1
INFORMATION
COLLECTION
REQUEST
(
ICR)

OMB­
83
SUPPORTING
STATEMENT
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION
AGENCY
STRATOSPHERIC
OZONE
PROTECTION
A.
JUSTIFICATION
1.
Identification
of
the
Information
Collection
a)
Title:
Recordkeeping
and
Periodic
Reporting
of
the
Production,
Import,
Recycling,
Destruction,
Transshipment
and
Feedstock
Use
of
Ozone
Depleting
Substances.
Process
for
Exempting
Critical
Uses
from
the
Phaseout
of
Methyl
Bromide.

EPA
Number:
1432.23
b)
Short
Characterization:

With
this
Information
Collection
Request
(
ICR),
the
Office
of
Air
and
Radiation
(
OAR)
is
seeking
permission
to
require
the
submission
of
data
from
regulated
industries
to
EPA
and
to
require
recordkeeping
or
key
documents
to
ensure
compliance
with
the
Montreal
Protocol
on
Substances
that
Deplete
the
Ozone
Layer
(
Protocol)
and
the
Clean
Air
Act.
Furthermore,
this
information
is
necessary
in
order
to
grant
the
exemptions
being
proposed.
Entities
applied
to
EPA
for
a
critical
use
exemption
that
would
allow
for
the
continued
production
and
import
of
methyl
bromide
after
the
phaseout
in
January
2005.
EPA
used
the
data
submitted
by
end
users
to
create
a
nomination
of
critical
uses
which
was
submitted
to
the
Protocol's
Ozone
Secretariat
for
review
by
an
international
panel
of
experts.
The
uses
authorized
internationally
by
the
Parties
to
the
Protocol
will
be
made
available
in
the
U.
S.
on
an
annual
basis.
This
ICR
seeks
to
characterize
the
burden
associated
with
the
producing,
importing,
distributing,
and
using
of
critically
exempted
methyl
bromide.

2.
Need
For,
and
Use
Of,
the
Collection
a)
Authority
for
the
Collection
This
information
collection
is
authorized
under
section
604
(
d)(
6)
of
the
Clean
Air
Act
Amendments
of
1990,
added
by
Section
764
of
the
1999
Omnibus
Consolidated
and
Emergency
Supplemental
Appropriations
Act
(
Public
Law
No.
105­
277;
October
21,
1998).

b)
Practical
Utility/
Users
of
the
Data
The
reported
data
will
enable
EPA
to:
2
1)
Ensure
that
critical
use
exemptions
comply
with
Section
604(
d)(
6)
as
amended
in
1998;
2)
Maintain
compliance
with
the
Protocol
requirements
for
annual
data
submission
on
the
production
of
ozone
depleting
substances;
3)
Analyze
technical
use
data
to
ensure
that
exemptions
are
used
in
accordance
with
requirements
included
in
today's
proposed
rulemaking.

3.
Nonduplication,
Consultation,
and
Other
Collection
Criteria
a)
Nonduplication
All
the
information
requested
from
respondents
under
this
ICR
is
authorized
by
statute
(
CAA
Section
114
and
604
(
d)(
6))
and
is
not
available
from
other
sources
because
it
is
proprietary
or
sensitive
information.

b)
Public
Notice
EPA
will
provide
public
notice
and
comment
regarding
this
ICR
when
the
accompanying
proposed
rulemaking
entitled:
Protection
of
Stratospheric
Ozone:
Process
for
Exempting
Critical
Uses
of
Methyl
Bromide
(
RIN
#
2060­
AJ63)
is
published
in
the
Federal
Register.

c)
Consultations
EPA
has
held
several
consultations,
in
the
form
of
stakeholder
meetings,
on
the
options
for
the
proposed
rulemaking
as
well
as
the
options
for
reporting
and
recordkeeping
requirements.
Copies
of
transcripts
from
two
of
the
six
sessions
held
during
the
summer
of
2003
are
available
at
EPA's
website
at
www.
epa.
gov/
ozone.
EPA
anticipates
receiving
comments
from
stakeholders
through
the
notice
and
comment
process
as
well.

d)
Effects
of
Less
Frequent
Collection
The
U.
S.
government
is
required
to
report
data
to
the
Ozone
Secretariat
on
an
annual
basis.
EPA
is
requesting
quarterly
reporting
from
entities
such
as
producers
and
importers
in
order
to
monitor
the
likelihood
of
compliance
throughout
the
year.
In
addition,
these
entities
typically
prepare
quarterly
reports
and
prefer
to
report
smaller
data
sets
to
EPA
and
not
leave
the
entire
task
to
the
end
of
the
year.
EPA
is
requesting
annual
reporting
from
some
entities
that
have
less
infrastructure
or
are
less
familiar
with
Protocol
reporting
requirements.

e)
General
Guidelines
This
rule
does
not
exceed
any
of
the
OMB
guidelines
f)
Confidentiality
3
EPA
informs
respondents
that
they
may
assert
claims
of
business
confidentiality
for
any
of
the
information
they
submit.
Information
claimed
confidential
will
be
treated
in
accordance
with
the
procedures
for
handling
information
claimed
as
confidential
under
40
CFR
Part
2,
Subpart
b,
and
will
be
disclosed
only
if
EPA
determines
that
the
information
is
not
entitled
to
confidential
treatment.
If
no
claim
of
confidentiality
is
asserted
when
the
information
is
received
by
EPA,
it
may
be
made
available
to
the
public
without
further
notice
to
the
respondents
(
40
CFR
2.203).

g)
Sensitive
Information
Individual
reporting
data
may
be
claimed
as
sensitive
and
will
be
treated
as
confidential
information
in
accordance
with
procedures
outlined
in
40
CFR
Part
2.

4.
The
Respondents
and
the
Information
Requested
a)
Respondents/
SIC
Codes
Respondents
producers,
importers,
distributors,
and
custom
applicators
of
methyl
bromide
as
well
as
users
of
methyl
bromide
who
are
farmers
of
minor
vegetable
crops
and
companies
that
store
agricultural
commodities.
The
appropriate
North
American
Industry
Classification
System
(
NAICS)
and
Standard
Industrial
Classification
(
SIC)
codes
for
these
entities
are:
4
TABLE
I:
NAICS
CLASSIFICATION
OF
REGULATED
ENTITIES
Category
NAICS
code
SIC
code
Agricultural
production
Storage
Uses
Distributors
and
Applicators
Producers
and
Importers
1112­
Vegetable
and
Melon
farming
1113­
Fruit
and
Nut
Tree
Farming
1114­
Greenhouse,
Nursery,
and
Floriculture
Production
115114­
Postharvest
Crop
activities
(
except
Cotton
Ginning)
311211­
Flour
Milling
311212­
Rice
Milling
493110­
General
Warehousing
and
Storage
493130­
Farm
Product
Warehousing
and
Storage
115112­
Soil
Preparation,
Planting
and
Cultivating
424910­
Farm
Supplies
Merchant
Wholesalers
325310­
Pesticide
and
Other
Agricultural
Chemical
Manufacturing
0171­
Berry
Crops
0172­
Grapes
0173­
Tree
Nuts
0175­
Deciduous
Tree
Fruits
(
except
apple
orchards
and
farms)
0179­
Fruit
and
Tree
Nuts,
NEC
0181­
Ornamental
Floriculture
and
Nursery
Products
0831­
Forest
Nurseries
and
Gathering
of
Forest
Products
2041­
Flour
and
Other
Grain
Mill
Products
2044­
Rice
Milling
4221­
Farm
Product
Warehousing
and
Storage
4225­
General
Warehousing
and
Storage
0721­
Crop
Planting,
Cultivation,
and
Protection
2879­
Pesticides
and
Agricultural
Chemicals,
NEC
5
b)
Information
Requested
i)
Data
Items
EPA
has
proposed
to
require
the
following
information
to
be
reported
to
the
Agency
by
the
following
entities.

·
Producers
and
importers
·
Quarterly:
number
and
type
of
expended
and
unexpended
critical
use
allowances
and
critical
stock
allowances;
·
Annually:
kilograms
of
methyl
bromide
held
in
inventory
for
themselves
or
third
parties;
·
Annually:
number
of
kilograms
and
type
of
methyl
bromide
sold.

·
Distributors,
fumigators
and
applicators
·
Annually:
the
number
and
type
of
expended
critical
stock
allowances;
·
Annually:
the
total
amount
and
type
of
methyl
bromide
bought(
in
kilograms);
·
Annually:
the
total
amount
and
type
held
in
inventory
for
themselves
or
on
behalf
of
a
third
party
(
in
kilograms);
·
Annually:
the
total
amount
and
type
of
methyl
bromide
sold
(
in
kilograms);

(
B)
Recordkeeping
·
Producers
and
importers
·
Self
certification
form
for
each
sale
that
indicates
the
buyer
will
only
sell/
use
the
methyl
bromide
for
approved
critical
uses;
·
Order
forms
and
invoices
for
methyl
bromide;
·
Records
to
be
kept
for
3
years.

·
Distributors,
fumigators,
and
applicators
·
Self
certification
form
for
each
sale
that
indicates
the
buyer
will
only
sell/
use
the
methyl
bromide
for
approved
critical
uses;
·
Order
forms
and
invoices
for
methyl
bromide;
·
Records
to
be
kept
for
3
years.

5.
The
Information
Collected,
Agency
Activities,
Collection
Methodology,
and
Information
Management
a)
Agency
Activities
·
All
reported
data
will
be
reviewed
by
EPA.
6
·
EPA
will
ensure
that
compliance
has
been
maintained
with
U.
S.
production
and
consumption
levels
of
exempted
material
at
the
national
and
sector
levels.

·
EPA
will
report
annually
to
the
Ozone
Secretariat,
through
the
U.
S.
Department
of
State,
on
U.
S.
compliance
with
allowable
production
and
consumption
levels.

·
EPA
will
adjust
future
amounts
of
exempted
materials
requested
based
on
actual
use
data
and
levels
of
material
in
inventory.

·
The
data
will
then
be
stored.

b)
Collection
and
Methodology
and
Management
Data
will
be
tracked
by
industry
and
reported
to
EPA.
Quarterly
and
annual
submissions
to
EPA
will
be
provided
to
EPA
via
a
paper
submission.
EPA
will
use
our
electronic
tracking
system
to
update
company
specific
and
overall
U.
S.
compliance
with
production
and
consumption.
Confidential
business
information
will
be
stored
in
appropriately
controlled
areas.

c)
Small
Entity
Flexibility
The
information
collection
is
authorized
by
statute
under
section
604
of
the
Clean
Air
Act
and
is
required
in
order
to
ensure
U.
S.
compliance
with
international
treaty
obligations
under
the
Montreal
Protocol.
Bearing
in
mind,
U.
S.
obligations,
EPA
designed
a
system
that
would
remove
almost
all
burden
from
the
end
users
of
methyl
bromide,
some
of
whom
are
small
entities,
and
placed
it
instead
on
chemical
manufacturers,
distributors
and
applicators,
who
are
not
small
entities.
This
ICR
is
related
to
the
collection
of
information
for
an
exemption
program.
Participation
in
this
system
is
therefore
voluntary
and
constitutes
a
benefit.
However,
in
order
to
minimize
the
administrative
burden
on
end
users
of
methyl
bromide
participating
in
this
system,
some
of
whom
may
be
small
entities,
EPA
is
proposing
a
system
that
is
streamlined.
EPA
is
proposing
a
system
that
would
only
require
end
users
to
sign
a
short
form
(
1­
2
pages
in
length)
certifying
that
they
are
buying
the
exempted
material
for
an
allowable
use
and
will
use
it
accordingly.
The
form
would
be
kept
by
the
supplier,
not
the
end
user.

d)
Collection
Schedule
The
information
is
to
be
submitted
on
an
annual
or
quarterly
basis
(
see
section
5
a)
to
EPA
beginning
in
the
first
quarter
of
2005
and
continuing
for
the
life
of
the
exemption.

6)
Estimating
the
Burden
and
Cost
of
Collection
7
a)
Estimating
the
Burden
The
basis
of
the
analysis
is
the
identification
of
the
steps
involved
in
understanding
and
complying
with
the
new
requirements.
EPA
drew
upon
experience
implementing
similar
regulations
among
the
same
entities
in
order
to
derive
estimates
of
the
burden
associated
with
the
reporting
and
recordkeeping
requirements.

b)
Estimating
the
Respondent
Cost
To
determine
respondent
costs,
EPA
used
an
hourly
industry
wage
rate
of
$
80
per
hour.
Some
activities,
such
as
rule
familiarization,
are
in
fact
one
time
activities
therefore
total
respondent
burden
hours
indicated
in
Table
II
(
below)
may
be
overestimated.

TABLE
II­
RESPONDENT
BURDEN
HOURS
PER
YEAR
Collection
Activity
No.
of
respondents
Total
no.
of
responses
Hours
per
response
Total
hours
Rule
Familiarization
54
54
4
216
Data
Compilation
(
quarterly
basis)
4
16
4
64
Data
Compilation
(
annual
basis)
50
50
8
400
Data
Reporting
(
quarterly
basis)
4
16
.5
8
Data
Reporting
(
annual
basis)
50
50
.5
25
Reporting
on
Allowance
Trading
Activities
4
16
.5
8
Self
Certification
Activities
by
Producers,
Importers,
and
Distributors
54
100
.25
25
Self
Certification
Activities
by
End
Users
2,000
2,500
.25
625
Total
Burden
Hours
2,802
18
1,370
TABLE
III­
CAPITAL
AND
OPERATING
COSTS
8
Activity
No
of
Entities
Affected
Estimated
Annual
Cost
per
entity
Total
Estimated
Annual
Cost
None
c)
Estimating
Agency
Burden
and
Cost
The
basis
of
this
analysis
is
the
identification
of
the
steps
involved
in
distributing
critical
use
allowances,
reviewing
reporting
data,
submitting
data
to
the
Ozone
Secretariat
on
U.
S.
compliance,
and
developing
guidance
for
regulated
entities.
Each
hour
of
extramural
(
contractor)
time
is
valued
at
$
80.00
per
hour
including
overhead
and
fringe.
Each
hour
of
Agency
time
is
valued
using
the
2003
OPM
annual
base
pay
table
divided
by
2,080
to
estimate
the
hourly
wage
and
then
multiplied
by
1.6,
the
standard
government
benefits
multiplier.
The
hourly
wage
rates
are
as
flows:
for
EPA
managerial
staff
the
rate
is
$
65.49,
for
technical
staff
(
GS­
13
level)
the
value
is
$
47.12,
and
for
clerical
staff
(
GS­
5
level)
is
$
18.03.
The
data
in
table
IV
reflects
total
annual
Agency
effort.

TABLE
IV­
AGENCY
BURDEN
HOURS
Hours
per
Response
No.
of
Responses
Managerial
Hours
per
Response
Technical
Hours
per
Response
Clerical
Hours
per
Response
Extramural
Hours
per
Response
Total
Agency
Hours/
Year
Write/
revise
reporting
forms
n/
a
25
25
0
150
200
Process
annual
reports
50
.5
1.5
0
1
150
Process
quarterly
reports
16
.5
1.5
0
1
48
Determine
historic
baseline
16
.5
1
0
0
24
Distribute
allowances
annually
4
1
5
0
4
40
Report
to
the
Ozone
Secretariat
1
0
10
0
0
10
TOTAL
27.5
44
0
156
472
d)
Estimating
the
Respondent
Universe
EPA
was
able
to
estimate
the
number
of
regulated
entities
drawing
upon
experience
regulating
the
same
entities,
except
for
end
users
of
methyl
bromide,
as
we
do
under
the
phaseout
program.
EPA
believes
that
there
are
4
producers
and
importers
of
methyl
bromide
who
report
quarterly
and
up
to
50
distributors/
applicators
of
methyl
bromide
who
report
annually.
EPA
was
able
estimate
the
9
number
of
potential
end
users
based
on
self
reported
data
from
those
entities
who
requested
an
exemption.
Our
estimate
for
the
total
number
of
applicators/
end
users
who
may
participate
in
the
system
is
2,000.

e)
Bottom
Line
Burden
Hours
and
Cost
Tables
i)
The
burden
hours
portion
of
the
respondent
reporting
burden
and
operating/
capital
costs
are
estimated
in
Tables
II
and
III
respectively.
The
dollar
estimate
associated
with
this
burden
is
displayed
in
Table
V
below.

TABLE
V­
RESPONDENT
BURDEN
HOURS
AND
COSTS
Response
No
of
Responses
Hours/
Response
Cost/
Hour
Total
Cost
Reporting
1,186
1.07
$
80
$
101,835
Recordkeeping
­
producers,
importers,
distributors
54
.25
$
80
$
1,080
Recordkeeping
­
end
users
2,500
.25
$
80
$
50,000
Total
$
152,915
ii)
Agency
burden
is
reported
in
Table
IV.
The
dollar
value
associated
with
this
burden
is
displayed
below
in
Table
VI.

TABLE
VI­
ANNUAL
AGENCY
BURDEN
HOURS
AND
COSTS
Managerial
Hours
Annual
Total
@
$
65.49
Technical
Hours
Annual
Total
@
$
47.12
Clerical
Hours
Annual
Total
@
$
18.03
Extramural
Hours
Annual
Total
$
80.00
Total
Agency
Hours
per
Year
Total
Agency
Costs
per
Year
Hours/
Response
70
170
0
232
472
$
31,155
f)
Reasons
for
Change
in
Burden
Amending
current
regulations
to
create
exemption
program.

g)
Burden
Statement
Table
II
presents
the
average
annual
respondent
burden.
For
respondents
affected
by
the
methyl
bromide
critical
use
exemption,
the
annual
reporting
and
recordkeeping
burden
is
as
follows:
4
producers
and
importers
at
a
total
of
110
hours
per
year
for
this
group
of
entities;
50
distributors
and
applicators
at
635
hours
per
year;
2,000
end
users
at
625
hours
per
year.
The
total
industry
burden
hours
per
year
are
therefore
1,370
under
the
option
proposed
10
by
EPA.
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;
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.
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
are
listed
in
40
CFR
Part
9
and
48
CFR
Chapter
15.
To
comment
on
the
Agency's
need
for
this
information,
the
accuracy
of
the
provided
burden
estimates,
and
any
suggested
methods
for
minimizing
respondent
burden,
including
the
use
of
automated
collection
techniques,
EPA
has
established
a
public
docket
for
this
rule,
which
includes
this
ICR,
under
Electronic
Docket
ID
number
OAR­
2003­
0230.
Submit
any
comments
related
to
the
rule
ICR
for
this
proposed
rule
to
EPA
and
OMB.
See
"
Addresses'
section
at
the
beginning
of
this
notice
for
where
to
submit
comments
to
EPA.
Send
comments
to
OMB
at
the
Office
of
Information
and
Regulatory
Affairs,
Office
of
Management
and
Budget,
725
17
th
Street
NW,
Washington
D.
C.
20503
attn:
Desk
Officer
for
EPA.
Include
the
EPA
ICR
number
(
1432.23)
in
correspondence
related
to
this
ICR.
