UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
 

REGIONS
 

1595 Wynkoop Street 

DENVER, CO 80202-1129 

Phone 800-227-8917 

http)lwww.epa.gov/region08 

MAY 18 2011·
 

Ref: 8P-AR 

CERn FlED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED 

Richard Johnson 

Plant' Manager -- Montana City 

Ash Grove Cement Company 

100 Highway, 518 

Clancy, Montana 59634-9701 

RE: Updated Information Requested for Best Available 

Relrotit Technology Determination 

Dear Mr. Johnson: 

Thank you for your previous responses in 2007 and 2008 to our request for a Best Available RelroJit 

Technology dClennination for Ash Grove Cement. This informalion is necessary to develop the 

Regional Haze Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) for Montana. As we move forward in developing the 

FII>, we want to provide you with an opportunity to update infonnation related to your five-factor 

analysis; therefore, if there is additional information that you would like the Agency consider in the 

development ofthat FIP, we request that you submit any revisions or additional information to us within 

45 days of the date of this letter. 

Please submit your response to: 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region VIII
 

1595 Wynkoop Street
 

Denver, CO 80202-1129
 

Attention: Vanessa Hinkle, 8P-AR
 

Pursuant to Section I 14(c) of the CAA, 42 U.S.c. §7414(c), and 40 C.F.R. Part 2, Subpart R, Ash Grove 

Cement is entitled to assert a business confidentiality claim covering any part of the submitted 

intormation. The enclosed attachment specifies the assertion and substantiation requirements for 

business conlidentiality claims. Failure to assert such a claim makes the submitted information subject 

to public disclosure upon request and without further notice to you, pursuant to the Freedom of 

Information Act, 5 U.S.C. Section 552. Information subject to a business confidentialily claim may only 

be made available to the public in accordance with 40 C.F.R. Part 2, Subpart B. 

The requirements ofthis letter are nol subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, 44 U.S.c. §350 I 

et self. 
We appreciate your cooperation in this matter. If you have any questions please call Vanessa Hinkle. of 

my staff: at (303) 312-6561. 

Sinc~reIy.

Deborah Lebow Aal 

Acting Director 

Air Program 

Enclosure 

cc: John Bunyak, NPS 

Sandra Silva, USFWS 

Thomas Dzomba, USFS 
STATEMENT OF CERTIFICATION
 

I certify under penalty of law that I have personally examined and am familiar with the 

information suhmitted in this document and all attachments and that, based on my inquiry 

of those individuals immediatel y responsible for obtaining infom1ution, 1believe that the 

information is truc, accurate, and complete. I am aware that there are significant 

penalties for submitting false information, includ~ng the possibility of fine or 

imprisonment. 

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Attachment B
 

Confidential Business Information (CBI)
 

Assertion and Substantiation Requirements
 

a. Assertion Requirements 

You may assert a business confidentiality claim covering all or part of the infonnation 

requested in the attached letter, as provided in 40 C.F.R. §2.203(b). To make a confidentiaJity 

claim, submit the requested information and indicate that you are making a claim of 

confidentiality. Any document over which you make a claim of confidentiality should bc marked 

by placing on or attaching to the infonnation, at the time it is submitted to U.S. EPA, a cover 

sheet. stamped or typed legend, or other suitable fonn of notice employing language such as 

"trade secret" or "proprietary" or "company confidential" and a date if any when the infonnation 

should no longer be treated as confidential. lnfonnation covered by such a claim will be 

disclosed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U .S. EPA) only to the extent 

pcnnitted and by means of the procedures set forth by Section 1i4(c) of the Clean Air Act (the 

Act), and 40 C.F.R. Part 2. Allegedly confidential portions of otherwise nonconfidential 

documents should be clearly identified. U.S. EPA will construe the failure to furnish a 

confidentiality claim with your response to the attached letter as a waiver of that claim, and the 

information may be made available to the public without further notice to you. 

Pleas;,; segregate personnel, medical and similar files from your responses and inClude 

that information on separate sheet(s) marked as "Personal Privacy Information" given that 

disclosure of such information to the general public may constitute an invasion of privacy. 

b. Substantiation Requirements 

All contldentiality claims are subject to U.S. EPA verification and must be made in 

accordance with 40 C.F.R. §2.208 which provides in part that you satisfactorily show that you 

have taken reasonable measures to protect the confidentiality of the information and that you 

intend to continue to do so; and that the information is not and has not been reasonably 

obtainable by legitimate means without your consent. 

Pursuant to 40 C.F.R. Part 2, Subpart B, U.S EPA may at any time send you a letter 

asking you to substantiate fully your CBI claim. You must provide U.S. EPA with a response 

wi thin the number of days set forth in the U.S. EPA request letter. You may seek an extension of 

time to submit your comments to EPA's letter, but the request must be made before the end of 

the response period specified in that letter. Except in extraordinary circumstances, no extension 

will be approved. Failure to submit your comments within that time will be regarded as a waiver 

of your confidentiality claim or claim;), and U.S. EPA may release the infonnation. U.S. EPA 

will ask you to specify which portions of the infonnation you consider confidential. You must 

be specific by page, paragraph, and s~ntence when identifying the information subject to 

your claim. Any information not specifically identified as subject to a confidentiality claim may 

be disclosed to the requestor without further notice to you. For each item or class of information 

that you identify as being subject to esr, U.S EPA will ask you to answer the following 
questions, giving as much detail as possible: 

I. For what period of time do you request that the information be maintained as 

confidential, e.g., until a certain date, until the occurrence of a specified event. or 

permanently? If the occurrence of a specific event will eliminate the need Cor 

confidentiality, please specify that event. 

2. InfOimation submitted to U.S. EPA becomes stale over time. Why should the 

information you claim as confidential be protected for the time period specified in your 

answer to question #1? 

3. What measures have you taken to protect the infomlation claimed as confidential? 

Have you disclosed the information to anyone other than a governmental body or 

someone wh.o is bound by an agreement not to disclose the infom1ation further'? If so, 

why should the infonnation still bc considered confidential? 

4. Is the information contained in any publicly available material such as the Internet. 

publicly available databases, promotional publications, annual reporls, or articles? Is 

there any means by which a member of the public could obtain access to the information? 

Is the information of a kind that you would customarily not release to the public? 

5. Has any governmental body made a detcnnination as to the confidentiality of the 

information? If so, please attach a copy of the determination. 

6. For each category of information claimed as confidential, explain with sp.cciiicitv why 

release of the information is likely to cause substantial harm to your competitive position. 

Explain the specific nature of those harmful etTccts. why they should be viewed as 

substantial, and the causal relationship between disclosure and such harmful effects. 

How could your competitors make use OJ this information to your detriment? 

7. Do you a.'>Sert that the information is submitted on a voluntary or a mandatory basis? 

Please explain the reason for your assertion. If you assert that the infom1ation is 

voluntarily submitted information, explain whether and why disclosure of the information 

would tend to lessen the availability to U.S. EPA of similar information in the future. 

8. Any other issue you deem relevant (including, if pertinent reasons why you believe that 

the information you claim to be eBI is not emission or effluent data.) 

Please note that emission data provided under Section 114 of the Act, 42 U.S.c. § 74]4. 

is not entitled to contidential treatment under 40 C.F.R. Part 2. "Emission data" means, with 

reference to any source of emission of any substance into the air. 

Information necessary to determine the identity, amount, frequency, concentration, or 

other characteristics (to the extent related to air quality) of any emission which has been emitted 

by the source (or of any pollutant resulting from any emission by the source), or any combination 

2 
of the foregoing; 

(a). Information necessary to determine the identity, amount, frequency, concentration, 

or other characteristics (to the extent related to air quality) of the emissions which, under 

an applicable standard or limitation, the source was authorized to emit (including, to the 

extent necessary for such purposes, a description of the manner and rate of operation of 

the source); and 

(b). A general description of the location and/or nature of the source to the extent 

necessary to identify the source and to distinguish it from other sources (including, to the 

extent necessary for such purposes, a description of the device, installation, or operation 

constituting the source). 40 C.F.R. §§ 2.301 (a)(2)(i)(A), (B) and (C). 

Emission data includes, but is not limited to, service records stating the amount of refrigerant 

added to a unit or reclaimed from a unit. 

If you receive a request for a substantiation letter from the U.S. EPA, you bear the- burden 

of substantiatil1~'yourconfldentiality claim Conclusory allegations will be given little or no 

weight in the determination. ]n substantiating your CBI claim(s), U.S. EPA will require you to 

bracket all text so claimed and mark it "CBI." Information so designated will be disclosed by 

U.S. J:::PA only to the extent allowed by, and by means of the procedures set forth in, 40 C.F.R. 

Part 2, Subpart B. If you fail to claim the information as confidential, it may be made available 

to the public without further notice to you. 

3
 

United States Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (2201 A) 

Environmental Protection EPA 300·F·03-o01 May 2003

~SEPA Agency 

I

f you own a small business, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offers 

a variety of compliance assistance and tools to assist you in complying with federal and state 

environmental laws. These resources can help you understand your environmental obligations, improve 

compliance and find cost-effective ways to comply through the use of pollution prevention and other 

innovative technologies. 

Hotlines, Helplines and 

Clearinghouses 

EPA sponsors approximately 89 free hotlines and clearinghouses that provide convenient assistance regarding 

environmental requirements. 

The National Environmental Compliance Assistance 

Clearinghouse provides quick access to compliance 

assistance tools, contacts, and planned activities from the 

U.S. EPA, states, and other compliance assIstance 

providers: http://www.epa.gov/clearlnghouse 

Pollution Prevention Clearinghouse 

http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/library/ppicindex.htm 

EPA's Small Business Ombudsman Hotline can 

provide a list of all tile hot lines and assist in determining the hotline best meeting your needs: 

(BOO) 368-5888 

Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act 

(800) 424-9346 

National Response Center (to report oil and hazardous 

subslance spills) 

(800) 424-8802 

Toxies Substances and Asbestos Information 

(202) 554-1404 

Safe Drinking Water 

(800)426-4791 

Stratospheric Ozone and Refrigerants Information 

(800) 296-1996 

Clean Air Technology Center 

(919)541-0800 

Wetlands Helpline 

(800)832-7828 

EPA Websites 

EPA has several Internet sites that provide useful compliance assistance information and materials for small 

businesses. If you don't nave access to the Internet at 

your business, many public libraries provide access to the 

Internet at minimal or no cost. 

EPA's Home Page 

http://www.epa.gov 

Small Business Assistance Program 

http://WoNW. epa.gov/ttnlsbap 

Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance 

http://www.epa.gov/compliance 

Compliance Assistance Home Page 

http://www.epa. gOY/compliance/assistance 

Office of Regulatory Enforcement 

http://www.epa.gov/compliance/civil/index.html 

Office of Site Remediation Enforcement 

http://www.epa.gov/compliance/cleanup 

Innovative Programs for Environmental Performance 

http://www.epa.gov/partners 

Small Business Ombudsman 

www.sba.gov/ombudsman 

Reeyele dJRcc ycl ab/<J 

Pdnlod wl\l', Soy/Canol.llnk 011 paper that contains at leiJ~H 300/~ post consumer tiber 
Compliance Assistance Centers 

In partnership with industry, universities, and other federal 

and state agencies. EPA has established national Compli­

.ance Assistance Centers that provide Intemet and "faxback" 

assistance services for several industries with many small 

businesses. The foHowing Compliance Assistance Centers 

can be accessed through the Center's gateway at http:// 

www.assistancecenters.netorbycalling the phone numbers 

below and at their respective websites: 

Metal Finishing
 

(1-800-AT-NMFRC or www.nmfrc.org)
 

Printing
 

(1-888-USPNEAC or wwvv'.pneac.org)
 

Automotive Service and Repair
 

(1-888-GRN-LiNK or www.ccar-greenlink.org)
 

Agriculture
 

(1-888-663-2155 or www.epa.gov/agriculture)
 

Printed Wiring Board ManUfacturing
 

(i -734-995-4911 or WNW. pWbrc.org)
 

The Chemical Industry
 

(1-800-672-6048 or www.chemalliance.org)
 

The Transportation Industry
 

(1-888-459-0656 or www.transource.org)
 

The Paints and Coatings Center
 

(1-800-286-6372 or WWVv'.paintcenter.org)
 

Three new centers are under development for the auto
 

salvage sector, the construction industry. and U.S. Mexi­


can border waste issues.
 

State Agencies 

Many state agencies have established compliance assistance programs that provide on-site and other types of 

assistance. Contact your local state environmental agency 

for more information. For assistance in reaching state 

agencies, call EPA's Small Business Ombudsman at 

(800)-368-5888 or visit the Small Business Environmental 

Homepage at hltp:lI'NWVv'.smallbiz-enviroweb.org/state,html. 

Compliance Incentives 

EPA provides incen11ves for environmental compliance, By 

P2rticipating in compliance assistance programs 0' 

voluntarily disclosing and promptly correclIng violations, 

businesses may be eligible for penalty waivers or reductions. EPA has two policies that potentially apply to small 

businesses: The Audit Policy (http://www.epa.gov/compliance/incentives/auditing) and the Small Business Policy 

(http://WW1N.epa.gov/compliance/incentives/smalibusiness). 

These do not apply if an enforcement action has already 

been initiated. 

Commenting on Federal Enforcement 

Actions and Compliance Activities 

The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act 

(SBREFA) established an ombudsman ("SBREFAOmbudsman") and 10 Regional Faimess Boards to receive comments 

from small businesses about federal agency enforcement 

actions. The SBREFA Ombudsman will annually rate each 

agency's responsiveness to small businesses. If you believe 

that you fall within the Small Business Administration's 

definition of a small business (based on your North American 

Industry Classification System (NAICS) designation, numbe' 

of employees or annual receipts. defined at 13 C.F.R. 

121.201; in most cases, this means a business with 500 or 

fewer employees), and wish to comment on federal enforcement and compliance activities, call the SBREFA 

Ombudsman's toll-free number at 1-888-REG-FAIR (1-888­

734-3247). 

Every small business that is the subject of an enforce.ment 

or compliance action is entitled to comment on the 

Agency's actions·withou1 fear of retaliation. EPA 

employees are prohibited from using enforcement or any 

other means of retaliation against any member of the 

regUlated community because the regulated community 

previously commented on its activities. 

Your Duty to Comply 

If you receive compliance assistance or submit comments 

to the SBREFA Ombudsman or Regional Fairness Boards. 

you still have the duty to comply with the law, including 

providing timeiy responses 10 EPA information requests, 

administrative or civil complaints, other enforcement 

actions or communications. The assistance information 

and comment processes do not give you any new rights Or 

defenses in any enforcement action These processes 

also do not affect EPA's obligation to protect public health 

or the environment under any of the environmental statutes 

it enforces, including the right to take emergency remedial 

or emergency response actions when appropriate. Those 

decisions will be based on the facts in each si1uation. The 

SBREFA Ombudsman and Fairness Boards do not 

participate in 'esolving EPA's enforcement actions. Also, 

'emember that to preserve your rights, you need to comply 

with all rules governing the enforcement process. 

EPA is disseminating this information to you 

without making adetermination that your business 

or organization is a small business as defined by 

Section 222 of the Small Business Regulatory 

Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) or related 

provisions.