[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 205 (Monday, October 23, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63251-63252]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-27158]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has submitted to the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) for review under the Paperwork Reduction
Act (PRA) information collection requirements contained in its
Alternative Fuel Rule. The FTC is soliciting public comments on the
proposal to extend through November 30, 2003 the current PRA clearance
for information collection requirements contained in the Rule. That
clearance expires on November 30, 2000.
DATES: Comments must be filed by November 22, 2000.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive
Office Building, Room 10202, Washington, DC 20503, ATTN.: Desk Officer
for the Federal Trade Commission, and to Secretary, Federal Trade
Commission, Room H-159, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC
20580. All comments should be captioned ``Alternative Fuel Rule:
Paperwork comment.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for copies of the collection
of information and supporting documentation should be addressed to Neil
Blickman, Division of Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer Protection,
Federal Trade Commission, Room S-4302, 601 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20580.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 16, 2000, the FTC sought comment
on the information collection requirements associated with the
Alternative Fuel
[[Page 63252]]
Rule (``Rule''), 16 CFR part 309 (Control Number: 3084-0094). See 65 FR
49987. No comments were received.
The Rule, which implements the Energy Policy Act of 1992, Pub. L.
102-486, requires disclosure of specific information on labels posted
on fuel dispensers for non-liquid alternative fuels and on labels on
Alternative Fueled Vehicles (AFVs). To ensure the accuracy of these
disclosures, the Rule also requires that sellers maintain records
substantiating product-specific disclosures they include on these
labels.
Burden Statement
``Burden'' for PRA purpose is defined to exclude effort that would
be expended regardless of any regulatory requirement. 5 CFR
1320.2(b)(2). It is common practice for alternative fuel industry
members to determine and monitor fuel ratings in the normal course of
their business activities. This is because industry members must know
and determine the fuel ratings of their products in order to monitor
quality and to decide how to market them. Moreover, as originally
anticipated when the Rule was promulgated in 1995, many of the
information collection requirements and the originally-estimated hours
were associated with one-time start up tasks of implementing standard
systems and processes.
Other factors also limit the burden associated with the Rule.
Certification may be a one-time event to require only infrequent
revision. Disclosure labels on fuel dispensing systems for electric
vehicles may be usable for several years. (Label specifications were
designed to produce labels to withstand the elements for several
years.) Nonetheless, there is still some burden associated with posting
labels. There also will be some minimal burden associated with new or
revised certification of fuel ratings and recordkeeping. The burden on
vehicle manufacturers to develop or revise labels is limited because
manufacturers produce very few new models each year. Finally, there
will be come burden, also minor, associated with recordkeeping
requirements.
Estimated total annual hours burden: 1,500 total burden hours,
rounded.
Non-Liquid Alternative Fuels
Certification: Staff estimates that the Rule's fuel rating
certification requirements affect approximately 350 industry members
(compressed natural gas producers and distributors and manufacturers of
fuel dispensing systems for electric vehicles) and consume
approximately one hour each per year for a total of 350 hours.
Recordkeeping: Staff estimates that all 1,600 industry members are
subject to the Rule's recordkeeping requirements (associated with fuel
rating certification) and that compliance will require approximately
one-tenth hour each year for a total of 160 hours.
Labeling: Staff estimates that labeling requirements affect
approximately nine of every ten industry members (or roughly 1,400
members), but that the number of annually affected members is only 280
because labels may remain effective for several years (staff assumes
that in any given year approximately 20% of 1,400 industry members will
need to replace their labels). Staff estimates that industry members
require approximately one hour each per year for labeling their fuel
dispensers for a total of 280 hours.
Sub-total: 790 hours (160+350+280).
AFV Manufacturers
Recordkeeping: Staff estimates that all 58 manufacturers will
require 30 minutes to comply with the Rule's recordkeeping requirements
for a total of 29 hours.
Producing labels: Staff estimates 2.5 hours as the average time
required of manufacturers to produce labels for each of the five new
AFV models introduced among them each year for a total of 12.5 hours.
Posting labels: Staff estimates 2 minutes as the average time to
comply with the posting requirements for each of the approximately
20,000 new AFVs manufactured each year for a total of 667 hours.
Sub-total: approximately 708 hours (29+12.5+667).
Thus, total burden for these industries combined is approximately
1,500 hours (790+708).
Estimated labor costs: $27,000, rounded.
Labor costs are derived by applying appropriate hourly cost figures
to the burden hours described above. According to Bureau of Labor
Statistics staff, the average compensation for producers and
distributors in the fuel industry is $19.42 per hour and $8.42 per hour
for service station employees; the average compensation for workers in
the vehicle industry is $19.14 per hour.
Non-Liquid Alternative Fuels
Recordkeeping: Only \1/6\ of the total 160 hours will be performed
by the producers and distributors of fuels; the other \5/6\ is
attributable to service station employees (\1/6\ = 27 hours x $19.42
= $524.34 + (\5/6\ + 133 hours x $8.42 = $1,119.86) = $1,644.20, for
an estimated labor cost to the entire industry of $13,878.80.
Certification and labeling: Generally, all of the estimated hours
except for recordkeeping will be performed by producers and
distributors of fuels. Thus, the associated labor costs would be
$12,234.60 (630 hours x $19.42).
AFV Manufacturers
The maximum labor cost to the entire industry is approximately
$13,551.12 per year for recordkeeping and producing and posting labels
(708 total hours x $19.14/hour).
Thus, estimated total labor cost for both industries for all
paperwork requirements is $27,000 ($13,878.80 + $13,551.12) per year,
rounded to the nearest thousand.
Estimated annual non-labor cost burden: $8,000, rounded.
Non-Liquid Alternative Fuels
Staff believes that there are no current start-up costs associated
with the Rule, inasmuch as the Rule has been effective since 1995.
Industry members, therefore, have in place the capital equipment and
means necessary, especially to determine automotive fuel ratings and
comply with the Rule. Industry members, however, incur the cost of
procuring fuel dispenser and AFV labels to comply with the Rule. The
estimated annual fuel labeling cost, based on estimates of 360 fuel
dispensers (assumptions: an estimated 20% of 900 total retailers need
to replace labels in any given year given an approximate five-year life
for labels--i.e., 180 retailers--multiplied by an average of two
dispensers per retailer) at thirty-eight cents for each label (per
industry sources), is $136.80.
AFV Manufacturers
Here, too, staff believes that there are no current start-up costs
associated with the Rule, for the same reasons as stated immediately
above regarding the non-liquid alternative fuel industry. However,
based on the labeling of an estimated 20,000 new and used AFVs each
year at thirty-eight cents for each label (per industry sources), the
annual AFV labeling cost is estimated to be $7,600. Estimated total
annual non-labor cost burden associated with the Rule, therefore, would
be $8,000 ($136.80 + $7,600.00), rounded to the nearest thousand.
Debra A. Valentine,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 00-27158 Filed 10-20-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-M