1625-0099_ss(2)

1625-0099

Supporting Statement

for

Requirements for the Use for Liquefied Petroleum Gas

and Compressed Natural Gas as

Cooking Fuel on Passenger Vessels

A. Justification.

1. Circumstances making the collection of information necessary.

Title 46 U.S.C. 3306 (a) (5) provides for the regulation of the use of vessel stores and other supplies of a dangerous nature. The Coast Guard allows the use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) cooking appliances on passenger-carrying vessels provided certain requirements are met. These requirements¹ primarily consist of existing industry standards. One section of these standards requires the posting of two placards that contain operating instructions and safety precautions for the gas cooking appliance and the gas system.

This information collection supports the following strategic goals:

Department of Homeland Security

• Prevention

Coast Guard

• Marine Safety

Marine Safety, Security and Stewardship Directorate (CG-5)

• Safety: Eliminate deaths, injuries, and property damage associated with commercial maritime operations.

2. Purpose for which information is to be used.

The information provided by the placards is to be used by any person operating cooking appliances to ensure it is operated in a safe manner.

3. Consideration of use of improved information technology.

There is no improved technology that could reduce this burden. The posting (i.e., recordkeeping) requirement associated with this burden determines that collecting responses electronically is not feasible.

4. Efforts to identify duplication. Why similar information already available cannot be used.

This information is not collected in any form, and therefore is not duplicated elsewhere.

5. Methods used to minimize burden.

The burden to small businesses is minimized by making the installation of gas stoves optional. Only if the owner or operator of a vessel installs a gas cooking appliance would he/she have to post the placards.

6. Consequences to Federal program if collection were done less frequently.

Since this information collection burden entails only installing the two placards once, any decrease in the frequency of information collection would be not to install the placards at all. This would degrade the operational safety of the gas cooking appliances on passenger-carrying vessels and therefore not be consistent with Coast Guard policy regarding the safety of vessels.

7. Explain any special circumstances that would cause the information collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with guidelines.

This information collection is conducted in manner consistent with the guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.5(d)(2).

8. Consultation.

A 60-day (See [USCG-2008-1176], January 6, 2009, 74 FR 451) and 30-day (See [USCG-2008-1176], April 10, 2009, 74 FR 16411) Notice were published in the Federal Register to obtain public comment on this collection. The USCG has not received any comments on this collection. (See [USCG-2008-xxxx]; xxx, x, 2007; 73 FR xxxxx). The USCG has not received any comments on this information collection.

9. Provide any payment or gift to respondents.

The Coast Guard does not provide payments of gifts to respondents in exchange for a benefit sought.

10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents.

There are no assurances of confidentiality provided to the respondents for this information collection.

11. Additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature.

There are no questions of sensitive nature.

12. Estimate of reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

a. Burden Hours. Estimating that no more than 25% of the 21,150 passenger-carrying vessels would opt to install gas cooking appliances, the total number of vessels affected is 5,288. Each vessel is required to install two operating instructional placards.

5,288 respondents x 2 (number of instructional placards required)
= 10,576 (annual responses).

5,288 respondents x 1 (hour per two responses) = 5,288 hours.

b. Annual Cost. The cost to respondents involves both the money to purchase the placards or materials to make them, and the time to make them and/or install them on a vessel. If purchased the placards should cost no more than $7.00 each which would mean a total of $14.00 per vessel. The estimated cost of the placards to the respondents would be $74,032 ($14.00 x 5,288 vessels). At the wage rate² of approximately $33.00 per hour, the cost for the labor hours to install the placards would be $174,504 ($33.00/hr. x 5,288). The cost would be less if respondents chose to fabricate their own placards.

The total cost to respondents would be $248,536 ($74,032 + $174,504).

13. Estimates of annualized capital and start-up costs.

There are no capital, start-up or maintenance costs associated with this information collection.

14. Estimates of annualized cost to the Federal Government.

The Federal Government will incur no cost as a result of this paperwork burden.

15. Reasons for change in the burden.

The change in burden hours is an ADJUSTMENT due to an increase in the number of vessels. This increase may be due to the use of the Coast Guard’s new Marine Information for Safety and Law Enforcement (MISLE) database. The recordkeeping requirements and the methodology for calculating hour and cost burden remain unchanged.

16. For collections of information whose results are planned to be published for statistical use, outline plans for tabulation, statistical analysis and publication.

The Coast Guard does not intend to employ the use of statistics or the publication thereof for this information collection.

17. Approval to not display expiration date.

The Coast Guard will display the expiration date for OMB approval of this information collection.

.

18. Explain each exception to the certification statement.

The Coast Guard does not request an exception to the certification of this information collection.

B. Collection of Information Employing Statistical Methods.

This information collection does not employ statistical methods.

1 For inspected pax vessels see 46 CFR 121.240 & 184.240, and for uninspected pax vessels see 46 CFR 25.45-2.

2 Equivalent to a GS-05 (out-of-gov’t) rate, per COMDTINST 7310.1L.

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