[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 51 (Wednesday, March 17, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12750-12752]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-5750]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request

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

ACTION: Notice and request for comment.

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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 (or ``Rule''). This clearance 
expires on March 31, 2010.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 16, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments 
electronically or in paper form, by following the instructions in the 
Request for Comments 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/alternativefuelrulepra2) (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 additional information should be addressed to Hampton 
Newsome, Attorney, Division of Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer 
Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., M-
8102B, Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326-2889.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background:

    Under the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520, 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. 3502(3); 5 CFR 
1320.3(c). The Alternative Fuel 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.
    On January 5, 2010, the FTC sought comment on the information 
collection requirements associated with the Rule.\1\ No comments were 
received. Pursuant to the OMB regulations, 5 CFR Part 1320, that 
implement the PRA, the FTC is providing this second opportunity for 
public comment while seeking OMB approval to renew the pre-existing 
clearance for the Rule (OMB Control No. 3084-0094). All comments should 
be filed as prescribed in the ADDRESSES section above and in the 
Request for Comments (found below), and must be received on or before 
April 16, 2010.
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    \1\ 75 FR 366.
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Request for Comments:

    Interested parties are invited to submit written comments 
electronically or in paper form. Comments should refer to ``Alternative 
Fuel Rule: FTC File No. R311002'' to facilitate the organization of 
comments. Please note that your comment -- including your name and your 
state -- will be placed on the public record of this proceeding, 
including on the publicly accessible FTC Web site, at (http://www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm).
    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 
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 Commission 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).\2\
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    \2\ 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/alternativefuelrulepra2) (and following the 
instructions on the web-based form). To ensure that the Commission

[[Page 12751]]

considers an electronic comment, you must file it on the web-based form 
at the Web link: (https://public.commentworks.com/ftc/alternativefuelrulepra2). If this Notice appears at (http://www.regulations.gov), you may also file an electronic comment through 
that Web site. The Commission will consider all comments that 
regulations.gov forwards to 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.
    Comments on any proposed filing, recordkeeping, or disclosure 
requirements that are subject to paperwork burden review under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA'') should additionally be submitted to: 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget (``OMB''), Attention: Desk Officer for Federal Trade Commission. 
Comments should be submitted via facsimile to (202) 395-5167 because 
U.S. postal mail at the OMB is subject to delays 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's 
Web site, 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's Web site. 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.\3\ 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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    \3\ Label specifications were designed to produce labels to 
withstand the elements for several years.
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    (1) Estimated total annual hours burden: 38,000 total burden hours, 
rounded to nearest thousand (includes Non-liquid Alternative Fuels\4\ 
and Alternative Fuel Vehicle Manufacturers).
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    \4\ 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 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

[[Page 12752]]

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. 2010-5750 Filed 3-16-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-S