[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 187 (Thursday, September 26, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50832-50833]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-20930]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-10000-32-OAR]
Production of Confidential Business Information in Civil
Litigation; Transfer of Information Claimed as Confidential Business
Information to the United States Department of Justice and Parties to
Certain Litigation
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing
notice of disclosure of information which has been submitted to the EPA
by owners/operators of oil and natural gas facilities that is claimed
to be, or has been determined to be, confidential business information
(CBI), in civil litigation styled State of New York. et al. v. EPA, No.
18-cv-773, pending in the United States District Court for the District
of Columbia (Litigation). Disclosure is in response to discovery
requests from Plaintiffs in this Litigation. The court has entered a
Protective Order applicable to all parties that governs the treatment
of CBI during and after this Litigation.
DATES: Access by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and/or
the parties to this Litigation to material, including CBI, discussed in
this document, will be ongoing and expected to continue during the
Litigation.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Interested parties may contact Ms.
Penny Lassiter, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Sector
Policies and Programs Division (D205-01), Environmental Protection
Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711; telephone number:
(888) 372-8696; email address: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Does this action apply to me?
Entities potentially affected by this action include owners/
operators of oil and natural gas facilities who have submitted
information to the EPA that is claimed to be, or has been determined to
be, CBI. There are several industry segments that may be considered oil
and natural gas facilities. Those facilities that may be affected by
this action include the following industry segments: Onshore petroleum
and natural gas production, onshore petroleum and natural gas gathering
and boosting, onshore natural gas processing, onshore natural gas
transmission compression, onshore natural gas transmission pipelines,
underground natural gas storage, liquified natural gas (LNG) storage,
and LNG import and export equipment.
The table below presents some examples of potentially affected
entities according to the North American Industry Classification System
(NAICS) code. This table is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather
provides a guide for readers regarding entities that may be impacted by
this action. Other types of entities not listed in the table could also
be impacted. If you have any questions regarding the applicability of
this action, consult the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section.
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Examples of
Category NAICS Codes potentially affected
entities
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Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems. 211111 Crude petroleum and
natural gas
extraction.
211112 Natural gas liquid
extraction.
221210 Natural gas
distribution.
486110 Pipeline
distribution of
crude oil.
486210 Pipeline
transportation of
natural gas.
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II. Action Description
The Plaintiffs filed this action to compel the EPA ``to comply with
the nondiscretionary duty under the Clean Air Act (Act) to establish
guidelines for limiting methane emissions from existing sources in the
oil and natural gas sector, thereby remedying EPA's unreasonable delay
in establishing such emission guidelines.'' New York et al. v. EPA, No.
1:18-cv-773, ECF Document No. 1 at 1 (D.D.C.). Plaintiffs in this
action include the following: State of California, State of
Connecticut, State of Illinois, State of Iowa, State of Maine, State of
Maryland, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, State of New Mexico, State of
Oregon, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, State of Rhode Island, State of
Vermont, State of Washington, District of Columbia, City of Chicago,
and the Environmental Defense Fund (Plaintiff-Intervenor). Notice is
being provided, pursuant to 40 CFR 2.209(d), to inform affected
businesses that the EPA intends to transmit certain information which
has been submitted by owners/operators of oil and natural gas
facilities that is claimed to be, or has been determined to be, CBI, to
the parties in this Litigation. The information includes communications
with, and information provided by owners/operators of, oil and natural
gas facilities in connection with the Information Collection Request
(ICR) that the EPA issued to the oil and natural gas industry in 2016.
See https://www.epa.gov/controlling-air-pollution-oil-and-natural-gas-industry/oil-and-natural-gas-information-collection. Such information
includes, but is not limited to, information submitted during
development of the ICR (including the two rounds of public comment);
information submitted in response to the ICR letter, including data
(e.g., completed surveys); questions about the ICR; and/or requests to
the EPA for an exemption from or an extension of the deadlines for
responding to the ICR.
The treatment of this information is governed by the Protective
Order entered into by the parties to this Litigation. Interested third
parties may find the Protective Order in the docket for the Litigation.
New York et al. v. EPA, No. 1:18-cv-773, ECF Document No. 53 (D.D.C.).
The Protective Order governs the distribution of CBI, limits its use to
this Litigation, and provides for its return or destruction at the
conclusion of the Litigation. In accordance with 40 CFR 2.209(c)-(d),
DOJ must disclose such information to the extent required to comply
with the discovery obligations of the EPA in this Litigation, including
its obligations under the Protective Order.
[[Page 50833]]
Dated: September 12, 2019.
Anne L. Idsal,
Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 2019-20930 Filed 9-25-19; 8:45 am]
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