Air Emissions Reporting Requirements (AERR) (Renewal)
Extension without change of a currently approved collection
No
Regular
10/31/2025
table that charts list comparision
Requested
Previously Approved
36 Months From Approved
05/31/2026
5,931
85
198,499
48,702
15,130,399
255,000
Under the AERR ICR, 55 State and territorial air quality agencies, including the District of Columbia (DC), and an estimated 14 local and tribal air quality agencies, must annually submit emissions data of oxides of nitrogen (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), volatile organic compounds (VOC), particulate matter less than or equal to 10 micrometers in diameter (PM10), particulate matter less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers in diameter (PM2.5), and ammonia (NH3). The current AERR rule, which can be found at 40 CFR Part 51 Subpart A, defines which emissions sources that State, local, and Tribal (SLT) agencies must submit individually as âpoint sources.â The point source definitions are different depending on the year, and SLTs report more point sources every third year for the âtriennial inventory.â For triennial inventory years, States must also submit point source emissions for Lead (Pb), emissions for stationary nonpoint and some nonroad mobile sources, and they must submit model input data for onroad mobile and nonroad mobile equipment. For mobile sources, California has different requirements because it uses different models, and California must submit emissions (rather than model inputs) for these data categories of the same pollutants listed above.
The annual emissions data collected through the AERR are used by the EPA Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS) to support development of the National Emissions Inventory (NEI). The NEI is more comprehensive for triennial inventory years because they include updates to all data categories. The EPA uses the NEI in developing national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS), performing regional and national modeling, providing air quality management support (e.g., State implementation plan (SIP) development) to State agencies and multi-jurisdictional organizations (MJOs), and preparing national trends assessments and other special analyses and reports. Currently, the same reporting mechanisms used for the criteria air pollutants and precursors (CAPs) listed above are also used for voluntary reporting of hazardous air pollutants (HAP) and other pollutants. These data are collected by the air agencies for their own purposes, and EPA encourages air agencies to voluntarily provide such data to EPA when it is available.
As compared to the previous ICR for the AERR, this ICR covers more activities. First, this ICR has been modified to include the costs of emissions data systems that the States will likely run irrespective of this rule (to collect permit fees). Second, this ICR includes the burden on owners/operators for reporting data to the States so that States can report to EPA. These additions make the ICR more complete but are not adding real-world burden to States or owners/operators when compared to activities they are already doing. These additions are simply covering gaps in the previously approved AERR ICR. These types of costs would continue to occur regardless of this rule, by way of complying with other existing Federal and State laws and regulations.
For States, the number of respondents has been revised downward based on the most recent inventory years where fewer local and Tribal agencies are now reporting. The annual respondent burden has increased because of methodological differences from the previous ICR. For SLTs, the primary changes from the previous ICR include: improved assessment of point source annual burden, point source triennial burden, CAERS point source reporting burden, and other triennial burden activities from 609 hours for States and 333 for local agencies to 670 hours for States and 178 hours for local agencies. Despite overall increases in hours per respondent, the decrease in respondents and the expected change in agencies using CAERS results in very little change in burden for SLTs. The large increase in costs can be attributed to the newly included costs of data system operation and maintenance of about $15M.
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.
2170ss13.docx
2170t13.xlsx
CDX instructions.pdf
Owner/Operators Voluntary