Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; NSPS for New Residential Wood Heaters (40 CFR Part 60, Subpart AAA) (Renewal), ICR Number 1176.07, OMB Number 2060-0161

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, this document announces that an Information Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This is a request to renew an existing approved collection. This ICR is scheduled to expire on February 29, 2004. Under OMB regulations, the Agency may continue to conduct or sponsor the collection of information while this submission is pending at OMB. This ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated burden and cost.

DATES:

Additional comments may be submitted on or before April 2, 2004.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number OECA 2003-0021, to (1) EPA online using EDOCKET (our preferred method), by e-mail to docket.oeca@epa.gov, or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Enforcement and Compliance Docket and Information Center, Mail Code 2201T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460, and (2) OMB at: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Attention: Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

John DuPree, Compliance Assessment and Media Programs Division, Office of Compliance, Mail Code 2223A, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 564-5960; fax number: (202) 564-0050; e-mail address: dupree.john@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

EPA has submitted the following ICR to OMB for review and approval according to the procedures prescribed in 5 CFR 1320.12. On May 19, 2003 (68 FR 27059), EPA sought comments on this ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received no comments.

EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID Number OECA-2003-0021, which is available for public viewing at the Enforcement and Compliance Docket and Information Center in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution Avenue, 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 Enforcement and Compliance Docket and Information Center is (202) 566-1752. An electronic version of the public docket is available through EPA Dockets (EDOCKET) at http://www.epa.gov/edocket. Use EDOCKET to submit or to view public comments, to access the index listing of the contents of the public docket, and to access those documents in the public docket that are available electronically. When 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 and OMB within 30 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 http://www.epa.gov/edocket.

Title: NSPS for New Residential Wood Heaters (40 CFR part 60, subpart AAA) (Renewal).

Abstract: The Standards of Performance for New Stationary Sources, New Residential Wood Heaters, were proposed on February 18, 1987, and promulgated on February 26, 1988. These standards apply to each wood heater manufactured on or after July 1, 1988, or sold at retail on or after July 1, 1990. Wood heaters manufactured on or after July 1, 1990, or sold at retail on or after July 1, 1992, must meet more stringent emission standards. Approximately 54 manufacturers, 875 retailers, and 5 certification laboratories are currently subject to the regulations. No increase is expected in those estimates over the next three years. Particulate matter is the pollutant regulated under the standards.

Two features of this rulemaking are unique to the New Source Performance Standard (NSPS) program. First, these standards were negotiated by representatives of groups affected by the NSPS, including those groups which are burdened by the information collection activities. None of these activities were judged to be unreasonable by these representatives. Some of these provisions were recommended by the affected groups as a means of promoting an efficient and smooth-running certification and enforcement program. Second, these regulations established a certification program instead of the usual NSPS requirement that each affected facility demonstrates compliance through new source review and testing. Under this certification program, a single wood heater is tested to demonstrate compliance for an entire model line, which could consist of thousands of stoves. The certification approach significantly reduces the compliance burden, including information collection, for the manufacturers of wood heaters. Because of the potential risks to the environment from the intentional or accidental misuse of the certification approach, there were, however, several safeguards included, some of which entail reporting and recordkeeping.

Under this regulation, wood heater manufacturers, testing laboratories, and retailers are required to submit reports to EPA and/or to maintain records for demonstrating compliance with the NSPS.

The information supplied by the manufacturer to the Agency is used: (1) To ensure that Best Demonstrated Technology is being applied to reduce emissions from wood heaters; (2) to ensure that the wood heater tested for certification purposes is in compliance with the applicable emission standards; (3) to provide assurance that untested production model heaters have emission performance characteristics similar to tested models; and (4) to provide an indicator of continued compliance.

Information supplied to the Agency by testing laboratories is used to grant or to deny laboratory accreditation, and to assist in enforcement and compliance activities. Information requested by the Agency from manufacturers is used to determine compliance with requirements that are based upon volume of production.

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 in 40 CFR part 9 and 48 CFR chapter 15, and are identified on the form and/or instrument, if applicable.

Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 51 hours per response. 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; to 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; to adjust the existing ways to comply with any previously applicable instructions and requirements; to train personnel to be able to respond to a collection of information; to search data sources; to complete and review the collection of information; and to transmit or otherwise disclose the information.

Respondents/Affected Entities: Manufacturers and sellers of new residential wood stoves.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 934.

Frequency of Response: On occasion.

Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 9,728.

Estimated Total Costs: $1,964,000 which includes $1,346,000 annualized capital/startup costs, $3,000 annual O&M costs and $615,000 annual labor costs.

Changes in the Estimates: The labor hour increase of 2,075 hours is due to the increase in the number of accredited test laboratories and the number of wood stove manufacturers.