[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 10 (Wednesday, January 15, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2422-2423]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-00548]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OECA-2012-0978; FRL-10004-17-OECA]


Access by United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
Subcontractor 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)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) 
Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) plans to 
authorize a subcontractor to access information that will be submitted 
to EPA under the Clean Air Act (CAA) Titles I and II and the Act to 
Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) that may be claimed as, or may be 
determined to be, confidential business information (CBI).

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 21, 2020. The 
subcontractors' access to information collected under the CAA Titles I 
and II, and the APPS, will begin on January 21, 2020.

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: Motor 
vehicle manufacturers and importers; engine manufacturers and 
importers; motor vehicle fuel and fuel additive producers and 
importers; manufacturers, importers and distributors of motor vehicle 
and engine emission control equipment and parts; and any other parties 
subject to the 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 document 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 
document

[[Page 2423]]

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.

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 May 29, 2019, EPA provided notice in the Federal Register of, 
and an opportunity to comment on, EPA's determination that 
subcontractors to EPA 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 subcontractors would be 
conducting under Contract Number 68HERH19C0004. See Access by United 
States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Subcontractors 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 Federal Register 103 (May 29, 
2019). In accordance with 40 CFR 2.301(h), EPA has now determined that 
the subcontractor Blum, Shapiro and Company, P.C. (Blum Shapiro) also 
requires 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 Blum Shapiro's 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 document to inform all affected submitters of 
information that we plan to grant access to material that may be 
claimed as CBI to the subcontractor Blum Shapiro 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. The 
subcontractor Blum Shapiro requires access to information claimed as 
CBI to support EPA enforcement activities described above. Access to 
data, including information claimed as CBI, will commence six days 
after the date of publication of this document 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 document in the Federal Register.
    Parties who wish to obtain further information about this Federal 
Register document, or about OECA's disclosure of information claimed as 
CBI to subcontractors, may contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.

    Dated: December 20, 2019.
Phillip A. Brooks,
Director, Air Enforcement Division.
[FR Doc. 2020-00548 Filed 1-14-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P