[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 184 (Thursday, September 23, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57941-57942]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-23865]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0947; FRL-9204-8; EPA ICR No. 1857.05; OMB Control No. 
2060-0445]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; NOX Budget Trading 
Program to Reduce the Regional Transport of Ozone (Renewal)

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.

DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before October 25, 
2010.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2006-0947 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 and Information Center, 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: Karen VanSickle, Clean Air Markets 
Division, Office of Air and Radiation,

[[Page 57942]]

Mailcode 6204J, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 343-9220; fax 
number: (202) 343-2361; 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 March 25, 2010 (75 FR 14439), 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-2006-0947, 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, 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 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: NOX Budget Trading Program to Reduce the Regional 
Transport of Ozone (Renewal).
    ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 1857.05, OMB Control No. 2060-0445.
    ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on September 30, 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: The NOX Budget Trading Program is a market-
based cap and trade program created to reduce emissions of nitrogen 
oxides (NOX) from power plants and other large combustion 
sources in the eastern United States. NOX is a prime 
ingredient in the formation of ground-level ozone (smog), a pervasive 
air pollution problem in many areas of the eastern United States. The 
NOX Budget Trading Program was designed to reduce 
NOX emissions during the warm summer months, referred to as 
the ozone season, when ground-level ozone concentrations are highest. 
In 2009 the program was replaced by the Clean Air Interstate Rule Ozone 
Season Trading Program (CAIROS). Although the trading program was 
replaced after the 2008 compliance season, this information collection 
is being renewed for two reasons. First, some industrial sources in 
certain States are still required to monitor and report emissions data 
to EPA under these rules, so we will account for their burden. Second, 
the Agency may at some future time, reinstitute the NOX 
Budget Trading Program. For example, this might happen if both the 
Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) and CAIR replacement rules were 
vacated by the Court. All data received by EPA will be treated as 
public information.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 136 
hours per response. 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: Electric utilities, industrial 
sources, and other persons.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 122.
    Frequency of Response: Yearly, quarterly, occasionally.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 57,586.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $7,466,951, which includes $3,777,000 
annualized capital and O&M costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 414,148 hours in 
the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of 
Approved ICR Burdens. Previous iterations of this ICR included a larger 
number of affected sources and burdens associated with program 
implementation that are now covered under several different ICR's 
including the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) (OMB Control Number 
2060-0570) and the Air Emissions Reporting Rule (AERR) (OMB Control 
Number 2060-0580).

    Dated: September 17, 2010.
John Moses,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 2010-23865 Filed 9-22-10; 8:45 am]
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