[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 164 (Thursday, August 25, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49925-49926]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-16889]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request; Extension
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The FTC is seeking public comments on its proposal to extend
through December 31, 2008 the current Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA'')
clearance for information collection requirements contained in its Fuel
Rating Rule (``Rule''). That clearance expires on December 31, 2005.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 24, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments.
Comments should refer to ``Fuel Rating Rule: FTC File No. R811005'' to
facilitate the organization of comments. A comment filed in paper form
should include this reference both in the text and on the envelope and
should be mailed or delivered, with two complete copies, to the
following address: Federal Trade Commission, Room H 135 (Annex J), 600
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20580. Because paper mail in the
Washington area and at the Commission is subject to delay, please
consider submitting your comments in electronic form, (in ASCII format,
WordPerfect, or Microsoft Word) as part of or as an attachment to e-
mail messages directed to the following e-mail box:
paperworkcomment@ftc.gov. However, if the comment contains any material
for which confidential treatment is requested, it must be filed in
paper form, and the first page of the document must be clearly labeled
``Confidential.'' \1\
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\1\ Commission Rule 4.2(d), 16 CFR 4.2(d). The comment must be
accompanied by an explicit request for confidential treatment,
including the factual and legal basis for the request, and must
identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from
the public record. The request will be granted or denied by the
Commission's General Counsel, consistent with applicable law and the
public interest. See Commission Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
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The FTC Act and other laws the Commission administers permit the
collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding as
appropriate. All timely and responsive public comments will be
considered by the Commission and will be available to the public on the
FTC website, to the extent practicable, at www.ftc.gov. As a matter of
discretion, the FTC makes every effort to remove home contact
information for individuals from the public comments it receives before
placing those comments on the FTC Web site. More information, including
routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, may be found in the FTC's
privacy policy at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
copies of the proposed information
[[Page 49926]]
requirements should be sent to Neil Blickman, Attorney, Division of
Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission,
600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326-3038.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), 44
U.S.C. 3501-3520, Federal agencies must obtain approval from OMB for
each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. ``Collection of
information'' means agency requests or requirements that members of the
public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third
party. 44 U.S.C. 3502(3); 5 CFR 1320.3(c). As required by section
3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the FTC is providing this opportunity for
public comment before requesting that OMB extend the existing paperwork
clearance for the regulations noted herein.
The FTC invites comments on: (1) 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; (2) 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; (3) ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways
to 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. All comments should be filed as prescribed in
the ADDRESSES section above, and must be received on or before October
24, 2005.
The Fuel Rating Rule, 16 CFR part 306 (OMB Control Number: 3084-
0068), establishes standard procedures for determining, certifying, and
disclosing the octane rating of automotive gasoline and the automotive
fuel rating of alternative liquid automotive fuels, as required by the
Petroleum Marketing Practices Act. 15 U.S.C. 2822(a)-(c). The Rule also
requires refiners, producers, importers, distributors, and retailers to
retain records showing how the ratings were determined, including
delivery tickets or letters of certification.
Estimated annual hours burden: \2\ 40,000 total burden hours
(16,000 recordkeeping hours + 24,000 disclosure hours).
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\2\ All numbers pertaining to hours and cost burden estimates
have been rounded to the nearest thousand.
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Recordkeeping: Based on industry sources, staff estimates that
195,000 fuel industry members each incur an average annual burden of
approximately five minutes to ensure retention of relevant business
records for the period required by the Rule, resulting in a total of
16,000 hours.
Disclosure: Staff estimates that affected industry members incur an
average burden of approximately one hour to produce, distribute, and
post octane rating labels. Because the labels are durable, only about
one of every eight industry members (i.e., approximately 24,000 of
195,000 industry members) incur this burden each year, resulting in a
total annual burden of 24,000 hours.
Estimated annual cost burden: $804,000 ($720,000 in labor costs and
$84,000 in non-labor costs).
Labor costs: Staff estimates that the work associated with the
Rule's recordkeeping and disclosure requirements is performed by
skilled information and record clerks at an average rate of $18.00 per
hour. Thus, the annual labor cost to respondents of complying with the
recordkeeping and disclosure requirements of the Rule is estimated to
be $720,000 ((16,000 hours + 24,000 hours) x $18.00 per hour).
Capital or other non-labor costs: $84,000.
Staff believes that there are no current start-up costs associated
with the Rule. Because the Rule has been effective since 1979 for
gasoline, and since 1993 for liquid alternative automotive fuels,
industry members already have in place the capital equipment and other
means necessary to comply with the Rule. Retailers (approximately
170,000 industry members), however, do incur the cost of procuring (and
replacing) fuel dispenser labels to comply with the Rule. According to
industry input, the price per label is about fifty cents. Based on
ranging industry estimates of a 6-10 year useful life per dispenser
label, staff will conservatively factor into its calculation of
labeling cost the shortest assumed useful life, i.e., 6 years. Staff
believes that the average retailer has six dispensers, with all of them
being obtained either simultaneously or otherwise within the same year.
Assuming that, in any given year, \1/6\th of all retailers (28,000
retailers) will replace their dispenser labels, staff estimates total
labeling cost to be $84,000 (28,333 x 6 x .50 ).
Christian S. White,
Acting General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 05-16889 Filed 8-24-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P