View Information Collection Request (ICR) Package

OMB Control No: 2060-0258	ICR Reference No: 202504-2060-006
Status: Received in OIRA	Previous ICR Reference No: 202110-2060-010
Agency/Subagency: EPA/OAR	Agency Tracking No: 1633.19
Title: Acid Rain Program under Title IV of the Clean Air Act Amendments (Renewal)
Type of Information Collection: Extension without change of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR: No
Type of Review Request: Regular	Date Submitted to OIRA: 05/30/2025

	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	36 Months From Approved	12/31/2025
Responses	14,708	14,607
Time Burden (Hours)	1,760,519	1,826,133
Cost Burden (Dollars)	123,208,182	129,450,755

Abstract: Congress established the program in title IV of the 1990 Clean Air Act (CAA) Amendments to address acid deposition by reducing emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOX). This renewal generally outlines programmatic aspects as established in the previous ICR with adjustments to reflect current labor costs and estimates of the numbers of respondents and transactions. To reduce SO2 emissions, the Acid Rain Program uses a cap-and-trade system applicable to most large fossil fuel-fired electricity generating units in the contiguous United States. Affected sources are required to hold one tradable allowance for each ton of SO2 emitted, and the total number of allowances issued is capped. In addition to affected sources, any person or entity may establish an account to buy and sell allowances. EPA is required to conduct an allowance auction each year to promote market liquidity and price transparency. To reduce NOX emissions, the Acid Rain Program applies NOX emission rate limits to a subset of affected units. Each such unit may either meet its standard emission rate limit, arrange to comply on a group basis under an averaging plan, or seek approval for an alternative emission limitation (AEL) based on demonstrated inability to meet its otherwise applicable standard limit. Affected units under the Acid Rain Program are required to monitor opacity and SO2, NOX, and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions using continuous emission monitoring systems (CEMS) or alternative monitoring methods approved by the EPA Administrator. All affected units are also required to obtain and periodically renew permits that identify their plans for complying with the programs applicable SO2 and NOX requirements. As in previous Acid Rain Program ICRs, most of the topical discussions in this ICR renewal are organized around the main program elements established under different CAA sections: Allowance transfers (CAA section 403); Permits (CAA section 408); Emissions monitoring (CAA section 412); Auctions (CAA section 416); NOx permitting (CAA section 407).

Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 42 USC 7651a-7651o Name of Law: Clean Air Act

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	89 FR 72393	09/05/2024
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	90 FR 22286	05/27/2025
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Request	Previously Approved	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate
Annual Number of Responses	14,708	14,607	101
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	1,760,519	1,826,133	-65,614
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	123,208,182	129,450,755	-6,242,573

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: Overall, the estimated annual respondent burden hours decreased by approximately 3.6% from the previous ICR and the estimate respondent capital/O&M costs decreased by approximately 4.8%. These decreases are largely attributed to the reduction in the number of Acid Rain affected units due to unit retirements. It is also due to a shift towards less burdensome monitoring methodologies. As units shift to burning natural gas this provides opportunities to use alternative monitoring methods which require less costly equipment and require less labor hours. Additionally, with the abundance of available Acid Rain allowances there are less allowance transactions occurring and less participation in the Acid Rain auction.

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $3,983,268

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. No

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

Agency Contact: Karen VanSickle 2023439220 vansickle.karen@epa.gov

View ICR - Agency Submission