[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]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P