62592 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 226 / Monday, November 24, 1997 / Notices

Dated: November 18, 1997.

Michael B. Cook,

Director, Office of Wastewater Management.

[FR Doc. 97–30814 Filed 11–21–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–5927–1]

Agency Information Collection

Activities: Proposed Collection;

Comment Request; Regulation of

Fuels and Fuel Additives, Fuel Quality

Regulations for Highway Diesel Fuel

Sold in 1993 and Later Calendar Years

ICR Renewal

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: In compliance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.

3501 et seq.), this notice announces that

EPA is planning to submit the following

proposed and/or continuing Information

Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB):

Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives,

Fuel Quality Regulations for Highway

Diesel Fuel Sold in 1993 and Later

Calendar Years; EPA ICR # 1718.02;

OMB No. 2060–0308; expires 3/31/98.

Before submitting the ICR to OMB for

review and approval, EPA is soliciting

comments on specific aspects of the

proposed information collection as

described below.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on

or before January 23, 1998.

ADDRESSES: U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, Office of

Enforcement and Compliance

Assurance, Office of Regulatory

Enforcement (2242A), 401 M Street SW,

Washington, D.C. 20460. Copies of the

ICR can be obtained free of charge by

contacting Ervin Pickell as provided

below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ervin Pickell, Telephone: (303) 969–

6485; Facsimile number: (303) 969–

6490; E-MAIL:

pickell.erv@epamail.epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Affected entities: Entities potentially

affected by this action are those who act

as the transferor or the transferee of red

dyed low sulfur highway diesel fuel.

This is generally fuel terminals, truck

distributors of such product and tax

exempt end users.

Title: Regulation of Fuels and Fuel

Additives, Fuel Quality Regulations for

Highway Diesel Fuel Sold in 1993 and

Later Years (OMB Control number

2060–0308; EPA ICR # 1718.02.)

expiring 03/31/98.

Abstract: Section 211(g)(2) of the

Clean Air Act (CAA) provides that no

person shall introduce or cause or allow

the introduction into any motor vehicle

of diesel fuel which contains a

concentration of sulfur in excess of

0.05% by weight, or which fails to meet

a stated cetane index or an alternative

aromatic level to be prescribed by the

Administrator. Section 211(i) of the

CAA prohibits the manufacture, sale,

supply, transport or introduction into

commerce of motor vehicle diesel fuel

which fails to meet the quality

requirements. The Act required the

Administrator to promulgate regulations

to ‘‘implement and enforce’’ the quality

requirements. Congress specifically

provided that ‘‘The Administrator may

require manufacturers and importers of

diesel fuel not intended for use in motor

vehicles to dye such fuel * * * to

segregate it from motor vehicle diesel

fuel.’’ The regulatory requirements

promulgated by EPA are found at 40

CFR § 80.29. The dye requirement for

high sulfur fuel was required by EPA to

help enforce the requirement that only

low sulfur diesel be used for highway

vehicles. The dye is an important

deterrence to violating the

Congressionally mandated requirement,

especially given the very large economic

incentive to violate the law (high sulfur

diesel is cheaper to produce and there

are no highway taxes associated with it).

Because the Internal Revenue Service

promulgated a red dye requirement that

covers both untaxed high sulfur diesel

fuel (for off-road use) and untaxed low

sulfur highway diesel fuel sold to taxexempt entities, it was necessary for the

EPA to include in its dye provisions a

requirement that product transfer

documents for the relatively low volume

of dyed low sulfur fuel that is

introduced into commerce state that the

product is low sulfur tax exempt fuel.

Otherwise, the EPA dye requirement

would have been rendered meaningless

since the Agency would not have been

able to distinguish red dyed high sulfur

product from red dyed low sulfur tax

exempt product. EPA believes the

requirement is also useful to distributors

and end users in assuring their

compliance. Since the IRS, not the EPA,

requires the dye to be added to low

sulfur tax exempt diesel fuel, the only

EPA requirement subject to the ICR is

the requirement that the customary

business practice (CBP) product transfer

document from the terminal (where the

dye is added) to the tax exempt end user

state that the fuel is dyed low sulfur tax

exempt fuel. EPA allows industry to use

preprinted product codes to provide the

information. For this limited category of

diesel fuel transactions the

recordkeeping requirement is

mandatory and is authorized by section

211 of the CAA 42 U.S.C. 7545, section

114 of the CAA, 42 U.S.C. 7414 and

section 208 of the CAA, 42 U.S.C. 7542

and 40 CFR § 80.29. Confidentiality

provisions are found at 40 CFR Part 2.

The requirement, which has been in

effect for several years, imposes almost

no measurable annual burden on the

affected parties. The transfer documents

carrying the information are CBP

documents. The information is

preprinted and the truckers and end

users have no measurable hourly burden

associated with receiving and

maintaining these CBP documents. The

proposed ICR utilizes assumptions that

are only slightly different from the

original ICR. The burden statements

below mention the basic assumptions

used.

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.

In addition to this information, you

may obtain a copy of the draft ICR

supporting statement as provided above.

All parties that must maintain records

under the regulation have a 5 year

retention requirement.

The EPA would like to solicit

comments to:

(i) Evaluate whether the proposed

collection of information is necessary

for the proper performance of the

functions of the agency, including

whether the information will have

practical utility;

(ii) Evaluate the accuracy of the

agency’s estimate of the burden of the

proposed collection of information,

including the validity of the

methodology and assumptions used;

(iii) Enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and

(iv) Minimize the burden of the

collection of information on those who

are to respond, including through the

use of appropriate automated electronic,

mechanical, or other technological

collection techniques or other forms of

information technology, e.g., permitting

electronic submission of responses.

Burden Statement: For highway diesel

fuel terminals the dyed status of diesel

fuel is reflected in CBP documents that

were prepared before the diesel sulfur

rule was promulgated. There are about
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 226 / Monday, November 24, 1997 / Notices 62593

1,843 entities that add dye to low sulfur

non-taxed fuel. The frequency of

response is estimated to be about 170

loads of fuel released per year per

terminal. Total burden for all terminals

is about 87 hours per year. There are no

annual operating costs, purchased

service costs or capital costs.

Hourly burdens for truckers who

transport dyed low sulfur diesel fuel:

These parties transfer the CBP product

transfer documents, which is no change

from the business practice before the

rule’s requirement was promulgated.

There is no measurable hourly burden

per response. The proposed ICR

assumes that about 1,200 truckers haul

about 261 loads of non-taxed low sulfur

diesel fuel per year, and that the CBP

transfer documents that were used

before the diesel sulfur rule was

promulgated reflect the dyed status of

the diesel fuel. As a result, there are no

measurable additional operating costs,

purchased services or capital costs.

Hourly burdens for end users

(wholesale-purchaser-consumers of nontaxed low sulfur diesel fuel): These

parties receive the transfer documents

CBP. There is no measurable hourly

burden per response. The proposed ICR

assumes that about 20,000 end users

receive paperwork an average of about

15 times each. There are no measurable

operating costs, purchased services or

capital costs.

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.

Dated: November 7, 1997.

Sylvia K. Lowrance,

Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator,

Office of Enforcement and Compliance

Assurance.

[FR Doc. 97–30820 Filed 11–21–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–5926–4]

Clean Air Act Advisory Committee:

Accident Prevention Subcommittee

Meeting

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: The Clean Air Act section

112(r) required EPA to publish

regulations to prevent accidental

releases of chemicals and to reduce the

severity of those releases that do occur.

These accidental release prevention

requirements build on the chemical

safety work begun by the Emergency

Planning and Community Right-toKnow Act (EPCRA) which sets forth

requirements for industry, State and

local governments. On June 20, 1996,

EPA published the final rule for risk

management programs to address

prevention of accidental releases.

An estimated 66,000 facilities are

subject to this regulation based on the

quantity of regulated substances they

have on-site. Facilities that are subject

will be required to implement a risk

management program at their facility,

and submit a summary of this

information to a central location

specified by EPA. This information will

be helpful to State and local government

entities responsible for chemical

emergency preparedness and

prevention. It will also be useful to

environmental and community

organizations, and the public in

understanding the chemical risks in

their communities. In addition, we hope

the availability of this information will

stimulate a dialogue between industry

and the public to improve accident

prevention and emergency response

practices.

The Accident Prevention

Subcommittee was created in September

1996 to advise EPA’s Chemical

Emergency Preparedness and

Prevention Office (CEPPO) on these

chemical accident prevention issues,

specifically, section 112(r) of the Clean

Air Act.

DATES: The Accident Prevention

Subcommittee of the Clean Air Act

Advisory Committee will hold a public

meeting on December 17, 1997 from

8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at

the Hall of States (Room 383) located at

444 North Capitol St., NW, Washington

D.C., near Union Station. Members of

the public are welcome to attend in

person.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Members of the public desiring

additional information about this

meeting, should contact Karen

Shanahan, Designated Federal Official,

U.S. EPA (5104), 401 M. St., SW,

Washington DC 20460, via the Internet

at: shanahan.karen@epamail.epa.gov, by

telephone at (202) 260–2711 or FAX at

(202) 260–1686.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Agenda

I. Opening Remarks—Jim Makris (8:30–9:00)

II. Update on RMP*Info and RMP*Submit

(9:00–11:45)

III. Comments from the public (11:45–12:00)

IV. RMP Implementation Workgroup Update

(1:30–3:00)

V. Other Business (3:15–4:15)

VI. Comments from the public (4:15–4:30)

Members of the public who wish to

make a brief oral presentation in person

in Washington D.C. to the

Subcommittee at the December 17

meeting, must contact Karen Shanahan

in writing (by letter, fax, or email—see

previously stated information) no later

than December 10, 1997 in order to be

included on the agenda. Written

comments may be submitted to the

Accident Prevention Subcommittee up

through the date of the meeting. Please

address such material to Karen

Shanahan at the above address.

The Accident Prevention

Subcommittee expects that public

statements presented at its meetings will

not be repetitive or previously

submitted oral or written statements. In

general, opportunities for oral comment

will be limited to no more than three

minutes per speaker and no more than

thirty minutes total. Written comments

(twelve copies) received sufficiently

prior to a meeting date (usually one

week prior to a meeting or

teleconference), may be mailed to the

Subcommittee prior to its meeting.

Additional information on the

Accident Prevention Subcommittee and

Electronic Submission Workgroup are

available on the Internet at: http://

www.epa.gov/swercepp/acc-pre.html

If you would like to automatically

receive future information on the

Accident Prevention Subcommittee and

its Workgroups by email, please send an

email to Karen Shanahan at:

shanahan.karen@epamail.epa.gov

requesting to be put on the RMP email

list. Please include your name, address

and phone number.

Dated: November 19, 1997.

Karen Shanahan,

Designated Federal Official.

[FR Doc. 97–30819 Filed 11–21–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P