Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Mobile Air Conditioner Retrofitting Program (Renewal); EPA ICR No. 1774.05, OMB Control No. 2060-0350

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), 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. The ICR, which is abstracted below, describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated burden and cost.

DATES:

Additional comments may be submitted on or before August 16, 2010.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0911 to (1) EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), by e-mail to a-and-r-docket@epa.gov, or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Air and Radiation Docket, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, and (2) OMB by mail to: 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:

Yaidi Cancel, Stratospheric Protection Division, Office of Air and Radiation, Mail Code 6205J, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 343-9512; fax number: (202) 343-2338; e-mail address: Cancel.Yaidi@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 February 22, 2010 (75 FR 7584), EPA sought comments on this ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received no comments. Any additional comments on this ICR should be submitted to EPA and OMB within 30 days of this notice.

EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0911, which is available for online viewing at http://www.regulations.gov,, or in person viewing at the Air Docket in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA/DC 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 Air Docket is 202-566-1742.

Use EPA's electronic docket and comment system at http://www.regulations.gov,, to submit or view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the docket, and to access those documents in the docket that are available electronically. Once in the system, select “docket search,” then key in the docket ID number identified above. Please note that EPA's policy is that public comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper, will be made available for public viewing at http://www.regulations.gov 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. For further information about the electronic docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov.

Title: Mobile Air Conditioner Retrofitting Program (Renewal)

ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 1774.05, OMB Control No. 2060-0350.

ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on July 31, 2010. Under OMB regulations, the Agency may continue to conduct or sponsor the collection of information while this submission is pending at OMB. 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 title 40 of the CFR, after appearing in the Federal Register when approved, are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and are displayed either by publication in the Federal Register or by other appropriate means, such as on the related collection instrument or form, if applicable. The display of OMB control numbers in certain EPA regulations is consolidated in 40 CFR part 9.

Abstract: EPA's Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program implements Section 612 of the 1990 Clean Air Act (CAA) Amendments which authorized the Agency to establish regulatory requirements to ensure that ozone-depleting substances (ODS) are replaced by alternatives that reduce overall risks to human health and the environment, and to promote an expedited transition to safe substitutes. To promote this transition, CAA specified that EPA establish an information clearinghouse of available alternatives, and coordinate with other Federal agencies and the public on research, procurement practices, and information and technology transfers.

Since the program's inception in 1994, SNAP has reviewed over 400 new chemicals and alternative manufacturing processes for a wide range of consumer, industrial, space exploration, and national security applications. Roughly 90% of alternatives submitted to EPA for review have been listed as acceptable for a specific use, typically with some condition or limit to minimize risks to human health and the environment.

Regulations promulgated under SNAP require that Motor Vehicle Air Conditioners (MVACs) retrofitted to use a SNAP substitute refrigerant include basic information on a label to be affixed to the MVAC. The label includes the name of the substitute refrigerant, when and by whom the retrofit was performed, environmental and safety information about the substitute refrigerant, and other information. This information is needed so that subsequent technicians working on the MVAC will be able to service the equipment properly, decreasing the likelihood of significant refrigerant cross-contamination and potential failure of air conditioning systems and recovery/recycling equipment.

Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 5 minutes 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; 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 which have subsequently changed; 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.

Respondents/Affected Entities: new and used car dealers, gas service stations, top and body repair shops, general automotive repair shops, automotive repair shops not elsewhere classified, including air conditioning and radiator specialty shops.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 6,500.

Frequency of Response: Once.

Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 1,500.

Estimated Total Annual Cost: $106,833, includes $105,000 in labor costs and $1,833 in annualized capital or O&M costs.

Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 26,278 hours in the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of Approved ICR Burdens. This decrease is because the number of cars that could be retrofitted to use a SNAP substitute refrigerant is decreasing significantly. New cars sold before 1994 contain CFC-12 air conditioning systems and the number of those cars in operation has decreased since this last ICR renewal. (New cars sold after 1994 contain a SNAP substitute refrigerant and do not need to be retrofitted.) With fewer CFC-12 MVACs on the road (pre-1994 cars), there will be fewer retrofits to new SNAP approved refrigerants and subject to this ICR.