Agency Information Collection Activities: Continuing Collection; Comment Request; Detergent Gasoline, EPA ICR Number 1655.05, OMB Control Number 2060-0275

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that EPA is planning to submit a continuing Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This is a request to renew an existing collection. This ICR is scheduled to expire on October 31, 2004. Before submitting the ICR to OMB for review and approval, EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described below.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before August 2, 2004.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number OAR-2004-0078, to EPA online using EDOCKET (our preferred method), by email to a-and-r-docket@epa.gov, or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air and Radiation Docket, Mail code 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

James W. Caldwell, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, Mail Code 6406J, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 564-9303; fax number: (202) 565-2085; e-mail address: caldwell.jim@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID number OAR-2004-0078, which is available for public viewing at the Office of Air and Radiation Docket in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center 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 Office of Air and Radiation Docket is (202) 566-1742. An electronic version of the public docket is available through EPA Dockets (EDOCKET) at http://www.epa.gov/edocket. Use EDOCKET to obtain a copy of the draft collection of information, submit or view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the public docket, and to access those documents in the public docket that are available electronically. Once in the system, select “search,'' then key in the docket ID number identified above.

Any comments related to this ICR should be submitted to EPA within 60 days of this notice. EPA's policy is that public comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper, will be made available for public viewing in EDOCKET 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. When EPA identifies a comment containing copyrighted material, EPA will provide a reference to that material in the version of the comment that is placed in EDOCKET. The entire printed comment, including the copyrighted material, will be available in the public docket. Although identified as an item in the official docket, information claimed as CBI, or whose disclosure is otherwise restricted by statute, is not included in the official public docket, and will not be available for public viewing in EDOCKET. For further information about the electronic docket, see EPA's Federal Register notice describing the electronic docket at 67 FR 38102 (May 31, 2002), or go to www.epa.gov/edocket.

Affected entities: Entities potentially affected by this action are those who (1) manufacture gasoline, post-refinery component, or detergent additives, (2) blend detergent additives into gasoline or post-refinery component, or (3) transport or receive a detergent additive, gasoline, or post-refinery component.

Title: Detergent Gasoline: Certification Requirements for Manufacturers of Detergent Additives; Requirements for Transferors and Transferees of Detergent Additives; Requirements for Blenders of Detergents into Gasoline or Post-refinery Component; Requirements for Manufacturers, Transferors, and Transferees of Gasoline or Post-refinery Component (40 CFR Part 80—Subpart G), EPA ICR Number 1655.05, OMB Control Number 2060-0275, expiration date: 10-31-04.

Abstract: Gasoline combustion results in the formation of engine deposits that contribute to increased emissions. Detergent additives deter deposit formation. The Clean Air Act requires gasoline to contain a detergent additive. The regulations at 40 CFR part 80—subpart G specify certification requirements for manufacturers of detergent additives, recordkeeping or reporting requirements for blenders of detergents into gasoline or post-refinery component (any gasoline blending stock or any oxygenate which is blended with gasoline subsequent to the gasoline refining process), and reporting or recordkeeping requirements for manufacturers, transferors, or transferees of detergents, gasoline, or post-refinery component (PRC). These requirements ensure that (1) a detergent is effective before it is certified by EPA, (2) a certified detergent, at the minimum concentration necessary to be effective (known as the lowest additive concentration (LAC)), is blended into gasoline, and (3) only gasoline which contains a certified detergent at its LAC is delivered to the consumer. The EPA maintains a list of certified gasoline detergents, which is publicly available. As of April 2004 there were 323 certified detergents and 18 detergent manufacturers. 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 are listed at 40 CFR part 9.

The EPA would like to solicit comments 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.

Burden Statement: EPA estimates that the average burden for detergent certification is 60 hours and $4,228, and that there will be approximately 30 applications for detergent certification each year for the next three years. Thus, the annual certification burden is estimated at 1,800 hours and $126,840.

Most of the burden is incurred by the blenders of detergent into gasoline or PRC. The regulations require that they generate and maintain records of the amount of detergent blended and the amount of gasoline into which it is blended. These records are known as volumetric additive reconciliation (VAR) records and must demonstrate that the proper amount of a certified detergent has been used. For blenders with automated equipment, the annual burden is estimated at 150 hours and $8,826. There are approximately 1,300 blenders that use automated equipment. Thus, the annual burden is 195,000 hours and $11.5 million. For blenders with non-automated equipment, the annual burden is estimated at 500 hours and $29,420. There are about 50 blenders in this category, for an annual burden of 25,000 hours and $1,471,000.

There are no capital or start-up costs beyond those incurred by industry at the program's inception in 1995. Operating and maintenance (O&M) costs are in three categories. First, the on-road engine testing to demonstrate that the detergent meets the deposit-control standards is performed at contractor facilities. However, just about all detergent certifications are able to rely on previous testing, so new testing is only performed about once a year at a cost of $70,000. The second O&M cost is for copying and postage for the estimated 30 submissions annually for detergent certification and 8 submissions annually for research notification. At an estimated $10 per submission, the annual cost is $380. The third O&M cost is for the storage of the VAR records at the 1,300 automated detergent blending facilities and 50 non-automated detergent blending facilities. The estimated annual cost per facility is $100, for a total of $135,000. The total annual estimated burden for industry is 221,808 hours and $13.3 million. 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 and providing information; adjust the existing ways to comply with any previously applicable instructions and requirements; 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.