(a) The smelter owner's proposal. The smelter owner's NSO application shall include a proposed NSO provision for implementing the requirement of § 57.601, a fully documented supporting analysis of the proposed program, and an evaluation of the consistency of the proposed program with the criteria listed in § 57.603. The application shall also specify:

(1) The design and substantive elements of the research and development program, including the expected amount of time required for their implementation;

(2) The annual expected capital, operating, and other costs of each element in the program;

(3) The smelter's current production processes, pollution control equipment, and emissions which are likely to be affected by the program;

(4) Potential or expected benefits of the program;

(5) The basis upon which the results of the program will be evaluated; and

(6) The names, positions, and qualifications of the individuals responsible for conducting and supervising the project.

(b) EPA approval. (1) If the issuing agency will not be EPA, the smelter owner or the issuing agency may also submit to EPA the information specified in paragraph (a) of this section at the same time the information is submitted to the issuing agency. As soon as possible after the receipt of the information described in paragraph (a) of this section, EPA shall certify to the issuing agency and to the applicant whether or not in the judgment of the Administrator the smelter owner's final proposals are approvable. If EPA does not receive an advance copy of the proposal, the ultimate approval will occur when the NSO is approved rather than in advance of receipt of the NSO.

(2) A prerequisite for approval of an R&D proposal by EPA and any issuing agency is that the planned work must yield the most cost effective technology possible.

(c) Optional preproposal. The smelter owner may, at its option, submit to EPA for its approval and comment a preproposal generally describing the project the owner intends to propose under paragraph (a) of this section. A preproposal may be submitted to EPA any time prior to the submission of a proposal under paragraph (a) of this section. As soon as possible after the receipt of a preproposal, EPA shall certify to the applicant (and to any other issuing agency, as applicable) whether or not the project would be approvable. This certification may include comments indicating necessary modifications which would make the project approvable.