[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 169 (Friday, September 1, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41620-41621]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-18540]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0947; 9967-15-OEI]


Information Collection Request Submitted 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: The Environmental Protection Agency has submitted an 
information collection request (ICR), ``NOX Budget Trading 
Program to Reduce the Regional Transport of Ozone'', (EPA ICR No. 
1857.07, OMB Control No. 2060-0445) to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act. This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is 
currently approved through August 31, 2017. Public comments were 
previously requested via the Federal Register on June 29, 2017 during a 
60-day comment period. 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 October 2, 
2017.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2006-0947, to (1) EPA online using 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 Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen VanSickle, Clean Air Markets 
Division, Office of Air and Radiation, (6204J), Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW.,

[[Page 41621]]

Washington, DC 20460; telephone number (202) 343-9220; fax number: 
(202) 343-2361; email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supporting documents which explain in detail 
the information that the EPA will be collecting are available in the 
public docket for this ICR. The docket can be viewed online at 
www.regulations.gov or in person 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 additional 
information about EPA's public docket, visit http://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    Abstract: The NOX Budget Trading Program was 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. The NOX Budget Trading 
Program was established as an optional implementation mechanism for the 
NOX SIP Call and 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 an ozone-season NOX trading 
program under the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR), which has in turn 
been replaced by ozone-season NOX trading programs under the 
Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR). Although the NOX 
Budget Trading Program was replaced after the 2008 compliance season, 
this information collection is being renewed because some sources in 
certain states are still required to monitor and report emissions data 
to EPA in accordance with the NOX SIP Call and are not 
covered by the CSAPR trading programs, so we will account for their 
information collection burden. All data received by EPA will be treated 
as public information. 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 40 CFR are listed in 40 CFR 
part 9.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: Entities potentially affected by 
this action are those which formerly participated in the NOX 
Budget Trading Program to Reduce the Regional Transport of Ozone and 
which continue to have reporting obligations in accordance with the 
NOX SIP Call that are not duplicated under other rules.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory (Sections 110(a) and 
301(a) of the Clean Air Act).
    Estimated number of respondents: EPA estimates that there are 460 
former NOX Budget Trading Program units that will continue 
to conduct monitoring in accordance with Part 75 solely under the 
NOX SIP Call.
    Frequency of response: Yearly, quarterly, occasionally.
    Total estimated burden: 189,261 hours (per year). Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $27,787,807 (per year), includes $12,227,457 
annualized capital or operation & maintenance costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: The increase in total burden hours is due 
to the increased number of units whose information collection burden 
associated with reporting of ozone-season NOX mass emissions 
is now reported under this program instead of other programs. The 
information collection burden for reporting ozone season NOX 
mass emissions data for all sources that were formerly subject to the 
CAIR NOX Ozone Season Trading Program and are not covered by 
CSAPR is now covered under this ICR. Previously, the burden for 
reporting ozone season NOX mass emissions data for some of 
these sources was covered under the CAIR Program ICR (EPA ICR No. 
2152.05, OMB Control No. 2060-0570).

Courtney Kerwin,
Director, Regulatory Support Division.
[FR Doc. 2017-18540 Filed 8-31-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P