[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 19 (Tuesday, January 29, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6094-6095]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-01798]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0407; FRL 9526-6]
Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and
Approval; Comment Request; EPA's ENERGY STAR Program in the Commercial
and Industrial Sectors (Renewal)
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency has submitted an
information collection request (ICR), ``EPA's ENERGY STAR Program in
the Commercial and Industrial Sectors'' (EPA ICR No. 1772.06, OMB
Control No. 2060-0347) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for
review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is
currently approved through January 31, 2013. Public comments were
previously requested via the Federal Register (77 FR 46089) on August
2, 2012 during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an
additional 30 days for public comments. A fuller description of the ICR
is given below, including its estimated burden and cost to the public.
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.
DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before February 28,
2013.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-
OAR-2006-0407, 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, Mail Code 28221T,
1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460, and (2) OMB via email
to oira_submission@omb.eop.gov. Address comments to OMB Desk Officer
for EPA.
EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the
public docket without change including any personal information
provided, unless the comment includes profanity, threats, information
claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alexandra Sullivan, Climate Protection
Partnerships Division, Mail Code: 6202J, Environmental Protection
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone
number: 202-343-9040; fax number: 202-343-2204; email address:
sullivan.alexandra@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supporting documents which explain in detail
the information that EPA will be collecting are available in the public
docket for this ICR. The docket can be viewed online at
www.regulations.gov or in person at the EPA Docket Center, EPA West,
Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC. The telephone
number for the Docket Center is 202-566-1744. For additional
information about EPA's public docket, visit http://www.epa.gov/dockets.
Abstract: EPA created ENERGY STAR as a voluntary program to help
businesses and individuals protect the environment through superior
energy efficiency. The program focuses on reducing utility-generated
emissions by reducing the demand for energy. In 1991, EPA launched the
Green Lights Program to encourage corporations, State and local
governments, colleges and universities, and other organizations to
adopt energy-efficient lighting as a profitable means of preventing
pollution and improving lighting quality. Since then, EPA has rolled
Green Lights into ENERGY STAR and expanded ENERGY STAR to encompass
organization-wide energy performance improvement, such as building
technology upgrades, product purchasing initiatives, and employee
training. At the same time, EPA has streamlined the reporting
requirements of ENERGY STAR and focused on providing incentives for
improvements (e.g., ENERGY STAR Awards Program). EPA also makes tools
and other resources available on the Web to help the public overcome
the barriers to evaluating their energy performance and investing in
profitable improvements.
To join ENERGY STAR, organizations are asked to complete a
Partnership Letter or Agreement that establishes their commitment to
energy efficiency. Partners agree to undertake efforts such as
measuring, tracking, and benchmarking their organization's energy
performance by using tools such as those offered by ENERGY STAR;
developing and implementing a plan to improve energy performance in
their facilities and operations by adopting a strategy provided by
ENERGY STAR; and educating staff and the public about their Partnership
with ENERGY STAR, and highlighting achievements with the ENERGY STAR,
where available.
Partners also may be asked to periodically submit information to
EPA as needed to assist in program implementation.
Partnership in ENERGY STAR is voluntary and can be terminated by
Partners or EPA at any time. EPA does not expect organizations to join
the program unless they expect participation to be cost-effective and
otherwise beneficial for them.
In addition, Partners and any other interested party can seek
recognition and help EPA promote energy-efficient technologies by
evaluating the efficiency of their buildings using EPA's on-line tools
(e.g., Portfolio Manager) and applying for recognition. EPA does not
expect to deem any information collected under ENERGY STAR to be
Confidential Business Information (CBI).
Form Numbers:
Attachment to Partnership Letter for
[[Page 6095]]
C&I Partners (5900-19)
Partnership Agreement for EEPs (5900-33)
ENERGY STAR Building Certification Application (5900-197)
ENERGY STAR Leaders--Eligible Facilities List (5900-20)
ENERGY STAR Leaders--Facility Summary Report (5900-20)
ENERGY STAR Leaders--Ineligible Facilities List (5900-20)
ENERGY STAR Leaders--Leaders Story (5900-20)
Service and Product Provider (SPP) Partnership Application
Data Form (5900-195)
Small Business Network (5900-21)
Statement of Energy Design Intent (5900-22)
Statement of Energy Improvement (5900-198)
Statement of Energy Performance--Plants (5900-89)
Challenge for Industry Registration Form (5900-263)
Challenge for Industry Online Recognition Application
(5900-262)
EPI Application Letter (5900-264)
EPI Award Specification Sheet (5900-265)
Respondents/affected entities: Entities potentially affected by
this action are participants in EPA's ENERGY STAR Program in the
Commercial and Industrial Sectors.
Respondent's obligation to respond: Voluntary.
Estimated number of respondents: 15,000 (total).
Frequency of response: One-time, annually, or on occasion.
Total estimated burden: 194,509 hours (per year). Burden is defined
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
Total estimated cost: $24,408,276 (per year), including $10,318,180
in annualized capital or operation & maintenance costs and $14,090,096
in annualized labor costs.
Changes in the Estimates: There is an increase of 69,486 hours in
the total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently
approved by OMB. This 69,486-hour increase includes an 18-hour decrease
due to program changes and a 69,504-hour increase due to adjustments
resulting from program growth. This 69,504-hour increase due to
adjustments resulted primarily from the fact that EPA has significantly
increased its estimate of the number of respondents using the on-line
tool Portfolio Manager and applying for ENERGY STAR Certification.
There are several reasons for this increase. A primary reason is that
State and local governments are increasingly leveraging ENERGY STAR as
a way for the public to respond to rising energy costs and global
warming. In addition, associations, utilities, and third-party
providers are voluntarily communicating ENERGY STAR messages and
promoting the use of ENERGY STAR tools and strategies in an effort to
help companies reduce their energy consumption and find more
environmentally friendly ways to conduct business. Finally, the public
has demonstrated an increasing desire to earn recognition under the
ENERGY STAR Program.
John Moses,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 2013-01798 Filed 1-28-13; 8:45 am]
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