[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 17 (Tuesday, January 28, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8296-8298]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-01778]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request; Extension
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA),
the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) is seeking public
comment on its proposal to extend for an additional three years the
Office of Management and Budget clearance for information collection
requirements contained in the Alternative Fuels Rule (Rule). This
clearance expires on April 30, 2025.
DATES: Comments must be filed by March 31, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper, by
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``Alternative Fuels
Rule, PRA Comment, P085405,'' on your comment, and file your comment
online at https://www.regulations.gov by following the instructions on
the web-based form. If you prefer to file your comment on paper, mail
your comment to the following address: Federal Trade
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Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite
CC-5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 20580.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hong Park, Attorney, Division of
Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission,
(202) 326-2158, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title of Collection: Labeling Requirements for Alternative Fuels
and Alternative Fueled Vehicles (Alternative Fuels Rule), 16 CFR part
309.
OMB Control No.: 3084-0094.
Type of Review: Extension without change of currently approved
collection.
Affected Public: Private Sector: Businesses and other for-profit
entities.
Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 2,900 hours.
Estimated Annual Labor Costs: $103,337.
Non-Labor Costs: $1,350.
Abstract
The Energy Policy Act of 1992 established federal programs to
encourage the development of alternative fuels and alternative fueled
vehicles (AFVs). Section 406(a) of the Act directed the Commission to
establish uniform labeling requirements for alternative fuels and AFVs.
42 U.S.C. 13232(a). Such labels must provide ``appropriate information
with respect to costs and benefits [of alternative fuels and AFVs], so
as to reasonably enable the consumer to make choices and comparisons.''
The required labels must be ``simple and, where appropriate,
consolidated with other labels providing information to the consumer.''
Pursuant to the Act, the Commission published the Alternative Fuels
Rule in 1995, and the Rule was later amended in 2013.\1\ The Rule
requires disclosure of specific information on labels posted on fuel
dispensers for non-liquid alternative fuels. To ensure the accuracy of
these disclosures, the Rule also requires that sellers maintain records
substantiating product-specific disclosures they include on these
labels. In addition, the Rule requires that distributors of non-liquid
alternative vehicle fuel provide certifications of the fuel rating in
each transfer to anyone who is not a consumer.
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\1\ 78 FR 23832 (April 23, 2013). The final amendments
consolidated the Commission's AFV labels with the then new fuel
economy labels required by the Environmental Protection Agency
thereby eliminating the FTC's separate labeling requirements for
used AFV labels.
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As required by section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et
seq., the FTC is providing this opportunity for public comment before
requesting that OMB extend the existing clearance for the information
collection requirements contained in the Alternative Fuels Rule.
Burden Estimates
I. Annual Hours Burden: 2,900 hours.
FTC staff estimates that approximately 9,092 industry participants
\2\ are subject to the Rule's information collection requirements. The
burden estimates for covered entities are detailed below.\3\
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\2\ These industry participants include producers, importers,
refiners, distributors, and retailers of non-liquid vehicle fuel
such as compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG),
and hydrogen; and manufacturers, distributors, and retail operators
of electric vehicle fuel dispensing systems.
\3\ It is common practice for alternative fuel industry members
to determine and monitor fuel ratings in the normal course of their
business activities. This is because industry members must know and
determine the fuel ratings of their products in order to monitor
quality and decide how to market them. ``Burden'' for PRA purposes
is defined to exclude effort that would be expended regardless of
any regulatory requirement. 5 CFR 1320.2(b)(2). Other factors also
limit the burden associated with the Rule. Certification may be a
one-time event or require only infrequent revision. Disclosures on
electric vehicle fuel dispensing systems may be useable for several
years. Nonetheless, there is still some burden associated with
posting labels. There also will be some minimal burden associated
with new or revised certification of fuel ratings and recordkeeping.
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Labeling: Staff estimates that approximately 1,776 covered
retailers must revise covered labels annually.\4\ Staff estimates that
affected retailers require approximately one hour each per year for
labeling their fuel dispensers for a total of 1,776 hours (1,776
respondents x 1 hour per year).
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\4\ Staff estimates that approximately 8,878 retailers are
subject to the Rule's labeling requirements. Staff estimates that
approximately 20% of covered retailers (1,776) will need to replace
their labels annually because many labels remain effective for
several years.
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Recordkeeping: FTC staff estimates that approximately 9,092
industry participants are subject to the Rule's recordkeeping
requirements. Staff estimates that covered entities require
approximately one-tenth of an hour each per year to comply with these
requirements. This yields a burden of approximately 910 hours per year
(9,092 respondents x 0.1 hours).
Certification: Staff estimates that the Rule's fuel rating
certification requirements will affect approximately 214 industry
members (producers, importers, and refiners of CNG, LNG, and hydrogen,
and distributors and manufacturers of electric vehicle fuel dispensing
systems). Staff anticipates that covered industry participants will
spend approximately one hour per year to comply with this requirement
for a total of 214 hours (214 respondents x 1 hour per year).
Accordingly, the estimated annual burden under the Rule is 2,900
hours (1,776 + 910 + 214).
Labor Costs: $103,337.
FTC staff derive labor costs by applying appropriate hourly wage
figures to the burden hours described above. According to Bureau of
Labor Statistics data,\5\ the average compensation for fuel system
operators is $42.36 per hour; and $16.60 per hour for automotive
service attendants. These are factored into the FTC's estimates and
assumptions below.
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\5\ The wage estimates in this Notice are based on mean hourly
wages found in Table 1. National employment and wage data from the
Occupational Employment Statistics survey by occupation, May 2023,
at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.t01.htm. The wage rate
for fuel system operators is based on data for ``Petroleum pump
system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers.'' The wage rate
for automotive attendants is based on data for ``Automotive and
watercraft service attendants.''
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Labeling: Staff assumes that labeling is performed by fuel system
operators. Applying relevant labor cost figures to the estimated burden
hours for labeling yields an estimated annual labor cost of $75,232
(1,776 hours x $42.36).
Recordkeeping: Staff estimates that approximately \1/6\ of the
total recordkeeping hours are performed by fuel system operators (\1/6\
of 910 hours = approximately 152 hours; 152 hours x $42.36 = $6,439)
and that automotive service attendants account for the remaining \5/6\
of recordkeeping hours (\5/6\ of 910 hours = approximately 759 hours;
759 hours x $16.60 = $12,600). Accordingly, staff estimates that the
total labor cost for recordkeeping for affected industry is
approximately $19,039 ($6,439 + $12,600).
Certification: Staff assumes that certification is performed by
fuel system operators. Estimated associated labor costs would be $9,066
(214 hours x $42.36).
Accordingly, the estimated annual labor cost under the Rule is
$103,337 ($75,232 + $19,039 + $9,066).
II. Non-Labor Costs: $1,350.
Staff believes there are no current start-up costs associated with
the Rule, which has been in effect since 1995. Industry members have in
place the capital equipment and means necessary to determine automotive
fuel ratings and comply with the Rule. Industry members, however, incur
the cost of procuring fuel dispenser labels to comply with the Rule.
The estimated annual fuel labeling cost, based on estimates of
approximately 8,000 fuel dispensers (assumptions: an estimated 20% of
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8,878 total fuel retailers need to replace labels in any given year
with an approximate five-year life for labels--i.e., 1,776 retailers--
multiplied by an average of two dispensers per retailer) at thirty-
eight cents for each label (per industry sources), is $1,350 ($0.38 x
1,776 x 2).
Request for Comment
Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the FTC invites
comments on: (1) whether the disclosure and recordkeeping requirements
are necessary, including whether the information will be practically
useful; (2) the accuracy of our burden estimates, including whether the
methodology and assumptions used are valid; (3) ways to enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
(4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information.
For the FTC to consider a comment, we must receive it on or before
March 31, 2025. Your comment, including your name and your state, will
be placed on the public record of this proceeding, including the
https://www.regulations.gov website.
You can file a comment online or on paper. Due to heightened
security screening, postal mail addressed to the Commission will be
subject to delay. We encourage you to submit your comments online
through the https://www.regulations.gov website.
If you file your comment on paper, write ``Alternative Fuels Rule,
PRA Comment, P085405,'' on your comment and on the envelope, and mail
it to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the
Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite CC-5610 (Annex J),
Washington, DC 20580.
Because your comment will become publicly available at https://www.regulations.gov, you are solely responsible for making sure that
your comment does not include any sensitive or confidential
information. In particular, your comment should not include any
sensitive personal information, such as your or anyone else's Social
Security number; date of birth; driver's license number or other state
identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number;
financial account number; or credit or debit card number. You are also
solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include
any sensitive health information, such as medical records or other
individually identifiable health information. In addition, your comment
should not include any ``trade secret or any commercial or financial
information which . . . is privileged or confidential''--as provided by
section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2),
16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)--including, in particular, competitively sensitive
information, such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas,
patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.
Comments containing material for which confidential treatment is
requested must (1) be filed in paper form, (2) be clearly labeled
``Confidential,'' and (3) comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c). In particular,
the written request for confidential treatment that accompanies the
comment must include the factual and legal basis for the request, and
must identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from
the public record. See FTC Rule 4.9(c). Your comment will be kept
confidential only if the General Counsel grants your request in
accordance with the law and the public interest. Once your comment has
been posted publicly at www.regulations.gov, we cannot redact or remove
your comment unless you submit a confidentiality request that meets the
requirements for such treatment under FTC Rule 4.9(c), and the General
Counsel grants that request.
The FTC Act and other laws that the Commission administers permit
the collection of public comments to consider and use in this
proceeding as appropriate. The Commission will consider all timely and
responsive public comments that it receives on or before March 31,
2025. For information on the Commission's privacy policy, including
routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, see https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy.
Josephine Liu,
Assistant General Counsel for Legal Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2025-01778 Filed 1-27-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P