Notice2023-09277
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Extension
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
May 2, 2023
Issuing agencies
Federal Trade Commission
Abstract
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) is seeking public comment on its proposal to extend for an additional three years the Office of Management and Budget clearance for information collection requirements in its Fuel Rating Rule (the Rule). The current clearance expires on September 30, 2023.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 84 (Tuesday, May 2, 2023)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 2, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27514-27516]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-09277]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request; Extension
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA),
the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) is seeking public
comment on its proposal to extend for
[[Page 27515]]
an additional three years the Office of Management and Budget clearance
for information collection requirements in its Fuel Rating Rule (the
Rule). The current clearance expires on September 30, 2023.
DATES: Comments must be filed by July 3, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper, by
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``Fuel Rating Rule, PRA
Comment, P145403,'' on your comment, and file your comment online at
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> by following the instructions on the web-
based form. If you prefer to file your comment on paper, mail your
comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of
the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite CC-5610 (Annex J),
Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the following address:
Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Constitution Center,
400 7th Street SW, 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC
20024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hampton Newsome, Attorney, Division of
Enforcement, Federal Trade Commission, Room CC-9528, 600 Pennsylvania
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326-2889.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Fuel Rating Rule (the Rule), 16 CFR part 306.
OMB Control Number: 3084-0068.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Likely Respondents
(a) Recordkeeping: Refiners, Producers, Importers, Distributors,
and Retailers of the Covered Fuel Types.
(b) Disclosure: Retailers of the Covered Fuel Types.
Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 31,976 (derived from 13,043
recordkeeping hours added to 18,933 disclosure hours).
Estimated Annual Labor Costs: $453,627.
Estimated Annual Capital or Other Non-Labor Costs: $104,131.
Abstract
The Fuel Rating Rule, 16 CFR part 306 (OMB Control Number: 3084-
0068), establishes standard procedures for determining, certifying, and
disclosing the octane rating of automotive gasoline and the automotive
fuel rating of alternative liquid automotive fuels, as required by the
Petroleum Marketing Practices Act. 15 U.S.C. 2822(a)-(c). The Rule also
requires refiners, producers, importers, distributors, and retailers to
retain records showing how the ratings were determined, including
delivery tickets or letters of certification.
As required by section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, 44 U.S.C.
3506(c)(2)(A), the FTC is providing this opportunity for public comment
before requesting that OMB extend the existing clearance for the
information collection requirements contained in the Rule.
Burden Statement
Estimated annual burden hours: 31,976 (derived from 13,043
recordkeeping hours added to 18,933 disclosure hours).
Recordkeeping: Based on industry sources, staff estimates that
approximately 156,515 fuel industry members \1\ each incur an average
annual burden of approximately five minutes to ensure retention of
relevant business records \2\ for the period required by the Rule,
resulting in a total of 13,043 hours.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Staff derived the number of fuel industry members by adding
the number of refiners, producers, importers, distributors, and
retailers of these types of fuel. Staff consulted government
agencies and industry sources in estimating a population of
approximately 156,515 fuel industry members, including 151,463
retailers of automotive fuel. Some of the government websites
reviewed to update these numbers include: <a href="http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/pet_pnp_cap1_dcu_nus_a.htm">http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/pet_pnp_cap1_dcu_nus_a.htm</a> (Gasoline Producers); <a href="http://www.eia.gov/biofuels/biodiesel/production/">http://www.eia.gov/biofuels/biodiesel/production/</a> (Biodiesel Producers);
<a href="http://www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/">http://www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/</a> (Alternative Fuel Stations);
<a href="http://www.nacsonline.com/YourBusiness/FuelsReports/2015/Documents/2015-NACS-Fuels-Report_full.pdf">http://www.nacsonline.com/YourBusiness/FuelsReports/2015/Documents/2015-NACS-Fuels-Report_full.pdf</a> (Petroleum Stations).
\2\ Under the Fuel Rating Rule, refiners, producers, importers,
distributors, and retailers of automotive fuel must retain, for one
year, records of any delivery tickets, letters of certification, or
tests upon which they based the automotive fuel ratings that they
certify or post. See the Fuel Rating Rule's recordkeeping
requirements, 16 CFR 306.7; 306.9; and 306.11.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclosure: Staff estimates that affected industry members incur an
average burden of approximately one hour to produce, distribute, and
post octane rating labels. Because the labels are durable, only about
one of every eight industry member retailers (18,933 of 151,463
industry member retailers) incur this burden each year, resulting in a
total annual burden of 18,933 hours.
Estimated annual labor costs: $453,627.
Labor costs are derived by applying appropriate hourly cost figures
to the burden hours described above. Here, the average hourly wages of
refiners, producers, distributors, and importers is $38.14.\3\ The
average hourly wages of retailers is $13.86.\4\ The recordkeeping
component, 13,043 hours, consists of approximately 430 hours for
producers, distributors, and importers; and 12,613 hours for retailers.
Thus, the total annual labor cost for recordkeeping is $191,216 ((430
hours x $38.14/hour) + (12,613 hours x $13.86/hour)). The disclosure
component, which concerns retailers, is approximately 18,933 hours.
Thus, total annual labor cost for disclosure is $262,411 (18,933 hours
x $13.86/hour).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ See <a href="http://www.bls.gov/iag/tgs/iag211.htm#earnings">http://www.bls.gov/iag/tgs/iag211.htm#earnings</a> (Bureau
of Labor Statistics, 2021 Occupational Employment Statistics, Hourly
mean wages for petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators,
and gaugers).
\4\ See <a href="http://www.bls.gov/iag/tgs/iag447.htm">http://www.bls.gov/iag/tgs/iag447.htm</a> (Bureau of Labor
Statistics, 2021 Occupational Employment Statistics, Hourly mean
wages for service station attendants).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated annual non-labor costs: $75,732.
Staff believes that the Rule does not impose any capital costs for
producers, importers, or distributors of fuels. Retailers, however,
incur the cost of procuring and replacing fuel dispenser labels to
comply with the Rule. Staff conservatively estimates that the price per
automotive fuel label is $2.77 and that the average automotive fuel
retailer has six dispensers; thus, $16.62 labeling cost at inception
per retailer.\5\ Staff has previously estimated a dispenser useful life
range of 6 to 10 years and, based on that, assumed a useful life of 8
years for labels, the mean of that range. Given that, replacement
labeling will not be necessary for well beyond the relevant period at
issue, i.e., the immediate 3-year PRA clearance sought. However,
conservatively annualizing the $16.62 labeling cost at inception per
retailer over that shorter period rather than average useful life,
annualized labeling cost per retailer will be $5.50. Cumulative
labeling cost would thus be $104,131 (151,463 retailers x \1/8\ \6\ x
$5.50 each, annualized).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ See 75 FR 12,470, 12,477 (Mar. 16, 2010) (proposed
rulemaking) (estimating the price range per pump to be one to two
dollars). Then you factor in inflation since 2010. See <a href="https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm">https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm</a>.
\6\ On average, each label needs to be replaced once every 8
years. Annualizing this cost equates to \1/8\ or 0.125.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Request for Comment
Pursuant to Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the FTC invites
comments on: (1) whether the disclosure and recordkeeping requirements
are necessary, including whether the information will be practically
useful; (2) the accuracy of our burden estimates, including whether the
methodology and assumptions used are valid; (3) ways to enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
(4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information.
[[Page 27516]]
For the FTC to consider a comment, we must receive it on or before
July 3, 2023. Your comment, including your name and your state, will be
placed on the public record of this proceeding, including the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> website.
You can file a comment online or on paper. Due to the public health
emergency in response to the COVID-19 outbreak and the agency's
heightened security screening, postal mail addressed to the Commission
will be subject to delay. We encourage you to submit your comments
online through the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> website.
If you file your comment on paper, write ``Fuel Rating Rule, PRA
Comment, P145403,'' on your comment and on the envelope, and mail it to
the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the
Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite CC-5610 (Annex J),
Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the following address:
Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Constitution Center,
400 7th Street SW, 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC
20024. If possible, submit your paper comment to the Commission by
courier or overnight service.
Because your comment will become publicly available at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, you are solely responsible for making sure that
your comment does not include any sensitive or confidential
information. In particular, your comment should not include any
sensitive personal information, such as your or anyone else's Social
Security number; date of birth; driver's license number or other state
identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number;
financial account number; or credit or debit card number. You are also
solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include
any sensitive health information, such as medical records or other
individually identifiable health information. In addition, your comment
should not include any ``trade secret or any commercial or financial
information which . . . is privileged or confidential''--as provided by
Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2),
16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)--including, in particular, competitively sensitive
information, such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas,
patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.
Comments containing material for which confidential treatment is
requested must (1) be filed in paper form, (2) be clearly labeled
``Confidential,'' and (3) comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c). In particular,
the written request for confidential treatment that accompanies the
comment must include the factual and legal basis for the request, and
must identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from
the public record. See FTC Rule 4.9(c). Your comment will be kept
confidential only if the General Counsel grants your request in
accordance with the law and the public interest. Once your comment has
been posted publicly at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>, we cannot redact or remove
your comment unless you submit a confidentiality request that meets the
requirements for such treatment under FTC Rule 4.9(c), and the General
Counsel grants that request.
The FTC Act and other laws that the Commission administers permit
the collection of public comments to consider and use in this
proceeding as appropriate. The Commission will consider all timely and
responsive public comments that it receives on or before July 3, 2023.
For information on the Commission's privacy policy, including routine
uses permitted by the Privacy Act, see <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy">https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy</a>.
Josephine Liu,
Assistant General Counsel for Legal Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2023-09277 Filed 5-1-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P
</pre></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on May 2, 2023.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.