Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) Program (Renewal)
| Citation | 84 FR 50446 |
| Record Number | 2019-20862 |
| Published date | 25 September 2019 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Environmental Protection Agency |
Federal Register, Volume 84 Issue 186 (Wednesday, September 25, 2019)
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 186 (Wednesday, September 25, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50446-50447]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-20862]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2004-0077; FRL 10000-44-OAR]
Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request;
Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) Program (Renewal)
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to
submit an information collection request (ICR), ``Significant New
Alternatives Policy (SNAP) Program (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR No. 1596.10,
OMB Control No. 2060-0226) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act.
Before doing so, EPA is soliciting public comments on specific aspects
of the proposed information collection as described below. This is a
proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through May
31, 2020. 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: Comments must be submitted on or before November 25, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2004-0077, online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), by
email to [email protected] or by mail to: EPA Docket Center,
Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania
Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460.
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: Christina Thompson, Stratospheric
Protection Division, Office of Atmospheric Programs, (Mail Code 6205T),
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington,
DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 564-0983; fax number: (202) 343-2362;
email address: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supporting documents which explain in detail
the information that the 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, WJC 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.
Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, EPA is soliciting
comments and information to enable it to: (i) Evaluate 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; (ii) evaluate 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; (iii) enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (iv) 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,
[[Page 50447]]
e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses. EPA will consider
the comments received and amend the ICR as appropriate. The final ICR
package will then be submitted to OMB for review and approval. At that
time, EPA will issue another Federal Register notice to announce the
submission of the ICR to OMB.
Abstract: Information collected under this rulemaking is necessary
to implement the requirements of the Significant New Alternatives
Policy (SNAP) program for evaluating and regulating substitutes for
ozone-depleting substances (ODS) being phased out under the
stratospheric ozone protection provisions of the Clean Air Act (CAA)
and globally under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the
Ozone Layer. Under CAA Section 612, EPA is authorized to identify and
restrict the use of substitutes for class I and class II ODS (listed in
40 CFR part 82, subpart A, appendices A and B) where EPA determines
other alternatives are available or potentially available that reduce
overall risk to human health and the environment. Any producer of a new
substitute must submit a notice of intent to introduce a substitute
into interstate commerce 90 days prior to such introduction. The
producer must also provide EPA with information covering a wide range
of health and environmental factors. The SNAP program, based on
information collected from the manufacturers, formulators, and/or
sellers of such substitutes, identifies acceptable substitutes.
Responses to the collection of information are mandatory under Section
612 for anyone who sells or, in certain cases, uses substitutes for an
ODS after April 18, 1994, the effective date of the final rule.
Measures to protect confidentiality of information collected under the
SNAP program are based on EPA's confidentiality regulations (40 CFR
2.201 et seq., or Subpart B). Submitters may designate all or portions
of their forms or petitions as confidential. EPA requires the
submitters to substantiate their claim of confidentiality. Under CAA
Section 114(c), emissions information may not be claimed as
confidential.
To develop the lists of acceptable and unacceptable substitutes,
the Agency must assess and compare ``overall risks to human health and
the environment'' posed by use of substitutes in the context of
particular applications. EPA requires submission of information
covering a wide range of health and environmental factors. These
include intrinsic properties such as physical and chemical information,
atmospheric effects including ozone depleting potential and global
warming potential, toxicity, and flammability, and use-specific data
such as substitute applications, process description, environmental
release data, exposure data during use of a substitute, environmental
fate and transport, and cost information of the substitute. Once a
completed submission has been received, the SNAP program will commence
its review. Any substitute which is a new chemical must also be
submitted to the Agency under the Premanufacture Notice program under
the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Alternatives that will be used
as sterilants must be filed jointly with EPA's Office of Pesticide
Programs and with SNAP.
Form Numbers: 1265-14.
Respondents/affected entities: Manufacturers, importers,
formulators and processors of substitutes for ODS.
Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory (40 CFR 82.176).
Estimated number of respondents: 180 (per year).
Frequency of response: Annual.
Total estimated burden: 5,557 hours (per year). Burden is defined
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
Total estimated cost: $471,714, which includes $22,938 annualized
capital or O&M costs.
Changes in Estimates: There is a decrease of 814 hours in the total
estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently approved by
OMB. The Agency anticipates the number of submissions to the SNAP
program to remain the same as the previous ICR during the next 3 years.
Many of the recent SNAP submissions, and those anticipated over the
next three years, are for chemicals previously found acceptable for
other SNAP applications or for blends of alternatives already found
acceptable. For the expected submissions, the burden of developing
supporting information for the majority of these submissions is
expected to decrease because it is easier to find and review
information for substitutes that have been reviewed previously. EPA
estimates a reduction in the number of respondents responsible for
recordkeeping for substitutes acceptable subject to use conditions and
narrowed use limits. The increased availability of alternatives reduces
the need for industry to use alternatives previously listed as
acceptable subject to narrowed use limits.
Dated: September 13, 2019.
Cynthia A. Newberg,
Director, Stratospheric Protection Division.
[FR Doc. 2019-20862 Filed 9-24-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
