Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Data Reporting Requirements for State and Local Vehicle Emission Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) Programs (Renewal)

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 September 20, 2012.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2008-0707 to (1) EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), by email to a-and-r-Docket@epa.gov, or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA West (Air Docket) 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Room B108; mail Code: 6102T, 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:

Dave Sosnowski, Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, Transportation and Climate Division, 2000 Traverwood, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105; telephone number: 734-214-4823; fax number: 734-214-4052; email address: sosnowski.dave@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 March 5, 2012 (77 FR 13122), EPA sought comments on this ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received 2 comments during the comment period, which are addressed in the supporting statement of this ICR. 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-2008-0707, which is available for online viewing at 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 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 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 www.regulations.gov.

Title: Data Reporting Requirements for State and Local Vehicle Emission Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) Programs (Renewal).

ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 1613.04, OMB Control No. 2060-0252.

ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on August 31, 2012. 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, 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: To provide general oversight and support to state and local I/M programs, the Transportation and Climate Division (TCD), Office of Transportation and Air Quality, Office of Air and Radiation, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, requires that state or local program management for both basic and enhanced I/M programs prepare and submit two varieties of reports to EPA. The first reporting requirement is the submittal of an annual report providing general program operating data and summary statistics, addressing the program's current design and coverage; a summary of testing data, enforcement program efforts, quality assurance and quality control efforts; and other miscellaneous information allowing for an assessment of the program's relative effectiveness. The second reporting requirement is a biennial report on any changes to the program over the two-year period and the impact of such changes, including any weaknesses discovered and corrections made or planned.

General program effectiveness is determined by the degree to which a program misses, meets, or exceeds the emission reductions committed to in the state's approved SIP, which, in turn, must meet or exceed the minimum emission reductions expected from the relevant performance standard, as promulgated under EPA's revisions to 40 CFR part 51, in response to requirements established in section 182 of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. This information will be used by EPA to determine a program's progress toward meeting requirements under 40 CFR part 51, as well as to assess national trends in the area of basic and enhanced I/M programs and to provide background information in support of periodic site visits and evaluations.

Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 86 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; 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.

The ICR provides a detailed explanation of the Agency's estimate, which is only briefly summarized here:

Respondents/Affected Entities:

Estimated Number of Respondents: 28.

Frequency of response: Annual and Biennial.

Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 2,408 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Cost: $144,564. This includes an estimated burden cost of $144,564 and an estimated cost of $0 for capital investment or maintenance and operational costs.

Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 482 hours in the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of Approved ICR Burdens. This decrease is due to (1) a mathematical error discovered in the previous ICR renewal; and (2) a decrease in the number of respondents due to areas redesignating to attainment for the criteria pollutant(s) that triggered the original I/M program requirement and either dropping the program or converting the program to a maintenance measure.