DRAFT

Supporting Statement

for

Information Collection Request

Control of Evaporative Emissions from New and In-Use 

Portable Gasoline Containers (Renewal)

EPA ICR 2213.03

April, 2010

Compliance and Innovative Strategies Division

Office of Transportation and Air Quality

Office of Air and Radiation

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

  SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1 	PART A OF THE SUPPORTING STATEMENT

1.	Identification of the Information Collection

(a)	Title and Number of Information Collection.

	"Control of Evaporative Emissions from New and In-Use Portable Gasoline
Containers (Renewal)", ICR 2213.03, OMB 2060-0597. 

(b)	Short Characterization.

	(i)	Type of collection.  

	Under regulations promulgated on February 26, 2007 (72 FR 8428),
manufacturers of new portable gasoline containers are required to obtain
certificates of conformity with the Clean Air Act, effective January
1,2009. This ICR covers the burdens associated with this certification
process.

	(ii)	Content of reports.  

	All manufacturers of portable gasoline containers subject to the rule
mentioned in section (i) must submit applications and reports to EPA to
certify them for sale in the United States.  The application information
required is described in section (iii) (1) of this document and is
required preceding sale of new portable gasoline containers. A second
mandatory report is warranty and defect information on these products. 
The information required in that report is described in section (iii)
(4).  The warranty and defect report is required annually in July of the
year following the model year for which the portable gasoline container
was certified. 

	(iii)	Recordkeeping requirements.  

Respondents must organize and maintain the following records:

The respondent must organize and maintain all applications, their
amendments, and any summary information that is to be sent to EPA.  An
application is for an emissions family that describes a single or group
of portable fuel containers that are expected to have similar emission
characteristics.  In general, fuel containers made with similar
materials, processes, emission control strategy, and design are eligible
for grouping into a single emission family.  An emissions family is
limited to a single model year.   The information required in an
application is as follows:

Description of the emission family’s specifications, distinguishable
configuration, detachable parts and their numbers, and other basic
parameters of the emission controls;

Explanation of the emission control technology;

Description of the products selected for testing and the reasons for
selection;

Description of the test equipment and procedures used;

Fuel properties of the test fuel used for tests reported in the
application and how they compare to the test fuel specifications in the
regulation;

Maintenance, use instructions, and warranty information provided with
the product to the ultimate purchaser of each new portable gasoline
container;

Description and example of the emission control information label;

A statement that the emission family's products were tested as described
and meet the requirements of the regulation;

The emission data for the family's products that indicates that it met
the applicable emission standards, except in the cases where the
products only differ in model year from those that were previously
certified;

Test results from invalid tests or tests that were not conducted as
specified in section §59.650 through 59.653 of the rule;

An unconditional certification by the respondent that all the products
in the emissions family comply with the requirements of the rule;

Estimates of U.S.-directed production volumes; and

Name of an agent for service of process located in the United States for
any action by EPA related to the requirements for the rule.

The respondent must keep records for each portable gasoline container
tested (emission data unit) under the requirements of the rule.   Each
emission data unit has records for the following information:

The unit’s construction, including its origin and buildup, steps taken
to ensure that it represents production containers, components built
specially for it, and all the components included in the application for
certification.

All emission tests, including documentation on routine and standard
tests, as specified the rule.  Each test report includes:

Test results;

Purpose of test;

Date and time of the test;

Test cell ambient conditions during the test such as temperature,
barometric pressure, and relative humidity;

Diagnostic data indicating conformance of the test procedure to the
rule;

Significant events that may affect the products' conformance with the
rule;

Production figures for each emission family divided by assembly plant;

Maintenance instructions for the portable fuel containers in the family;
and

A running list of portable gasoline container identification numbers for
all the containers produced under each certificate of conformity.

All the above information must be kept five years after a certificate of
conformity is issued for the emissions family in question.  Data
covering test cell ambient conditions, however, is required to be kept
for one year only after a certificate of conformity is issued for the
emissions family in question.

(3) The stored records can be in any format and on any media, as long as
it can be promptly delivered to EPA on request.

(4) Annual successful warranty claims, including the reason for the
claim and defect report summarizing by emissions family, are to be
provided to the agency.  These reports are due to EPA by July 1 for the
preceding calendar year.

2.	Need for and Use of the Collection

(a)	Need/Authority for the Collection.  

	The EPA is required under Section 183(e) of the Clean Air Act (Act) to
regulate Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emissions from the use of
consumer and commercial products.  Pursuant to Section 183(e)(3), the
EPA published a list of consumer and commercial products and a schedule
for their regulation on March 23, 1995 (60 FR 15264).  Consumer products
were included in Group I of the list, and standards were promulgated on
September 11, 1998.  In the Administrator's judgment, VOC emissions from
the use of consumer products contribute to ground-level ozone formation
in ozone non-attainment areas.

	Statutory authority for the portable gasoline container controls is
found in Sections 183(e) and 111, 42 U.S.C. sections 7511b(e) and 7414. 
This authority was granted to regulate VOC emissions from the use of
consumer and commercial products.  Portable gasoline containers are a
consumer product which has been shown to be deficient in preventing VOCs
in the form of gasoline vapors from being emitted into the air.  

	The record keeping in an application for an emissions family of
portable gasoline containers is necessary to prove to the agency that
the emissions family meets the emission standard in the regulation. The
items specified in (iii)(1) for the application are specific enough to
provide enough information to allow the agency to issue a certificate of
compliance for the emissions family covered in application.  

The information in the application is sufficient to allow the
manufacture to aggregate containers of like design into one emission
family.  This saves the manufacturer the expense of testing models of
similar but not identical design.  The information is also detailed
enough to allow recertification for subsequent new model years where the
only difference containers of the current and future model years is only
the model year itself.  The emissions family collection for similar
containers and the carry over provisions are seen as a reasonable
approach to simplify and lower the cost of gasoline container
certification program for the manufacture. 

The warranty and defect reports provided by the manufactures to the
agency are needed to assure that the containers survive normal use and
provides to EPA confidence that they are minimally meeting the emission
standards.  Cans showing excessive warranty claims or high defect rates
could be candidates for in-use testing by EPA.  Though EPA does not have
the authority to recall portable fuel containers the warranty and defect
information along with in-use testing by EPA could be used as grounds to
withhold subsequent certification of containers that are not operating
as required by the regulation.

(b)	Use/Users of the Information.  

	Agency enforcement personnel will use the information collected to: 

Determine if a manufacture’s portable gasoline containers meet the
emission standard when new;

Allow the agency to issue a certificate of compliance to the
manufacturer so that they can market the approved containers;

Allow the agency to issue certificates in successive model years to
containers that differ only in model year to manufactures and waiving
the testing process required for a new design;

Allow the agency to issue certificates to the manufacture for containers
that are substantially similar to the tested prototype and waive the
testing process required for a new design;

Provide information to the agency to indicate that the portable gasoline
containers are meeting the standard in-use; and

Provide information to the agency that a portable gasoline container
design is not meeting the standard in-use and provides a basis on which
to reject a manufactures application for that design in subsequent model
years.

3.	Non-duplication, Consultations, and Other Collection Criteria

(a)	Non-duplication.

	The information collected pursuant to the regulation is product and
manufacturing specifications, testing, successful warranty claims, and
defect data concerning portable gasoline containers.  Similar
information will be collected by the state of California for their
Portable Fuel Container regulation.  However, the California regulation
is different in several key areas that make the information unsuitable
for information collection required for Federal rule.  These are all due
to the following differences in the standards and certification
requirements in the two rules.  

The test fuel and the temperature cycles used in the Federal program are
more in keeping with nation wide ambient temperatures and fuels while
those required in the California regulation are more suitable to
California fuels and ambient conditions.   

The Federal rule requires the reporting of successful warranty claims
and defect reports concerning fuel containers sold as certified under
the rule.  While the California regulation does require that the
manufacturer issue warranties, it does not require them to report on the
outcomes of successful claims against them.

These differences make the California data unsuitable for the Federal
rule on fuel containers.

	Public Notice Required Prior to ICR Submission to OMB

An announcement soliciting public comment on this ICR was published in
the Federal Register on _____ (___FR____). A copy of the draft ICR was
placed in the docket. No comments were received.  

(c)	Consultations

	EPA has had ongoing discussions with the gasoline container
manufactures concerning the gasoline container rule and its impact on
their business.   The dates and method of contact are listed below.

Organization			Consultation

Blitz USA:  			Meetings on: 3/23/04, 4/15/04, 9/29/05

Phone discussions on: 2/17/04, 5/5/04, 5/13/04, 9/16/04, 3/22/05

Scepter				Meeting on: 11/9/04

Phone discussions on: 6/3/04, 4/27/05, 8/26/05

Wedco				Phone discussions on:  5/28/04, 4/19/05

Midwest Can Company     	Phone discussions on:   6/21/05, 7/28/05 

No-Spill Research		Phone discussions on:   7/21/04

Industry wide			Conference call: 11/17/04

(d)	Effects of Less Frequent Collection.

	The requirement of the portable fuel container regulation is that
information is submitted on a yearly basis coinciding with the
manufacturer’s “model year.” The certificate of conformity is
effective until December 31of the model year for which it was issued. 
For these reasons, a collection frequency longer than a year is not
possible. However, when a fuel container design is “carried over” or
a new version of a container that is for all intents and purposes
substantially similar to a current container, the amount of new
information required is substantially reduced.  The manufactures can
modify the terms for certification under §59.621 which could
conceivably effect the frequency of data collection.  However, changes
would have to be approved by EPA and can not lead to less effective
emission control.  

(e)	General Guidelines.

	This ICR adheres to the guidelines for Federal data requesters, as
provided at 5 CFR 1320.5.  The regulation requires that records
concerning the application for certification be maintained for 5 years
and testing data for 1 year.  Successfully awarded warranty information
and product defect reports are required for the preceding model by July
1st of the following year.  There is no requirement to report
unsuccessful claims against container warranties and after the reporting
of the data to EPA. There is no requirement by EPA for the manufactures
to retain that information. These periods of record retention are
consistent with other ongoing and similar programs.  They are necessary
to allow enough record history for the agency to adequately monitor
compliance.  

(f)	Confidentiality.

Any information submitted to EPA for which a claim of confidentiality is
made will be safeguarded according to EPA regulations at 40 CFR 2.201 et
seq.   

	Sensitive Questions.  

	This section is not applicable because this ICR does not involve
matters of a sensitive nature.

4.	The Respondents and the Information Requested

(a)	Respondents/SIC and NAICS Codes.  

	Respondents to this information collection are manufacturers of
portable fuel containers. They fall within standard industrial
classification (SIC) 3411 and within the North American Industrial
Classification System (NAICS) code of 324110. 

(b)	Information Requested.

	(i)	Data items.  

	Table 2, Source Data and Information Requirements, summarizes the
recordkeeping and reporting requirements.

	TABLE 2

	SOURCE DATA AND INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS

Group	Item	Sub Item	Requirement

Application (Report)	Emissions Family Specification	Physical
Configurations	§59.623

Application (Report)	Emissions Family Specification	Method of Emission
Control	§59.623

Application (Report)	Emissions Family Specification	Container Models
§59.623

Application (Report)	Testing	Test Equipment	§59.623

Application (Report)	Testing	Test Methods	§59.623

Application (Report)	Testing	Test Fuels	§59.623

Application (Report)	Testing	Emission Test Data	§59.623

Application (Report)	Compliance	Statement of Compliance of Tests
§59.623

Application (Report)	Compliance	Maintenance and Use Instructions to
Users	§59.623

Application (Report)	Compliance	Description of Emissions Control Label
§59.623

Application (Report)	Compliance	Statement of Compliance of Member
Containers to Emissions Family	§59.623

Application (Report)	Compliance	Name of Agent of Process for the
Application	§59.623

Application (Report)	Impact	Estimate of US Sales	§59.623

In-Use Report	Awarded Warranty Information	Reasons for Claim	§59.628

In-Use Report	Defect	List and number of defects by emissions family
§59.628

Record Keeping	Application (Report)

§59.628

Record Keeping	Annual In-Use Report

§59.628

Record Keeping	Emission-Data Unit (prototype test container)
Configuration and Components	§59.628

Record Keeping	Emission-Data Unit (prototype test container)	Build
Information	§59.628

Record Keeping	Emission-Data Unit (prototype test container)
Representativeness to Production Version	§59.628

Record Keeping	Emission-Data Unit (prototype test container)	All
Emission Test Data for Emission-Data Unit	§59.628

Record Keeping	Emission-Data Unit (prototype test container)	Date and
Time for 	§59.628

Record Keeping	Emission-Data Unit (prototype test container)	Ambient
Test Cell Conditions	§59.628

Record Keeping	Production Figures	By Emissions Family and Assembly Plant
§59.628

Record Keeping	Unique Container Serial Numbers	By Certificate of
Conformity	§59.628



	(ii)	Respondent Activities.  

	The respondent will have to document fuel container specifications in
detail such as physical size, shapes, materials, quality of component
fit, and production methods.  The respondent shall have to keep records
on testing that was performed to assure compliance with the fuel
container regulation.  The respondent must collect and keep warranty and
defect information for annual reporting on in-use survival of their
products in the hands of consumers to EPA.  The respondent must also
retain records on the units produced, apply serial numbers to individual
containers, and track the serial numbers to their certificates of
conformance.  Many of these activities are performed in the production
of any modern consumer product, but clearly some of the information is
uniquely required to the fuel container regulation  

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

(a)	Agency Activities.

	A significant portion of EPA’s activity for the fuel container
regulation will be spent reviewing applications to verify that the
correct tests have been conducted and the necessary information has been
submitted. Running change submissions must also be reviewed for possible
impacts and manufacturers’ evaluations thereof. A part of this process
involves determining if “carry over” of data from a previous model
year or addition of a new container model to an existing emissions
family is appropriate or if new testing will be required. EPA has the
right to select a number of containers for testing to confirm that the
cans are indeed meeting the emissions standards.

(b)	Collection Methodology and Management

	As noted in section 2(b) of this ICR, the information collected is a
necessary part of compliance determination for model year 2009
therefore, the information collected under this rule will not be
collected until calendar year 2008.  A database shall be developed to
store the information at that time.  

(c)	Small Entity Flexibility.

	Under the rule, there are provisions for small entity flexibility.  All
respondents can apply for extension of deadlines, including new
container designs under existing emissions families.  They can also
apply for exceptions for particular product use for atypical
applications and sales.  Hardship exceptions are provided when a
manufacture is facing issues of solvency due to circumstances beyond
their control such as a natural disaster, a part supplier not meeting
contractual obligations, or the cost of conformance to the rule.

(d)	Collection Schedule.

	The portable fuel container regulation applies to all fuel containers
manufactured on or after January 1, 2009.  Containers excluded from the
rule are those specified in §59.699.  Information collections are on a
model year basis.  Model years end on December 31 of the model year
certified.   

6.	Estimating the Burden and Cost of the Collection

	These estimates represent the average annual burden that will be
incurred by the affected industry during the 3-year period beginning in
2008.  It is believed that most of the record keeping and reporting
costs will shall be done at start up in 2008.  

(a)	Estimating Respondent Burden.

	The average annual labor burden estimates for reporting and
recordkeeping requirements for all manufacturers presented in Table 3.  

Table 3 – Estimated Annual Respondent Labor Hours and Costs

Salaries	Management Hours

Per 

Emission Family	Technical

Hours

Per 

Emission Family ours	Clerical

Hours Per 

Emission Family	Total Hours	Costs

Application	60	80	16	                156 	$ 6,967

Record Keeping	40	40	16	                96 	$ 4,447

Testing	40	250	20	              310 	$ 10,261

Defect and Warranty Reporting	20	40	16	                76 	$ 3,011

Annual totals	160	410	68	638	$ 24,687



Estimating Respondent Costs.

(i) Estimating Labor Costs

	Table 3 also presents estimated labor costs for the required
recordkeeping and reporting activities.  Industry labor rates are based
on Bureau of Labor Statistics for a manager product inspector and office
and administrative support book keeping clerical.  Overhead of 100
percent was added, resulting in the following labor rates: management
($71.80); technical ($27.10); and clerical ($30.70).

(ii) Estimating Capital and Operations and Maintenance Costs

EPA estimates there will be ongoing O&M costs associated with the
reporting and recordkeeping requirements for the portable gasoline
container rule. These costs will be associated with communication of
information with EPA.  Those costs are found in Table 4.   Respondents
have indicated that they do not plan on building their own facilities to
perform the required testing for the gasoline container regulation. 
They shall contract out the work to existing testing laboratories.

	

(iii) Estimating Start Up Capital and Operations and Maintenance Costs

	Start up capitol costs for the respondents are presented in Table 4. 
These costs are associated with the development of the appropriate
information technology to store and report the required information.

Table 4- Capital, Operating and Maintenance Costs

Activity	Average Number per Year per Respondent	Total Costs Per Year

Familiarize with reporting requirements	One-time amortized cost	 $ 300

Update data collection Software	One-time amortized cost	 $ 119

Communication with EPA	3	 $ 100

Totals

 $ 519



(c)	Estimating Agency Burden and Cost.

	Agency burden and costs associated with the data collection are
presented in Table 4. 

Table 5 - Estimated Agency Burden and Cost

Collection Activity	Burden Hours	Frequency	Annual Burden Hours	Annual
Costs

Modify database to manage the collected data, maintenance & computer
time [1]	4	1	4	 $     236.63 

Answer Respondent Questions	3	5	15	 $     907.99 

Review and Approve Can Manufacturers Application and Certification Data
20	20	400	 $24,213.12 

Enter Data	1	20	20	 $  1,210.66 

Annual Report	16	1	16	 $     968.52 

Totals

	455	 $27,536.93 



	Labor rates and associated costs are based on Office of Personnel
Management Table SALARY TABLE 2006-GS.  Overhead of 60 per cent was
added, resulting in the following labor rates: management (GS15 Step 5 -
$79.50); technical (GS13 Step 5 - $57.20); and clerical (GS7 Step 5 -
$27.12).  The number of management hours is assumed to equal 5 percent
of the number of technical hours; the number of clerical hours is
assumed to equal 1 percent of the number of technical hours

	Estimating the Respondent Universe and Total Burden and Costs 

The following assumptions were used to estimate the respondent universe
and total burden and costs for industry to comply with the various
requirements of the rule.

There are ten manufactures of fuel containers for the domestic market.

The average number of emission families that will be produced per
manufacture in the first five years of the rule will be one.

The majority of the families will be carried over from successive model
years.

Manufactures will produce designs that will meet the standards.

(e)	Bottom Line Burden Hours and Cost Tables.

	(i)	Respondent Tally  

	The bottom line respondent burden hours and cost, presented in Table 3,
are calculated by summing the person-hours column and by summing the
cost column.  The annual burden and cost averaged over the 5 years
beginning in the year 2008 are 638 hours, $ 24,791 in wages, capitol,
and operating and maintenance costs.   The average burden equals the
total burden (638 hours) divided by the number of respondents (10
respondents), or about 63.8 hours per respondent.

	(ii)	Agency Tally  

	The bottom line Agency burden and cost are presented in Table 4. 
Agency cost for each activity is calculated by summing the technical,
management, and clerical costs for each burden item.  The estimated
annual burden and cost averaged over the 3 years beginning in October
2008 are 455 hours and $27,536.93.

	(iii)	Variations in the annual bottom line.  

	The EPA does not anticipate any significant annual variations in the
bottom line after the first year the rule is in effect.

(f)     Reasons for Change in Burden.  

	The burden reported in this ICR is attributed to a new regulation.

(g)    Burden Statement

The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection
of information is estimated to average 63.8 hours respondent.  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 ICR under Docket ID No.
EPA-HQ-OAR-2005-0036, which is available for online viewing at  
HYPERLINK "http://www.regulations.gov"  www.regulations.gov , or in
person viewing at the Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center
Docket in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room 3334, 1301
Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. 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
Docket and Information Center is (202) 566-1742.  An electronic version
of the public docket is available at www.regulations.gov.  Use this site
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.  Once 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, DC 20503, Attention: Desk Office for EPA.  Please include
the EPA Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2005-0036 and OMB Control Number
2060-New in any correspondence.

Part B of the Supporting Statement

This section is not applicable to this ICR.

 “Certification Procedure for Portable Fuel Containers and Spill-Proof
Spouts”, California Air Resources Board July 22, 2005

 http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics4_326100.htm#b11-0000

   HYPERLINK "http://www.opm.gov/oca/06tables/pdf/gs_h.pdf" 
http://www.opm.gov/oca/06tables/pdf/gs_h.pdf 

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