond those required 
by the rule. The CRC team will use the surveys to collect anecdotal 
information about the use of emission reduction best practices at auto 
body shops and measure the effectiveness of particular outreach, 
education, and training activities undertaken as part of the CRC. The 
team will use that information to judge the success and efficacy of the 
specific outreach activity surveyed, and information collected can be 
used to help improve program implementation.
    The information obtained under this ICR will not be used to make 
major policy decisions. No confidential or sensitive data will be 
collected under this ICR. This is a pilot project designed to help EPA 
improve its data collection methods and improve its analyses of the 
Agency's compliance assistance program.
    A respondent's participation in this information collection process 
will be voluntary. The survey questions are designed to assess whether 
the assistance provided during the pilot helped the owner/operator 
understand the applicable environmental regulations, and whether the 
assistance helped the owner/operator implement operational changes that 
resulted in improved environmental practices. Improved environmental 
practices include a change in behavior that resulted in a shop either 
returning to compliance with regulations or taking steps toward 
achieving compliance.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to be average a 
response time of 10 minutes for each phone survey, and 75 minutes for 
each on-site visit. 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: Automotive body, paint, and interior 
repair and maintenance shops located in risk-based clusters in 
Massachusetts, Oklahoma and Virginia. Surveys conducted for the 
Collision Repair Campaign may be administered to owners or operators of 
collision repair or auto body shops who have completed training 
provided by the CRC team and their partners or who have requested and 
received materials developed by the team such as DVDs, brochures, Web 
sites, etc., anywhere in the U.S.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,840 for the auto body shop 
study, and 7,500 for the Collision Repair Campaign.
    Frequency of Response: 3,113 responses annually.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 1,617 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $152,510 includes $0 annualized 
capital or O&M costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: This is a new collection.

    Dated: June 24, 2009.
John Moses,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. E9-15690 Filed 7-1-09; 8:45 am]
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