[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 84 (Monday, May 2, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25698-25700]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-09348]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket Number NHTSA-2022-0020]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Notice and Request for 
Comment; Labeling of Motor Vehicle Brake Fluid Containers

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice and request for comments on a reinstatement of a 
previously approved collection of information.

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SUMMARY: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 
invites public comments about its intention to request approval by the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to reinstate a previously 
approved information collection. Before a Federal agency can collect 
certain information from the public, it must receive approval from OMB. 
Under procedures established by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
before seeking OMB approval, Federal agencies must solicit public 
comment on proposed collections of information, including extensions 
and reinstatements of previously approved collections. This document 
describes a collection of information for which NHTSA intends to seek 
OMB approval on labeling of motor vehicle brake fluid containers.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted by July 1, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Docket No. NHTSA-2022-
0020 through any of the following methods:
    <bullet> Electronic submissions: Go to the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions 
for submitting comments.
    <bullet> Fax: (202) 493-2251.
    <bullet> Mail or Hand Delivery: Docket Management Facility, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, 
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, except on Federal holidays. To be sure someone is there 
to help you, please call (202) 366-9322 before coming.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and 
docket number for this notice. Note that all comments received will be 
posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any 
personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading 
below.
    Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all 
comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's 
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on 
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78) or you may visit https://www.transportation.gov/privacy.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov or the street 
address listed above. Follow the online instructions for accessing the 
dockets via internet.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or access 
to background documents, contact Joshua Fikentscher, Office of Crash 
Avoidance Standards, Vehicle Dynamics Division (NRM-220), (202) 366-
1688, Room W43-467, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 
Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. Please identify the relevant 
collection of information by referring to its OMB Control Number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), before an agency submits a proposed 
collection of information to OMB for approval, it must first publish a 
document in the Federal Register providing a 60-day comment period and 
otherwise consult with members of the public and affected agencies 
concerning each proposed collection of information. The OMB has 
promulgated regulations describing what must be included in such a 
document. Under OMB's regulation (at 5 CFR 1320.8(d)), an agency must 
ask for public comment on the following: (a) 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; (b) 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; (c) how to enhance 
the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; 
and (d) how to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including 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. In compliance with these requirements, NHTSA 
asks for public comments on the following proposed collection of 
information for which the agency is seeking approval from OMB.
    Title: Labeling of Motor Vehicle Brake Fluid Containers in 49 CFR 
571.116.
    OMB Control Number: 2127-0521.
    Form Number(s): N/A.
    Type of Request: Reinstatement of a previously approved collection 
of information.
    Type of Review Requested: Regular.
    Requested Expiration Date of Approval: 3 years from date of 
approval.

Summary of the Collection of Information

    The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act authorizes the 
Secretary of Transportation (NHTSA by delegation), at 49 U.S.C. 30111, 
to issue federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) that set 
performance standards for motor vehicles and items of motor vehicle 
equipment. Manufacturers of motor vehicles and items of motor vehicle 
equipment subject to the FMVSS are required, by 49 U.S.C. 30115, to 
certify to the distributor or dealer that the vehicle or equipment 
complies with the applicable standards. Certification of equipment may 
be shown by a label or tag on the equipment or on the outside of the 
container in which the equipment is delivered. Further, the Secretary 
(NHTSA by delegation) is authorized, at 49 U.S.C. 30117, to require 
manufacturers to provide information to first purchasers of motor 
vehicles or items of motor vehicle equipment related to performance and 
safety in printed materials that are attached to or accompany the motor 
vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment. Using this authority, the 
agency issued FMVSS No. 116, ``Motor vehicle brake fluids'', which 
specifies performance and design requirements for motor vehicle brake 
fluids and hydraulic system mineral oils. Section 5.2.2 of the standard 
specifies labeling requirements for manufacturers and packagers of 
brake fluids, as well as packagers of hydraulic system mineral oils. 
Certification of equipment must be shown by a label permanently affixed 
to the container, in any location except a removable part such as a 
lid.

[[Page 25699]]

Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use of the 
Information

    The properties of these fluids and their use necessitate the 
package labeling information specified in FMVSS No. 116. The 
information on the label of a container of motor vehicle brake fluid or 
hydraulic system mineral oil is necessary to ensure: The contents of 
the container are clearly stated; the source and packing identifiers 
are labeled; the fluids within the container are used for their 
intended purpose only; and the containers are stored correctly and not 
re-used when empty.
    To aid in the proper selection and use of brake fluids and 
hydraulic system mineral oils in motor vehicles and hydraulic 
equipment, the owners and operators of motor vehicles, vehicle service 
facilities, and hydraulic equipment operators use this labeling 
information. Proper vehicle brake performance is crucial to the safety 
of motor vehicle occupants and protection of property. Without this 
labeling requirement, there could be improper use or storage of these 
brake fluids, which would have dire safety consequences for the 
operators of vehicles or the equipment in which they are used.
    Affected Public: Manufacturers and packagers of brake fluids and 
hydraulic mineral oils.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 200.
    NHTSA estimates that there are approximately 200 manufacturers and 
packagers of brake fluid or hydraulic system mineral oil.
    Estimated Number of Responses: 70,000,000 labels.
    Frequency: On Occasion.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 8,000 hours.
    Labels are a standard part of fluid containers, even in the absence 
of a federal requirement for adding the safety and product information 
to the containers. Thus, the information required by FMVSS No. 116 
would be added to a label already existing to be placed on the 
container and the hour burden is minimal for adding the required 
information. NHTSA estimates that there are currently 200 manufacturers 
and packagers of brake fluid or hydraulic system mineral oil, and each 
respondent produces approximately 24 different label types. Assuming a 
5-year label redesign cycle, approximately 5 new or modified labels 
each year. The burden to design the layout of a label to include the 
additional information required by FMVSS 116 is estimated to require 8 
hours. NHTSA estimates the total annual burden for manufacturers/
packagers to produce labels to include the standard's information to be 
8,000 hours (5 labels x 8 hours x 200 respondents).
    The labor costs associated with these burden hours are derived by 
using hourly labor rates published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics 
(BLS). BLS estimates that hourly wages represent approximately 69.1% of 
total compensation for private industry workers.\1\ For the labor costs 
associated with the burden hours to design the labels to include the 
required information, NHTSA uses the mean hourly wage of $36.52 per 
hour for ``Technical Writers'' (occupational code 27-3042) \2\ and 
applies the 69.1% factor to find the total compensation rate of $52.85 
per hour ($36.52 per hour / 0.691). The total annual labor costs 
associated with the design of labels is estimated to be $422,800 (8,000 
burden hours x $52.85). The burden hours and associated labor costs are 
summarized in Table 1 below.
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    \1\ Employer Costs for Employee Compensation by ownership [Sept. 
2021], https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.t01.htm.
    \2\ May 2019 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment 
and Wage Estimates, NAICS 3250A1--Chemical Manufacturing, available 
at https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics4_3250A.htm#27-0000.

              Table 1--Estimated Annual Burden Hours and Labor Cost for Designing Labels To Include Information Pursuant to Sec.   571.116
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                                                                       Total annual                      Total annual
               Number of respondents                 Responses per     burden hours     Hourly labor    labor cost per    Total annual     Total annual
                                                          year        per respondent        cost          respondent      burden hours      labor cost
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200...............................................       70,000,00               40           $52.85           $2,114            8,000         $422,800
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    Estimated Total Annual Burden Cost: $80,500.
    Because labels are a standard part of fluid containers, even in the 
absence of a federal requirement to include FMVSS 116 information, 
there is no additional cost to affix the labels that include this 
information. The cost burden is an incremental cost of the ink, which 
NHTSA estimates to be $0.00115 per label, for adding the required 
information to a paper or plastic label and would be a small part of 
the total cost of the printing process used to produce the label.
    The cost estimate of $80,500 for the total annualized costs to the 
respondents for adding the FMVSS 116 information to the printing cost 
of an existing label is calculated by multiplying the average 350,000 
labels produced annually by each respondent (70,000,000 labels / 200 
respondents) by the estimated incremental cost of the ink per label 
($0.00115). Table 2 details the costs to add the information required 
pursuant to FMVSS 116 to container labels.

                              Table 2--Estimated Annual Costs for Labels To Include Information Pursuant to Sec.   571.116
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                                                                                         Number of
                                                                        Number of     labels produced  Incremental ink    Total annual     Total annual
                       Number of respondents                         labels produced    per year per    cost per label      cost per       incremental
                                                                         per year        respondent                        respondent          cost
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200................................................................      70,000,000          350,000         $0.00115          $402.50       $80,500.00
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[[Page 25700]]

    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of 
this information collection, including (a) whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the Department, including whether the information will 
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Department's estimate 
of the burden of the proposed information collection; (c) ways to 
enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be 
collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on respondents, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology. The agency will 
summarize and/or include your comments in the request for OMB's 
clearance of this information collection.
    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 
35, as amended; 49 CFR 1.95; and DOT Order 1351.29.

Raymond R. Posten,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 2022-09348 Filed 4-29-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P