1 IN FORMAT ION COLLECTI ON REQUEST (ICR) OMB - 83 SUPPORTING STATEMENT ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY OFFI CE OF AIR & RADIATION March 21, 2013 A. JUSTIFICATION 1. Id entification of the Information Collection 1( a) Title: Reformulated Gasoline Commingli ng Provision s EPA Number: 2 228 .0 4 1(b) Short characterization: With this information collection request (I CR), the Office of Air and Radiation (OAR) is seeking permission to accept notifications from gasoline retailers and wholesale purchaser - cons umers related to commingling of ethanol blended and non - ethanol - blended reformulated gasoline (RFG) under §1513 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EP A ct) and 40 CFR § 80.78(a)(8)(ii)(B); and to provide for a compliance option whereby a retailer or wholesale purchaser - consumer may demonstrate compliance via test results under § 80.78(a)(8)(iii)(A). These provisions are designed to grant compliance flexibility . P arties were first subject to this recordkeeping and reporting on June 1, 2006. W e are requesting that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approv e the renewal of this ICR and that it remain in effect 3 years from the approval date. Section 1513 of the EPAct addresses the combining of ethanol - blended RFG with non - ethanol - blended RFG. This pro vision amended the C lean Air Act (C AA ) to add a new § 211(s) providing retail outlets two ten - day opportunities during a single VOC control season to blend batches of ethanol - b lended and non - ethanol - blended RFG. Under this new section, retail outlets are allowed to sell non - ethanol - blended RFG which has been combined with ethanol blended RFG under certain conditions :

 First, each batch of gasoline to be blended must have been “individually certified as in compliance with subsections (h) and (k) [of CAA § 211] prior to b eing blended.”2

 Second, the retailer must notify EPA prior to combining the gasolines and identify the exact location of the retail outlet and specific tank in which the gasoline is to be combined .

 Third, the retailer must retain, and, upon request by EPA, make available for inspection , certifications accounting for all gasoline at the retail outlet. ( This information is normally

kept in the normal course of business and we believe retaining it is a customary business practice (CBP ). )

 Fourth, retailers are prohibited from combining VOC - controlled gasoline with non - VOC - controlled gasoline between June 1 and September 15. To provide assurance that gasoline is in compliance with the downstream VOC standard after the ten - day period, EPA issued a direct final rule that amended 40 CFR Part 80 to address commingling ( 71 FR 8973 , February 22, 2006) . T here are two options available for retailers and wholesale purchaser- consumers. Under the first option, the retailer may

a dd both ethanol - blended RFG and non - ethanol - blended RFG to the same tank an unlimited number of times during the ten - day period, but must test the gasoline in the tank at the end of the ten - day period to make sure that the RFG is in compliance with the VOC standard. Under the second option, the retailer must draw the tank down as much as practicable at the start of the ten - day period, before RFG of another ty pe is added to the tank, and add only RFG of one type to the tank during the ten - day period. Becau se there is a recordkeeping requirement associated with retail station test results under the first option, we have also calculated an estimated burden for that activity . We believe 5% or fewer of respondents will elect the testing option. R etailers are also limited in the frequency with which batches of non - ethanol RFG may be combined with ethanol RFG. Retailers may combine such batches of RFG a maximum of two periods between May 1 and September 15. Each period may be no more than ten consecutive calen dar day s. 2. Need For, and Use of, the Collection 1(a) Authority

for the Collection Sections 114 and 208 of the CAA , 42 U.S.C. §§ 7414 and 7542, authorize EPA to require recordkeeping and reporting regarding enforcement o f the provisions of Title II of the CAA. The relevant regulations are in 40 CFR Part 80, Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives. See §§ 8 0.78(a)( 8 )( ii )( B ) and ( iii )( A). 2(b ) P ractical Utility

/Uses of the Data3 The recordkeeping and reporting requirements of this regulation will allow EPA to monitor compliance with the commingling requirements of CAA § 211(s), as added b y § 15 13 of the EPAct . 3. Non - duplication, Consultation, and other Collection Criteria 3(a) Non - duplication 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 fo rmats. The information in this collection will not be available from another source. 3(b ) Public Notice EPA will provide opportunity for notice and comment regarding this ICR. 3( c ) Consultations We have drawn upon our experience with similar fuel s regulations and have utilized information available from the 200 7 Economic Census for Retail T rade which stated there were 115,223 retail stations in 200 7 to develop these estimates . The Economic Census is the official 5 - ye ar measure of American busines s. We have also utilized information available b y the U.S. Census Bureau Fact Finder2 which supplied us with the number of wholesale purchaser - consumer facilities in the U.S. New results are not schedule d for release until December 2013. The results of th e 200 7 estimates are being used in this collection. 3( d) Effects of Less Frequent Data Collection We very likel y have over - estimated the burden because we have used a conservative approach that assumes all parties may respond twice annuall y (i.e., we h ave assumed the maximum number of responses) . With regard to the testing option and retention of those records, we anticipate that 5% or fewer of respondents will be affected annually . Less frequent collection of data would make it impossible to carry out the provisions of the CAA and EP A ct. 3( e ) G eneral Guidelines This rule does not exceed any of the OMB guidelines.4 3(f) Confidentiality We inform respondents that they 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. Because of this, we are permitting reporting via e - mail. However, any i nformation c laimed as confidential will be treated in accordance with 40 CFR Part 2 and established Agency

procedures . Information th at 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. 3(g) Sensitive Information This information collection does not require submission of any sensitive information . 4. The Respondents and the Information Requested 4( a) Respondents with NAI CS /SI C Codes The respond ents to this information collection are:

 Retailers (including wholesale purchaser - consumers) Recordkeeping and reporting may be required b y the following industries, with 2002 NAICS Code indicated in parentheses :

 Gasoline stations (447)  Gasoline stations with convenience stores (447110)  Gasoline stations without convenience stores (447190) 4(b) In formation Requested 4 (i ) Reporting: Respondents who use the notification option will be sending a very

simple report that could take the form of a sh ort e - mail or similar communication . No form is to be developed, although we may consider developing a simple web based reporting interface for submission of the information, if that option is desired b y the respondent community .5 4( ii ) Recordkeep ing: Under the testing option, respondents must retain underlying records related to results of an y tests they perform for five years. We anticipate that 5% or fewer respondents will choose the testing option . The burden of retaining the testing results record i s small. 5. The Information Collected, Agency Activities, Collection Methodology, and In formation Management 5( a) Agency

Activities

 A ll notifications will be reviewed b y EPA. (Test results will be shown to EPA field compliance and enforcem ent personnel upon request.)  Notifications will be stored by EPA . 5(b ) Collection Methodology and Management Data will be collected b y industry and reported to EPA in the form of a simple e mail that identifies the service station and its address and i dentifies the tank where commingling will occur . As mentioned above, w e 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 estab lished Agency procedures for handling CBI. Information claimed as CBI will be stored in appropriatel y controlled areas. 5(c) Small Entity Flexibility This collection will not adversel y affect small entities. The whole purpose of the commingling provi sion of the EPAct is to provide flexibility . The actual estimated annual burden for a typical respondent who submits up to two notifications per year is $ 17 .00 and 0.50 hours (30 minutes) annually . 5( d) Collection Schedule We anticipate that notifications will be submitted no more than twice per year . 6. Estimating the Burden and Cost of Collection 6 ( a) Estimating the Respondent Burden We drew upon experience implementing similar regulations among the same entities to develop estimates of the burden associated with this collection. We consulted the 2008 Economic Census for Retail T rade to assist us in estimating the total number of retail stations . Since th e Economic Census for Retail Trade provided a nationwide6

estimate of 1 15 ,223 1 , we assumed 30% of that number for stations in RFG areas (since 30% of the gasoline market nationwide is RFG). The number used for stations in the RFG area will be 34,566.9 rounded up for ease of use (35,000). Although imperfect, we believe this is a reasonable estimate , and have applied similar logic in estimating the number of wholesale purchaser - consumers . The 200 7 Census Bureau Fact Finder2 reported that there are 20,202 wholesale purchaser - consumer facilities handling petroleum product. 2 For purposes of this I CR, we are multiplying this number by 0.30 to yi eld 6060.9 facilities. Adding our estimate of the number of retailers (35,000) and the number of wholesale purchaser - consum ers 6060.9 rounded to (6, 000) for ease of use gives us a collection of 41 ,000 respondent s. We believe this number to be on the high side in estimating actual respondents, but it does provide a reasonable benchmark. 6 (b) Estimating the Respondent Burden and Cost We used the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), May 20 11 National Ind ustrySpecific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates applicable to “NAI CS 44710

– Gasoline Stations ,” as the basis for our estimates. 3 We used the mean hourly salary for a first - line supervisor/manager of retail sales workers ($1 6 . 53 ), rounded this up to the next whole dollar amount ($1 7 .00), and doubled for company overhead beyond wages and benefits . This yield s an estimated hourly cost of $3 4 .00. There is no capitol and maintenance cost associated with this collection.

1 2007 E conomic Census for retail trad e at http://www.census.gov/econ/industry/current/c4471.htm 2 2007 U.S. Economic Census Bureau Fact Finder2 http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ECN_2007_US_00A1& prodType=table 3 “May 20 11 National Industry - Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates: NAIC S 44710

– Gasoline Stations;” Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) , under section sales and related occupations at http://www.bls.gov/oes/2008/may/naics4_447100.htm , accessed March 13, 20 13 .7 **Table 1. Respondent Burd**  **en Hours & Costs (Including Capital & Maintenance -**  **O&M)** Collection Activity Number of

Respondents Number of

Responses per Respondent Total Number of

Responses Hours per

Response & Cost per Response Total Hours

& Total Cost @ $ 17 /hour Total O&M Prepare and Submit Notification 41 ,000 2 82000 0.25

----- $ 4.25 20,500 hours

------ $ 348,500 0

Maintain Test Results Documents (assumes 5% of respondents test) 2 , 050 1 2050 0.25

----- $ 4 . 25 513 hours

------ $ 8712.50 0

**Total 43,050** 

**respondents** ---------- - **84,050 responses**  ----------- **2 1,**  **013 hours** 

**------ $**  **35 7**  **, 221**  **0**8 6(c) Estimating the 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 . 6( d) Estimating the Respondent Universe We were able to estimate the number of regulated entities drawing upon experience regulating the same entities and through the use of business and industry economic statistics. We consult ed the 2008 Economic Census for Retail T rade to assist us in estimating the total number of retail stations and the 2008 Census Bureau Fact Finder2 to assist in estimating the number of wholesale purchaser - consumer facilities handling petroleum product. 6( e ) Bottom L ine Burden Hours and Costs From Table 1 we estimate the following: TOTAL NO. OF REPORTS: 84,05 0 TOTAL BURDEN HOURS: 21,013 TOTAL COST: $ 35 7 , 221 6( f ) Reason for Change in Burden The change in burden from the prior I CR is due in part to better numbers extracted from business and industry economic statistics that assisted in calculating the numbers of respondents. These better numbers reduced the party size by 13,650 members. The number of responses also declined from 110,700 to 8 4,050 a difference of 26,650 reports which reduced the industry burden hours from 27,675 to 21,013. We also found that the original cost per response was overstated by a factor of 2. With the decline of respondents, burden hours and responses, and revisit cost per response, the cost to renew this ICR is $357,221 a difference of $528,379 calculated from the prior collection approved b y OMB. 6( g ) Burden Statement The average respondent burden in hours per response for this I CR is estimated at 0. 25 hours (15 minutes) . 4 The average annual respondent burden in hours for this I CR is estimated at 0.50 hours (30 minutes).

4 The average respondent burden per response is the total number of hours divided by the total number of re sponse s from Table 1 , rounded up for simplicity.9 Burden means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended b y persons to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or provide in formation 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 way s to compl y 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 numb er. The OMB control numbers for EPA's regulations are listed in 40 CFR Part 9 and 48 CFR Chapter 15. Send comments on the Agency ’s need for this information, the accuracy of the provided burden estimates, and any suggested methods for minimizing respondent burden, including through the use of automated collection techniques to the Director, OPPE Regulatory

Information Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2137) 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC; and to the Off ice of Information and Regulatory

Affairs, Office of Management of Budget, 725 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20503, Attention, Desk Officer for EPA. Be sure to include the EPA ICR number ( 2228 .0 4 ) in correspondence.