 

INFORMATION COLLECTION REQUEST (ICR)

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

OFFICE OF AIR & RADIATION

A.	JUSTIFICATION

1.	Identification of the Information Collection

a.	Title:  Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: 2011 Renewable Fuel
Standards - Petition for International Aggregate Compliance Approach –
(RENEWAL)

EPA Number:  2398.03

OMB Control Number 2060-0655

b. Short characterization:

	

This regulation has a provision that EPA will use to authorize renewable
fuel producers using certain foreign-grown feedstocks to use an
aggregate approach to comply with the renewable biomass verification
provisions, akin to that applicable to producers using crops and crop
residue grown in the United States.  For this authorization, foreign
based entities may petition EPA for approval of the aggregate compliance
approach for specified renewable fuel feedstocks either in a foreign
country as a whole or in a specified geographical area.  This petition
request for the aggregate compliance approach for foreign-grown crops
and crop residue is voluntary, though, if approved by EPA, will offer
the benefit that certain renewable biomass produced in a foreign country
or geographical area can be counted as feedstock to make renewable fuel
for credit under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) program.  

2.  Need For, and Use of, the Collection

Authority for the Collection

	  SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1 Sections 114 and 208 of the CAA, 42 U.S.C. §§
7414 and 7542, authorize EPA to require recordkeeping and reporting
regarding enforcement of the provisions of Title II of the CAA.  The
relevant regulations are in 40 CFR Part 80, Renewable Fuel Standard.  

	

	b.	Practical Utility/Uses of the Data

	The data collected under this ICR will be used for EPA to
evaluate/grant petitions.

3.  Non-duplication, Consultation, and other Collection Criteria

	a. 	Non-duplication

	  SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1 Efforts have been made to eliminate duplication
in this information collection. Where possible, information requirements
from various organizations within the Agency have been combined to
minimize the submittal of duplicate information in different formats. 
The information in this collection will not be available from another
source.

	b. 	Public Notice

EPA sought comment on reporting requirements via Notice found in 78FR
30428 on December 20, 2013.  There were five comments at the end of the
sixty (60) day comment period. These comments were out of the scope of
the ICR and did not require addressing. Commenters did not address the
petition process that would authorize renewable fuel producers using
certain foreign-grown feedstocks to use an aggregate approach to comply
with the renewable biomass verification provisions, equal to that
applicable to producers using crops and crop residue grown in the United
States. Three comments expressed strong opposition to the use of ethanol
(E15 and E85) and alcohol products used in gasoline believed to cause
damage to fuel systems in cars and most motorized machines. A Southern
Minnesota and an Arkansas farmer expressed continued future support for
the renewable fuel mandate.

	c. 	Consultations 

	EPA has made an asserted effort to seek industry comment for this ICR. 
EPA contacted Ms. Kristy Moore of the Renewable Fuels Association who
can be contacted on (202) 315-2468 and   HYPERLINK
"mailto:kmoore@ethanolrfa.org"  kmoore@ethanolrfa.org . Ms. Moore
reviewed the ICR in consultation with her colleagues who believe the
current processes for foreign producers are working and the time and
cost associated with the estimates looked reasonable. EPA also contacted
Chris Bliley of Growth Energy by e-mail  HYPERLINK
"C:\\Users\\WWrigley\\AppData\\Local\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Temporary
Internet
Files\\Low\\Content.IE5\\AppData\\Local\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Temporary
Internet Files\\Content.Outlook\\9TIU5XD6\\cbliley@growthenergy.org"
cbliley@growthenergy.org  and by phone. Mr. Bliley’s organizations
work primarily with domestic producers and could not speculate if cost
were reasonable or fair for producers using certain foreign-grown
feedstocks. EPA also contacted Laticia Phillips of UNICA – Sugarcane
Industry Association e-mail  HYPERLINK
"C:\\Users\\WWrigley\\AppData\\Local\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Temporary
Internet
Files\\Low\\Content.IE5\\AppData\\Local\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Temporary
Internet Files\\Content.Outlook\\9TIU5XD6\\leticia@unica.com.br"
leticia@unica.com.br . Ms. Phillips commented that foreign producers
applying for aggregate compliance for its feedstock and that process
(collecting all data, maps, signatures, ministry letters, etc.) will
take the foreign producer at least 40 hours of work at the average rate
quoted in EPA’s assumptions. Translation alone for a foreign entity
will take more than 40 hours. In response to the comments given by
UNICA, the hourly industry assumption in this ICR will be changed to 40
in this collection to reflect a better scenario for foreign producers.

	d. 	Effects of Less Frequent Data Collection 

	This data collection is necessary in order to permit a petitioning
process to function for foreign renewable fuel producers to comply with
the renewable biomass verification provision.  We anticipate only one
response per respondent.  The information collected will be received
from foreign based entities seeking an authorization to use specified
renewable fuel feedstocks. The information in this collection is not
available from another source.   

	e. 	General Guidelines 

	This rule does exceed the OMB guidelines. EPA requests an exception to
the OMB guidelines that agencies may only require records to be
maintained for no more than three years. Records can be kept either
electronically or on paper. EPA needs to make sure regulated parties
keep records long enough to be evaluated for compliance during this time
period.  Section 40 CFR Part 80.1454(l) requires record retention for
five years from the date the records were created. Any information
claimed as confidential will be treated in accordance with 40 CFR Part 2
and established Agency procedures.  Information that is received without
a claim of confidentiality may be made available to the public without
further

	f.	Confidentiality

	Respondents may assert claims of business confidentiality (CBI) for any
or all of the information they submit. We do not believe that most
respondents would characterize the information they submit to us under
this information collection as CBI.  However, any information claimed as
confidential will be treated in accordance with 40 CFR Part 2 and
established Agency procedures.  Information that is received without a
claim of confidentiality may be made available to the public without
further notice to the submitter under 40 CFR § 2.203.

g.	Sensitive Information

	

	This information collection does not require submission of any
sensitive information.

4.	The Respondents and the Information Requested

	a.	Respondents/SIC Codes

	Entities potentially affected by this proposed rule are those involved
with the production, distribution, and sale of transportation fuels,
including gasoline and diesel fuel or renewable fuels such as ethanol
and biodiesel.  In the case of these petitions, we anticipate that they
may come from foreign trade associations or governmental entities. 
Potentially regulated categories include: 

Category	NAICS1 Codes	SIC2 Codes	Examples of Potentially Regulated
Entities

Industry

Industry 

Industry 

Industry 

Industry 

Industry

 

Industry	324110

325193

325199

424690

424710

424720

454319	2911

2869

2869

5169

5171

5172

5989	Petroleum Refineries

Ethyl alcohol manufacturing

Other basic organic chemical manufacturing

Chemical and allied products merchant wholesalers

Petroleum bulk stations and terminals

Petroleum and petroleum products merchant wholesalers

Other fuel dealers

1 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)

2 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system code.

	b.	Information Requested

		

		A)	Reporting:  No form is to be developed for this petition process. 
Specific items of information to be requested are outlined in the
regulation.    

		B)	Recordkeeping:  For the RFS2 program, respondents retain records
for a period of not less than five (5) years.  

5.  The Information Collected, Agency Activities, Collection
Methodology, and Information Management

a.	Agency Activities

All petitions will be reviewed by EPA.  

Petitions will be stored by EPA.

A response (grant, denial, etc.) will be issued by EPA.  

b. 	Collection Methodology and Management

	The information collected will be in the form of a petition.  No
standard form is to be developed.  As mentioned above, we do not
anticipate that this information will come in under a CBI claim;
however, that is a possibility and we will treat all such information in
accordance with 40 CFR Part 2 and established Agency procedures for
handling CBI.  Information claimed as CBI will be stored in
appropriately controlled areas.

c.	Small Entity Flexibility 

	This collection will not adversely affect small entities. 

d.	Collection Schedule

	We anticipate each petitioner will submit one petition.

6.	Estimating the Burden and Cost of Collection

a.	Estimating the Respondent Universe 

	We estimate 15 petitions will be received from 15 countries or
geographical areas during the three years covered by this proposed ICR. 

b.	Estimating the Respondent Burden and Cost

	Three labor categories are involved:  managerial (includes legal and
professional review), technical, and clerical. The estimates used the
Bureau of Labor Statistics figures from "National Industry-Specific
Occupational Employment & Wage Estimate “Petroleum and Coal Products
Manufacturing” (May 2011), with a 3% annual inflation factor applied
to bring the values to the present.  Using this method, the following
wages and benefits apply by category:

Wages and Benefits

Managerial    		$67.44   per hour

Technical		$65.56   per hour

Clerical		$22.17   per hour

Doubling for company overhead beyond wages and benefits, and for
convenience, rounding up to the dollar, gives the following rates for
this ICR:

Total Employer Cost

Managerial		$135.00 per hour

Technical		$131.00 per hour

Clerical		 $ 44.00 per hour

It is assumed that for each hour of activity the mix will be about 0.1
hour managerial, 0.7 hour technical, and 0.2 hour clerical.  This gives
an average labor cost of $114 per hour, which will be used in this ICR.
For purchased services related to attest engagements and some items of
registration, we have doubled this hourly cost to $228 in order to more
accurately reflect the cost of a certified public accountant (CPA) or
licensed professional engineer's (PE) services.

	We estimate that each petition will take 40 hours to prepare per year.
We have drawn upon our experiences with the Renewable Fuel Standard
Provision and estimate no more than 15 notifications with an annual
burden of 600 burden hours per year and for three years 1,800 burden
hours.  The total annual burden by party is estimated as follows:

Information Collection Burden by Type of Party

Information Collection	Number of Parties

(countries)	Number of Responses

Per Party	Total Number of Responses	Time Per Response	Cost Per Response
Total Hours	Total Cost









	

Petition for International aggregate compliance	15	1	15	40	$4,560	600
$68,400









	Total	15

15

	600	$68,400



Estimating Agency Burden and Cost

	No response is required to notifications unless a potential violation
is noted. We have drawn upon our experiences with the Renewable Fuel
Standard Provision and estimate no more than 15 notifications with an
annual burden of 300 burden hours per year and for three years 900
burden hours.  The Agency burden consist of two GS-13 technical worker
$82.00 an hour including overhead, and a GS-15 manager $ 114.00 an hour
including overhead for an Agency burden of $ 1,764 per response with an
annual total cost of $26,460.  We have assumed that each response will
require 16 hours of technical staff time (two staff FTE, working eight
hours each) to review and prepare the written response.  It is estimated
that one manager will be required to expend a total of 4 hours per
response.  Contractors will not be used to handle these applications and
are not included.

 These estimates are derived from "OPM Salary Table 2010-DCB," effective
January 2010.  This table may be found at
http://archive.opm.gov/oca/10tables/html/RUS-h.asp.  The extreme of step
10 was assumed for all categories.  All values were multiplied by 1.6
(which is a common factor utilized in ICRs to account for overhead
costs). We rounded the resulting dollar value to the nearest tenth.  The
total yearly Agency burden is estimated as follows:

	

d.	Estimating the Respondent Universe

	We based our estimate upon the number of petitions we expect to receive
and invite further comment from interested parties.

e.	Bottom Line Burden Hours and Costs

	From the Table on page 6 we estimate the following:

TOTAL NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS:  15

TOTAL NO. OF RESPONSES:   15

TOTAL BURDEN HOURS (ANNUAL):   600

TOTAL COST (ANNUAL):  $68,400

f.	Reason for Change in Burden

There is an increase of hours in the total estimated respondent burden
compared with the ICR currently approved by OMB. The total hours
increased by 400 due to a more accurate account of hours needed for
foreign producers to complete the petition for approval that will offer
the benefit that certain renewable biomass produced in a foreign country
or geographical area can be counted as feedstock to make renewable fuel
for credit under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2). This change in
burden hours increased the cost of this collection by $54,204 per year. 
The respondent universe and responses remained the same in this
collection.  

	

g.	Burden Statement

	The average respondent burden in hours per respondent, per year, for
this ICR is estimated at 40 hours.  

	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 the instructions; develop, acquire, install, and utilize
technology and systems for the purpose 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
transit 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.

	  SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1  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 ICR under Docket ID Number   HYPERLINK
"http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html" \l
"docketDetail?R=EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0133"  EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0133 , which is
available for online viewing at   HYPERLINK "http://www.regulations.gov"
 www.regulations.gov , or in person viewing at the Air and Radiation in
the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution
Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C.  The EPA Docket Center 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 and Radiation is (202)
566-1742.  An electronic version of the public docket is available at
www.regulations.gov.  This site can be used to submit or view public
comments, access the index listing of the contents of the public docket,
and to access those documents in the public docket that are available
electronically.  When in the system, select “search,” then key in
the Docket ID Number identified above.  Also, you can send comments to
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management
and Budget, 725 17th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20503, Attention: Desk
Officer for EPA.  Please include the EPA Docket ID Number   HYPERLINK
"http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html" \l
"docketDetail?R=EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0133"  EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0133  and OMB
Control Number 2060-0655 in any correspondence.

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