[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 103 (Wednesday, May 29, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24781-24782]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-11170]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OECA-2012-0978; FRL-9994-34-OECA]


Access by EPA Subcontractors to Information Claimed as 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) Submitted Under Titles I and II 
of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and the Prevent Pollution From Ships Act 
(APPS)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Clean Air Act (CAA), Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships 
(APPS) and regulations require that the United States Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) provide notice to interested parties before any 
contractor may be provided access to confidential business information 
(CBI). EPA is providing notice that several subcontractors of a 
previously identified contractor will be given access to CBI. This 
permits the CBI owners and any other interested parties to comment on 
the subcontractors' proposed access to CBI so that EPA's Office of 
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance can utilize the named 
subcontractors to provide compliance assistance and enforcement 
services without providing individualized notice to CBI owners.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 3, 2019. 
Subcontractors' access to information collected under the CAA Titles I 
and II, and the APPS, will begin on June 4, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA HQ-
OECA-2012-0978, by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov/ 
(our preferred method). Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Email: [email protected]. Include Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OECA-2012-0978 in the subject line of the message.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID 
No. for this rulemaking. Comments received may be posted without change 
to https://www.regulations.gov/, including any personal information 
provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffrey Kimes, Air Enforcement 
Division, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (Mail Code 
8MSU), Environmental Protection Agency, 1595 Wynkoop St., Denver, CO 
80202; telephone number: (303) 312-6445; fax number (303) 312-7208; 
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 certain parties, including: Vehicle 
manufacturers and importers; engine manufacturers and importers; motor 
vehicle fuel and fuel additive producers and importers; manufacturers, 
importers, distributors and installers of vehicle and engine emission 
control equipment and parts; and any other parties subject to the CAA, 
APPS and regulations found in 40 CFR parts 79, 80, 85, 86, 89-92, 94, 
1033, 1036, 1037, 1039, 1042, 1043, 1045, 1048, 1051, 1054, 1060, 1065, 
and 1068.
    This Federal Register notice may be of particular relevance to 
parties that have submitted data to EPA under the above-listed 
regulations. Because other parties may also be interested, EPA 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

    EPA has established a public docket for this Federal Register 
notice under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OECA-2012-0978.
    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 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.

[[Page 24782]]

B. EPA Docket Center

    Materials listed under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OECA-2012-0978 will be 
available for public viewing at the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA 
West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460. The 
EPA Docket Center Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 
p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone 
number for the Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number 
for the Air Docket is (202) 566-1742.

III. Description of Programs and Potential Disclosure of Information 
Claimed as CBI to Contractors

    EPA's OECA 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 give regulated entities flexibility in meeting 
regulatory requirements (e.g., compliance on average), OECA collects 
compliance reports and other information from the regulated industry. 
Occasionally, the information submitted to, or obtained by, EPA, is 
claimed to be CBI by persons submitting data to EPA. 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 EPA 
procedures that are consistent with those regulations. When EPA has 
determined that disclosure of information claimed as CBI to EPA 
contractors or subcontractors is necessary, the corresponding contract 
must address the appropriate use and handling of the information by the 
EPA contractor and subcontractor and the EPA contractor and 
subcontractor 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.
    On March 12, 2019, EPA provided notice in the Federal Register of, 
and an opportunity to comment on, EPA's determination that its 
contractor Eastern Research Group, Incorporated, (ERG) 14555 Avion 
Parkway, Suite 200, Chantilly, VA 20151, required access to CBI 
submitted to EPA under Section 114 of the CAA, Section 208 of the CAA, 
and the APPS for the work ERG would be conducting under Contract Number 
68HERH19C0004. See Access by United States Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) Contractors to Information Claimed as Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) Submitted under Clean Air Act (CAA), Title 
I, Programs and Activities Air, and Title II Emission Standards for 
Moving Sources, and Act To Prevent Pollution From Ships (APPS), 84 FR 
8859 (March 12, 2019). In accordance with 40 CFR 2.301(h), EPA has now 
determined that the subcontractors listed below also require access to 
CBI submitted to EPA under Section 114 of the CAA, Section 208 of the 
CAA, and the APPS, and we are providing notice and an opportunity to 
comment on EPA subcontractors' access to information claimed as CBI. 
OECA collects this data in order to monitor compliance with regulations 
promulgated under the CAA Title II Emission Standards for Moving 
Sources, the APPS, and the International Convention for the Prevention 
of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), Annex VI. 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 
subcontractors identified below on a need-to-know basis.
    Under Contract Number 68HERH19C0004, ERG provides enforcement 
support for EPA's CAA mobile source regulatory and enforcement 
activities, including field inspections, investigations, audits, and 
other CAA regulatory and enforcement support that involve access to 
information claimed as CBI. ERG also employs subcontractors, who 
support these activities, under the above-listed contract. These 
subcontractors include: Sunblock Systems, Inc.; PG Environmental, LLC; 
BDO USA, LLP; Dr. James J. Carroll; Dr. Yiqun Huang; Dr. Maureen 
Kaplan; and Capital Reporting Company. Access to data, including 
information claimed as CBI, will commence six days after the date of 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register, and will continue 
until March 1, 2024. If the contract and associated subcontracts are 
extended, this access will continue for the remainder of the ERG 
contract without further notice. If the contract expires prior to March 
1, 2024, the access will cease at that time. If ERG employs additional 
subcontractors to support EPA on a regular basis or on a limited or 
one-time basis under the above-listed contract, and those 
subcontractors require access to CBI, EPA will notify affected 
companies of the contemplated disclosure and provide them with an 
opportunity to comment by either sending them a letter or by publishing 
an additional notice in the Federal Register.
    Parties who wish to obtain further information about this Federal 
Register notice, or about OECA's disclosure of information claimed as 
CBI to subcontractors, may contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.

    Dated: May 16, 2019.
Phillip A. Brooks,
Director, Air Enforcement Division.
[FR Doc. 2019-11170 Filed 5-28-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P