25032 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 87 /Wednesday, May 6, 1998 / Notices

one experimental session and each

experimental session will last

approximately 1.25 hours inclusive of

time to sign informed-consent forms,

answer questionnaires, read

experimental instructions and record

decisions. Since subjects are located at

the site, travel time will be negligible.

Moreover, the recruitment burden will

be negligible, so no separate burden

estimate is calculated. Hence, the

estimated burden for these experiments

is 325 hours. Total burden for the pilot

study is thus 1149 hours. Labor costs

were estimated based on the Bureau of

Labor Statistics April 18, 1997 release of

weekly earnings of wage and salary

workers. Using median earnings ($504/

wk), the total burden cost is estimated

at $14,477.

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: April 30, 1998.

Melonie B. Williams,

Economist.

[FR Doc. 98–12035 Filed 5–5–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–U

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–6009–5]

Air Pollution Control; Proposed Action

on Clean Air Act Grant to the South

Coast Air Quality Management District

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed determination with

request for comments and notice of

opportunity for public hearing.

SUMMARY: The U.S. EPA has made a

proposed determination that reductions

in expenditures of non-Federal funds for

the South Coast Air Quality

Management District (SCAQMD) in

Diamond Bar, California are a result of

non-selective reductions in

expenditures. This determination, when

final, will permit the SCAQMD to be

awarded financial assistance for FY–98

by EPA, under section 105(c) of the

Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: Comments and/or requests for a

public hearing must be received by EPA

at the address stated below by June 5,

1998.

ADDRESSES: All comments and/or

requests for a public hearing should be

mailed to: R. Michael Stenburg, Grants

and Program Integration Office (Air-8),

Air Division, U.S. EPA Region IX, 75

Hawthorne Street, San Francisco,

California 94105–3901; FAX (415) 744–

1076.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: R.

Michael Stenburg, Grants and Program

Integration Office (Air-8), Air Division,

U.S. EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne

Street, San Francisco, California 94105–

3901 at (415) 744–1182.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the

authority of Section 105 of the CAA,

EPA provides financial assistance

(grants) to the SCAQMD, whose

jurisdiction includes Los Angeles and

Orange Counties in southern California,

to aid in the operation of its air

pollution control programs. In FY–97,

EPA awarded the SCAQMD $4,844,967,

which represented approximately 5.1%

of the SCAQMD’s budget.

Section 105(c)(1) of the CAA, 42

U.S.C. 7405(c)(1), provides that ‘‘[n]o

agency shall receive any grant under

this section during any fiscal year when

its expenditures of non-Federal funds

for recurrent expenditures for air

pollution control programs will be less

than its expenditures were for such

programs during the preceding fiscal

year. In order for [EPA] to award grants

under this section in a timely manner

each fiscal year, [EPA] shall compare an

agency’s prospective expenditure level

to that of its second preceding year.’’

EPA may still award financial assistance

to an agency not meeting this

requirement, however, if EPA, ‘‘after

notice and opportunity for public

hearing, determines that a reduction in

expenditures is attributable to a nonselective reduction in the expenditures

in the programs of all Executive branch

agencies of the applicable unit of

Government.’’ CAA section 105(c)(2).

These statutory requirements are

repeated in EPA’s implementing

regulations at 40 CFR 35.210(a).

In its FY–98 § 105 grant application

the SCAQMD projected MOE of

$63,763,496. This amount represents a

shortfall of $11,450,587 from the actual

FY–97 MOE of $75,214,083. In order for

the SCAQMD to be eligible to be

awarded its FY–98 grant, EPA must

make a determination under § 105(c)(2).

The SCAQMD is a single-purpose

agency whose primary source of funding

is emission fee revenue. It is the ‘‘unit

of Government’’ for § 105(c)(2)

purposes. The SCAQMD submitted

documentation to EPA which shows

that over the last six years emission

reductions brought on by a combination

of regulated and voluntary emission

reductions and actions to minimize fee

increases on businesses have reduced

fee revenues from stationary sources

from a high of $66,914,362 in 1991–

1992 to approximately $50,724,900 in

1997–1998. As a result, the SCAQMD

has instituted hiring/salary freezes,

furloughs, and layoffs, has reduced its

equipment purchases and contract

expenditures, and has instituted new

programs to reduce costs such as permit

streamlining, computer-assisted permit

processing, and privatization efforts.

Therefore, the SCAQMD’s MOE

reduction resulted from a loss of fee

revenues due to circumstances beyond

its control. EPA proposes to determine

that the SCAQMD’s lower FY–98 MOE

level meets the § 105(c)(2) criteria as

resulting from a non-selective reduction

of expenditures. Pursuant to 40 CFR

35.210, this determination will allow

the SCAQMD to be awarded financial

assistance for FY–98.

This notice constitutes a request for

public comment and an opportunity for

public hearing as required by the Clean

Air Act. All written comments received

by June 5, 1998 on this proposal will be

considered. EPA will conduct a public

hearing on this proposal only if a

written request for such is received by

EPA at the address above by June 5,

1998.

If no written request for a hearing is

received, EPA will proceed to the final

determination. While notice of the final

determination will not be published in

the Federal Register, copies of the

determination can be obtained by

sending a written request to R. Michael

Stenburg at the above address.

Dated: April 20, 1998.

Steven Frey,

Acting Director, Air Division, U.S. EPA,

Region 9.

[FR Doc. 98–12031 Filed 5–5–98; 8:45 am]

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