63158 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 228 / Wednesday, November 26, 1997 / Notices

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–5928–1]

Agency Information Collection

Activities: Proposed Collection;

Emergency Clearance Request;

Comment Request; Four Private Party

Anecdotal Surveys Regarding

Prospective Purchaser Agreements

and Comfort/Status Letters

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 has submitted an emergency

clearance request for the following

proposed Information Collection

Request (ICR) to the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB): Four

Private Party Anecdotal Surveys

Regarding Prospective Purchaser

Agreements and Comfort/Status Letters,

EPA ICR Number 1837.01. The

emergency clearance request has been

submitted for emergency processing

within 14 days after publication in the

Federal Register. During this time

period, EPA is soliciting comments on

specific aspects of the proposed

information collection.

DATES: Please submit comments on or

before December 10, 1997.

ADDRESSES: U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, Office of Site

Remediation Enforcement, 401 M Street,

SW (MC 2273A), Washington, DC

20460. Interested persons may contact

Elisabeth Freed at (202) 564–5117 for a

copy of the ICR or see the EPA ICR

website at http://www.epa.gov/icr. Refer

to ICR Number 1837.01.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Elisabeth Freed, Office of Site

Remediation Enforcement, Policy and

Program Evaluation Division, (202) 564–

5117, (202) 564–0093 (fax),

freed.elisabeth@epamail.epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Affected entities: Entities potentially

affected by this action are those which

are non-government parties at sites

where Prospective Purchaser

Agreements and Comfort/Status Letters

have been issued, or at sites where they

have been sought, but not obtained.

These parties may include, but are not

limited to, lending officials, developers,

and attorney representatives of parties

to the site.

Title: Four Private Party Anecdotal

Surveys Regarding Prospective

Purchaser Agreements and Comfort/

Status Letters, EPA ICR Number

1837.01, [Proposed Information

Collection]

Abstract: In 1995, EPA issued

guidance and policies concerning the

use of Prospective Purchaser

Agreements and Comfort/Status Letters.

(See Guidance on Settlements with

Prospec-tive Purchasers of

Contaminated Property, published in

May of 1995 and Policy on the Issuance

of Comfort/Status Letters, published in

November of 1996). Since that date, EPA

has entered into 66 Prospective

Purchaser Agreements and issued more

than 200 Comfort/Status Letters. OSRE

will use four anecdotal surveys to

collect information from private parties

(non-govern-ment personnel) at sites

where Prospective Purchaser

Agreements and Comfort/Status Letters

have been issued, or where they have

been sought but not obtained. OSRE will

use the information collected to

evaluate the effectiveness of the

guidance on Prospective Purchaser

Agreements and the Comfort/Status

Letter policy. Responses to this

information collection are strictly

voluntary, and the information

collection is a one-time effort. OSRE

will ensure the confidenti-ality of the

responses to the information collection

by employing contractor support to

collect the information and by limiting

access to individual responses to EPA

personnel overseeing the information

collection. Using contractors to collect

the information through telephone

surveys is expected to increase the

candor of the responses. Contractors

will transcribe responses onto survey

forms and will assist in compiling and

analyzing the information. Only EPA

personnel overseeing this information

collection will have access to individual

responses. All other personnel, as well

as other interested parties, will be

limited to examining only compiled

summaries of data. This process will

safeguard the confidentiality of the

information. All contractors involved in

the information collection have signed

non-disclosure statements and Conflict

of Interest assessments. These

documents ensure that the contractors

have examined the information

collection assignment for possible

conflicts of interest and have found

none. They also ensure that contractors

will not reveal any information they

collect while conducting the surveys.

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.

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: This information

collection is estimated to cost $28,882

and take 1048 hours. Note that although

four survey instruments will be used in

this information collection, each

respondent will be asked to respond to

only one survey instrument. Which

instrument they will receive will be

determined by their site type (site type

is defined as participant or nonparticipant) and whether a Prospective

Purchaser Agreement or a Comfort/

Status Letter was involved at the site.

There will be approximately 600

respondents, with an average response

time of 36 minutes. This is a one-time

information collection, and

participation is strictly voluntary. Of the

anticipated 1048 hours required for the

information collection, 650 are

estimated as EPA burden, and 398 are

estimated as respondent burden. 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.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 228 / Wednesday, November 26, 1997 / Notices 63159

1The DDC 6V92TA MUI upgrade kit was certified

by EPA on October 2, 1995 (60 FR 51472). The DDC

6V92TA DDECII upgrade kit was certified by EPA

on July 19, 1996 (61 FR 37738).

Dated: November 20, 1997.

Leslie A. Jones,

Acting Branch Chief of Site Remediation

Enforcement, Policy Guidance Branch.

[FR Doc. 97–31141 Filed 11–25–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–5927–9]

Retrofit/Rebuild Requirements for 1993

and Earlier Model Year Urban Buses;

Approval of a Notification of Intent to

Certify Equipment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency.

ACTION: Notice of Agency Certification

of Equipment for the Urban Bus

Retrofit/Rebuild Program.

SUMMARY: The Agency received a

notification of intent to certify

equipment signed March 11, 1997 from

Nelson Industries, Inc., Nelson Division

(Nelson) with principal place of

business at 1801 Highway 51 West, P.O.

Box 428, Stoughton, WI, 53589 for

certification of urban bus retrofit/

rebuild equipment pursuant to 40 CFR

85.1401 through 85.1415. The

equipment is applicable to petroleumfueled Detroit Diesel Corporation (DDC)

two-stroke/cycle engines originally

installed in urban buses from model

year 1979 to model year 1993, excluding

the DDC 6L71TA 1990 model year

engines, all alcohol fueled engines, and

models which were manufactured with

particulate trap devices. In addition, the

equipment is applicable to engines

which have been previously rebuilt

using the certified DDC 6V92TA MUI or

DDECII upgrade kits.1 On July 11, 1997,

EPA published a notice in the Federal

Register that the notification had been

received and made the notification

available for public review and

comment for a period of 45-days (62 FR

37228). EPA received no comments in

response to that Federal Register notice.

Subsequently, EPA has completed its

review of this notification, and the

Director of the Engine Programs and

Compliance Division has determined

that it meets all the requirements for

certification. Accordingly, EPA certified

this equipment in a letter to Nelson

Industries dated October 14, 1997.

The certified equipment provides 25

percent or greater reduction in exhaust

emissions of particulate matter (PM) for

the engines for which it is certified. In

addition, this equipment is certified as

complying with a life cycle cost limit of

$2,000 or less (in 1992 dollars).

The Nelson notification, as well as

other materials specifically relevant to

it, are contained in Public Docket A–93–

42, category XIX, entitled ‘‘Certification

of Urban Bus Retrofit/Rebuild

Equipment’’. This docket is located in

room M–1500, Waterside Mall (Ground

Floor), U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency, 401 M Street SW, Washington,

DC 20460.

Docket items may be inspected from

8:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., Monday

through Friday. As provided in 40 CFR

Part 2, a reasonable fee may be charged

by the Agency for copying docket

materials.

DATES: The effective date of certification

is October 14, 1997, established in a

letter from EPA to Nelson Industries.

This certified equipment may be used

immediately by urban bus operators.

The impact of this certification on

transit operators is discussed in more

detail in section IV of today’s notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom

Stricker, Engine Compliance Programs

Group, Engine Program and Compliance

Division (6403J), U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, 401 M St. SW,

Washington, D.C. 20460. Telephone:

(202) 564–9322.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

By a notification of intent to certify

signed March 11, 1997, Nelson applied

for certification of equipment applicable

to petroleum-fueled Detroit Diesel

Corporation (DDC) two-cycle engines

originally installed in an urban bus from

model year 1979 to model year 1993,

excluding the DDC 6L71TA 1990 model

year engines and models which were

manufactured with particulate trap

devices or alcohol fueled. In addition,

Nelson requested certification for

engines rebuilt using the certified DDC

6V92TA MUI or DDECII upgrade kits

when the CEM is installed at the same

time as the DDC rebuild kit. The

notification of intent to certify states

that the equipment being certified is a

catalytic exhaust muffler (Nelson

converter), packaged as a direct

replacement for the muffler. The

application demonstrates that the

candidate equipment provides a 25

percent or greater reduction in

emissions of particulate matter (PM) for

petroleum fueled diesel engines relative

to an original engine configuration with

no after treatment installed.

Certification is applicable to engines

that are rebuilt to original specifications,

or in-use engines that are not rebuilt at

the time the Nelson converter is

installed provided the engine is

calibrated to meet the original

manufacturer’s specifications and meets

engine oil consumption limits specified

by Nelson. According to Nelson, a 6-

cylinder engine that uses more than

one-and-a-half quarts of oil per 10 hours

of operation, or an 8-cylinder engine

that uses more than 2.0 quarts of oil per

10 hours of operation, must be rebuilt.

The Nelson Converter is certified for use

on engines rebuilt using new DDC

certified rebuild kits only in those

instances where the Nelson converter is

installed at the same time the DDC

rebuild kit is installed on the engine.

Using engine dynamometer testing in

accordance with the Federal Test

Procedure for heavy-duty diesel

engines, Nelson documented a 53% PM

reduction for the test engine retrofit

with the Nelson Converter compared to

a standard rebuild. The test engine with

the certified retrofit equipment installed

complies with applicable Federal

emission standards for hydrocarbon

(HC), carbon monoxide (CO), oxides of

nitrogen (NOX), and smoke emissions in

addition to demonstrating reductions in

PM exhaust emissions.

Table A below lists the engine models

covered by this certification, and the PM

level to which each model is certified.

The Nelson equipment is certified to

reduce PM emissions by 25 percent. The

certification level (shown as ‘‘PM Level

with Converter’’ in Table A) represents

a 25 percent reduction in PM emissions

compared to the pre-rebuild PM level

shown in the table at 40 CFR Section

85.1403(c)(1)(iii)(A).

TABLE A.—CERTIFICATION LEVELS

Engine models Model year

PM level

with converterCode Family

6V92TA MUI 2 ................................................................................... 1979–87 0.38 All All.