[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 166 (Wednesday, August 27, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51150-51151]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-20280]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2004-0077; FRL-9915-87-OEI]


Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and 
Approval; Comment Request; Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) 
Program (Renewal)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency has submitted an 
information collection request (ICR), ``Significant New Alternatives 
Policy (SNAP) Program (40 CFR part 82, subpart G) (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR 
No. 1596.09, OMB Control No. 2060-0226) to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). This is a proposed extension of 
the ICR, which is currently approved through August 30, 2014. Public 
comments were previously requested via the Federal Register (79 FR 
15994) on March 24, 2014 during a 60-day comment period. No comments 
were received. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public 
comments. A fuller description of the ICR is given below, including its 
estimated burden and cost to the public. 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.

DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before September 26, 
2014.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-
OAR-2004-0077, 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, Mail Code 28221T, 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460, and (2) OMB via email 
to [email protected]. Address comments to OMB Desk 
Officer for EPA. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be 
included in the public docket without change including any personal 
information provided, unless the comment includes profanity, threats, 
information claimed to be CBI or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rebecca von dem Hagen, Environmental 
Protection Agency, Stratospheric Protection Division, Office of 
Atmospheric Programs, MC 6205T, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 
343-9445; email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supporting documents which explain in detail 
the information that the EPA will be collecting are available in the 
docket. The docket can be viewed at www.regulations.gov or at the EPA 
Docket Center, WJC West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW., 
Washington, DC. The telephone number for the Docket Center is 202-566-
1744. For further information about EPA's public docket, visit http://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    Abstract: Information collected under the SNAP program is intended 
to fulfill

[[Page 51151]]

the general mandate in Section 612(c) that states the Administrator 
shall promulgate rules providing that it shall be unlawful to replace 
any class I or class II substance with any substitute substance which 
the Administrator determines may present adverse effects to human 
health or the environment, where the Administrator has identified an 
alternative to such replacement that (1) reduces the overall risk to 
human health and the environment; and (2) is currently or potentially 
available.
    The SNAP program, based on information collected from the 
manufacturers, formulators, and/or sellers of such substitutes, 
identifies acceptable substitutes. Responses to the collection of 
information are mandatory under Section 612 for anyone who sells or, in 
certain cases, uses substitutes for an ozone-depleting substance after 
April 18, 1994. Steps to protect confidentiality of information 
collected under the SNAP program are based on EPA's confidentiality 
regulations (40 CFR 2.201 et seq.). Submitters may designate all or 
portions of their forms or petitions as confidential, and must 
substantiate their claim of confidentiality. Under CAA Section 114(c), 
emissions information may not be claimed as confidential.
    To develop the lists of acceptable and unacceptable substitutes, 
EPA must assess and compare ``overall risks to human health and the 
environment'' posed by use of substitutes in the context of particular 
applications. EPA requires submission of information covering a wide 
range of health and environmental factors, including intrinsic 
properties such as physical and chemical information, ozone depleting 
potential, global warming potential, toxicity, and flammability, and 
use-specific data such as substitute applications, process description, 
environmental release data, exposure data during use of a substitute, 
environmental fate and transport, and cost information. Any substitute 
which is a new chemical must also be submitted to EPA under the New 
Chemicals program under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 
Alternatives that will be used as sterilants must be filed jointly with 
EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs and with SNAP.
    Form Numbers: 1265-14.
    Respondents/affected entities: Manufacturers, importers, 
formulators, and processors of substitutes for ozone-depleting 
substances.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory (40 CFR 82.176).
    Estimated number of responses: 212 (per year).
    Frequency of response: Annual.
    Total estimated burden: 6,371 hours (per year). Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $488,007 (per year), includes $22,800 
annualized start-up/O&M costs.
    Burden estimate: For persons filing a SNAP Information Notice or 
petition, the reporting burden is estimated at 165 hours per year. For 
persons filing a TSCA/SNAP Addendum, the reporting burden is estimated 
at 36 hours per year. For persons filing a notification of test 
marketing activity, the reporting burden is estimated at 1 hour per 
year. For persons keeping records of use of a substitute subject to use 
conditions or narrowed use limits, the recordkeeping burden is 
estimated at 27 hours per year. For persons keeping records of a small 
volume use, the recordkeeping burden is estimated at 12 hours per year.
    Changes in the estimates: There is a decrease of 312 hours in the 
total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently 
approved by OMB. The number of SNAP Information Notice submissions each 
year is expected to increase during the next 3 years. Many SNAP 
submissions are for chemicals or blends of alternatives previously 
found acceptable, so while the number of submissions is expected to 
increase, the burden of developing supporting information for most 
submissions is expected to decrease because it is easier to find and 
review information for substitutes previously reviewed. The SNAP 
submission forms have been revised to improve usability and ease burden 
on submitters by clarifying the information necessary for review based 
on the specific sector(s) and end-use(s) being pursued, and by 
eliminating redundancy. Also, the Agency encourages the submission of 
electronic files, reducing burden on respondents and the Agency for 
processing. EPA estimates a 20% reduction in the number of respondents 
responsible for recordkeeping for substitutes acceptable subject to use 
conditions and narrowed use limits because the increased availability 
of alternatives decreases the need for industry to use alternatives 
previously listed as acceptable subject to narrowed use limits.

Spencer Clark,
Acting Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 2014-20280 Filed 8-26-14; 8:45 am]
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