[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 2 (Tuesday, January 5, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 360-362]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-31277]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0407; FRL-9100-4]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; EPA's ENERGY STAR Program in the 
Commercial and Industrial Sectors; EPA ICR No. 1772.05, OMB Control No. 
2060-0347

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

[[Page 361]]


DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before February 4, 
2010.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2006-0407, 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, Mailcode: 28221T, 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: Mary Susan Bailey, Climate Protection 
Partnerships Division, Mailcode: 6202J, Environmental Protection 
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone 
number: 202-343-9014; fax number: 202-343-2204; 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 August 11, 2009 (74 FR 40183), 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-2006-0407, 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 Building, 
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, 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: EPA's ENERGY STAR Program in the Commercial and Industrial 
Sectors.
    ICR Numbers: EPA ICR No. 1772.05, OMB Control No. 2060-0347.
    ICR Status: This ICR is currently scheduled to expire on February 
28, 2010. 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 created ENERGY STAR as a voluntary program to help 
businesses and individuals protect the environment through superior 
energy efficiency. The program focuses on reducing utility-generated 
emissions by reducing the demand for energy. In 1991, EPA launched the 
Green Lights Program to encourage corporations, State and local 
governments, colleges and universities, and other organizations to 
adopt energy-efficient lighting as a profitable means of preventing 
pollution and improving lighting quality. Since then, EPA has rolled 
Green Lights into ENERGY STAR and expanded ENERGY STAR to encompass 
organization-wide energy performance improvement, such as building 
technology upgrades, product purchasing initiatives, and employee 
training. At the same time, EPA has streamlined the reporting 
requirements of ENERGY STAR and focused on providing incentives for 
improvements (e.g., ENERGY STAR Awards Program). EPA also makes tools 
and other resources available over the Web to help the public overcome 
the barriers to evaluating their energy performance and investing in 
profitable improvements. In addition, EPA is always looking for ways to 
simplify its information collections, such as by giving organizations 
the option of joining ENERGY STAR by completing an online partnership 
letter or agreement instead of using regular mail. Partnership in 
ENERGY STAR is voluntary and can be terminated by Partners or EPA at 
any time. EPA does not expect organizations to join the program unless 
they expect participation to be cost-effective and otherwise beneficial 
for them.
    In addition, Partners and any other interested party can help EPA 
promote energy-efficient technologies by evaluating the efficiency of 
their buildings using EPA's on-line tools (e.g., Portfolio Manager) and 
applying for recognition.
    If a claim of confidential business information (CBI) is asserted, 
EPA will manage that information in accordance with EPA's provisions on 
confidentiality.
    Burden Statement: The burden for joining the ENERGY STAR Program 
and related activities is expected to vary depending on the type of 
Partner. The burden is estimated to be 30 minutes for a Commercial and 
Industrial Sector Partner to prepare/submit a Partnership Letter, 1 
hour for a Service and Product Provider (SPP) to prepare/submit a 
Partnership Agreement and related documents, and 2.5 hours for an 
Energy Efficiency Program Sponsor (EEPS) to prepare/submit a 
Partnership Agreement and a brief plan outlining the key activities it 
intends to undertake to promote ENERGY STAR. These organizations also 
may undertake other activities related to their partnership during the 
year. The burden is estimated to be about 1 hour for a SPP Partner to 
update its contact information and communicate efforts and successes 
each year and about 3 hours for an EEPS Partner to update its brief 
plan and contact information and promote ENERGY STAR each year.
    The burden for benchmarking in Portfolio Manager is estimated to 
vary depending on the type of benchmarking method used. The burden is 
estimated to be about 2.75 hours per building for manual benchmarks, 1 
hour per building for benchmarks using the import tool, and 30 minutes 
per building for benchmarks using the Automated Benchmarking System. In 
addition, the burden for using the ENERGY STAR Energy Performance 
Indicator is estimated to range from 10 to 15 minutes per plant. The 
burden for tracking a plant's energy performance under the ENERGY STAR 
Challenge for Industry (e.g., using the ENERGY STAR Energy Tracking 
Tool) is estimated to be 2.5 hours per plant. These burden estimates 
include the time for conducting initial set-up, gathering facility and 
energy data, and entering

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the data to track energy performance during the year.
    The burden for applying to EPA for recognition is estimated to vary 
depending on the type of recognition. The burden is estimated to range 
up to 5 hours to apply for the ENERGY STAR. This includes the time for 
gathering information and completing/submitting the application 
materials. The burden is estimated to be about 3 hours to apply for the 
``Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR.'' This includes the time for 
gathering and entering data into Target Finder and completing/
submitting the application materials. The burden is estimated to range 
up to 17 hours for an organization to apply for an ENERGY STAR Award. 
This includes the time for preparing and submitting the application 
materials.
    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: Organizations participating in 
ENERGY STAR in the Commercial and Industrial Sectors.
    Approximate Number of Respondents: 18,000.
    Frequency of Response: One-time, on occasion, monthly, annually, 
and/or periodically, depending on the type of respondent and 
collection.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 125,023.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $14,659,784, including $8,694,520 in 
labor costs and $5,965,264 in O&M costs. There are no capital/start-up 
costs to respondents.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is an increase of 70,523 hours in 
the total estimated annual burden hours currently identified in the OMB 
Inventory of Approved ICR Burdens. Specifically, there is a 3,065-hour 
decrease due to program changes and a 73,588-hour increase due to 
adjustments resulting from program growth. This resulted in a net 
increase of 70,523 hours.

    Dated: December 24, 2009.
Richard T. Westlund,
Acting Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. E9-31277 Filed 1-4-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P