1 SUPPORTING STATEMENT PART A 1. IDENTIFICATION OF THE INFORMATION COLLECTION 1(a) TIT LE AND NUMBER OF THE INFORMATION COLLECTION Alternative Affirmative Defense Requirements for Ultra

- low Sulfur Diesel (Renewal)

. The current OMB control number is 2060

- 0639 . The EPA number for this information collection request (I CR) renewal is 2364.0 4
. (b) SHORT CHARACTERIZATION/ABSTRACT The highway

diesel program regulations require motor vehicle (highway) diesel fuel sold at retail stations to contain 15 parts per million (ppm) sulfur or less (hereafter referred to as ultra low sulfur diesel fuel, or UL SD). General r ecordkeeping and reporting related to diesel fuel regulations for on

- road, non

- road and performance

- based test methods are included in EPA I CR 1718.08 (OMB Control Number 2060

- 0308 ). Under the highway diesel fuel regulation s , wh ere a violation of the 15 ppm sulfur standard is identified at a retail outlet, the retailer responsible for dispensing the noncompliant fuel is deemed liable, as well as the refiner(s), importer(s) and distributor(s) of such fuel. The highway diesel regulations further provide, however, that any person deemed liable can rebut this presumption by

establishing an affirmative defense that in cludes, among other things, showing that it conducted a quality assurance sampling and testing program as prescribed by the regulations. This I CR covers burdens and costs associated with provisions that allow refiners and importers of ULSD an alternative m eans of meeting the affirmative defense requirements in the UL SD regulations by

participating in a nationwide diesel fuel sampling and testing program. The reporting burden covered b y this ICR renewal relates to reports that refiners, importers and distributors, have to submit in the event they have a non - compl yi ng sulfur test result. (See 40 CFR § 80.613. ) The authority citation for the direct final rule and the association information collection is for the following Clean Air Act sections: 42 United St ates Code §§ 7414, 7542, 7545, and 7601(a). 2. NEED FOR AND USE OF THE COLLECTION (a) NEED/AUTHORITY FOR THE COLLECTION The basic need and authority for the collection of information were established in the I CR for the highway

diesel final rule. The rule established specific recordkeeping and reporting requirements in order to enforce compliance with the 15 ppm sulfur standard for highway diesel fuel.2

(b) PRACTI CAL UTILITY/USERS OF THE DATA The alternative affirmative defense (survey) provisions are designed to grant flexibility to refiners and importers b y permitting them to conduct activities normally conducted on a facility basis on a nationwide basis. The burden described in th is I CR only affects parties who receive a test result that indicates non

- compliance. The EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance and the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, Office of Transportation and Air Quality , will be the government al users of the information contained in this proposed information collection. 3. NONDUPLICATION, CONSUL TATIONS, AND OTHER COLLECTION CRI TERIA (a) NONDUPLICATION This IC R renewal is not unnecessarily duplicative of information otherwise reasonabl y accessible to the Agency . Wherever possible, we have designed the proposed regulation to make sure that there is no unnecessary duplication. (b) PUBLIC NOTICE REQUIRED PRIOR TO ICR SUBMI SSI ON TO OMB EPA sought comment on reporting requirements via No tice found in 78 FR 78953 on December 27, 2013
. EPA received no comment at the end of the 60 day comment period. (c) CONSULTAT IONS (Format) EPA has made an asserted effort to seek industry comment for this I CR. EPA contacted Tim Hogan of the American Fuels and Petrochemical Manufacturers Petroleum who can be contacted on ( 202) 457

- 0480 and by e - mail thogan@afpm.org . Mr. Hogan after reviewing the cost anal ys is believed that the cost to the industry was reasonable and fair. EPA also contacted Mr. Michael Keys of Love’s Travel Center who can be contacted on (405) 302

- 6640 and b y e mail MichaelK@loves.com . Mr. Key s was not able to attest to the cost to report for industry in the I CR. Mr. Key s’ is a member of the ULSD consortium in which the association takes care of the fuel testing and activity that leads to the providing a report discussing the reason for violations to the EPA

. Mr. Key s was not able to make a fair assumption being that involve ment in process was not direct

. (d) EFFECTS OF LESS FREQUENT COLLECTION Less frequent reporting would make discovery and correctio n of violations take too long to discover from the date of violation, and would give non

- complying parties a competitive advantage for long periods of time. A lesser recordkeeping burden would make verification of compliance extremel y difficult.3

(e) GEN ERAL GUIDELINES The general guidelines for the collection of information pursuant to the highway diesel rule are approved in the ICR for the final highway diesel rule. This rule exceed s the OMB guidelines. EPA requests an exception to the OMB guidelines that agencies may onl y require records to be maintained for no more than three ye ars. Records can be kept either electronicall y 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 r etention for five years f

rom the d ate the records were created. Any information claimed as confidential will be treated in accordance with 40 CFR Part 2 and established Agency procedures. In formatio n that is received without a claim of confidentiality may be made available to the public without further (f) CONFIDENTIALITY AND SENSITIVE QUESTI ONS (i) Confidentiality Any information submitted to EPA for which a claim of confidentiality is made will be safeguarded according to EPA regulations at 40 C.F.R. 2.201 et seq. (ii) Sensitive Questions This section is not applicable as this proposed ICR does not involve matters of a sensitive nature. 4. THE RESPONDENTS AND THE INFORMATION REQUESTED (a) RESPONDENTS/NAICS and SIC CODES Recordkeeping and, in some cases, reporting affects the following respondents: refiners (2911/324110), importers (5172/424720), marketers and other distributors (5171 /424710 and 5172/424720). (b) INFORMATION REQUESTED ( i) Data Items, Including Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements Knowledge of the following definitions at 40 CFR 80.2 is important for a thorough understanding of the reporting and recordkeeping requirements: “Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel” means an y diese l fuel or other distillate fuel sold in any State (State means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Is lands) that is used, intended for use in, or made availa ble for use in for use in motor vehicles or motor vehicle engines.4

“Refiner” means an y person who own , leases, operates, controls, or supervises a refinery

. “Importer” means a person who imports diesel fuel from a foreign country into the United States (including the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands). There is a respondent burden associated with refiners, importers and distributors preparing a report for EPA explaining the circumstances behind and root causes for any noncompliant UL SD samples. There is also an Agency burden associated with reviewing each report. This burden is estimated below under “ ESTIMATING THE BURDEN AND COST OF THE COLLECTION ”. The following sections describe respondent and Agency activities. (ii) Respondent Activities The following may

be required in the event of a non

- complying sample :

 Read and comprehend the regulations.  Gather and organize the information.  Report the information to EPA, as specified i n the regulations. 5. THE INFORMATION COLLECTED

-- AGENCY ACTIVITIES, COLLECTION METHODOLOGY AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT (a) AGENCY ACTIVITIES The following are required:  Respond to inquiries.  Provide access to the regulations and guidance documents.  Review the submitted information.  Contact the respondent when the information has not been submitted properly and provide guidance on correction of the problem.  Perform data anal ys is and identify violations. (b) COLLECTION METHODOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Th e information collection has been developed b y EPA offices that have planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected, including the processing of the information in a manner which will e nhance the utility of the information for the Agency and the public. The information collection, to the maximum extent practicable, uses appropriate information technology to reduce burden and improve data quality , Agency

efficiency , and responsiveness to the public. The information is carefull y reviewed for compliance with the requirements.5

(c) SMALL BUSINESS FLEXIBILITY The alternative affirmative defense rule grant s flexibility to all affected parties, regardless of size. The recordkeeping and reporting burden has been designed to be minimal for respondents of all business sizes. (d) COLLECTION SCHEDULE Response is only

required in the case of a non

- complying sample

. 6. ESTIMATING THE BURDEN AND COST OF THE COLLECTION (a) ESTIMAT ING THE RESPONDENT BURDEN We drew upon consultation with industry and our own experience implementing similar regulations to estimate the burden associated with this IC R
. In this collection an association will collect samples of low sulfur diesel and report violations in the industry and report to the EPA

. Upon a notice of violation to the EPA, i ndustry has the burden to report reasons for the violation

. We estimate 5 responses per year under this collection. 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 Employ ment & W

age Estimate “Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing” (May

201 1), with a 3% annual inflation factor applied to bring the values to the present. Using this method, the following wages and benefits appl y b y category : Wa ges and Benefits Managerial $67.44 per hour Te chni cal $65.56 per hour Clerical $22.17 per hour Doubling for compan y overhead beyond wages and benefits, and for convenience, rounding up to the dollar, gives the following rates for this I CR: To tal Employer Cost Managerial $135.00 per hour Te chnica l $13 2 .00 per hour Clerical $ 4 5 .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 $1 1 5 per hour rounded up ,6

which will be used in this I CR. This collection includes no annualized capital or operation and maintenance cost. (c ) ESTIMATING THE RESPONDENT UNIVERSE We were able to estimate the number of regulated entities by drawing upon our experience regulating the same entities. Respondents for this action may include refiners, importers, and distributors. Based on submissions received over the past five years and enforcement experience, we expect that no more than five instances of non

- compliance resulting in a maximum of five reports will be submitted each year. **Annual Respondent Burden Hours & Costs (Including Non**  **- Postage "Other Costs"**  **)**

The estimated respondent burden for reviewing each report for a noncompliant sample is 16 hours, or $1,8 40 per response, so the total respondent burden for submitting five reports per ye ar would be $ 9 , 20 0
. (d) ESTIMATING AGENCY BURDEN AND COST No response is required to notifications unless a potential violation is noted. This activity will present no significant, quantifiable burden to the Agency

. We have drawn upon our experiences with the highway diesel program and estimate no more than fiv e notifications with an annual burden of 10 burden hours per year and for three ye ars 30 burden hours. We have one full

- time GS

- 13 technical worker working two hours per response and a GS

- 15 manager all working no hours of his/her time managing this project per response. The Agency

burden consist s of a GS

- 13 technical worker costs at $81.55 an hour including overhead, for an Agency burden of $ 163.10 per response. With an annual total of $ 816 rounded to the neare st dollar. These estimates are derived from "OPM Salary Table 2 010

- DCB," effective January 2010 . This table may

be found at http:// archive .opm.gov/oca/ 10 tables/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 I CRs to account for overhead costs). We rounded the resulting dollar value to the nearest tenth

. Co llec tion A

ct ivity Nu mb er of Re sp ondent s Nu mb er of

Re sp ons es per Party Total Nu mb er of Re sp ons es Tim e per

Res pons e Co st

p er Res pons e (Dol lars) Total

Ho urs Total C os t (Do llars ) **Subm it Re**  **port for e ach U**  **LSD e xce**  **ed ance**  5 1 5 16 $1,840.00 80 $9,200.00 **TO TA**  **LS 5**  **1 5**  **16 $1,840.00**  **80 $9,200.00**  **Infor ma** **tion Colle ct**  **ion Bur de**  **n by T**  **yp e**  **of Party**7

The total annual Agency cost and burden hours are estimated as follows:

(e) BOTTOM LINE BURDEN HOURS AND COSTS The annual estimates in burden hours and costs associated with this rule are as follows: **TOTALS FROM THE TABLE S**  **: RESPONDENTS/AFFECTED ENTITIES:**  **5 TOTAL NO. OF REPORTS:**  **5 TOTAL BURDEN HOURS**  **: 8**  **0 TOTAL COST**  **: $**  **9,200** (f) REASON FOR CHANGE IN BURDEN There is no change in the total estimated burden per response compared with the I CR currentl y approved b y OMB. The respondent universe and responses decreased in this collection due to a higher than expected compliance rate . There was in increase in cost to the industry per response of $704 due to more accurate numbers used to calculate the industry burden and to account for inflation. There was a decrease in cost to the industry overall of $1 3 , 520 due to the reduction of expected resp onses from 20 to five. (g) BURDEN STATEMENT The average respondent burden in hours per response for this I CR is estimated at 16 hours

. Burden means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or dis close or provide information to or for a Federal agency . This includes the time needed to review instructions; develop, acquire, install, and utilize technology and sy stems for the purposes of collecting, validating, and verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; adjust the existing way s to comply with an y previously

applicable instructions and requirements; train personnel to be able to respond to a collection of information; search data source s; 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 display s a currently

valid OM B control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA's regulations are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and 48 CFR chapter 15. Co llec tion A

ct ivity Nu mb er of Re sp ondents Nu mb er of

Re sp ons es per Party Total

Num ber of Re sp ons es Tim e per

Re sp ons e Co st per

Re sp ons e (Do llars ) Total

Hours Total Cos t

(Dollars ) **Revi ew**  **re port for e**  **ach ULSD e xce**  **ed ance**  5 1 5 2 $163.10 10 $815.50 **TO TA**  **LS 5**  **1 5**  **2 $163**  **10 $816**  **Inform at**  **ion Colle ct**  **ion Burde n by**  **T yp**  **e of Par** **ty**8

To comment on the Agency's need for this information, the accuracy of the provided burden estimates, and any suggested methods for min imizing respondent burden, including the use of automated collection techniques, EPA has established a public docket for this I CR under Docket ID Number EPA

- HQ

- OAR

- 2010

- 0258 , which is available for online viewing at www.regulations.gov, or in person viewin g at the Air Docket in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), WJC 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 holiday s. The telephone number for the Reading Room is (202) 566

- 1744, and the telephone number for the Air Docket 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 electronicall y. 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 EPA

- HQ

- OAR

- 2010

- 0258 and OMB Control Number 2060

- 0639 in an y correspondence. B. COLLECTION OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATI STI CALMETHODS This section is not applicable because statistical methods are not used in the data collection associated with the diesel fuel regulations.