[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 162 (Tuesday, August 21, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50499-50500]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-20505]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2012-0227; FRL 9521-6]
Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission to OMB for
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Servicing of Motor Vehicle Air
Conditioners (Renewal)
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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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: Comments must be submitted on or before September 20, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2012-0227, 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, Air Docket, Mailcode: 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: Sally Hamlin, Stratospheric Protection
Division, Office of Air and Radiation, Mail Code 6205J, Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460;
telephone number: (202) 343-9711; fax number: (202) 343-2338; email
address: Hamlin.Sally@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 4, 2012 (77 FR 26544), 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-2012-0227, 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: Servicing of Motor Vehicle Air Conditioners (Renewal).
ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 1617.07, OMB Control No. 2060-0247.
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: Section 609 of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (Act)
provides general guidelines for motor vehicle air conditioning (MVAC)
refrigerant handling and MVAC servicing. It states that ``no person
repairing or servicing motor vehicles for consideration may perform any
service on a motor vehicle air conditioner involving the refrigerant
for such air conditioner without properly using approved refrigerant
recovery and/or recovery and recycling equipment (hereafter referred to
as ``refrigerant handling equipment'') and no such person may perform
such service unless such person has been properly trained and
certified.''
In 1992, EPA developed regulations under section 609 (57 FR 31242)
that were codified at 40 CFR part 82, subpart B. Descriptions of the
recordkeeping and reporting requirements mandated by section 609 and
delineated in the CFR are summarized below.
Approved Refrigerant Handling Equipment: In accordance with Section
609(b)(2)(A), 40 CFR 82.36 requires that refrigerant handling equipment
be certified by EPA or independent standards testing organization.
Approved independent standards testing organizations: Section
609(b)(2)(A) of the Act requires independent laboratory testing of
refrigerant handling equipment to be certified by EPA. Independent
laboratories must submit an application. EPA does not anticipate that
any new organizations will apply to EPA in the future to become
approved independent standards testing organizations. Therefore,
related annual hours and costs have been eliminated.
Technician training and certification: According to Section
609(b)(4) of the Act, automotive technicians are required to be trained
and certified in the proper use of approved refrigerant handling
equipment. Programs that perform technician training and certification
activities must apply to the EPA for approval by submitting
verification that its program meets EPA standards. The information
requested is used by the EPA to guarantee a degree of uniformity in the
testing programs for motor vehicle service technicians. The Agency
requires that each approved technician certification program conducts
periodic reviews and updates of test material, submitting a written
summary of the review and program changes to EPA every two years.
Certification, reporting and recordkeeping: To facilitate
enforcement under Section 609, EPA has developed several recordkeeping
requirements. All required records must be retained on-site for a
minimum of three years, unless otherwise indicated.
[[Page 50500]]
Section 609(c) of the Act states that by January 1, 1992, no person
may service any motor vehicle air conditioner without being properly
trained and certified, nor without using properly approved refrigerant
handling equipment. To this end, 40 CFR 82.42(a) states that by January
1, 1993, each service provider must have submitted to EPA on a one-time
basis a statement signed by the owner of the equipment or another
responsible officer that provides the name of the equipment purchaser,
the address of the service establishment where the equipment will be
located, the manufacturer name, equipment model number, date of
manufacture, and equipment serial number. The statement must also
indicate that the equipment will be properly used in servicing motor
vehicle air conditioners and that each individual authorized by the
purchaser to perform service is property trained and certified. The
information is used to verify compliance.
Any person who owns approved refrigerant handling equipment must
maintain records of the name and address of any facility to which
refrigerant is sent and must retain records demonstrating that all
persons authorized to operate the equipment are currently certified
technicians.
Finally, any person who sells or distributes a class I or class II
refrigerant that is in a container of less than 20 pounds must verify
that the purchaser is a properly trained and certified technician,
unless the purchase of small containers is for resale only. In that
case, the seller must obtain a written statement from the purchaser
that the containers are for resale only, and must indicate the
purchaser's name and business address. In all cases, the seller must
display a sign where sales occur that states the certification
requirements for purchasers.
Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average less
than one hour 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:
Affected Entities: Motor vehicle dealers, automobile parts stores,
general automotive repair shops, and automotive repair shops not
elsewhere classified.
Estimated Number of Potential Respondents: 52,614.
Frequency of Response: On occasion.
Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 4,523 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Costs: $208,307. This includes $208,307 in
labor costs and no capital or operation and maintenance costs.
Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 2,177 hours in the
total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of
Approved ICR Burdens. There are three reasons for this decrease in
burden hours. Today, it is estimated that there are only 600 thousand
R-12 MVACs on the road, or 80% less than in 2008. Therefore, to account
for the decreased market for small containers of CFC-12 refrigerant,
this ICR estimates that the number of purchases for resale only by
uncertified purchasers of small cans will be 80% less than in 2008. The
second reason for the burden hours decrease is that CFC-12 refrigerant
sent off-site for reclamation to an approved refrigerant reclaimed by
owners of refrigerant recycling equipment certified under 40 CFR
82.36(a) has decreased and is anticipated to continue decreasing due to
the significant decline of CFC-12 vehicles on road. The third reason
for the burden hours decreased is that there are less approved
technician certification programs in business than in the previous ICR.
However, EPA anticipates a slow increase of one organization approval
per year as new alternative refrigerants become available and new
businesses become interested in certifying technicians for MVAC
servicing for consideration.
John Moses,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 2012-20505 Filed 8-20-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P