[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 244 (Monday, December 21, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79329-79330]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-32011]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2015-0806; FRL-9940-40-OAR]
Access by EPA Contractors to Information Claimed as Confidential
Business Information (CBI) Submitted under Title II of the Clean Air
Act and Related Regulations
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s Office of
Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ) plans to authorize various
contractors to access information which will be submitted to the EPA
under Title II of the Clean Air Act that may be claimed as, or may be
determined to be, confidential business information (CBI). Access to
this information, which is related to registration of fuels and fuel
additives under 40 CFR part 79; various fuels reporting programs under
40 CFR part 80; and reporting of various greenhouse gas reporting items
under the mandatory reporting rule of 40 CFR part 98, subparts A, LL
and MM will begin on December 31, 2015.
DATES: The EPA will accept comments on this Notice through December 28,
2015.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jaimee Dong, Environmental Protection
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., MC 6405A, Washington, DC, 20004;
telephone number: 202-343-9672; fax number: 202-343-2800; email
address: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Does this Notice Apply to Me?
This action is directed to the general public. However, this action
may be of particular interest to parties who submit or have previously
submitted information to the EPA regarding the following programs: fuel
and fuel additive registration (40 CFR part 79); and various fuels
programs including reformulated gasoline, anti-dumping, gasoline
sulfur, ultra low sulfur diesel, benzene content, and the renewable
fuel standard (40 CFR part 80). Parties who may be interested include
refiners, importers, producers of renewable fuels, parties who engage
in RIN transactions, and all those who submit compliance reports to the
EPA via any method (e.g., via EPA's Central Data Exchange, or CDX),
including those who engage in reporting via the EPA Moderated
Transaction System (EMTS).
This action may also be of particular interest to parties such as
suppliers of coal-based liquid fuels and suppliers of petroleum
products, as described in 40 CFR part 98 subparts LL and MM,
respectively. (40 CFR part 98, subpart A contains general provisions
related to registration and reporting.) Parties who may be interested
in this notice include refiners, importers, and exporters of these
products.
This Federal Register notice may be of particular relevance to
parties that have submitted data under the above-listed programs or
systems. Since other parties may also be interested, the Agency has not
attempted to describe all the specific parties that may be affected by
this action. If you have further questions regarding the applicability
of this action to a particular party, please contact the person listed
in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
II. How can I get copies of this document and other related
information?
A. Electronically
The EPA has established a public docket for this Federal Register
notice under Docket EPA-HQ-OAR-2015-0806.
All documents in the docket are identified in the docket index
available at http://www.regulations.gov. Although listed in the index,
some information is not publicly available, such as confidential
business information (CBI) or other information for which disclosure is
restricted by statute. Certain materials, such as copyrighted material,
will only be available in hard copy at the EPA Docket Center.
B. EPA Docket Center
Materials listed under Docket EPA-HQ-OAR-2015-0806 will be
available for public viewing at the EPA Docket Center Reading Room, WJC
West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC
20004. The EPA Docket Center Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m.
to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays. The
telephone number for the Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the
telephone number for the Air and Radiation Docket is (202) 566-1742.
[[Page 79330]]
III. Description of Programs and Potential Disclosure of Information
Claimed as Confidential Business Information (CBI) to Contractors
The EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ) has
responsibility for protecting public health and the environment by
regulating air pollution from motor vehicles, engines, and the fuels
used to operate them, and by encouraging travel choices that minimize
emissions. In order to implement various Clean Air Act programs, and to
permit regulated entities flexibility in meeting regulatory
requirements (e.g., compliance on average), we collect compliance
reports and other information from them. Occasionally, the information
submitted is claimed to be confidential business information (CBI).
Information submitted under such a claim is handled in accordance with
EPA's regulations at 40 CFR part 2, subpart B and in accordance with
the EPA procedures, including comprehensive system security plans
(SSPs) that are consistent with those regulations. When the EPA has
determined that disclosure of information claimed as CBI to contractors
is necessary, the corresponding contract must address the appropriate
use and handling of the information by the contractor and the
contractor must require its personnel who require access to information
claimed as CBI to sign written non-disclosure agreements before they
are granted access to data.
In accordance with 40 CFR 2.301(h), we have determined that the
contractors, subcontractors, and grantees (collectively referred to as
``contractors'') listed below require access to CBI submitted to us
under the Clean Air Act and in connection with the Mandatory Greenhouse
Gas (GHG) Reporting Rule [40 CFR part 98, subparts A (general
registration and reporting provisions) LL, and MM], as well as various
OTAQ programs related to fuels, vehicles, and engines (40 CFR parts 79
and 80) and we are providing notice and an opportunity to comment. OTAQ
collects this data in order to monitor compliance with Clean Air Act
programs and, in many cases, to permit regulated parties flexibility in
meeting regulatory requirements. For example, data that may contain CBI
are collected to register fuels and fuel additives prior to
introduction into commerce. Certain programs are designed to permit
regulated parties an opportunity to comply on average, or to engage in
transactions using various types of credits. For example, OTAQ collects
information about batches of gasoline that refiners produce to ensure
compliance with reformulated gasoline standards. We are issuing this
Federal Register notice to inform all affected submitters of
information that we plan to grant access to material that may be
claimed as CBI to the contractors identified below on a need-to-know
basis.
Under Contract Number EP-C-11-007, CSRA, located at 3170 Fairview
Park Drive, Falls Church, VA 22042, and at 650 Peter Jefferson Parkway,
Suite 300, Charlottesville, VA 22901, and its subcontractor, Ecco
Select, 1301 Oak Street, Suite 400, Kansas City, MO 64106, provide
report processing, program support, technical support, and information
technology services that involve access to information claimed as CBI
related to 40 CFR part 79, 40 CFR part 80, and 40 CFR part 98 subparts
A, LL, and MM. Access to data, including information claimed as CBI,
will commence on December 31, 2015. and will continue until June 30,
2016. If the contract is extended, this access will continue for the
remainder of the contract without further notice.
OTAQ utilizes the services of enrollees under the Senior
Environmental Employment (SEE) program. Some SEE enrollees are provided
through Grant Number CQ-834621, the National Association for Hispanic
Elderly (NAHE), located at 234 East Colorado Boulevard, Suite 300,
Pasadena, CA 91101, and through Grant Numbers CQ-835372 and CQ-835572,
the Senior Service America, Inc. (SSAI), located at 8403 Colesville
Road, Suite 1200, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Access to data relating to
all of OTAQ's programs and to subparts A, LL, and MM of the Mandatory
GHG Reporting Rule, including information claimed as CBI, is ongoing
until December 31, 2016 for Grant Number CQ-834621, October 14, 2016
for Grant Number CQ-835372, and September 30, 2016 for Grant Number CQ-
835572. If these grants are extended, this access will continue for the
remainder of the grants and any future extensions without further
notice.
OTAQ also has fellows provided via the Oak Ridge Institute for
Science and Education (ORISE) Intern/Research Participation Program.
Some participants are provided through Interagency Agreement Number
DW89924039, the ORISE, located at 1299 Bethel Valley Road, Building SC-
200, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Access to data relating to all of OTAQ's
programs and to subparts A, LL, and MM of the Mandatory GHG Reporting
Rule, including information claimed as CBI, but excluding CBI under the
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the Federal Insecticide,
Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), is ongoing until September 30,
2016. If the program is extended, this access will continue for the
remainder of the program and any future extensions without further
notice.
Parties who want further information about this Federal Register
notice or about OTAQ's disclosure of information claimed as CBI to
contactors may contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT.
Dated: December 15, 2015.
Byron J. Bunker,
Director, Compliance Division, Office of Transportation & Air Quality,
Office of Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 2015-32011 Filed 12-18-15; 8:45 am]
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