[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 24, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4177-4178]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-01258]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2004-0077; FRL-10427-01-OAR]


Proposed Information Collection Request; 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 (EPA) is planning to 
submit an information collection request (ICR), ``Significant New 
Alternatives Policy (SNAP) Program (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR No. 1596.11, 
OMB Control No. 2060-0226) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. 
Before doing so, EPA is soliciting public comments on specific aspects 
of the proposed information collection as described below. This is a 
proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through 
August 31, 2023. 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: Comments must be submitted on or before March 27, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2004-0077, 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.
    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: Christina Thompson, Stratospheric 
Protection Division, Office of Atmospheric Programs, (Mail Code 6205A), 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, 
DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 564-0983; 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.
    Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, EPA is soliciting 
comments and information to enable it to: (i) evaluate whether the 
proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper 
performance of the functions of the Agency, including whether the 
information will have practical utility; (ii) evaluate the accuracy of 
the Agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of 
information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
used; (iii) enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (iv) minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on those who are to respond, including 
through the use of appropriate automated electronic, mechanical, or 
other technological collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses. EPA 
will consider the comments received and amend the ICR as appropriate. 
The final ICR package will then be submitted to OMB for review and 
approval. At that time, EPA will issue another Federal Register notice 
to announce the submission of the ICR to OMB and the opportunity to 
submit additional comments to OMB.
    Abstract: Information collected under this rulemaking is necessary 
to implement the requirements of the Significant New Alternatives 
Policy (SNAP) program for evaluating and regulating substitutes for 
ozone-depleting substances (ODS) being phased out under the 
stratospheric ozone protection provisions of the Clean Air Act (CAA) 
and globally under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the 
Ozone Layer. Under CAA section 612, EPA is authorized to identify and 
restrict the use of substitutes for class I and class II ODS (listed in 
40 CFR part 82, subpart A, appendices A and B) where EPA determines 
other alternatives are available or potentially available that reduce 
overall risk to human health and the environment. Any producer of a new 
substitute must submit a notice of intent to introduce a substitute 
into interstate commerce 90 days prior to such introduction. The 
producer must also provide EPA with information covering a wide range 
of health and environmental factors. 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 
ODS after April 18, 1994, the effective date of the final rule. 
Measures to protect confidentiality of information collected under the 
SNAP program are based on EPA's confidentiality regulations (40 CFR 
2.201 et seq., or Subpart B). Submitters may designate all or portions 
of their forms or petitions as confidential. EPA requires the

[[Page 4178]]

submitters to 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, 
the Agency 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. These 
include intrinsic properties such as physical and chemical information, 
atmospheric effects including ozone depleting potential and 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 of the substitute. Once a 
completed submission has been received, the SNAP program will commence 
its review. Any substitute which is a new chemical must also be 
submitted to the Agency under the Premanufacture Notice 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: 1264-14;1265-14.
    Respondents/affected entities: Manufacturers, importers, 
formulators and processors of substitutes for ODS.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory (40 CFR 82.176).
    Estimated number of respondents: 154 (per year).
    Frequency of response: Annual.
    Total estimated burden: 4,855 hours (per year). Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $444,249, which includes $22,912 annualized 
capital or O&M costs.
    Changes in estimates: There is a decrease of 702 hours in the total 
estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently approved by 
OMB. The Agency anticipates the number of submissions to the SNAP 
program to remain the same as the previous ICR during the next 3 years. 
Many of the recent SNAP submissions, and those anticipated over the 
next three years, are for chemicals previously found acceptable for 
other SNAP applications or for blends of alternatives already found 
acceptable. For the expected submissions, the burden of developing 
supporting information for the majority of these submissions is 
expected to decrease because it is easier to find and review 
information for substitutes that have been reviewed previously. EPA 
estimates a reduction in the number of respondents responsible for 
recordkeeping for substitutes acceptable subject to use conditions and 
narrowed use limits. The increased availability of alternatives reduces 
the need for industry to use alternatives previously listed as 
acceptable subject to narrowed use limits.

Cynthia A. Newberg,
Director, Stratospheric Protection Division.
[FR Doc. 2023-01258 Filed 1-23-23; 8:45 am]
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