Document ID: EPA-HQ-OAR-2003-0107-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2003-05-01T04:00Z

INFORMATION
COLLECTION
REQUEST
(
ICR)
United
States
Environmental
Protection
Agency
(
EPA)
Part
A
of
the
Supporting
Statement
(
July
2001)

1.
IDENTIFICATION
OF
THE
INFORMATION
COLLECTION
1(
a)
Title:
Tax­
exempt
(
Dyed)
Highway
Diesel
Fuel:
Requirements
for
Transferors
and
Transferees
(
40
CFR
80.29(
c))
EPA
ICR
No.
1718.03,
OMB
Control
Number
2060­
0308
1(
b)
Abstract
In
section
211(
g)
and
211(
i)
of
the
Clean
Air
Act
(
Act),
Congress
mandated
that
diesel
fuel
used
in
motor
vehicles
("
highway
diesel
fuel")
must
meet
certain
quality
standards,
including
a
limitation
on
sulfur
content.
The
Act
required
EPA
to
promulgate
and
enforce
a
rule
to
implement
the
statutory
requirements.
The
Act
specifically
provides
that
EPA
may
require
that
high
sulfur
diesel
fuel
("
off­
road
diesel
fuel")
be
dyed
to
aid
in
keeping
the
fuels
segregated.
The
dye
allows
parties
in
the
fuel
distribution
chain
and
the
EPA
to
readily
detect
whether
fuel
is
high
sulfur
diesel
or
low
sulfur
diesel.
Because
of
an
Internal
Revenue
Service
(
IRS)
requirement
that
certain
tax­
exempt
low
sulfur
diesel
fuel
also
be
dyed
(
see
further
explanation
in
2(
a)
below),
EPA,
in
its
rule,
required
parties
who
transfer
dyed
low
sulfur
highway
diesel
fuel
to
include
a
notice
on
the
customary
business
transfer
document
that
states
the
product
is
tax­
exempt
fuel
that
meets
EPA
highway
diesel
fuel
standards.
This
allows
EPA
and
parties
in
the
distribution
chain
to
make
use
of
the
EPA
dye
requirement
despite
the
IRS
requirement
that
would
otherwise
make
the
presence
of
dye
ambiguous
in
meaning
for
EPA
purposes.
Approximately
2,000
facilities,
generally
diesel
fuel
terminals,
dye
tax­
exempt
low
sulfur
diesel
fuel
and
have
it
distributed
via
approximately
8,000
truck
carriers
to
approximately
10,000
wholesale
purchaser­
consumer
end
users.
It
is
estimated
that
each
facility
dyes
about
200
batches
of
highway
diesel
fuel
annually.

2.
NEED
FOR
AND
USE
OF
THE
COLLECTION
2(
a)
Need/
Authority
for
the
Collection
Section
211(
i)
of
the
Act,
42
U.
S.
C.
§
7545(
i),
provides
that
the
Administrator
may
require
the
use
of
dye
in
high
sulfur
diesel
fuel
to
aid
in
segregating
it
from
low
sulfur,
highway
diesel
fuel.
The
EPA
rule
at
40
C.
F.
R.
§
80.29
requires
that
high
sulfur
diesel
be
dyed.
This
greatly
aids
EPA
in
enforcing
the
Act's
requirement
to
segregate
highway
low
sulfur
diesel
fuel
from
high
sulfur
diesel
fuel.
It
also
aids
parties
in
the
distribution
chain
to
determine
if
the
fuel
has
been
contaminated
with
high
sulfur
diesel
fuel.

The
Internal
Revenue
Service
also
requires
high
sulfur
diesel
fuel
to
be
dyed,
but
additionally
requires,
for
tax
reasons,
that
low
sulfur
tax
exempt
highway
diesel
fuel
also
be
dyed
(
such
fuel
is
sold
to
governmental
entities
and
various
other
parties).
This
IRS
requirement
would
have
largely
nullified
the
effectiveness
of
the
Congressionally
authorized
EPA
dye
requirement.
Since
both
high
sulfur
diesel
and
some
low
sulfur
diesel
fuels
are
dyed,
it
would
be
impossible
to
determine
from
the
presence
of
the
dye
whether
the
fuel
were
inappropriate
for
motor
vehicle
(
highway)
use.
Therefore,
EPA
required
in
the
rule
(
see
40
CFR
80.29(
c)(
1))
that
a
party
transferring
dyed
low
sulfur
diesel
fuel
must
state
on
the
customary
business
practice
(
CBP)
product
transfer
document
(
PTD)
that
the
fuel
is
tax
exempt
and
meets
the
regulatory
requirements
for
highway
use.
PTDs
must
be
retained
for
five
years
(
see
40
CFR
80.29(
c)(
2)).
EPA
determined
that
these
were
the
least
burdensome
reporting
and
recordkeeping
requirements
that
would
2
allow
the
dye
requirement
to
remain
useful
to
EPA
and
regulated
industry.
The
volume
of
diesel
fuel
affected
by
these
requirements
is
a
very
small
percentage
of
all
diesel
fuel
produced.
The
requirements
were
promulgated
under
authority
of
section
211
of
the
Act,
42
U.
S.
C.
§
7545,
section
114
of
the
Act,
42
U.
S.
C.
§
7414
and
section
208
of
the
Act,
42
U.
S.
C.
§
7542.

2(
b)
Practical
Utility/
Users
of
the
Data
The
collection
of
information
is
necessary
for
the
proper
performance
of
the
functions
of
the
Agency,
including
that
the
information
to
be
collected
will
have
practical
utility.
The
simple
addition
of
the
automatically
printed
notice
on
tax­
exempt
highway
diesel
product
transfer
documents
(
which
EPA
allows
to
be
stated
in
coded
form
to
save
space),
allows
both
EPA
to
determine
if
dyed
product
is
intended
for
highway
use
or
is
high
sulfur
diesel
for
off­
road
use
only.
It
also
helps
industry
to
make
this
determination.
The
EPA's
Office
of
Enforcement
and
Compliance
Assurance,
Air
Enforcement
Division
is
the
governmental
user
of
the
information
contained
in
the
required
records.

3.
NONDUPLICATION,
CONSULTATIONS,
AND
OTHER
COLLECTION
CRITERIA
3(
a)
Nonduplication
The
information
required
by
the
rule
is
not
available
from
any
other
source.
Only
the
fuel
terminal
that
adds
the
dye
to
the
diesel
fuel
is
in
a
position
to
provide
the
information
that
the
diesel
fuel
is
low
sulfur,
despite
the
presence
of
the
dye
that
would
otherwise
indicate
that
it
is
high
sulfur
fuel.
The
information
is
available
to
EPA
and
downstream
end
users
of
the
fuel
only
if
it
is
included
on
the
PTD.
The
IRS
requires
no
documentation
of
this
information.

3(
b)
Public
Notice
Required
Prior
to
ICR
Submission
to
OMB
In
compliance
with
the
Paperwork
Reduction
Act,
a
public
comment
period
of
60
days
was
announced
in
the
Federal
Register
at
66
FR
15422
(
March
19,
2001).
No
comments
were
received.

3(
c)
Consultations
In
general,
interested
parties
have
stated
that
the
paperwork
requirement
addressed
by
this
ICR
requires
almost
no
measurable
time
annually
and
no
other
costs.
The
information
is
preprinted
or
automatically
printed
on
product
transfer
documents
in
coded
form.

3(
d)
Effects
of
Less
Frequent
Collection
A
less
frequent
collection
is
not
practical.
Information
is
automatically
printed
on
customary
business
practice
product
transfer
documents
for
each
sales
transaction.
The
requirement
is
important
to
EPA
and
industry
being
able
to
track
whether
the
fuel
is
dyed
fuel
that
is
illegal
for
highway
use
or
is
dyed
tax
exempt
fuel
that
meets
Clean
Air
Act
requirements
for
motor
vehicles.

3(
e)
General
Guidelines
3
The
requirement
requires
record
retention
for
5
years.
The
Agency
believes
this
is
important
to
the
success
of
the
program.
With
the
large
economic
incentive
to
not
comply
that
exists
because
of
the
substantial
difference
in
price
that
can
exist
between
low
sulfur
diesel
and
high
sulfur
diesel,
it
is
imperative
that
EPA
maintain
deterrence
by
assuring
that
all
parties
know
that
EPA
will
be
able
to
distinguish
the
difference
between
high
sulfur
and
low
sulfur
deliveries
via
a
review
of
CBP
records.
The
requirement
to
retain
for
5
years
is
consistent
with
other
record
retention
periods
in
the
fuels
regulations,
with
the
applicable
5
year
statute
of
limitations,
and
CBP.
Most
entities
already
keep
these
records
for
5
or
more
years
for
tax
and
other
business
purposes.

3(
f)
Confidentiality
This
is
not
applicable
since
no
information
is
submitted
to
EPA.

3(
g)
Sensitive
Questions
There
are
no
sensitive
questions.

4.
THE
RESPONDENTS
AND
THE
INFORMATION
REQUESTED
4(
a)
Respondents/
SIC
Codes
The
requirements
apply
to
the
following
highway
diesel
fuel
marketing­
related
industries
(
only
those
that
market
tax
exempt
highway
diesel
fuel):
terminals
(
5171),
other
distributors
(
4212),
and
retailers/
wholesale
purchaser­
consumers
(
5541).

4(
b)
Information
Requested
(
i)
Data
Items,
Including
Recordkeeping
Requirements
The
information
collection
is
to
be
implemented
in
ways
consistent
and
compatible,
to
the
maximum
extent
practicable,
with
the
existing
reporting
and
recordkeeping
practices
of
those
who
are
to
respond.
This
reporting
requirement
is
pre­
printed
or
automatically
computer­
generated
on
a
customary
business
practice
document.
The
requirement
is
found
at
40
C.
F.
R.
§
80.29(
c)
and
it
provides
that
any
person
who
transfers
custody
or
title
to
highway
diesel
fuel
that
is
dyed
shall
provide
documentation
to
the
transferee
that
the
fuel
meets
highway
diesel
fuel
requirements
and
is
dyed
pursuant
to
IRS
requirements.
Diesel
fuel
terminals
are
normally
the
parties
who
add
the
dye
to
low
sulfur
tax
exempt
diesel
and
therefore
are
the
parties
who
initiate
the
documentation
to
the
end
user.
EPA
allows
parties
to
use
brief
code
language
to
meet
this
requirement.
The
transferor
and
transferee
must
keep
the
document
for
five
years.
The
Agency
allows
the
use
of
electronic
recordkeeping.

(
ii)
Respondent
Activities
Note:
The
full
language
regarding
the
9
regulatory
components
of
burden
are
provided
in
full
only
for
burden
A.,
below.
After
that,
the
burden
components
are
set
forth
in
abbreviated
language.

"*"
indicates
an
item
is
a
customary
and
usual
business
practice
(
CBP).
Explanation
of
the
CBP
status
of
the
item
will
follow
the
checklist
of
items
that
the
designated
item
belongs
to.
4
"+"
indicates
the
requirement
is
a
first
year
only
burden
that
has
been
fully
accomplished.

A.
Terminals
CBP
Terminal
product
transfer
document
for
dyed
low
sulfur
diesel
fuel
includes
the
required
information
and
document
is
retained
for
five
years
(
40
C.
F.
R.
§
80.29)
:

+(
i)
Reviewing
instructions;
+*(
ii)
Developing,
acquiring,
installing
and
utilizing
technology
and
systems
for
the
purpose
of
collecting,
validating
and
verifying
information;
+*(
iii)
Developing,
acquiring,
installing
and
utilizing
technology
and
systems
for
the
purpose
of
processing
and
maintaining
information;
+*(
iv)
Developing,
acquiring,
installing
and
utilizing
technology
and
systems
for
the
purpose
of
disclosing
and
providing
information;
N/
A(
v)
Adjusting
the
existing
ways
to
comply
with
any
previously
applicable
instructions
and
requirements;
*+(
vi)
Training
personnel
to
be
able
to
respond
to
a
collection
of
information;
N/
A(
vii)
Searching
data
sources;
(
viii)
Completing
and
reviewing
the
collection
of
information;
and
*(
ix)
Transmitting
or
otherwise
disclosing
the
information.

*
The
document
is
almost
entirely
CBP.
The
required
information
on
these
existing
documents
is
added
by
computer
or
otherwise
preprinted.
It
automatically
appears
on
all
documents
for
sale
of
dyed
low
sulfur
diesel.
Start
up
costs
accounted
for
by
previous
ICR.
The
actual
burden
to
dye
the
low
sulfur
non­
taxed
fuel
is
an
IRS
burden,
not
an
EPA
burden.
These
changes
have
been
in
place
for
over
7
years.
The
only
non­
CBP
informatiion
is
the
designation
of
the
fuel
as
dyed
low
sulfur
highway
diesel,
whose
start­
up
burden
was
incurred
at
the
start
of
the
program
7
years
ago.

B.
Truck
Distributors
of
Dyed
Low
Sulfur
Diesel
Fuel
Receive
CBP
product
transfer
document
with
the
required
information,
maintain
it
for
5
years,
and
pass
on
the
end
user's
copy
to
end
user
(
40
C.
F.
R.
§
80.29):

+(
i)
Review
instructions,
+*(
ii)
DAIU
T&
S
to
collect,
validate,
verify
information
+*(
iii
)
DAIU
T&
S
to
process,
maintain
information,
+*(
iv
)
DAIU
T&
S
to
disclose
&
provide
information,
N/
A(
v)
Adjust
existing
ways
to
comply,
+
(
vi)
Train
personnel
to
respond,
N/
A(
vii
)
Search
data
sources,
(
viii)
Complete
&
review
collection
of
information,
*(
ix)
Transmit
or
otherwise
disclose
information.

*
This
is
CBP.
The
document
itself
is
CBP.
Truckers
take
document
and
keep
a
copy,
and
pass
a
copy
on,
as
truckers
already
do
in
the
normal
course
of
business.
Truckers
normally
retain
copies
for
at
least
5
years
as
a
customary
business
practice.
5
C.
Wholesale
Purchaser­
Consumers
of
Non­
Taxed
Low
Sulfur
Diesel
Fuel:
Requirement
to
maintain
transfer
documents
(
40
C.
F.
R.
§
80.29):

+(
i)
Review
instructions,
*(
ii)
DAIU
T&
S
to
collect,
validate,
verify
information,
*(
iii)
DAIU
T&
S
to
process,
maintain
information,
*(
iv)
DAIU
T&
S
to
disclose
&
provide
information,
*(
v)
Transmit
or
otherwise
disclose
information.

*
CBP.
These
parties
already
maintained
these
CBP
records
for
various
lengths
of
time
usually
greater
than
5
years
and
are
generally
required
to
do
so
by
state
laws
for
at
least
5
years.

5.
THE
INFORMATION
COLLECTED­­
AGENCY
ACTIVITIES,
COLLECTION
METHODOLOGY
AND
INFORMATION
MANAGEMENT
5(
a)
Agency
Activities
The
information
collection
has
been
developed
by
offices
within
EPA
(
Office
of
air
and
Radiation
(
OAR)
and
Office
of
Enforcement
and
Compliance
Assurance
(
OECA))
that
have
planned
and
allocated
resources
for
the
efficient
and
effective
management
and
use
of
the
information
to
be
collected,
including
the
processing
of
the
information
in
a
manner
which
shall
enhance,
where
appropriate,
the
utility
of
the
information
to
Agencies
and
the
public.

EPA
engages
in
the
following
activities
in
regard
to
the
information
collection.

­­
Develop
regulations,
as
required
by
the
CAA
(
this
has
already
been
done).

­­
Answer
respondent
questions
(
this
has
been
done
for
years;
the
Agency
has
published,
including
electronically,
extensive
Q
&
A
documents,
for
example
).

­­
Review
records
during
inspections
and
investigations
(
we
would
review
the
CBP
records
even
if
the
required
information
were
not
required).

5(
b)
Collection
Methodology
and
Management
The
information
collection
has
been
developed
by
offices
within
EPA
(
OAR
and
OECA)
that
have
planned
and
allocated
resources
for
the
efficient
and
effective
management
and
use
of
the
information
to
be
collected,
including
the
processing
of
the
information
in
a
manner
which
shall
enhance,
where
appropriate,
the
utility
of
the
information
to
Agencies
and
the
public.
The
information
collection,
to
the
maximum
extent
practicable,
uses
appropriate
information
technology
to
reduce
burden
and
improve
data
quality,
Agency
efficiency
and
responsiveness
to
the
public.

The
product
transfer
document
information
can
be
included
on
transfer
documentation
customarily
used.
EPA
allows
required
information
to
be
encoded
to
save
space.
Electronic
recordkeeping
is
permitted.
There
is
no
reporting
of
information
to
EPA.
6
5(
c)
Small
Entity
Flexibility
The
proposed
information
collection
reduces
to
the
extent
practicable
and
appropriate
the
burden
on
persons
who
shall
provide
information
to
or
for
the
Agency,
including
with
respect
to
small
entities,
as
defined
by
the
Regulatory
Flexibility
Act
(
5
U.
S.
C.
§
601(
6)),
the
use
of
such
techniques
as:
(
1)
establishing
differing
compliance
or
reporting
requirements
or
timetables
that
take
into
account
the
resources
available
to
those
who
are
to
respond;
(
2)
the
clarification,
consolidation,
or
simplification
of
compliance
and
reporting
requirements;
or
(
3)
an
exemption
from
coverage
of
the
collection
of
information,
or
any
part
thereof.

The
rule's
requirements
regarding
transfers
of
dyed
low
sulfur
diesel
fuel
has
a
quantifiable
burden
only
for
the
terminal
that
initiates
the
transfer.
Terminals
are
generally
businesses
of
significant
size
and
are
often
owned
by
large
corporations.
Terminal
operators
have
informed
EPA
that
the
requirement
creates
almost
no
burden
for
them
because
the
information
is
automatically
printed
by
computer.
The
truckers
and
end
users
of
the
fuel,
which
include
smaller
businesses
and
local
governmental
agencies,
generally
have
no
non­
CBP
burden.
Therefore,
no
specific
flexibility
is
needed.

5(
d)
Collection
Schedule
The
information
is
automatically
printed
on
customary
business
practice
documents
that
accompany
each
transaction.

6.
ESTIMATING
THE
BURDEN
AND
COST
OF
THE
COLLECTION
6(
a)
and
(
b)
Estimating
Respondent
Burden
and
Costs
Estimating
the
burden
is
straightforward.
Capital/
start­
up
costs
were
incurred
by
industry
in
1993.
Since
this
involved
programming
a
computer
to
print
the
code
or
regulatory
language
on
the
PTD,
there
are
no
annualized
capital
costs.
Because
the
PTDs
are
documents
produced
and
retained
in
the
normal
course
of
business,
there
are
no
operating
and
maintenance
(
O&
M)
costs.
Thus,
there
is
only
a
small
respondent
burden
for
those
parties
which
dye
the
diesel
fuel
(
usually
terminals).
The
burden
is
for
placement
of
the
notice
or
code
on
the
PTDs.
There
are
about
2000
facilities
that
each
dye
about
200
shipments
of
tax­
exempt
highway
diesel
fuel
annually.
Thus,
the
programmed
code
is
automatically
entered
on
about
400,000
PTDs
annually.
Assuming
an
average
burden
of
2
seconds
per
PTD
gives
a
total
annual
burden
of
222
hours.
A
reasonable
industry
labor
cost
is
$
60
per
hour,
for
a
total
labor
cost
of
$
13,320.
There
are
about
8,000
carriers
of
dyed
highway
diesel
fuel
and
about
10,000
end
users,
typically
school
and
other
municipal
fleets
which
are
entitled
to
tax­
exempt
fuel.
6(
c)
ESTIMATING
EPA
BURDEN
AND
COST
1.
Start
up
costs
have
been
accomplished.

2.
Assume
Agency
labor
cost
based
on
GS­
12
level
(
the
Agency
median
grade
for
Environmental
Protection
Specialists
and
Program
Analysts).
Hourly
cost
to
EPA
is
calculated
by
multiplying
the
annual
pay
rate
times
1.16
(
benefits
factor)
and
divide
by
2080
(
the
number
of
work
hours
per
year.
This
ICR
estimates
a
2001­
2004
GS­
12
salary
at
$
60,000.
This
comes
to
an
hourly
cost
of
approximately
$
34.00.
7
3.
An
effective
enforcement
program
might
include
1,000­
5,000
facility
inspections
nationwide,
with
travel
costs
of
$
3,500/
week
for
10
weeks
and
800
EPA
burden
hours
for
inspections.
Case
processing
burden
may
be
160
hours
per
year
at
above
assumed
wage
rate.

6(
d)
REASONS
FOR
CHANGE
IN
BURDEN
(
i)
New
Requirement:
There
were
no
changes
to
the
rule
that
affected
burden
estimates
for
this
renewal
ICR.

(
ii)
Adjustments:
The
annual
estimate
for
printing
of
the
code
or
description
on
the
PTDs
has
been
revised
slightly
upward
from
87
hours
and
$
2,304
in
the
previous
ICR
to
222
hours
and
$
13,320.
6(
e)
BURDEN
STATEMENT
Not
applicable.
No
forms
are
submitted
to
EPA,
and
it
would
not
be
appropriate
for
the
PTDs.
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.
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.

B.
COLLECTION
OF
INFORMATION
EMPLOYING
STATISTICAL
METHODS
This
section
is
not
applicable
because
statistical
methods
are
not
used.