The NOX Budget Trading Program is a
market-based cap and trade program created to reduce emissions of
nitrogen oxides (NOX) from power plants and other large combustion
sources in the eastern United States. NOX is a prime ingredient in
the formation of ground-level ozone (smog), a pervasive air
pollution problem in many areas of the eastern United States. The
NOX Budget Trading Program was designed to reduce NOX emissions
during the warm summer months, referred to as the ozone season,
when ground-level ozone concentrations are highest. This
information collection is necessary to implement the NOX Budget
Trading Program. While States were not required to adopt an
emissions trading program, every State adopted the basic Federal
model trading program for fossil fuel-fired NOX sources. This
trading program burden includes the paper work burden related to;
transferring and tracking allowances, the allocation of allowances
to affected units, permitting, annual year end compliance
certification, and meeting the monitoring and reporting
requirements of the program. This information collection is
mandatory under 40 CFR Part 96. All data received by EPA will be
treated as public 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 in 40 CFR are
listed in 40 CFR part 9.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.