[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 56 (Thursday, March 22, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16831-16832]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-6879]



[[Page 16831]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2011-0940; FRL 9512-9]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Federal Supplier (Small Business) 
Greenhouse Gas Inventory Pilot (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 April 23, 
2012.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2011-0940, to (1) EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred 
method), by email 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: John Sottong, Climate Protection 
Partnerships Division, Office of Atmospheric Programs, (6202J), 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 343-9397; fax number: 
(202) 343-2208; email 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 November 30, 2011 (76 FR 74053), 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-2011-0940, which is available for online viewing at 
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 
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: Federal Supplier (Small Business) Greenhouse Gas Inventory 
Pilot (Renewal)
    ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 2100.05, OMB Control No. 2060-0532.
    ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on April 30, 2012. 
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, 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: On September 30, 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) officially ended its Climate Leaders program. One element 
of the Climate Leaders program was the Small Business Network (SBN), 
which offered small businesses tools and resources to assist them with 
managing and reducing their Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. In direct 
response to E.O. 13514, EPA and the U.S. General Services 
Administration (GSA) utilized the Climate Leaders SBN as the foundation 
to launch the Federal Supplier Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Pilot 
(``the Pilot'') in August 2010 to assess the benefits and challenges 
experienced by small businesses in completing and reporting a GHG 
emissions inventory. The Pilot is a voluntary, three-year program in 
which small businesses are required to develop annual GHG emissions 
inventories through September 2013. The small businesses are also 
required to develop and implement GHG emissions reductions strategies 
and review their progress towards meeting their reduction goals and the 
associated benefits. Through this interagency agreement, EPA continues 
to support the Pilot with education and technical assistance. EPA has 
developed this renewal ICR to ensure that the Pilot remains credible by 
obtaining continued authorization to collect information from its 
participants to ensure that they are meeting their GHG goals. Companies 
that joined the Pilot voluntarily agree to the following: Setting a 
corporate GHG reduction goal; submitting a GHG inventory management 
plan; reporting to EPA, on an annual basis, the company's GHG emissions 
inventory, and progress toward their GHG reduction goal via the Annual 
GHG Inventory Summary and Goal Tracking Form. The information contained 
in the inventories of the companies that participate in the Pilot may 
be considered confidential business information and is maintained as 
such. EPA uses the data obtained from the companies to assess the 
success of the Pilot in achieving its goals and to identify the type of 
outreach, training, and other direct assistance and incentives that 
will help small business federal suppliers meet the objectives of E.O. 
13514. Responses to the information collection are voluntary.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 31 
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

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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: Small businesses participating in 
the joint EPA-GSA Federal Suppliers Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory 
Pilot.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 46.
    Frequency of Response: Annually.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 966.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $90,804 in labor costs and no 
annualized capital or O&M costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 18,670 hours in 
the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of 
Approved ICR Burdens. This decrease reflects EPA's phase down of the 
Climate Leaders program on September 30, 2011. As a result, the number 
of respondents to this ICR decreased to include only those 46 small 
businesses participating in the joint EPA-GSA Federal Supplier 
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Pilot.

John Moses,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 2012-6879 Filed 3-21-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P