[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 2, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22713-22714]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-06926]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPPT-2024-0160; FRL-11814-01-OCSPP]


U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO): Disclosure of 
Information Potentially Containing Confidential Business Information

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) 
is providing notice of disclosure to all potentially affected 
businesses under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that have 
submitted information to EPA pursuant to TSCA section 5. In response to 
a request by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), EPA will 
disclose information to GAO which has been submitted to the Agency 
under TSCA section 5, and which is claimed to be, or has been 
determined to be, Confidential Business Information (CBI). The 
information to be disclosed includes portions of at least several TSCA 
section 5 submissions, which may include information that is claimed 
as, or has been determined to be, CBI.

DATES: EPA will disclose the material discussed in this document to 
GAO, including any CBI therein, no earlier than April 12, 2024. At the 
conclusion of GAO's review, all CBI-claimed documents will be 
destroyed, deleted, or returned to EPA if applicable.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jessica Barkas, Program Management and 
Operations Division (PMOD) 7407M, Office of Pollution Prevention and 
Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 250-8880; email address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In connection with a GAO review, EPA 
received a request under 40 CFR 2.209(b) from GAO for certain records 
submitted to EPA under TSCA from October 1, 2021, through the date of 
this notice. According to the request, GAO is initiating a review of 
EPA's practices for managing and accessing the performance of EPA's New 
Chemicals Review program under TSCA section 5.

[[Page 22714]]

To fulfill these objectives, GAO has requested access to records, data, 
and documents submitted to EPA pursuant to TSCA, 15 U.S.C. 2601 et 
seq., the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA), 42 U.S.C. 13101 et seq., and 
other applicable statutes administered by EPA's Office of Pollution 
Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) from October 1, 2021, through the date of 
this notice. The requested information may include submissions that 
have been claimed as, or have been determined to be, CBI. GAO has not 
indicated which or how many TSCA section 5 submissions they may need to 
access, but their planned review of this information will likely 
require the viewing and analysis of some features of unredacted 
submissions that have been claimed as CBI. Consequently, GAO staff may 
view CBI material in TSCA section 5 submissions incidental to their 
review and examination of EPA's New Chemical Review program. EPA also 
intends to disclose to GAO any information related to data systems that 
house new chemicals review information to assess the reliability of 
system data.
    To fulfill the request, EPA expects to provide GAO temporary access 
to the requested TSCA section 5 submissions via remote access to EPA's 
TSCA CBI LAN beginning as early as 10 days following this notice. At 
this point, EPA does not anticipate transferring physical custody of 
any requested information or documents to GAO.
    The disclosure of CBI is limited to GAO and further disclosure is 
generally restricted by 31 U.S.C. 716(e) and subject to criminal 
penalties under 18 U.S.C. 1905. At the conclusion of the GAO review, 
all CBI-claimed documents will be destroyed, deleted, or returned to 
EPA, if applicable.
    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.

    Dated: March 27, 2024.
Pamela Myrick,
Director, Project Management and Operations Division, Office of 
Pollution Prevention and Toxics.
[FR Doc. 2024-06926 Filed 4-1-24; 8:45 am]
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