0222ss12

Supporting Statement

for

Information Collection Request

EPA’s Light-Duty In-Use Vehicle Testing Program

EPA ICR 0222.12

OMB Control No: 2060-0086

March 2021

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 (EPA ICR No. 0222.12, OMB Control No. 2060-0086) This ICR was formerly titled “EPA’s In-Use Vehicle and Engine Testing Programs.” This ICR 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 under OMB Control Number 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 after they have been introduced into commerce. 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 in-use testing program can be broken down into three closely related components. The first is the surveillance testing program, with the possibility of a confirmatory testing phase. The second component is a small program to test the functionality 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 “special investigations” 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 like testing of that portion of surveillance classes that have been selected to address a specific informational need. EPA may or may not procure vehicles in the same way as for the surveillance and OBD programs. If the test vehicles are not procured from the public, the burden will not be accounted for in this collection request as burden to the public but may be reflected in the cost to the agency. The number of such tests will vary.

Light-duty vehicle testing typically includes standard emissions test cycles and standard OBD tests performed at EPA’s National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The primary purpose of these programs is informational: to give EPA and manufacturers intelligence regarding emissions performance of in-use vehicles. Manufacturers are involved at every step of the ongoing surveillance and confirmatory programs: they are informed of the emissions 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 in-use testing 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, Michigan 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.

Potential participants are offered monitory compensation for allowing their vehicles to be tested. The compensation is usually either twenty dollars per day and the use of a loaner vehicle or fifty dollars per day. Occasionally, if a class of vehicles is difficult to procure, the incentive may be increased.

After a suitable time for response, positive respondents are considered for inclusion and are contacted in the order received until the required number of vehicles is identified. If the owner/lessee is reached and willing, a screening is conducted by telephone in which about 30 questions concerning vehicle condition and maintenance are asked. The first three owners who successfully complete the telephone screening provide the vehicles for the surveillance class. The vehicles are brought to EPA’s NVFEL and tested. If there are any test failures in the first three vehicles, then two more are recruited in the same manner. Additional groups of potential participants will be contacted until the necessary number of vehicles has been obtained.

The information collected is used to ensure that vehicles procured meet relevant criteria. For example, the vehicle must not have been tampered with or have other overt problems. Special testing investigations and particular types of vehicles 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 answers that they provided during the telephone screening and sign a notarized statement that the answers are correct. They sign a test agreement, a cash incentive form and, if elected by the participant, 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 emissions 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's 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’ in-use vehicle tests submitted to EPA and any other in-use testing results. Manufacturers/importers are involved in the process from the outset and receive test results from the Federal Test Procedure (FTP), Highway, US06, evaporative and cold test procedures, 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 confirmatory 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.

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. This 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 confirmatory testing phase is similar to that for the surveillance phase, except that participants whose vehicles had been in the surveillance phase are screened out and owners are asked more questions about their vehicle's use and maintenance.

During fiscal year 2018, the most recent year with complete information, 119 surveillance vehicle in-use testing actions were conducted by EPA. No OBD actions or special vehicle investigations were conducted. Eight confirmatory testing actions were conducted for a total of 127 testing actions. This corresponds to 993 contacts and 140 telephone interviews and/or other follow-up participant contacts. This collection imposes a burden of 228 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.

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; EPA uses the Surveillance and Confirmatory Telephone Questionnaires (EPA forms 5900-305 and 5900-308, respectively) to determine the suitability of the vehicles.

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 the vehicle identification number (VIN) of the vehicle to be tested. Manufacturers are informed of pre-test maintenance and test dates and receive 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

The first Federal Register Notice (85 FR 64141) was published on October 9, 2020. EPA received no public comments.

3(c) Consultations

In preparing this ICR, EPA consulted with two of its contractor's employees, Mr. David Knott, (734) 214-4381, and Ms. Kim Cieslak. (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 per telephone interview for the surveillance screening and 50 minutes for the confirmatory screening. She also estimated that approximately 90% of telephone questionnaires result in the procurement of a vehicle. David Knott is her supervisor. He consulted with technicians who work with participants and observe the length of time it takes for them to fill out forms when the vehicles are picked up by the contractor, Jacobs, and returned to the participant.

3(d) Effects of Less Frequent Collection

Information is collected only once per vehicle evaluation; less frequent collection is not possible. Less frequent information collection for the in-use testing program would make it challenging for EPA to verify manufacturers’ compliance with Title II of the Clean Air Act, (42 U.S.C. §7521 et seq.)

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 vehicle 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/NAICS Codes

The respondents are individual vehicle owners/lessees of any vehicle 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 are asked to supply the following information on the Reply Form (EPA form 5900-306) via a postage paid return envelope; participation is entirely voluntary:

• If 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

• Provide contact information

Those who indicate they wish to be considered for participation are asked for additional information in the telephone questionnaires:

• Has the odometer malfunctioned and, if so, 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 National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory (NVFEL) for testing by the vehicle owner or a contractor. 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 screening questions and answers 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 10 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 is no additional need to reduce 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 timeframe 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 screening interview takes, on average, approximately 20 minutes for the surveillance screening and 50 minutes for the confirmatory screening. Subsequent information-related burdens for participants (such as reviewing and attesting to the telephone screening 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 five minutes. The total response burden is estimated to be 228 hours annually.

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 $25.72 per hour, based on the mean hourly wage for All Occupations, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2019 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates, United States, (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#00-0000, accessed September 20, 2020).

The annual labor cost is therefore $5,864.

(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 recruit all of the vehicles and collect essentially all of the information covered by this information collection request. The contractor is responsible for, among other things, sending out invitation letters, contacting responders, getting the vehicles, preparing the vehicles for tests, returning the vehicles to the owners, paying the monitory compensation to participants and maintaining a fleet of about nine vehicles that will be loaned to participants while their vehicles are being tested. The average annual contractor costs for the light-duty surveillance and confirmatory testing was approximately $764,000. An estimated 1.5 EPA employees oversee the programs at an annual cost of $228,540 ($152,360 is the average cost for a full-time employee in the Office of Transportation and Air Quality.) The total estimated Agency cost is about $992,540 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	Initial Contacts (1)	Burden @ 5 min ea.(min)	Participant Contacts (2)	Burden @ 60 min ea (min)
Light Duty Surveillance	119	-	-	131	7,860
Onboard Diagnostics Surveillance	0	0	0	0	0
Special Vehicle Investigation	0	0	0	0	0
					Burden @ 90 min ea (min)
Light Duty Confirmatory	8	-	-	9	810
Totals	127	993	4,965	140	8,670
Burden Hours			83		145
Total Burden					228

(1) The Initial Contacts total includes responses for both Light Duty Surveillance and Confirmatory programs

(2) Approximately 90% of contacts do not result in a procured vehicle.

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

(ii) Agency tally

Employees 1.5 (Involved in the light-duty vehicle in-use testing program)

Employee Cost $228,540

Contract Cost $764,000

Total Cost $992,540

6(f) Reasons for change in burden

The changes in burden to the public from the burden calculated for the previous iteration of this Information Collection Request are a decrease in initial contacts from 1,627 to 993. Also, the total number of vehicles recruited decreased which correspond to a decrease in 74 hours and a total decrease in burden cost to the public of $1,342. These changes are due to many different factors. Although the number of invitations sent out rises each year, the number of responses that we receive has decreased. The two factors to which the decreases are most attributed are 1) invitations are discarded as junk mail and 2) owner's concern that the invitation is a scam. Some other factors may be that the incentive is not enough for people to go through the trouble of volunteering for the program or that the vehicles that we are trying to recruit may be more expensive vehicles and, therefore, the owners are less likely to want to volunteer their vehicles for testing. Also, EPA selected vehicle families that were older and were more difficult to procure. This resulted in less vehicles procured during these years. We believe that because of these reasons the number of responses and, therefore the burden to the public, has decreased.

Special vehicle investigations were previously done to study known in-use concerns that were identified in classes of vehicles (for example, older vehicles or a specific model.) In the years since 2016 there have been special investigations, but the vehicles were not obtained from the public. Instead they were procured though EPA's contractor or from manufacturers. Therefore, the information collection burden on the public was decreased to zero for special investigations. The burden instead was transferred to contractors or EPA employees.

It should be noted that EPA has not conducted any Onboard Diagnostic Surveillance resulting in no burden due to that program.

One small change has been made to EPA form 5900-308, Confirmatory Screening Tool. The reporting burden statement has been updated to include the same estimate as the other forms, which is more accurate. This change does not affect any of the calculations or estimates above.

Program	Number of FY 2016 Vehicles	Number of FY 2018 Vehicles	FY 2016 Initial Contacts	FY 2018 Initial Contacts	Total FY 2016 Minutes	Total FY 2018 Minutes
Light Duty Surveillance	125	119	1257	-	14085	-
Onboard Diagnostics Surveillance	0	0	0	0	0	0
Special Vehicle Investigation	0	0	0	0	0	0
Light Duty Confirmatory	14	8	370	-	4010	-
Total	139	127	1627	993	18095	13635
Difference		-12		-634		-4460
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6(g) Burden Statement

The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average approximately 228 hours per year; less than one hour 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 screening 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 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 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 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 Reading Room is (202) 566–1744, and the telephone number for the Office of Air and Radiation Docket is 202-566-1742. Use the EPA’s electronic docket and comment system at www.regulations.gov, to submit or view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the docket, and to access those documents in the docket that are available electronically. Once in the system, select “docket search,” then key in the docket ID number identified above. Please note that the EPA’s policy is that public comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper, will be made available for public viewing at www.regulations.gov as the Agency receives them and without change, unless the comment contains copyrighted material, CBI, or other information whose public disclosure is restricted by statute. For further information about the electronic docket, go to www.regulations.gov.

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