Document ID: EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0690-0008
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2014-09-26T04:00Z

Draft

Supporting Statement

for

Information Collection Request

EPA’s Light-Duty In-Use Vehicle Testing Program (Renewal)

EPA ICR 0222.10

OMB Control No: 2060-0086

September, 2014

Compliance Division 

Office of Transportation and Air Quality 

Office of Air and Radiation 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Section 1: Identification of the Information Collection

1(a) Title and Number of the Information Collection

	EPA’s Light-Duty In-Use Vehicle Testing Program (Renewal), EPA ICR
Number 0222.10, OMB Control Number 2060-0086.  This ICR was formerly
titled “EPA’s In-Use Vehicle and Engine Testing Programs.” This
renewal includes only the light-duty vehicle portion of the in-use
testing program. The heavy-duty and off-road vehicle and engine programs
are included in  ICR 1684, OMB 2060-0287. 

1(b) Short Characterization/Abstract 

	The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Transportation and
Air Quality, Compliance Division, conducts an integrated motor vehicle
and engine emission compliance program.  Motor vehicles and engines are
first evaluated as prototypes prior to production; those designs that
meet applicable criteria are licensed for introduction into commerce. 
EPA also has discretion to conduct assembly line testing of new vehicles
and engines as well as to test emissions of in-use vehicles and engines.
 This Information Collection Request covers inquiries directed at the
owners/lessees of in-use light-duty motor vehicles to see if their
specific vehicles are suitable for an EPA in-use testing investigation
and the paperwork burdens attendant upon election to participate. 

	The light-duty program can be broken down into three closely-related
headings. The first is the surveillance testing program, with the
possibility of a compliance testing phase. The second is a small program
testing the functioning of onboard diagnostics (OBD) systems on in-use
vehicles, which is simply additional testing on a subset of vehicles
already recruited for the surveillance program. Finally, budget
permitting, there are other occasional one-time “special
investigations” spot-check tests of vehicles to address specific
issues. An example of a special investigation might be procurement of a
class of vehicles to test compatibility with a particular portable
emissions monitoring (PEM) unit. Special investigations are similar to
testing of that portion of surveillance classes that has have been
selected to address a specific informational need.  Because they use the
same procurement system as the surveillance and OBD programs, these
special investigations should be accounted for in this collection
request, although the number of such tests will vary. 

	Light-duty testing typically includes standard emissions test cycles
and standard OBD tests performed at EPA’s facility in Ann Arbor. The
primary purpose of these programs is informational: to give EPA and
manufacturer engineers intelligence regarding emissions performance for
in-use vehicles. Manufacturers are involved at every step of the ongoing
light-duty programs: they are informed of the surveillance tests, can be
present during vehicle preparation and testing, are given test results,
and participate in post-failure investigations. The testing supplements
information from the manufacturers’ own discretionary in-use testing
programs as well as the mandatory reporting under the manufacturers’
In-Use Vehicle Program (IUVP) under 40 CFR §§1845–1847. 

	The light-duty program entails two formalized information collections.
Participation in the information collections, as well as the vehicle
evaluation, is strictly voluntary. (The actual solicitation of
information is conducted by EPA’s contractor.)  First, 25 to 50
owners/lessees of the vehicles of interest who are located within about
70 miles of Ann Arbor are randomly selected from the owner list of
vehicles obtained from the Michigan Secretary of State and sent a letter
with a reply form and return envelope to accept or decline the
invitation to participate (Attachments II, III, and IV).  After a
suitable time for response, all positive respondents are considered for
inclusion and contacted. If the owner/lessee is reached and willing, a
telephone questionnaire is conducted that asks about a half-dozen
questions concerning vehicle condition and maintenance (see Attachment
V). The first three who successfully complete the telephone
questionnaire provide the vehicles for the surveillance class. The
vehicles are brought to EPA’s testing facility and tested.  If there
are any test failures in the first three vehicles or engines, then two
more are recruited in the same manner. Additional groups of potential
participants will be contacted if necessary until the required three or
five vehicles have been obtained.

	Information collected is used to insure that vehicles procured meet
relevant criteria.  For example, the vehicle should not have been
tampered with or have other overt problems.  Special testing
investigations and particular vehicle types may have additional or
alternative criteria. 

	Those who elect to participate are asked if they are willing to provide
their maintenance records for copying. Doing so is voluntary and has no
effect on eligibility. At the time of delivery or pick-up, participants
go over the telephone questionnaire answers and sign a notarized
statement that the answers are correct. They sign a test agreement and
for a cash incentive and, if elected, a loaner car agreement. Upon
surrendering their vehicle, they sign a vehicle release.

	As part of the surveillance process, EPA attempts to determine the
cause of any test failures. Post-test “special maintenance” involves
close examination of the vehicle, nearly always with manufacturer
participation. This may produce relevant information about the cause of
the failure. Surveillance test data are also supplemented with
information from manufacturer application test data, EPA certification
confirmatory test rest results, defect reports, service bulletins, CARB 
(California Air Resources Board) warranty reports, state
Inspection/Maintenance (I/M) information, manufacturer service
technician bulletins, and the results of the manufacturers’ IUVP tests
submitted to EPA and their own in-use testing results.
Manufacturers/importers are involved in the process from the outset, and
receive all test results, including test failures. The process of
identifying problems is collaborative and cooperative in nearly all
cases.  

	If EPA believes that a recall is indicated, and the
manufacturer/importer agrees that EPA's conclusion is valid, it will
agree to conduct a voluntary recall.  However, if questions remain, EPA
has procedures in place to run the compliance test phase with continued
manufacturer involvement. Even at this stage the inferences are
informational rather than statistical: to identify, based on engineering
judgment, the appropriate population to which the problem applies,
identify the cause of the problem, resolve issues regarding the testing
protocols and results, etc. The process has not been adversarial in
recent years.  

	Based on information gathered from all sources, EPA can make an
administrative finding mandating recall and repair of in-use vehicles if
it determines that “a substantial number” of vehicles in a class or
category do not comply with the emissions requirements as a result of
its own in-use testing program. In reality, such a determination will be
based on information from a variety of sources that may or may not
include EPA in-use testing. Such findings are subject to the
Administrative Procedures Act and are reviewable in court under the
“substantial evidence” test (5 USC §706(2)(E)), which is restated
in the “substantial evidence” standard in the Clean Air Act for
ordering recalls. 

	Procurement of light duty vehicles for a compliance testing phase is
similar to that for the surveillance phase, except that EPA may make
several attempts to contact an owner/lessee by telephone or mail;
participants in the surveillance phase are screened out.

	Over the last few fiscal years an estimated average of 120 vehicle
in-use testing actions were conducted by EPA.  No OBD actions were
conducted. Adding an allowance for about 10 special investigation
vehicles (the number is expected to vary from year to year) and the
possibility of 30 confirmatory classes, the estimate here is 160
procured vehicle actions, corresponding to 3,917 contacts and 164
telephone interview and/or other follow-up participant contacts.
Assuming that 3,917 contacts/respondents spend an average of 7.74
minutes, this collection imposes a burden of 505 hours annually.  This
collection has no respondent recordkeeping requirements.  

Section 2: Need for and Use of the Collection

2(a) Need/Authority for the Collection

	Under Title II of the Clean Air Act, (42 U.S.C. §7521 et seq.),
manufacturers of motor vehicles and engines are required to design and
build vehicles which will comply with emission standards throughout
their useful lives.  ("Useful life" is defined by statute and
regulation; it varies by type of vehicle or engine.)  Pursuant to
section Clean Air Act section 207(c) (42 USC §7541), EPA is responsible
for monitoring compliance and investigating possible noncompliance with 
emission standards.  



	In order to fulfill this function, it is necessary for EPA to test
actual "in-use" vehicles; these vehicles must be obtained from their
owners/lessees.  As part of the procurement process, EPA must determine
that the vehicle is within the useful life and that it has been
“properly maintained and used”.  In order to do this, EPA must make
a limited inquiry of the owner/lessees who are willing to participate;
see Attachment V for an example telephone questionnaire. 

2(b) Practical Utility/Users of the Data

	EPA needs the information from the vehicle owner/lessee to determine
that the vehicle is within its “useful life” and that it has been
“properly maintained and used.”  EPA’s Compliance Division, Office
of Transportation and Air Quality, is the prime user of this
information. Manufacturers whose models are being tested receive a copy
of the file on the vehicle to be tested, identified by a “vehicle
control number.” Manufacturers are informed of pre-test maintenance
and test dates and receive all test results. They also participate in
post-test “special maintenance” to investigate failures.

Section 3:  Nonduplication, Consultations, and Other Collection Criteria

 

3(a)Nonduplication

	The information obtained from the vehicle owner/lessee is unique to
that specific vehicle; it is not obtainable from any other source. There
is no other information available, in either public or private
databases, that will adequately serve the program purposes. (Some
vehicle maintenance information, such as warranty repairs and scheduled
maintenance done at dealers’ outlets, is available from manufacturers
and commercial automotive data services, and such information may be
supplied by manufacturers in their own interests or as queried by EPA.
However, it is not a substitute for owners’/lessees’ own records.)
Additionally, there are no other similar government programs which would
allow sharing of data. 

3(b) Public Notice Prior to ICR Submission to OMB

	EPA will solicit public comment by means of a Federal Register Notice.

3(c) Consultations

	In preparing this ICR, EPA consulted with two of its contractors, Ms.
Kim Cieslak and Mr. Stephen Prothro, (734) 214-4568. (EPA’s contractor
procures and maintains in-use passenger cars and light duty trucks.). 
Ms. Cieslak mails out the procurement letters and conducts the telephone
interviews; she was asked to monitor how much time the interviews
required.  She determined the average to be 20 minutes for surveillance
questionnaires and 50 minutest for confirmatory questionnaires. Stephen
Prothro is her supervisor. 

3(d) Effects of Less Frequent Collection

	Information is collected only once per vehicle evaluation; less
frequent collection is not possible.

 

3 (e) General Guidelines

	This information collection activity complies with the requirements of
5 CFR 1320.5(d)(2).

3 (f) Confidentiality

 	Information gathered from light-duty respondents is stored in
contractor files. These records, including names and social security
numbers needed for those who accept payment over $599, are completely
segregated from test results which are separately handled and stored by
EPA. Respondent information is handled and stored by the contractors and
two EPA representatives.  It is not available to the public.  Test
results are tracked by vehicle control number and are shared with
manufacturers by email automatically; they are available to the public. 
This information collection has completed a Privacy Impact Assessment,
which has been approved by EPA’s privacy office. The system has been
assigned System of Records EPA-60.

 

3(g) Sensitive Questions

	No sensitive questions are asked in this information collection.

Section 4. Respondents and Information Requested

4(a) Respondents/SIC & NAICS Codes

	The respondents are individual vehicle owners/lessees of any regulated
vehicle or engine regulated by EPA under the Clean Air Act (No NAICS
code).

4(b) Information Requested

(i) Data items

	Respondents who receive EPA’s initial request (see Attachments II and
III and IV) are asked to supply the following information on a form via
a postage paid return envelope; participation is entirely voluntary:

	Do they own/lease the desired vehicle; verify the make and model

Current odometer reading

Are they the original owner/lessee

Transmission type

Are they interested in participating; how EPA should contact them.

	Those who indicate they wish to be considered for participation are
asked for additional information:

Has the odometer malfunctioned and, if so, for how long was it
inoperative

Has the vehicle catalyst ever been replaced

Do they have maintenance records; would they allow EPA to review and
copy them 

	There are no recordkeeping requirements associated with this
collection.

(ii) Respondent Activities

	Responses to the request for participation and information collection
are strictly voluntary.

	Those wishing to participate are asked to fill out a postage-paid
information form.  Some are then contacted by telephone to obtain the
additional information listed above.  Vehicles that will be evaluated
are brought to EPA’s facility for testing. The owners/lessees receive
a cash incentive for each day EPA keeps the vehicle or a lesser cash
incentive and, if requested, a late model loaner car with a full tank of
gas and unlimited mileage for the duration of the testing, which usually
takes two to four weeks. 

	Most of the information requested is known by the owner/lessee; some
information might have to be obtained by simple vehicle or engine
inspection or by reference to maintenance records (if available).

Section 5: The Information Collected--Agency Activities, Collection
Methodology, and Information Management

5(a) Agency Activities

	Agency staff typically have no involvement in gathering the
information, as that task is done by an EPA contractor.   However, on
occasion, staff are required to answer specific questions that arise
during the information gathering process. Agency staff may review the
final telephone questionnaire for completeness as well as potential
issues relevant to the vehicle being evaluated. Agency staff select the
vehicle classes to be tested, view test results, and participate in
discussions with manufacturers relating to the testing preparations and
results. 

5(b) Collection Methodology and Management

	Information is obtained via mailed responses and telephone interviews;
it is stored in a vehicle file.  The information is reviewed to see if
the specific vehicle or engine meets the criteria for evaluation.  The
file is typically maintained for five years and then destroyed.

	

5(c) Small Entity Flexibility

	The information requested is completely voluntary and imposes no
mandatory burden on any respondent. The information collected is the
minimum necessary to assure that vehicles meet the criteria for
evaluation.  Therefore, there can be no process which reduces the burden
on small entities.

5(d) Collection Schedule

	Information is collected on a continuous basis.  The number of
solicitations mailed out in a given time frame is a function of
available test capacity and how difficult a particular vehicle type is
to procure. 

Section 6.Estimating the Burden and Cost of the Collection

6(a) Estimating Respondent Burden

	As explained above, EPA’s contractor estimated that each telephone
interview takes, on average, approximately 20 minutes for surveillance
questionnaires and 50 minutes for confirmatory questionnaires. 
Subsequent information-related burdens for participants (such as
reviewing and attesting to the telephone questionnaire answers and
supplying maintenance records voluntarily) upon delivery of light-duty
vehicles, is estimated at 40 minutes. We estimate that the initial
contact burden by letter to average 5 minutes. 

6(b) Estimating Respondent Costs

(i) Estimating labor costs.

	There is no typical individual owner/lessee; they represent the average
person who acquires or owns a vehicle or engine.  For this analysis we
assume a cost of $22.33 per hour, based on the mean hourly wage for All
Occupations, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics,  May 2013 National
Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates, United States, 

 (http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#00-0000, accessed September
4, 2014). The annual labor cost is therefore $11,277.

(ii) Estimating Capital and Operations and Maintenance Costs

	This collection has no capital, operations or maintenance costs.

(iii) Start-up Costs 

	This collection has no start-up costs.

6(c) Estimating Agency Burden

	EPA uses contractor employees to collect essentially all the
information covered by this information collection request. The most
recent annual contractor costs for the light duty testing component was
approximately $752,000. An estimated 1.5 EPA employees oversee the
programs at an annual cost of $214,300. The total estimated Agency cost
is $966,300 per year.

6(d) Estimating the Respondent Universe and Total Burden and Costs

	From the above discussion the following total burden and cost estimates
can be calculated as presented below.

6(e) Bottom Line Burden Hours and Cost

(i) Respondent Tally

Program	Vehicles/Engines	Initial Contacts    	Burden @ 5 min ea.(min)
Participant Contacts	Burden @ 60 min ea (min)

LD Surveillance	120	2938	14690	120	7200

OBD Surveillance	0	0	0	0	0

Special	10	245	1225	14	840

	Burden @ 90 min ea (min)

LD Confirmatory	30	735	3673	30	2700

Total	160	3917	19588	164	10740

Total burden (hrs)

	505

	

There are no respondent, operating, capital, or startup costs associated
with this collection. 

 

(ii) Agency tally

EMPLOYEES 	1.5 (directly involved in information collection) 

COST    		$966,300

6(f) Reasons for change in burden

	The changes in burden, a decrease of 368 responses and 16 hours, are
due to an adjustment of testing estimates based on the number and type
of testing that has been conducted in this program over the past few
years. 

6(g) Burden Statement

	The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this
collection of information is estimated to average approximately 505
hours per year; 7.74 minutes on average for each owner/lessee who
receives a solicitation to participate.   This estimate includes the
time to review the solicitation material, complete the reply
correspondence, complete the telephone questionnaire for the subset
contacted, and complete paperwork for delivery and pickup of
participating vehicles and for monetary compensation.  Participation is
completely voluntary. 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 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 regulation are listed in 40 CFR part
9 and 48 CFR chapter 15.

	To comment on the Agency's need for this information, the accuracy of
the provided burden estimates, and any suggested methods for minimizing
respondent burden, including the use of automated collection techniques,
EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID Number
EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0690, which is available for online viewing at  
HYPERLINK "http://www.regulations.gov"  www.regulations.gov , or in
person viewing at the EPA Docket Center, EPA/DC, WJC West, Room 3334,
1301 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC.  The Public Reading Room is
open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal
holidays. The telephone number for the Public Reading Room is (202)
566–1744. An electronic version of the public docket is available at  
HYPERLINK "http://www.regulations.gov"  www.regulations.gov .  This site
can be used to submit or view public comments, access the index listing
of the contents of the public docket, and to access those documents in
the public docket that are available electronically.  When in the
system, select “search,” then key in the Docket ID Number identified
above.  Also, you can send comments to the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th Street,
NW, Washington, D.C. 20503, Attention: Desk Officer for EPA.  Please
include the EPA Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0690 and OMB Control
Number 2060-0086 in any correspondence.

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