[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 15 (Thursday, January 23, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3910-3911]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-01109]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OGC-2020-0020; FRL-10004-65-OGC]


Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Renewal 
of Existing Information Collection Request for Confidential Business 
Information Substantiation

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to 
submit an information collection request (ICR), ``Renewal of Existing 
Information Collection Request for Confidential Business Information 
Substantiation'' (EPA ICR No. 1665.14, OMB Control No. 2020-003) to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. Before doing so, EPA is 
soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the proposed 
information collection as described below. This is a proposed extension 
of the ICR, which is currently approved through May 31, 2020. An Agency 
may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, 
a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB 
control number.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before March 23, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OGC-
2020-0020, online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), by 
email to [email protected], or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, 
Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460.
    EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the 
public docket without change including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes profanity, threats, information 
claimed to be confidential business information (CBI) or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher T. Creech, National FOIA 
Office, (2310A), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-564-4286; email 
address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supporting documents which explain in detail 
the information that the EPA will be collecting are available in the 
public

[[Page 3911]]

docket for this ICR. The docket can be viewed online at 
www.regulations.gov or in person at the EPA Docket Center, WJC West, 
Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC. The telephone 
number for the Docket Center is 202-566-1744. For additional 
information about EPA's public docket, visit http://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, EPA is soliciting 
comments and information to enable it to: (i) Evaluate whether the 
proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper 
performance of the functions of the Agency, including whether the 
information will have practical utility in completing CBI 
determinations; (ii) evaluate the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of 
the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (iii) enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and 
(iv) minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who 
are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses. EPA will consider the comments received and 
amend the ICR as appropriate. The final ICR package will then be 
submitted to OMB for review and approval. At that time, EPA will issue 
another Federal Register notice to announce the submission of the ICR 
to OMB and the opportunity to submit additional comments to OMB.
    Abstract: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
established the requirements set forth in 40 CFR, part 2, subpart B, 
``Confidentiality of Business Information.'' The requirements govern 
business confidentiality claims. The requirements include the handling 
by the Agency of business information which is or may be entitled to 
confidential treatment, requiring business submitters to substantiate 
CBI claims, determining whether such information is entitled to 
confidential treatment for reasons of business confidentiality, and 
responding to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests pursuant to 5 
U.S.C. 552 for information claimed as CBI.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: Respondents include any business 
submitting information to EPA that it claims as CBI. EPA receives such 
information from both the manufacturing (SIC codes 20-39) and non-
manufacturing sectors (no SIC codes identified).
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Voluntary and mandatory.
    Estimated number of respondents: 198 (total).
    Frequency of response: 1 response per respondent annually.
    Total estimated burden: 752.4 hours (per year). Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $169,290 (per year), includes $0 annualized 
capital or operation & maintenance costs.
    Changes in Estimates: The revised requests for substantiation will 
decrease the estimated burden hours for each response, although it 
increases the total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR 
currently approved by OMB. The decrease is 2 hours for each business 
response; the increase is based on an expected higher response rate 
under the new form, producing an increase from 488 hours to 752.4 hours 
total. These changes are due to the removal of a question that required 
a company to describe, with specificity, the ``substantial competitive 
harm'' that would occur as a direct result of disclosing the 
information. EPA modified its substantiation questions as a result of 
the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Food Marketing Institute v. Argus 
Leader Media (Argus), 139 S. Ct. 2356 (2019), which evaluated the 
definition of ``confidential'' as used in Exemption 4 of the Freedom of 
Information Act (FOIA). 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4). In the Argus decision, the 
Court held that at least where ``[1] commercial or financial 
information is both customarily and actually treated as private by its 
owner and [2] provided to the government under an assurance of privacy, 
the information is `confidential' within the meaning of Exemption 4.'' 
Argus, 139 S. Ct. at 2366. EPA has reduced burdens to business 
submitters by removing the requirement to explain with specificity 
whatever ``substantial competitive harm'' a submitter claims would 
ensue from release of each CBI claim. The evaluation of ``substantial 
competitive harm'' had required businesses to analyze and describe the 
potential impacts of release. EPA has replaced that question with 
modified questions that require a factual description of the 
submitter's handling and treatment of the CBI-claimed information, as 
well as a description of any assurances provided by EPA at the time of 
submission. This replacement will reduce the burden on companies since 
evaluation and analysis of ``substantial competitive harm'' is no 
longer required. Further, EPA reframed preexisting questions to solicit 
``yes'' or ``no'' responses, which further reduces burdens on 
submitters. These modifications will result in greater clarity to 
business submitters and improved responses as the Agency completes its 
confidentiality determinations. The Agency anticipates that this lower 
burden on each response will increase the response rate from 21% in the 
prior analysis to 66% in the present analysis. EPA has already 
experienced an increase in response rate as a result of the Supreme 
Court's decision and expects this change to continue under the new 
form. EPA also made other adjustments in its analysis including 
adjustments in the hourly costs for both the Agency and responding 
companies as well as removing a category of burden that was not 
relevant to EPA's information request.

    Dated: January 15, 2020.
Timothy R. Epp,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2020-01109 Filed 1-22-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P