[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 125 (Friday, June 30, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42359-42360]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-13958]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2004-0077; FRL-11115-01-OMS]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget 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 (EPA) has submitted an 
information collection request (ICR), Significant New Alternatives 
Policy (SNAP) Program (EPA ICR Number 1596.11, OMB Control Number 2060-
0226) 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, 2023. Public comments were previously requested via the 
Federal Register on January 24, 2023, during a 60-day comment period. 
This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.

DATES: Comments may be submitted on or before July 31, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2004-0077, to 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. 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.
    Submit written comments and recommendations to OMB for the proposed 
information collection within 30 days of publication of this notice to 
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information 
collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for 
Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christina Thompson, Stratospheric 
Protection Division, Office of Atmospheric Protection, (Mail Code 
6205A), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 564-0983; email address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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. Public comments were previously requested via the 
Federal Register on January 24, 2023 during a 60-day comment period (88 
FR 4177). This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public 
comments. 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: This information collection 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 EPA SNAP program then reviews proposed 
substitutes based on established risk-assessment criteria and 
procedures set forth in associated regulations. Results are published 
in updated lists of acceptable and unacceptable substitutes sorted by 
end-use categories.
    Responses to the collection of information are mandatory under 
section 612 for anyone who sells or, in certain cases, uses substitutes 
for an

[[Page 42360]]

ODS after April 18, 1994. 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 submitters to substantiate their claim 
of confidentiality. Under CAA section 114(c), emissions information may 
not be claimed as confidential.
    Any substitute which is a new chemical must also be submitted to 
the Agency under the New Chemicals (Premanufacture Notice) program 
under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Furthermore, 
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 operation & maintenance costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: The number of SNAP submissions each year 
is expected to remain the same from the previous ICR, at an average of 
15 per year during the next 3 years. In 2020 the Agency received 20 new 
SNAP submissions, and in 2021 the Agency received 13 submissions. In 
the first 10 months of 2022, the Agency received 6 submissions, 
although multiple submissions applied for more than 5 end-uses. 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. 
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.
    There is an estimated 20% reduction in the number of respondents 
responsible for recordkeeping for substitutes acceptable subject to use 
conditions and narrowed use limits. This reduction is expected because 
the increased availability of alternatives decreases the need for 
industry to use alternatives previously listed as acceptable subject to 
narrowed use limits.

Courtney Kerwin,
Director, Regulatory Support Division.
[FR Doc. 2023-13958 Filed 6-29-23; 8:45 am]
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