[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 2 (Tuesday, January 5, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 366-368]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-31202]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'').

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The information collection requirements described below will 
be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') for 
review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA''). The FTC 
is seeking public comments on its proposal to extend through March 31, 
2013, the current PRA clearance for information collection requirements 
contained in its Alternative Fuel Rule. Those clearances expire on 
March 31, 2010.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 8, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments 
electronically or in paper form, by following the instructions in the 
Request for Comments to 60-Day Notice part of the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section below. Comments in electronic form should be 
submitted by using the following Web link: (https://public.commentworks.com/ftc/alternativefuelrulepra) (and following the 
instructions on the web-based form). Comments in paper form should be 
mailed or delivered to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, 
Office of the Secretary, Room H-135 (Annex J), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, 
NW, Washington, DC 20580, in the manner detailed in the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for copies of the collection 
of information and supporting documentation should be addressed to 
Hampton Newsome, Attorney, Division of Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer 
Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., NJ- 
2122, Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326-2889.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Proposed Information Collection Activities

    Under the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3521, federal agencies must obtain 
approval from OMB for each collection of information they conduct or 
sponsor. ``Collection of information'' means agency requests or 
requirements that members of the public submit reports, keep records, 
or provide information to a third party. 44 U.S.C. Sec.  3502(3), 5 CFR 
Sec.  1320.3 (c). Because the number of entities affected by the 
Commission's requests will exceed ten, the Commission plans to seek OMB 
clearance under the PRA. As required by Sec.  3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, 
the Commission is providing this opportunity for public comment before 
requesting that OMB extend the existing paperwork clearance for the 
information collection requirements associated with the Commission's 
regulations under the Alternative Fuel Rule (``the Rule''), 16 CFR part 
309.
    The Rule, which implements the Energy Policy Act of 1992, Pub. L. 
102-486, requires disclosure of specific information on labels posted 
on fuel dispensers for non-liquid alternative fuels and on labels on 
Alternative Fueled Vehicles (AFVs). To ensure the accuracy of these 
disclosures, the Rule also requires that sellers maintain records 
substantiating product-specific disclosures they include on these 
labels.

Request for Comments to 60-Day Notice

    The FTC invites comments on: (1) whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who 
are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses. All comments should be filed as prescribed 
below, and must be received on or before March 8, 2010.
    Because comments will be made public, they should not include any 
sensitive personal information, such as an individual's Social Security 
Number; date of birth; driver's license number or other state 
identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number; 
financial account number; or credit or debit card number. Comments also 
should not include any sensitive health information, such as medical

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records or other individually identifiable health information. In 
addition, comments should not include any ``[t]rade secret or any 
commercial or financial information which is obtained from any person 
and which is privileged or confidential. . . .,'' as provided in 
Section 6(f) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (``FTC Act''), 15 
U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2). Comments 
containing material for which confidential treatment is requested must 
be filed in paper form, must be clearly labeled ``Confidential,'' and 
must comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).\1\
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    \1\ The comment must be accompanied by an explicit request for 
confidential treatment, including the factual and legal basis for 
the request, and must identify the specific portions of the comment 
to be withheld from the public record. The request will be granted 
or denied by the Commission's General Counsel, consistent with 
applicable law and the public interest. See FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CPR 
4.9(c).
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    Because paper mail addressed to the FTC is subject to delay due to 
heightened security screening, please consider submitting your comments 
in electronic form. Comments filed in electronic form should be 
submitted by using the following web link: (https://public.commentworks.com/ftc/alternativefuelrulepra) (and following the 
instructions on the web-based form). To ensure that the Commission 
considers an electronic comment, you must file it on the web-based form 
at the web link: (https://public.commentworks.com/ftc/alternativefuelrulepra). If this Notice appears at (http://www.regulations.gov/search/index.jsp), you may also file an electronic 
comment through that website. The Commission will consider all comments 
that regulations.gov forwards to it. You may also visit the FTC Website 
at (http://www.ftc.gov) to read the Notice and the news release 
describing it.
    A comment filed in paper form should include the ``Alternative Fuel 
Rule: FTC File No. R311002'' reference both in the text and on the 
envelope, and should be mailed or delivered to the following address: 
Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-135 (Annex 
J), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580. The FTC is 
requesting that any comment filed in paper form be sent by courier or 
overnight service, if possible, because U.S. postal mail in the 
Washington area and at the Commission is subject to delay due to 
heightened security precautions.
    The FTC Act and other laws the Commission administers permit the 
collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding as 
appropriate. The Commission will consider all timely and responsive 
public comments that it receives, whether filed in paper or electronic 
form. Comments received will be available to the public on the FTC 
Website, to the extent practicable, at (http://www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm). As a matter of discretion, the Commission makes 
every effort to remove home contact information for individuals from 
the public comments it receives before placing those comments on the 
FTC Website. More information, including routine uses permitted by the 
Privacy Act, may be found in the FTC's privacy policy, at (http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.shtm).

Burden Statement

    It is common practice for alternative fuel industry members to 
determine and monitor fuel ratings in the normal course of their 
business activities. This is because industry members must know and 
determine the fuel ratings of their products in order to monitor 
quality and to decide how to market them. ``Burden'' for PRA purposes 
is defined to exclude effort that would be expended regardless of any 
regulatory requirement. 5 CFR 1320.2(b)(2). Moreover, as originally 
anticipated when the Rule was promulgated in 1995, many of the 
information collection requirements and the originally-estimated hours 
were associated with one-time start up tasks of implementing standard 
systems and processes.
    Other factors also limit the burden associated with the Rule. 
Certification may be a one-time event or require only infrequent 
revision. Disclosures on electric vehicle fuel dispensing systems may 
be useable for several years. \2\ Nonetheless, there is still some 
burden associated with posting labels. There is also some minimal 
burden associated with new or revised certification of fuel ratings and 
recordkeeping. The burden on vehicle manufacturers is limited because 
only newly-manufactured vehicles require label posting and 
manufacturers produce very few new models each year.
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    \2\ Label specifications were designed to produce labels to 
withstand the elements for several years.

    (1) Estimated total annual hours burden: 38,000 total burden hours, 
rounded to nearest thousand (includes Non-liquid Alternative Fuels\3\ 
and Alternative Fuel Vehicle Manufacturers) .
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    \3\ This includes compressed natural gas producers and 
distributors and manufacturers of electric vehicle fuel dispensing 
systems.
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Non-liquid Alternative Fuels:

    Certification: Staff estimates that the Rule's fuel rating 
certification requirements affect approximately 550 industry members 
(compressed natural gas producers and distributors and manufacturers of 
electric vehicle fuel dispensing systems) and consume approximately one 
hour each per year for a total of 550 hours.
    Recordkeeping: Staff estimates that all 1,900 industry members 
(non-liquid fuel producers, distributors, and retailers) are subject to 
the Rule's recordkeeping requirements (associated with fuel rating 
certification) and that compliance requires approximately one-tenth 
hour each per year for a total of 190 hours.
    Labeling: Staff estimates that labeling requirements affect 
approximately nine of every ten industry members (or roughly 1,700 
members), but that the number of annually affected members is only 340 
because labels may remain effective for several years (staff assumes 
that in any given year approximately 20% of 1,700 industry members will 
need to replace their labels). Staff estimates that industry members 
require approximately one hour each per year for labeling their fuel 
dispensers for a total of 340 hours.
    Sub-total (Non-liquid Alternative Fuels): 1,080 hours (550 + 190 
+340).

AFV Manufacturers:

    Recordkeeping: Staff estimates that a total of 8 manufacturers 
require 30 minutes to comply with the Rule's recordkeeping requirements 
for a total of 4 hours.
    Producing labels: Staff estimates 2.5 hours as the average time 
required of manufacturers to produce labels for each of the five new 
AFV models introduced industry-wide each year for a total of 12.5 
hours.
    Posting labels: Staff estimates 2 minutes as the average time to 
comply with the posting requirements for each of the approximately 
1,121,153 new AFVs manufactured each year for a total of 37,371 hours.
    Sub-total (AFV Manufacturers) : 37,388 hours (4 + 12.5 + 37,371).
    Thus, the total burden for these industries combined is 
approximately 38,000 hours (1,080 + 37,388), rounded to nearest 
thousand.

    (2) Estimated labor costs: $1,155,017 per year rounded (includes 
both Non-liquid Alternative Fuels and AFV Manufacturers) .

    Labor costs are derived by applying appropriate hourly cost figures 
to the

[[Page 368]]

burden hours described above. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics 
data for 2008 (most recent available whole-year information), the 
average compensation for producers and distributors in the fuel 
industry is $27.28 per hour and $9.46 per hour for service station 
employees; the average compensation for workers in the vehicle industry 
is $30.18 per hour.

Non-liquid Alternative Fuels:

    Certification and labeling: Generally, all of the estimated hours 
except for recordkeeping will be performed by producers and 
distributors of fuels. Thus, the associated labor costs would be 
$24,279. [(550 certification hours + 340 labeling hours) x $27.28]
    Recordkeeping: Only 1/6 of the total recordkeeping hours will be 
performed by the producers and distributors of fuels (1/6 of 190 hours 
= approximately 32 hours; 32 hours x $27.28 = $872.96); the other 5/6 
is attributable to service station employees (5/6 of 190 hours = 
approximately 158 hours; 158 hours x $9.46 = $1,494.68). Thus, the 
labor cost due to recordkeeping for the entire industry is 
approximately $2,368 ($872.96 for producers and distributors of fuels 
+$1,494.68 for service station employees).
    The total paperwork related labor cost for the entire industry 
(Non-liquid alternative fuels) is approximately $26,647 ($24,279 for 
certification and labeling costs + $2,368 for recordkeeping costs).

AFV manufacturers:

    The maximum labor cost for the entire industry (AFV manufacturers) 
is approximately $1,128,370 per year for recordkeeping and producing 
and posting labels (37,388 hours x $30.18/hour).
    Thus, the estimated total labor cost for both industries for all 
paperwork requirements is $1,155,017 ($26,647 + $1,128,370) per year, 
rounded.

    (3) Estimated annual non-labor cost burden: $426,251 rounded 
(includes both Non-liquid Alternative Fuels and AFV Manufacturers).

Non-liquid Alternative Fuels:

    Staff believes that there are no current start-up costs associated 
with the Rule, inasmuch as the Rule has been effective since 1995. 
Industry members, therefore, have in place the capital equipment and 
means necessary to determine automotive fuel ratings and comply with 
the Rule. Industry members, however, incur the cost of procuring fuel 
dispenser and AFV labels to comply with the Rule. The estimated annual 
fuel labeling cost, based on estimates of 560 fuel dispensers 
(assumptions: an estimated 20% of 1,400 total fuel retailers need to 
replace labels in any given year given an approximate five-year life 
for labels--i.e., 280 retailers--multiplied by an average of two 
dispensers per retailer) at thirty-eight cents for each label (per 
industry sources), is $212.8 ($0.38 x 560).

AFV Manufacturers:

    Here, too, staff believes that there are no current start-up costs 
associated with the Rule, for the same reasons as stated immediately 
above regarding the nonliquid alternative fuel industry. However, based 
on the labeling of an estimated 1,121,153 new and used AFVs each year 
at thirty-eight cents for each label (per industry sources), the annual 
AFV labeling cost is estimated to be $426,038.14 ($0.38 x 1,121,153).
    Thus, the estimated total annual nonlabor cost burden associated 
with the Rule is $426,251 ($212.8 + $426,038.14), rounded.

Willard Tom,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. E9-31202 Filed 1-4-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-S