48072 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 156 / Monday, August 13, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 98 

[EPA–HQ–OAR–2011–0028; FRL–9706–6] 

RIN 2060–AQ70 

Final Confidentiality Determinations 

for Regulations Under the Mandatory 

Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Rule 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This action finalizes 

confidentiality determinations for 

certain data elements in regulations 

under the Mandatory Greenhouse Gas 

Reporting Rule. In addition, the EPA is 

finalizing amendments to defer the 

reporting deadline of certain data 

elements until 2013 and to defer the 

reporting deadline of certain data 

elements until 2015. Lastly, the EPA is 

finalizing amendments regarding the 

calculation and reporting of emissions 

from facilities that use best available 

monitoring methods. This action does 

not include final confidentiality 

determinations for data elements in the 

‘‘Inputs to Emission Equations’’ data 

category. 

DATES: This rule will be effective on 

September 12, 2012, except for the 

amendments to Tables A–6 and A–7 of 

40 CFR part 98 subpart A and the 

amendments to 40 CFR part 98 subpart 

I (§ 98.94(a)(2)(iii), (a)(3)(iii), and 

(a)(4)(iii)), which are effective on August 

13, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a 

docket for this action under Docket ID 

No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2011–0028. All 

documents in the docket are listed in 

the http://www.regulations.gov index. 

Although listed in the index, some 

information may not be publicly 

available, e.g., confidential business 

information (CBI) or other information 

whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Certain other material, such as 

copyrighted material, is not placed on 

the Internet and is publicly available in 

hard copy only. Publicly available 

docket materials are available either 

electronically through http:// 

www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at 

the EPA’s Docket Center, EPA/DC, EPA 

West Building, Room 3334, 1301 

Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, 

DC. This Docket Facility is open from 

8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, excluding legal holidays. The 

telephone number for the Public 

Reading Room is (202) 566–1744, and 

the telephone number for the Air Docket 

is (202) 566–1742. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Carole Cook, Climate Change Division, 

Office of Atmospheric Programs (MC– 

6207J), Environmental Protection 

Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., 

Washington, DC 20460; telephone 

number: (202) 343–9263; fax number: 

(202) 343–2342; email address: 

GHGReportingRule@epa.gov. For 

technical information and 

implementation materials, please go to 

the Web site http://www.epa.gov/ 

climatechange/emissions/CBI.html. To 

submit a question, select ‘‘Rule Help 

Center,’’ followed by ‘‘Contact Us.’’ 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Worldwide Web (WWW). In addition to 

being available in Docket ID No. EPA– 

HQ–OAR–2011–0028, following the 

Administrator’s signature, an electronic 

copy of this final rule will be available 

through the WWW on the EPA’s 

Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program Web 

site at http://www.epa.gov/ 

climatechange/emissions/ 

ghgrulemaking.html. 

What is the effective date? The final 

rule is effective on September 12, 2012, 

except for the amendments to Tables A– 

6 and A–7 of 40 CFR part 98 subpart A 

and the amendments to 40 CFR part 98 

subpart I (section 98.94(a)(2)(iii), 

(a)(3)(iii), and (a)(4)(iii)), which are 

effective on August 13, 2012. Section 

553(d) of the Administrative Procedure 

Act (APA), 5 U.S.C. chapter 5, generally 

provides that rules may not take effect 

earlier than 30 days after they are 

published in the Federal Register. EPA 

is issuing this final rule under section 

307(d)(1) of the Clean Air Act, which 

states: ‘‘The provisions of section 553 

through 557 of Title 5 shall not, except 

as expressly provided in this section, 

apply to actions to which this 

subsection applies.’’ Thus, section 

553(d) of the APA does not apply to this 

rule. EPA is nevertheless acting 

consistently with the purposes 

underlying APA section 553(d) in 

making the amendments to subparts A 

and I effective on August 13, 2012. The 

amendments to subpart A defer the 

reporting deadline for several inputs to 

emission equations and the 

amendments to subpart I remove the 

requirement for some facilities to 

recalculate and report data under that 

subpart. An effective date less than 30 

days after the date of publication in 

such circumstances is consistent with 

the purposes of APA section 553(d), 

which provides an exception for any 

action that grants or recognizes an 

exemption or relieves a restriction. 

Judicial Review. Under section 

307(b)(1) of the CAA, judicial review of 

this final rule is available only by filing 

a petition for review in the U.S. Court 

of Appeals for the District of Columbia 

Circuit (the Court) by October 12, 2012. 

Under CAA section 307(d)(7)(B), only 

an objection to this final rule that was 

raised with reasonable specificity 

during the period for public comment 

can be raised during judicial review. 

Section 307(d)(7)(B) of the CAA also 

provides a mechanism for the EPA to 

convene a proceeding for 

reconsideration, ‘‘[i]f the person raising 

an objection can demonstrate to EPA 

that it was impracticable to raise such 

objection within [the period for public 

comment] or if the grounds for such 

objection arose after the period for 

public comment (but within the time 

specified for judicial review) and if such 

objection is of central relevance to the 

outcome of the rule.’’ Any person 

seeking to make such a demonstration to 

us should submit a Petition for 

Reconsideration to the Office of the 

Administrator, Environmental 

Protection Agency, Room 3000, Ariel 

Rios Building, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., 

NW., Washington, DC 20460, with a 

copy to the person listed in the 

preceding FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section, and the Associate 

General Counsel for the Air and 

Radiation Law Office, Office of General 

Counsel (Mail Code 2344A), 

Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 

Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, 

DC 20004. Note, under CAA section 

307(b)(2), the requirements established 

by this final rule may not be challenged 

separately in any civil or criminal 

proceedings brought by the EPA to 

enforce these requirements. 

Acronyms and Abbreviations. The 

following acronyms and abbreviations 

are used in this document. 

BAMM Best Available Monitoring Methods 

CAA Clean Air Act 

CO2 Carbon Dioxide 

CBI Confidential Business Information 

CBP U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

CFR Code of Federal Regulations 

EIA Energy Information Administration 

ER Enhanced Recovery 

EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

F–GHG Fluorinated Greenhouse Gas 

GHG Greenhouse Gas 

ICR Information Collection Request 

NTTAA National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act of 1995 

OMB Office of Management & Budget 

R&D Research and Development 

RFA Regulatory Flexibility Act 

UMRA Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995 

U.S. United States 

WWW Worldwide Web 

Organization of This Document. The 

following outline is provided to aid in 

locating information in this preamble. 

I. General Information 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 156 / Monday, August 13, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 48073 

1 76 FR 73886, November 29, 2011. 2Final confidentiality determinations for subparts 

II and TT were made in the 2011 Final CBI Rule 

(76 FR 30782, May 26, 2011). 

A. What is the purpose and background of 

this action? 

B. Does this action apply to me? 

C. Legal Authority 

D. Approach to Making Confidentiality 

Determinations 

II. Confidentiality Determinations for 

Subparts I, W, DD, QQ, RR, SS, and UU 

and Responses to Public Comments 

A. Final Confidentiality Determinations 

B. Direct Emitter Data Categories 

C. GHG Supplier Data Categories 

III. Confidentiality Determinations for New 

Data Elements in Subparts II and TT and 

Responses to Public Comments 

IV. Amendments to Table A–6 and A–7 To 

Defer Reporting of Certain Inputs to 

Emission Equations in Subparts W, FF 

and TT 

V. Background and Amendments to the Best 

Available Monitoring Method for 

Subpart I 

A. Background 

B. Amendments to the Best Available 

Monitoring Method Provisions for 

Subpart I 

VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory 

Planning and Review and Executive 

Order 13563: Improving Regulation and 

Regulatory Review 

B. Paperwork Reduction Act 

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(UMRA) 

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism 

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of 

Children From Environmental Health 

Risks and Safety Risks 

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use 

I. National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act 

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions 

To Address Environmental Justice in 

Minority Populations and Low-Income 

Populations 

K. Congressional Review Act 

I. General Information 

A. What is the purpose and background 

of this action? 

The first purpose of this action is to 

finalize confidentiality determinations 

for the data elements (except those in 

the ‘‘Inputs to Emission Equations’’ data 

category and certain additional subpart 

I data elements) in seven subparts of 40 

CFR part 98 of the Mandatory 

Greenhouse Gases Reporting Rule 

(hereafter referred to as ‘‘Part 98’’): 

• Subpart I—Electronics Manufacturing 

• Subpart W—Petroleum and Natural 

Gas Systems 

• Subpart DD—Use of Electric 

Transmission and Distribution 

Equipment 

• Subpart QQ—Imports and Exports of 

Equipment Pre-Charged with 

Fluorinated GHGs or Containing 

Fluorinated GHGs in Closed-Cell 

Foams 

• Subpart RR—Geologic Sequestration 

of Carbon Dioxide 

• Subpart SS—Manufacture of Electric 

Transmission and Distribution 

Equipment 

• Subpart UU—Injection of Carbon 

Dioxide 

The second purpose of this action is 

to finalize confidentiality 

determinations for new data elements 

(that are not inputs to emission 

equations) added to subparts II and TT 

in the Technical Corrections final rule 1

after the EPA issued final 

confidentiality determinations for noninputs to equations data elements in 

these two subparts.2

The third purpose of this action is to 

finalize amendments to subpart A of 

Part 98 to defer until 2013 or 2015 the 

reporting deadline for inputs to 

emission equations data elements 

recently added by the Technical 

Corrections final rule. These data 

elements are in subparts W, FF, and TT. 

The fourth purpose of this action is to 

finalize amendments to subpart I 

regarding the calculation and reporting 

of emissions from facilities that use best 

available monitoring methods (BAMM). 

These amendments remove the 

obligation to recalculate and resubmit 

emission estimates for the period during 

which the facility used best available 

monitoring methods. 

As noted above, we are making final 

confidentiality determinations for the 

data elements reported under the 

finalized subparts of Part 98 identified 

in Table 1 of this preamble. We are not 

making final confidentiality 

determinations for data elements in this 

action not identified in Table 1. We are 

also finalizing amendments to Tables 

A–6 and A–7 of subpart A for the 

subparts shown in Table 1 of this 

preamble. 

TABLE 1—SUBPARTS AND DATA ELEMENTS COVERED IN THIS FINAL RULE

Subpart Confidentiality determinations 

Amendments to 

Table A–6 or A– 

7 

I .................. Some data elements (excludes recipe-specific data elements, a manufacturing capacity data element, and inputs to emission equations).anone. 

W ................ All data elements except inputs to emission equations ......................................................................................... Table A–7. 

DD .............. All data elements except inputs to emission equations ......................................................................................... none. 

FF ............... None but finalizes two data elements recently added to 40 CFR 98.326(o) c as inputs to emission equations .. none.b

II ................. Some data elements (only includes data elements added by 76 FR 73886) ....................................................... none. 

QQ .............. All data elements except inputs to emission equations ......................................................................................... none. 

RR .............. All data elements except inputs to emission equations ......................................................................................... none. 

SS ............... All data elements except inputs to emission equations ......................................................................................... none. 

TT ............... Some data elements (only includes data elements added by 76 FR 73886) ....................................................... Table A–6. 

UU .............. All data elements except inputs to emission equations ......................................................................................... none. 

aFor the reasons provided in Section II of this preamble, certain subpart I data elements are not covered in this final rule. For a list of subpart I 

data elements not covered in this rule, see Table 4 in the Memorandum, ‘‘Final Data Category Assignments and Confidentiality Determinations 

for the 2012 Final CBI Rule.’’ bAs explained in the 2012 CBI re-proposal, paragraph § 98.326(o) is already included in Table A–6 of subpart A for reporting by March 31, 

2013; therefore, no amendments to Table A–6 of subpart A are necessary to include these two new subpart FF data elements in the list of deferred data elements. c 76 FR 73886, November 29, 2011. 

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48074 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 156 / Monday, August 13, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

3The EPA initially proposed subparts RR and UU 

as a single subpart (subpart RR); however, as a 

result of public comments on subpart RR, the EPA 

moved all definitions, requirements, and 

procedures for facilities conducting only CO2

injection (without geologic sequestration) into a 

new subpart (subpart UU). Subpart RR retained all 

definitions, requirements, and procedures related to 

facilities conducting geologic sequestration. 4For subpart L, the EPA received comments 

raising concerns that the release of certain data 

elements that the EPA proposed to classify as 

emissions data, and that therefore would not be 

eligible for treatment as CBI, would reveal trade 

secrets and may violate export control laws. The 

EPA is not finalizing confidentiality determinations 

for subpart L data elements in this action. The 

confidentiality determinations for subpart L will be 

addressed separately. Please see Docket ID No. 

EPA–HQ–OAR–2011–0147 for more information. 

1. Background for CBI Determinations 

for All Data Elements That Are Not in 

the ‘‘Inputs to Emissions Equations’’ 

Data Category 

This action finalizes confidentiality 

determinations for data elements 

specified in Table 1 of this preamble. 

For information on the history of CBI 

determinations for the data elements at 

issue, see the following notices 

(available at http://www.epa.gov/climate

change/emissions/CBI.html): 

• 75 FR 39094, July 7, 2010; hereafter 

referred to as the ‘‘July 7, 2010 CBI 

proposal.’’ Proposed confidentiality 

determinations for Part 98 data 

elements, including subparts I, W, DD, 

II, QQ, RR, SS, and TT. 

• 76 FR 30782, May 26, 2011; 

hereafter referred to as the ‘‘2011 Final 

CBI Rule.’’ Finalized confidentiality 

determinations for data categories, 

assigned data elements to data 

categories and published the final CBI 

determinations for the data elements in 

34 Part 98 subparts, except for those 

assigned to the ‘‘Inputs to Emission 

Equations’’ data category. This included 

confidentiality determinations for 

subparts II and TT and excluded 

confidentiality determinations for 

subparts I, W, DD, QQ, RR, SS, and UU.3

• 77 FR 1434, January 10, 2012; 

hereafter referred to as ‘‘2012 CBI reproposal.’’ The EPA re-proposed for 

public comment the confidentiality 

determinations for the data elements in 

subparts L,4 DD, QQ, RR, SS, and UU, 

as well as new data elements (added by 

the Technical Corrections final rule) in 

subparts II and TT to reflect the 

reporting data elements in the final 

subparts and all subsequent 

amendments to these subparts up to the 

date of the 2012 CBI re-proposal. 

• 77 FR 10434, February 22, 2012; 

hereafter referred to as ‘‘Subpart I CBI 

re-proposal.’’ The EPA re-proposed for 

public comment the confidentiality 

determinations for many data elements 

in subpart I to reflect the reporting data 

elements in the 2010 final subpart I and 

all subsequent amendments to subpart I 

up to the date of the Subpart I CBI reproposal. 

• 77 FR 11039, February 24, 2012; 

hereafter referred to as ‘‘Subpart W CBI 

re-proposal.’’ The EPA re-proposed for 

public comment the confidentiality 

determinations for the data elements in 

subpart W to reflect the data elements 

in the 2010 final subpart W and all 

subsequent amendments to subpart W 

up to the date of the Subpart W CBI reproposal. 

2. Background on Data Elements in the 

‘‘Inputs to Emissions Equations’’ Data 

Category 

This rule finalizes amendments to 

Tables A–6 and A–7 of subpart A to 

defer the deadline for reporting certain 

recently added data elements in 

subparts W, FF, and TT that we are 

assigning to the ‘‘Inputs to Emission 

Equations’’ data category. This action 

does not include final confidentiality 

determinations for data elements that 

are in the ‘‘Inputs to Emission 

Equations’’ data category. For 

information on the history of the 

deferral of the reporting deadline for 

inputs, see the following notices 

(available at http://www.epa.gov/

climatechange/emissions/CBI.html): 

• 75 FR 81366, December 27, 2010; 

hereafter referred to as the ‘‘call for 

information.’’ Requested comment on 

whether each data element used as an 

input to an emission equation for direct 

emitters was likely to cause substantial 

competitive harm if made publicly 

available. 

• 76 FR 53057, August 25, 2011; 

hereafter referred to as the ‘‘Final 

Deferral Notice.’’ The EPA deferred the 

deadline for direct emitter reporters to 

report inputs to emission equations data 

elements. The EPA deferred the 

deadline for reporting some of these 

data elements to March 31, 2013, and 

others to March 31, 2015. Subpart FF 

and TT inputs were deferred to March 

31, 2013, and are identified in Table 

A–6 of subpart A, and subpart W inputs 

were deferred to March 31, 2015, and 

are identified in Table A–7 of subpart A. 

B. Does this action apply to me? 

This final rule affects entities required 

to submit annual greenhouse gas (GHG) 

reports under certain subparts of Part 

98. The Administrator determined that 

this action is subject to the provisions 

of Clean Air Act (CAA) section 307(d). 

See CAA section 307(d)(1)(V) (the 

provisions of CAA section 307(d) apply 

to ‘‘such other actions as the 

Administrator may determine’’). Part 98 

and this action affect owners and 

operators of electronics manufacturing 

facilities, petroleum and natural gas 

systems, electric power systems, 

electrical equipment manufacturing 

facilities, carbon dioxide (CO2) 

enhanced oil and gas recovery projects, 

acid gas injection projects, geologic 

sequestration projects, importers and 

exporters of pre-charged equipment and 

closed-cell foams, industrial wastewater 

treatment facilities, underground coal 

mines, and industrial waste landfills. 

Affected categories and entities include 

those listed in Table 2 of this preamble. 

TABLE 2—EXAMPLES OF AFFECTED ENTITIES BY CATEGORY

Category NAICS Examples of affected facilities 

Electronics Manufacturing ....................................................... 334111 .................. Microcomputers manufacturing facilities. 

334413 .................. Semiconductor, photovoltaic (solid-state) device manufacturing facilities. 

334419 .................. Liquid crystal display unit screens manufacturing facilities. 

334419 .................. Micro-electro-mechanical systems manufacturing facilities. 

Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems ..................................... 486210 ..................

221210 ..................

Pipeline transportation of natural gas. 

Natural gas distribution facilities. 

211 ........................ Extractors of crude petroleum and natural gas. 

211112 .................. Natural gas liquid extraction facilities. 

Electrical Equipment Use ........................................................ 221121 .................. Electric bulk power transmission and control facilities. 

Electrical Equipment Manufacture or Refurbishment ............. 33531 .................... Power transmission and distribution switchgear and specialty transformers manufacturing facilities. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 156 / Monday, August 13, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 48075 

5As previously mentioned, this final rule does 

not address the confidentiality of data elements in 

the ‘‘Inputs to Emission Equations’’ data category. 

For data elements in subparts W, FF, and TT that 

we are assigning to the ‘‘Inputs to Emission 

Equations’’ data category in this action, please see 

Table 3 of the Memorandum titled ‘‘Final Data 

Category Assignments and Confidentiality 

Determinations for the 2012 Final CBI Rule.’’ 

TABLE 2—EXAMPLES OF AFFECTED ENTITIES BY CATEGORY—Continued 

Category NAICS Examples of affected facilities 

Importers and Exporters of Pre-charged Equipment and 

Closed-Cell Foams.

423730 ..................

333415 ..................

Air-conditioning equipment (except room units) merchant 

wholesalers. 

Air-conditioning equipment (except motor vehicle) manufacturing. 

336391 .................. Motor vehicle air-conditioning manufacturing. 

423620 .................. Air-conditioners, room, merchant wholesalers. 

443111 .................. Household appliance stores. 

423730 .................. Automotive air-conditioners merchant wholesalers. 

326150 .................. Polyurethane foam products manufacturing. 

335313 .................. Circuit breakers, power, manufacturing. 

423610 .................. Circuit breakers merchant wholesalers. 

CO2 Enhanced Oil and Gas Recovery Projects ..................... 211 ........................ Oil and gas extraction projects using CO2 enhanced recovery. 

Acid Gas Injection Projects ..................................................... 211111 or 211112 Projects that inject acid gas containing CO2 underground. 

Geologic Sequestration Projects ............................................. N/A ........................ CO2 geologic sequestration projects. 

Underground Coal Mines ........................................................ 212113 ..................

212112 ..................

Underground anthracite coal mining operations. 

Underground bituminous coal mining operations. 

Industrial Wastewater Treatment ............................................ 322110 ..................

322121 ..................

322122 ..................

Pulp mills. 

Paper mills. 

Newsprint mills. 

322130 .................. Paperboard mills. 

311611 .................. Meat processing facilities. 

311411 .................. Frozen fruit, juice, and vegetable manufacturing facilities. 

311421 .................. Fruit and vegetable canning facilities. 

325193 .................. Ethanol manufacturing facilities. 

324110 .................. Petroleum refineries. 

Industrial Waste Landfills ........................................................ 562212 ..................

322110 ..................

Solid waste landfills. 

Pulp mills. 

322121 .................. Paper mills. 

322122 .................. Newsprint mills. 

322130 .................. Paperboard mills. 

311611 .................. Meat processing facilities. 

311411 .................. Frozen fruit, juice, and vegetable manufacturing facilities. 

311421 .................. Fruit and vegetable canning facilities. 

221320 .................. Sewage treatment facilities. 

Table 2 of this preamble lists the 

types of entities that potentially could 

be affected by the confidentiality 

determinations and amendments under 

the subparts covered by this action. 

However, this list is not intended to be 

exhaustive, but rather provides a guide 

for readers regarding facilities and 

suppliers likely to be affected by this 

action. Other types of facilities and 

suppliers not listed in the table could 

also be subject to this action. To 

determine whether you are affected by 

this action, you should carefully 

examine the applicability criteria found 

in 40 CFR part 98, subpart A as well as 

40 CFR part 98 subparts I, W, DD, FF, 

II, QQ, RR, SS, TT, and UU. If you have 

questions regarding the applicability of 

this action to a particular facility, 

consult the person listed in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 

this preamble. 

C. Legal Authority 

The EPA is finalizing certain 

amendments to Part 98 under its 

existing CAA authority, specifically 

authorities provided in CAA section 

114. As stated in the preamble to the 

2009 Mandatory Reporting of 

Greenhouse Gases final rule (74 FR 

56260, October 30, 2009) and the 

Response to Comments on the Proposed 

Rule, Volume 9, Legal Issues, CAA 

section 114 provides the EPA broad 

authority to obtain the information in 

Part 98 because such data inform and 

are relevant to the EPA’s carrying out a 

wide variety of CAA provisions. As 

discussed in the preamble to the initial 

Part 98 proposal (74 FR 16448, April 10, 

2009), CAA section 114(a)(1) authorizes 

the Administrator to require emissions 

sources, persons subject to the CAA, 

manufacturers of control or process 

equipment, or persons whom the 

Administrator believes may have 

necessary information to monitor and 

report emissions and provide such other 

information the Administrator requests 

for the purposes of carrying out any 

provision of the CAA. 

In addition, the EPA is finalizing 

confidentiality determinations for 

certain Part 98 data under its authorities 

provided in sections 114, 301 and 307 

of the CAA. As mentioned above, CAA 

section 114 provides the EPA authority 

to obtain the information in Part 98. 

Section 114(c) of the CAA requires that 

the EPA make publicly available 

information obtained under CAA 

section 114 except for information 

(excluding emission data) that qualifies 

for confidential treatment. The 

Administrator has determined that this 

action (Part 98 amendment and 

confidentiality determinations) is 

subject to the provisions of CAA section 

307(d). 

D. Approach to Making Confidentiality 

Determinations 

As explained in the 2012 CBI reproposal, we are applying the same 

approach to making confidentiality 

determinations as was used in the 2011 

Final CBI Rule. Specifically, we have 

assigned each data element specified in 

Table 1 of this preamble to one of 21 

data categories 5 based on the type and 

characteristics of the data element. The 

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48076 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 156 / Monday, August 13, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

data categories are listed in Tables 3 and 

4 of this preamble. For a description of 

each data category and the type and 

characteristics of data elements assigned 

to each, please see Sections II.C and II.D 

of the July 7, 2010 CBI proposal. 

In the 2011 Final CBI Rule, the EPA 

made categorical confidentiality 

determinations (i.e., one determination 

that applies to all data elements in that 

category) for 16 data categories (eight 

direct emitter data categories and eight 

supplier data categories). The 

categorical determinations for each of 

these 16 data category are specified in 

Tables 3 and 4 of this preamble. In this 

action, we have similarly assigned each 

of the data elements at issue (see Table 

1 of this preamble) to one of the data 

categories created in the 2011 Final CBI 

rule. We have applied the categorical 

determinations made for 16 of the data 

categories to the data elements that 

assigned to those data categories. 

In the 2011 Final CBI rule, the EPA 

determined that the data elements 

assigned to the remaining five data 

categories (two direct emitter data 

categories (see Table 3 of this preamble) 

and three supplier data categories (see 

Table 4 of this preamble) are not 

‘‘emission data’’ (as defined at 40 CFR 

2.301(a)(2)(i)). However, instead of 

categorical determinations, we made 

final CBI determinations for individual 

data elements assigned to those five data 

categories. In making these individual 

CBI determinations, we considered the 

confidentiality determination criteria at 

40 CFR 2.208, in particular whether 

release of the data is likely to cause 

substantial harm to the business’ 

competitive position. See 40 CFR 

2.208(e)(1). Consistent with that 

approach, in this action we determined 

that data elements identified in Table 1 

of this preamble that are assigned to 

these five data categories are not 

emission data and made final 

confidentiality determinations for these 

data elements in accordance with 40 

CFR 2.208. 

TABLE 3—SUMMARY OF FINAL CONFIDENTIALITY DETERMINATIONS FOR DIRECT EMITTER DATA CATEGORIES

Data category 

Confidentiality determination for data 

elements in each category 

Emission 

data a

Data that 

are not 

emission 

data and 

not CBI 

Data that 

are not 

emission 

data but are 

CBI b

Facility and Unit Identifier Information ..................................................................................................... X .................... ....................

Emissions ................................................................................................................................................. X .................... ....................

Calculation Methodology and Methodological Tier ................................................................................. X .................... ....................

Data Elements Reported for Periods of Missing Data that are Not Inputs to Emission Equations ....... X .................... ....................

Unit/Process ‘‘Static’’ Characteristics that are Not Inputs to Emission Equations .................................. .................... Xc Xc

Unit/Process Operating Characteristics that are Not Inputs to Emission Equations .............................. .................... Xc Xc

Test and Calibration Methods ................................................................................................................. .................... X ....................

Production/Throughput Data that are Not Inputs to Emission Equations ............................................... .................... .................... X 

Raw Materials Consumed that are Not Inputs to Emission Equations ................................................... .................... .................... X 

Process-Specific and Vendor Data Submitted in BAMM Extension Requests ....................................... .................... .................... X 

a Under CAA section 114(c), ‘‘emission data’’ are not entitled to confidential treatment. The term ‘‘emission data’’ is defined at 40 CFR 

2.301(a)(2)(i). bSection 114(c) of the CAA affords confidential treatment to data (except emission data) that are considered CBI. 

c In the 2011 Final CBI Rule, this data category contains both data elements determined to be CBI and those determined not to be CBI. 

TABLE 4—SUMMARY OF FINAL CONFIDENTIALITY DETERMINATIONS FOR SUPPLIER DATA CATEGORIES

Data category 

Confidentiality determinations for data 

elements in each category 

Emission 

Data a

Data that 

are not 

emission 

data and 

not CBI 

Data that 

are not 

emission 

data but are 

CBI b

GHGs Reported ....................................................................................................................................... .................... Xc Xc

Production/Throughput Quantities and Composition ............................................................................... .................... Xc Xc

Identification Information .......................................................................................................................... .................... X ....................

Unit/Process Operating Characteristics ................................................................................................... .................... Xc Xc

Calculation, Test, and Calibration Methods ............................................................................................ .................... X ....................

Data Elements Reported for Periods of Missing Data that are Not Related to Production/Throughput 

or Materials Received .......................................................................................................................... .................... X ....................

Emission Factors ..................................................................................................................................... .................... .................... X 

Amount and Composition of materials received ..................................................................................... .................... .................... X 

Data Elements Reported for Periods of Missing Data That are Related to Production/Throughput or 

Materials Received ............................................................................................................................... .................... .................... X 

Supplier Customer and Vendor Information ............................................................................................ .................... .................... X 

Process-Specific and Vendor Data Submitted in BAMM Extension Requests ....................................... .................... .................... X 

a Under CAA section 114(c), ‘‘emission data’’ are not entitled to confidential treatment. The term ‘‘emission data’’ is defined at 40 CFR 

2.301(a)(2)(i). bSection 114(c) of the CAA affords confidential treatment to data (except emission data) that are considered CBI. 

c In the 2011 Final CBI Rule, this data category contains both data elements determined to be CBI and those determined not to be CBI. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 156 / Monday, August 13, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 48077 

6Subpart RR contains elements of both direct 

emitter and supplier categories and is therefore, 

listed as both a direct emitter and a supplier source 

category. For the purposes of this action, EPA 

placed each subpart RR data element into the 

appropriate category based on its data type and 

characteristics, and whether it related to direct 

emissions from the facility or to GHG supply. 

7The Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases: 

Changes to Provisions for Electronics 

Manufacturing To Provide Flexibility Final Rule (76 

FR 59542, September 27, 2011) allows reporters the 

opportunity to report using default emission factors 

instead of using the recipe-specific utilization and 

by-product formation rates. 

8 75 FR 74774, December 1, 2010. 9 75 FR 74774, December 1, 2010. 

II. Confidentiality Determinations for 

Subparts I, W, DD, QQ, RR, SS, and UU 

and Responses to Public Comments 

A. Final Confidentiality Determinations 

In this action, the EPA is finalizing 

the confidentiality determinations for 

Part 98 data elements specified in Table 

1 of this preamble using the approach 

outlined in Section I.D of this preamble. 

The data category assignments and 

final confidentiality determinations for 

the Part 98 data elements specified in 

Table 1 of this preamble are provided in 

the memorandum ‘‘Final Data Category 

Assignments and Confidentiality 

Determinations for the 2012 Final CBI 

Rule’’ (see Docket EPA–HQ–OAR–2011– 

0028 and the Web site, http://www.epa.

gov/climatechange/emissions/CBI.html). 

In Section II.B of this preamble, the 

EPA describes final confidentiality 

determinations and summarizes 

comments and responses for direct 

emitter data elements in subparts I, W, 

DD, RR, and SS, which we proposed in 

2012 in three actions (see Section I.A.1 

of this preamble). In Section II.C of this 

preamble, the EPA describes final 

confidentiality determinations and 

summarizes comments and responses 

for all supplier data elements in 

subparts QQ, RR, and UU, which we 

proposed in the 2012 CBI re-proposal. 

B. Direct Emitter Data Categories 

For direct emitter subparts I, W, DD, 

RR,6 and SS, the EPA is finalizing the 

assignment of each data element to one 

of 10 direct emitter data categories 

shown in Table 3 of this preamble and 

the confidentiality determinations for 

these data elements. Sections II.B.1 

though II.B.3 of this preamble discuss 

the data category assignments and 

confidentiality determinations of direct 

emitter data elements in subparts I, W, 

DD, RR, and SS. 

1. Subpart I—Electronics Manufacturing 

Summary of Changes. 

In the subpart I CBI re-proposal, the 

EPA proposed confidentiality 

determinations for certain data elements 

in this direct emitter subpart. The EPA 

received comments raising concerns 

about finalizing the confidentiality 

determinations for some data elements 

and requesting the EPA delay finalizing 

confidentiality determinations for 

certain reporting elements until after the 

EPA has concluded settlement 

discussions regarding alternatives to the 

recipe-specific method for 

semiconductor manufacturing facilities. 

The EPA did not intend to take action 

on reporting elements that are currently 

the subject of these settlement 

discussions. Due to the number and 

complexity of data elements included in 

the proposal, the EPA inadvertently 

included a few recipe-specific reporting 

elements that were in data categories for 

which we proposed categorical 

confidentiality determinations. EPA is 

therefore not finalizing confidentiality 

determinations for any recipe-specific 

data reporting elements in this action. 

Additionally, the EPA does not expect 

facilities will use the recipe-specific 

method for the 2011 reporting year; 7

however, facilities using the recipespecific method would report recipespecific data elements. Before the EPA 

could disclose such information, either 

on its own initiative or upon request, we 

would evaluate the confidentiality 

status of these data elements on a caseby-case basis, in accordance with 

existing CBI regulations in 40 CFR part 

2, subpart B. The recipe-specific subpart 

I data elements that were inadvertently 

included in the proposal and have been 

removed from this final rule are listed 

in Table 4 in the memorandum titled 

‘‘Final Data Category Assignments and 

Confidentiality Determinations for the 

2012 Final CBI Rule.’’ 

Additionally, for the same reason 

provided above for recipe-specific data 

elements, we have decided to make no 

confidentiality determination for one 

additional data element (the annual 

manufacturing capacity of a facility as 

determined in Equation I–5 (listed at 40 

CFR 98.96(a))) because it is also the 

subject of a petition for reconsideration 

of the December 1, 2010 8 subpart I rule. 

Finally, we are not addressing 

confidentiality determinations for data 

elements in the ‘‘Inputs to Emission 

Equations’’ data category in this final 

rule. For the remaining subpart I data 

elements, we are finalizing the 

confidentiality determinations as 

proposed. The final confidentiality 

determinations for these subpart I data 

elements can be found in the 

memorandum, ‘‘Final Data Category 

Assignments and Confidentiality 

Determinations for the 2012 Final CBI 

Rule.’’ 

Summary of Comments. 

This section contains summaries of 

the significant public comments and our 

responses thereto. Additional public 

comments were also received. Response 

to these comments can be found in 

‘‘Confidentiality Determinations in the 

2012 CBI re-proposals: Responses to 

Public Comments’’ in Docket EPA–HQ– 

OAR–2011–0028 and on the Web site, 

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/

emissions/CBI.html. 

Comment: Two commenters raised 

concerns about the EPA initiating a 

rulemaking to determine the 

confidentiality status of subpart I data 

elements at the same time the EPA is 

also considering petitions from the 

Semiconductor Industry Association for 

review and reconsideration of the 

December 1, 2010 subpart I rule.9 The 

commenters stated that the initiation of 

a rule to address confidentiality 

determinations that is disconnected 

from these proceedings may exacerbate 

instead of resolve the objections and 

raises unspecified legal and policy 

issues. 

Response: The EPA did not intend to 

propose confidentiality determinations 

for data elements that relate to portions 

of subpart I covered by petitions for 

reconsideration and review where active 

settlement negotiations are ongoing. 

Thus, we are not issuing confidentiality 

determinations for recipe-specific data 

reporting elements or for the annual 

manufacturing capacity in this final 

rule. These data elements relate to 

portions of subpart I addressed in the 

petition entitled ‘‘Semiconductor 

Industry Association Petition for 

Reconsideration and Request for Stay 

Pending Reconsideration of Subpart I of 

the Final Rule for Mandatory Reporting 

of Greenhouse Gases’’ (January 31, 

2011). However, the EPA does not agree 

that we need to wait to finalize 

confidentiality determinations for noninput data elements that are outside the 

scope of that reconsideration petition, 

since we do not anticipate proposing 

any changes in the requirements to 

report those data elements. Thus, the 

EPA is finalizing confidentiality 

determinations for those subpart I data 

elements listed in Table 1 of the 

Memorandum, ‘‘Final Data Category 

Assignments and Confidentiality 

Determinations for the 2012 Final CBI 

Rule.’’ 

Comment: Commenters argued that 

the release of the following data 

elements would reveal trade secrets and 

intellectual property: 

• Annual emissions of each 

fluorinated greenhouse gas (F–GHG) 

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48078 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 156 / Monday, August 13, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

emitted from each process type for 

which your facility is required to 

calculate emissions as calculated in 

Equations I–6 and I–7. (40 CFR 

98.96(c)(1)) 

• Annual emissions of each F–GHG 

emitted from each process subtype as 

calculated in Equations I–8 and I–9. (40 

CFR 98.96(c)(2)) 

Specifically, the commenters stated 

that the release of these data elements 

could allow competitors to more easily 

reverse-engineer recipes and backcalculate sensitive information such as 

the relative proportion of gas-by-gas 

usage in a recipe or sub-process type. 

Response: The data noted are 

emission data and, therefore, under 

Section 114(c) of the CAA must be made 

publicly available. In any case, the 

reverse engineering which the 

commenter cites as a potential that 

would reveal trade secret information 

can only be accomplished if more data 

is publicly available, in particular 

certain inputs to emission equations. 

The reporting of inputs to emission 

equations has been deferred. As 

discussed in the preamble to the Final 

Deferral Notice, we will in the future 

make a judgement about the sensitivity 

of deferred data elements in 

combination with other data elements. 

Comment: Commenters argued that 

the annual manufacturing capacity as 

determined by Equation I–5 of subpart 

I (40 CFR 98.96(a) and proposed as nonCBI) should receive confidential 

treatment as it will likely generate a 

capacity different from that reported by 

the ‘‘World Fab Forecast,’’ which may 

be instructive to competitors. The 

commenters suggested that the EPA 

either determine that this data element 

is CBI or amend subpart I to remove 

Equation I–5 of subpart I and 

alternatively use the maximum 

manufacturing capacity published by 

the ‘‘World Fab Forecast.’’ 

Response: For the reason provided 

previously in this Summary to 

Comments section, the EPA is not 

finalizing the confidentiality 

determination for this data element for 

two reasons. First, this data element is 

related to a portion of subpart I 

addressed in the petition entitled 

‘‘Semiconductor Industry Association 

Petition for Reconsideration and 

Request for Stay Pending 

Reconsideration of Subpart I of the Final 

Rule for Mandatory Reporting of 

Greenhouse Gases.’’ The EPA is actively 

engaged in settlement negotiations 

concerning the associated petition for 

review of the December 1, 2010 subpart 

I rule. Second, we concluded that 

making a final confidentiality 

determination for this data element 

would be inappropriate because its 

sensitivity varies from reporter to 

reporter. We will instead evaluate the 

confidentiality status of this data 

element on a case-by-case basis, in 

accordance with existing CBI 

regulations in 40 CFR part 2, subpart B. 

2. Subpart W—Petroleum and Natural 

Gas Systems Summary of Changes 

In our subpart W CBI re-proposal, we 

proposed category assignments and 

confidentiality determinations for all of 

the data elements reported under 

subpart W that are not inputs to 

emission equations. In this action, we 

are finalizing without change the 

category assignments and 

confidentiality determinations proposed 

in the Subpart W CBI re-proposal. For 

a list of the final data category 

assignments and confidentiality 

determinations for all of the non-input 

subpart W data elements as identified in 

the Subpart W CBI re-proposal, please 

see the memorandum titled ‘‘Final Data 

Category Assignments and 

Confidentiality Determinations for the 

2012 Final CBI Rule’’ (see Docket EPA– 

HQ–OAR–2011–0028 and the GHGRP 

Web site, http://www.epa.gov/ 

climatechange/emissions/CBI.html). 

Summary of Comments. 

This section contains summaries of 

the significant public comments and our 

responses thereto. Other public 

comments were also received. 

Responses to these comments can be 

found in ‘‘Confidentiality 

Determinations in the 2012 CBI reproposals: Responses to Public 

Comments’’ in Docket EPA–HQ–OAR– 

2011–0028 and on the Web site, 

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ 

emissions/CBI.html. 

Comment: One commenter stated that 

data reported for exploratory wells 

should be held confidential for a period 

of at least 24 months. This commenter 

noted that the oil and gas industry 

makes substantial investments in 

exploration and development projects 

and that information regarding 

exploratory wells is considered to be 

proprietary by the industry. They state 

competitive harm may occur if the 

public can obtain detailed high 

resolution operational information on a 

well-by-well basis and on a daily or 

weekly basis. The commenter also 

asserted that the EPA’s proposed 

determinations are inconsistent with 

other state and federal regulations that 

allow information regarding exploratory 

wells to be held confidential. The 

commenter did not specify which 

particular data elements would be 

sensitive for exploratory wells, but 

stated that oil and gas reserve 

information for new wells, geological 

assessments of new prospects, drilling 

plans, and detailed well-by-well 

operational information (such as postflowback flaring/venting volumes) are 

considered sensitive. However, the 

commenter indicated that the identity 

and location of exploratory wells are not 

sensitive. 

Response: We disagree with the 

commenter’s recommendation that all 

non-input to emission equations data 

elements reported for exploratory wells 

should be held confidential for a period 

of two years for the following reasons. 

First, many of these data elements meet 

the definition of emission data in 40 

CFR 2.301(a)(2)(i) because they are 

actual GHGs emitted by the facility. 

Under CAA section 114(c), the EPA 

must make available emission data, 

whether or not such data are CBI. For 

the data elements that are assigned to 

the ‘‘Emissions’’ data category, the 

commenter did not claim or provide any 

justification for why these data elements 

do not meet the definition of emission 

data. Furthermore, the emissions from 

well venting during completions are 

reported at the sub-basin level by well 

type (horizontal or vertical). Since the 

emissions are not reported for each 

individual well, this information cannot 

be used to estimate future production 

levels or any other operational 

information for any individual 

exploratory well. 

With respect to the non-inputs to 

emission equations data elements which 

we proposed would not be emission 

data but also not CBI, we disagree that 

they disclose any CBI relative to 

exploratory wells for the following 

reasons. First, reporters are not required 

to report sensitive information on oil 

and gas reserves, geological assessments 

of new prospects, drilling plans, or 

detailed well-by-well operational 

information. As explained in the reproposal, these non-input data elements 

that are not emissions data relate to well 

completions (e.g., number of 

completions, number of days gas was 

vented during completions) and testing 

(e.g., number of wells tested during the 

calendar year, average gas-to-oil ratio for 

each basin, average number of days 

wells are tested). None of these data 

elements reveal information regarding 

the production characteristics or 

production rates of any individual 

production well or the potential 

production rates for exploratory wells. 

The commenter did not explain why 

these specific data elements would be 

likely to cause competitive harm; rather, 

the commenter provided only very 

broad comments that certain 

information on exploratory wells can be 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 156 / Monday, August 13, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 48079 

10Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008, Public 

Law 110–161, 121 Stat. 1844, 2128. 

11 76 FR 53057, August 25, 2011. 

12As mentioned elsewhere in this notice and not 

relevant to this specific comment, we are also 

removing certain subpart W data elements from the 

‘‘Inputs to Emission Equations’’ category and 

making confidentiality determinations for a number 

of subpart W data elements previously assigned to 

the ‘‘Inputs to Emission Equations’’ category. 

competitively sensitive and did not 

dispute our rationale that the specific 

data elements reported under subpart W 

were unlikely to cause substantial 

competitive harm. 

Second, reporters are not required to 

identify which wells are exploratory 

and which are production wells, nor do 

they report information for individual 

wells. The non-input data elements 

reported under subpart W are reported 

for each basin, sub-basin, tubing 

diameter/pressure group, or well type 

(i.e., horizontal or vertical). For 

example, the reporting of the number of 

wells tested in a basin within a calendar 

year (40 CFR 98.236(c)(10)(i)) does not 

provide any insight into exactly which 

wells within that basin were tested or 

whether the wells are being tested after 

completion of exploratory wells or after 

workovers on existing wells. 

Lastly, we disagree that our decision 

to consider these data elements to be 

non-CBI is inconsistent with other state 

and federal regulations that allow data 

for exploratory wells to be held 

confidential. The data reported under 

subpart W does not include any 

sensitive information about the 

underlying geology or potential 

productivity of an exploratory well, 

which are the types of information being 

held as confidential under the state and 

federal rules mentioned by the 

commenter. We further note that many 

of the subpart W data elements are in 

fact publicly available. For example, the 

number of well completions for each 

sub-basin (40 CFR 98.236(c)(6)(i)(A) and 

(G)) is publicly available from 

commercial databases (e.g., see http:// 

www.didesktop.com/products/) and the 

EIA. 

Therefore, we conclude that our 

proposed determinations regarding the 

non-input data elements are appropriate 

and finalize those determinations in this 

action. 

Comment: One commenter disagreed 

with our proposed determination that 

we should afford confidential treatment 

to the explanation of when an owner or 

operator will receive the services or 

equipment necessary to comply with 

subpart W monitoring requirements (40 

CFR 98.234(f)(8)(ii)(C)). This commenter 

argues that disruptions of oil and gas 

production from installing monitoring 

equipment would be brief and unlikely 

to cause substantial competitive harm to 

the reporter’s competitive position. 

Response: We disagree with the 

commenter’s assertion that disruptions 

from disclosure of this data element 

would be brief and therefore unlikely to 

cause substantial competitive harm to 

the reporter’s competitive position. As 

we noted in the preamble to the Subpart 

W CBI re-proposal, this data element 

comprises forward-looking information 

about the dates on which an owner or 

operator will receive the services or 

equipment necessary to comply with all 

of the subpart W monitoring 

requirements. This data element would 

reveal information to a competitor about 

when a facility would be installing 

equipment or when the facility would 

plan to perform the necessary 

modifications to their processes in order 

to comply with the rule. The disclosure 

of this type of forward-looking 

information about a facility’s operation 

provides insight into periods when oil 

and gas production will be reduced at 

a particular site. This type of 

information can be used to adjust 

pricing to take advantage of short-term 

supply disruptions. Our decision to 

make this data element CBI is consistent 

with our previous determination in the 

2011 Final CBI Rule that the installation 

date reported by facilities using BAMM 

(reported under 40 CFR 98.3(d)(2)(ii)(F)) 

is entitled to CBI treatment because it 

provides forward-looking productionrelated information that would likely 

cause substantial competitive harm if 

disclosed. Although this commenter 

claimed the potential harm from 

disclosure would be insignificant 

because the disruption would be brief, 

no supporting information was provided 

to show that disclosing forward-looking 

information regarding a short-term 

disruption in production would not 

cause harm to a reporter’s competitive 

position. 

Therefore, we conclude that our 

proposed determination that this data 

element (40 CFR 98.234(f)(8)(ii)(C)) is 

entitled to confidential treatment is 

appropriate; we therefore finalize that 

determination in this action. 

Comment: One commenter disagreed 

with the EPA’s proposal to defer the 

deadline for reporting subpart W data 

elements used as inputs to emissions 

equations until 2015. This commenter 

alleged that the proposed deferral of the 

reporting deadline for all subpart W 

inputs was contrary to the intent of the 

Appropriations Act 10 by contravening 

Congress’s mandate to develop a 

transparent, economy-wide greenhouse 

gas inventory. The commenter believes 

disclosure of the subpart W inputs to 

emissions equations would not cause 

competitive harm and claimed that 

disclosure of these data elements was 

important for furthering public 

understanding of the GHG emissions 

from this industry. 

Response: The EPA has extended the 

reporting deadlines for inputs to 

emission equations data elements in all 

Part 98 subparts, including subpart W, 

in the Final Deferral Notice. As 

explained in that final rule, the EPA is 

evaluating the sensitivity of subpart W 

equation inputs together (as with other 

subparts) and therefore is requiring all 

subpart W inputs to be reported by the 

same deferral deadline.11 Today’s action 

simply imposes the same reporting 

deadline to subpart W inputs to 

emission equations that were 

subsequently added to subpart W and 

therefore not included in the Final 

Deferral Notice.12 We are not revisiting 

in this action our decision in the Final 

Deferral Notice to defer reporting of 

subpart W equation inputs to 2015. See 

the Response to Comments document 

published with the Final Deferral Notice 

for more information on the EPA’s 

rationale for deferring inputs to 

emission equations. The commenter did 

not claim that these remaining subpart 

W equation inputs should have a 

different deadline from the other 

subpart W data elements that are inputs 

to emission equations, nor do we see 

any reason to do so. We are therefore 

finalizing our proposal to defer 

reporting of these data elements to 2015. 

3. Subparts DD, RR, and SS 

In the 2012 CBI re-proposal, the EPA 

proposed category assignments and 

confidentiality determinations for direct 

emitter subparts DD and SS and the 

direct emitter data elements in subpart 

RR. The EPA did not receive comment 

on the proposed data category 

assignments or confidentiality 

determinations for any data elements in 

subparts DD and SS, nor did we receive 

comment on the proposed data category 

assignments or confidentiality 

determinations for direct emitter data 

elements in subpart RR. (We did, 

however, receive comment on the 

proposed confidentiality determinations 

for supplier data elements in subpart 

RR, which are summarized in Section 

II.C.2 of this preamble.) The EPA is now 

finalizing the category assignment and 

confidentiality determinations for the 

subpart DD and SS data elements and 

subpart RR direct emitter data elements 

as proposed. The final category 

assignments and confidentiality 

determinations for these data elements 

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48080 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 156 / Monday, August 13, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

can be found in the memorandum, 

‘‘Final Data Category Assignments and 

Confidentiality Determinations for the 

2012 Final CBI Rule.’’ 

C. GHG Supplier Data Categories 

For supplier subparts QQ, RR, and 

UU, the EPA is finalizing the 

assignment of each data element to one 

of 11 supplier data categories. No 

change has been made to the data 

category assignments since proposal. 

The following section lists changes 

since proposal to confidentiality 

determinations of supplier data 

elements assigned to categories with no 

categorical determination covered in 

this action (organized by supplier 

subpart). This section also includes 

summaries of the major public 

comments and our responses, organized 

by subpart. Other public comments and 

responses thereto can be found in 

‘‘Confidentiality Determinations in the 

2012 CBI re-proposals: Responses to 

Public Comments’’ in Docket EPA–HQ– 

OAR–2011–0028 and on the Web site, 

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ 

emissions/CBI.html. 

1. Subpart QQ—Importers and Exporters 

of Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases 

Contained in Pre-charged Equipment or 

Closed-cell Foams 

Summary of Changes. 

In the 2012 CBI re-proposal, the EPA 

proposed confidentiality determinations 

for data elements in supplier subpart 

QQ. The EPA received comments 

raising concerns that the release of 

certain data elements could allow 

competitors to link import and export 

data to publicly available customs data, 

thereby allowing them to discern import 

and export practices and potentially 

sensitive shipment data. As discussed in 

the summary of the comments section 

below, after considering these 

comments, the EPA has decided not to 

make a final confidentiality 

determination for the six subpart QQ 

data elements that reveal the date of 

import or export (see Table 5 of this 

preamble for the list of affected data 

elements). For the remaining subpart 

QQ data elements that are not listed in 

Table 5 of this preamble, we are 

finalizing confidentiality determinations 

as proposed. The final confidentiality 

determinations for all subpart QQ data 

elements can be found in the 

Memorandum, ‘‘Final Data Category 

Assignments and Confidentiality 

Determinations for the 2012 Final CBI 

Rule.’’ 

TABLE 5—SUBPART QQ DATA ELEMENTS FOR WHICH CONFIDENTIALITY STATUS HAS CHANGED SINCE PROPOSAL

Data element Citation Finalized data category and determination 

Dates on which pre-charged equipment were imported .. 40 CFR 98.436(a)(5) .......... Unit/Process Operating Characteristics (‘‘No determination’’). 

Dates on which closed-cell foams were imported ............ 40 CFR 98.436(a)(5) .......... Unit/Process Operating Characteristics (‘‘No determination’’). 

If the importer does not know the identity and mass of 

the F–GHGs within the closed-cell foam: Dates on 

which the closed-cell foams were imported.

40 CFR 98.436(a)(6)(iv) ..... Unit/Process Operating Characteristics (‘‘No determination’’). 

Dates on which pre-charged equipment were exported .. 40 CFR 98.436(b)(5) .......... Unit/Process Operating Characteristics (‘‘No determination’’). 

Dates on which closed-cell foams were exported ............ 40 CFR 98.436(b)(5) .......... Unit/Process Operating Characteristics (‘‘No determination’’). 

If the exporter does not know the identity and mass of 

the F–GHGs within the closed-cell foam: Dates on 

which the closed-cell foams were exported.

40 CFR 98.436(b)(6)(iv) ..... Unit/Process Operating Characteristics (‘‘No determination’’). 

Summary of Comments. 

This section contains summaries of 

the significant public comments and our 

responses thereto. Additional public 

comments were also received. Response 

to these comments can be found in 

‘‘Confidentiality Determinations in the 

2012 CBI re-proposals: Responses to 

Public Comments’’ in Docket EPA–HQ– 

OAR–2011–0028 and on the Web site, 

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ 

emissions/CBI.html. 

Comment: Two commenters disagreed 

with EPA’s proposed non-CBI 

determination for eight data elements in 

the ‘‘Unit/Process Operating’’ Data 

Category. The commenters claimed that 

competitors can cross-reference these 

data elements with publicly available 

information to discern businesssensitive information. These data 

elements include (each listing is a 

separate data element for both importers 

and exporters): 

• Dates on which pre-charged 

equipment were imported/exported (40 

CFR 98.436(a)(5) and (b)(5)); 

• Dates on which closed-cell foams 

were imported/exported (40 CFR 

98.436(a)(5) and (b)(5)); 

• If the importer/exporter does not 

know the identity and mass of the F– 

GHGs within the closed-cell foam: Dates 

on which the closed-cell foams were 

imported/exported (40 CFR 

98.436(a)(6)(iv) and (b)(6)(iv)); and 

• If the importer/exporter does not 

know the identity and mass of the F– 

GHGs within the closed-cell foam: 

Certification that the importer/exporter 

was unable to obtain information on the 

identity and mass of the F–GHGs within 

the closed-cell foam from the closed-cell 

foam manufacturer(s) (40 CFR 

98.436(a)(6)(vi) and (b)(6)(vi)). 

The commenters stated that importers 

and exporters often submit 

confidentiality requests to U.S. Customs 

and Border Protection (CBP) to protect 

as confidential the information 

contained in the shipment manifest. In 

such cases, the CBP protects as 

confidential the name and address of 

the importer or exporter, but allows 

other information contained in the 

manifest to be made public. Since the 

name and address of the importer or 

exporter are held confidential, the 

commenter stated that other 

competitively sensitive information 

contained in the manifest, such as 

shipment data (e.g., type and quantities 

of products imported or exported), 

cannot be attributed to a particular 

importer or exporter. 

The commenters asserted that the 

EPA’s proposal would undermine 

confidentiality requests granted by the 

CBP because it would release 

information on the company name, 

dates of import/export, and certification 

statements that could be crossreferenced with public information 

available in manifests. For example, 

commenters suggested that the manifest 

provides information on the country of 

origin and type and volumes of 

commodities imported or exported. This 

information is currently available to the 

public but cannot be linked to a 

particular importer or exporter where 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 156 / Monday, August 13, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 48081 

13Subpart RR is neither an exclusively direct 

emitter nor a supplier source category, so for the 

purposes of this action the EPA assigned each 

subpart RR data element to one of the two groups 

based on its type and characteristics. The EPA 

assigned subpart RR data elements that pertain to 

emissions to one of the direct emitter data 

categories and the remaining subpart RR data 

elements to one of the supplier data categories. 

the CBP has granted confidential 

treatment of the importer or exporter’s 

name and address. 

Response: The EPA agrees with the 

commenters that competitors could 

cross-reference the company name and 

date of import or export with publicly 

available information to discern 

competitively sensitive information 

from the manifest (e.g., country of origin 

and type and volume of commodities 

imported or exported). Pursuant to 19 

CFR 103.31(d), CBP keeps the name and 

address of importers and exporters 

confidential where importers and 

exporters submit a certification claiming 

the information in their manifest is 

confidential. CBP then keeps the name 

and address of the importer/exporter 

confidential for a period of two years, 

which can be extended provided the 

importer/exporter submits a renewal 

request within 60 days prior to 

expiration of the two year period. 

Although the EPA was aware that 

manifest data was published, we 

previously considered matching of 

individual manifests with the correct 

importer/exporter would be very 

difficult. However, the public can 

request manifest data for specific dates 

in accordance with 19 CFR 103.31(e) 

and the CBP makes manifest data 

(excluding the name and addresses for 

those claiming confidentiality) available 

to the public on CD–ROMs. We also 

agree with the commenter that some of 

the information contained in manifests 

could be competitively sensitive for 

some reporters. For example, the 

volumes and types of commodities 

imported or exported by a company can 

provide information on a competitor’s 

annual production data for individual 

appliances and foams where the 

importer/exporter is also the 

manufacturer of those products. Such 

information would provide competitors 

with information on the market share of 

a competitor’s products in the U.S. 

market (for imports) and in other 

countries (for exports). Since the 

quantity of products imported/exported 

would be available from the manifest 

information on an annual basis, 

competitors would have insight into 

changes in annual sales of a 

competitor’s products. For example, a 

decrease in the number of units 

exported to a particular market would 

indicate a declining demand for a 

competitor’s product in that particular 

market. 

However, we note that the CBP holds 

the name and addresses of importers/ 

exporters confidential only when 

specifically requested by the importer/ 

exporter and that confidentiality is for a 

period of only two years unless a 

request for extension is made. We also 

note that manifest information may not 

be sensitive for all importers and 

exporters. Therefore, the EPA has 

concluded that the date of import or 

export (40 CFR 98.436(a)(5), (a)(6)(iv), 

(b)(5), and (b)(6)(iv)) may cause 

competitive harm for some but not all 

importers and exporters. As a result, we 

are not finalizing a confidentiality 

determination for these data elements. 

We will evaluate the confidentiality 

status of these data elements on a caseby-case basis, in accordance with 

existing CBI regulations in 40 CFR part 

2, subpart B. 

The EPA disagrees with comments 

that releasing certification data (40 CFR 

98.436(a)(6)(vi) and (b)(6)(vi)) would 

likely cause substantial competitive 

harm to the importer or exporter. The 

certification is a statement that the 

importer or exporter was unable to 

obtain information on the identity and 

mass of the fluorinated GHG imported 

or exported in foams. The certification 

statement consists of a statement 

indicating whether the reporter was able 

to obtain information on the identity 

and mass of F–GHGs within the 

imported or exported products, and 

does not include any information that a 

competitor could cross reference with 

publicly available information to link 

manifest data to a particular reporter. 

The commenters did not provide any 

supporting rationale for how the 

certification statement, if disclosed, can 

cause competitive harm. The EPA has 

concluded the disclosure of the very 

limited information in the certification 

statement is unlikely to cause 

competitive harm; therefore, the EPA is 

finalizing a determination that the 

certification statements (40 CFR 

98.436(a)(6)(vi) and (b)(6)(vi)) are not 

eligible for CBI treatment. 

2. Subpart RR—Geologic Sequestration 

of Carbon Dioxide 13

Summary of Changes. 

In the 2012 CBI re-proposal, the EPA 

proposed non-CBI confidentiality 

determinations for the supplier data 

elements in subpart RR. Based on public 

comment, and for the reasons explained 

in the Summary of Comments section 

below, we have decided not to make CBI 

determinations in this final rule for the 

subpart RR supplier data elements that 

are listed in Table 6 of this preamble. 

We will evaluate the confidentiality 

status of these data elements on a caseby-case basis, in accordance with 

existing CBI regulations in 40 CFR part 

2, subpart B. The EPA did not receive 

comments on the remaining subpart RR 

data elements, and is finalizing 

confidentiality determinations as 

proposed for the subpart RR data 

elements that are not listed in Table 6 

of this preamble. The final 

confidentiality determinations for all 

subpart RR data elements can be found 

in the Memorandum, ‘‘Final Data 

Category Assignments and 

Confidentiality Determinations for the 

2012 Final CBI Rule’’ in Docket EPA– 

HQ–OAR–2011–0028 and on EPA’s Web 

site (see http://www.epa.gov/ 

climatechange/emissions/CBI.html). 

TABLE 6—SUBPART RR DATA ELEMENTS FOR WHICH CONFIDENTIALITY STATUS HAS CHANGED SINCE PROPOSAL

Data element Citation Finalized data category and determination 

If you receive CO2 by pipeline, report the following for each receiving flow meter: Total net mass of CO2 received (metric 

tons) annually.

40 CFR 98.446(a)(1) ............... Production/Throughput Quantities and Composition a (‘‘No Determination’’). 

If a volumetric flow meter is used to receive CO2 report the following unless you reported yes to 40 CFR 98.446(a)(4): Volumetric flow through a receiving flow meter at standard conditions (in standard cubic meters) in each quarter.40 CFR 98.446(a)(2)(i) ............ Production/Throughput Quantities and Composition (‘‘No Determination’’). 

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48082 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 156 / Monday, August 13, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

TABLE 6—SUBPART RR DATA ELEMENTS FOR WHICH CONFIDENTIALITY STATUS HAS CHANGED SINCE PROPOSAL— 

Continued 

Data element Citation Finalized data category and determination 

If a volumetric flow meter is used to receive CO2 report the following unless you reported yes to 40 CFR 98.446(a)(4): The 

volumetric flow through a receiving flow meter that is redelivered to another facility without being injected into your well 

(in standard cubic meters) in each quarter.

40 CFR 98.446(a)(2)(ii) ........... Production/Throughput Quantities and Composition (‘‘No Determination’’). 

If a volumetric flow meter is used to receive CO2 report the following unless you reported yes to 40 CFR 98.446(a)(4): CO2

concentration in the flow (volume percent CO2 expressed as 

a decimal fraction) in each quarter.

40 CFR 98.446(a)(2)(iii) .......... Production/Throughput Quantities and Composition (‘‘No Determination’’). 

If a mass flow meter is used to receive CO2 report the following unless you reported yes to 40 CFR 98.446(a)(4): The 

mass flow through a receiving flow meter (in metric tons) in 

each quarter.1

40 CFR 98.446(a)(3)(i) ............ Production/Throughput Quantities and Composition (‘‘No Determination’’). 

If a mass flow meter is used to receive CO2 report the following unless you reported yes to 40 CFR 98.446(a)(4): The 

mass flow through a receiving flow meter that is redelivered 

to another facility without being injected into your well (in 

metric tons) in each quarter.

40 CFR 98.446(a)(3)(ii) ........... Production/Throughput Quantities and Composition (‘‘No Determination’’). 

If a mass flow meter is used to receive CO2 report the following unless you reported yes to 40 CFR 98.446(a)(4): The 

CO2 concentration in the flow (weight percent CO2 expressed as a decimal fraction) in each quarter.

40 CFR 98.446(a)(3)(iii) .......... Production/Throughput Quantities and Composition (‘‘No Determination’’). 

If you receive CO2 in containers, report: The mass (in metric 

tons) or volume at standard conditions (in standard cubic 

meters) of contents in containers in each quarter.

40 CFR 98.446(b)(1) ............... Production/Throughput Quantities and Composition (‘‘No Determination’’). 

If you receive CO2 in containers: Concentration of CO2 of contents in containers (volume or wt. % CO2 expressed as a 

decimal fraction) in each quarter.

40 CFR 98.446(b)(2) ............... Production/Throughput Quantities and Composition (‘‘No Determination’’). 

If you receive CO2 in containers, report: The mass (in metric 

tons) or volume (in standard cubic meters) of contents in 

containers that is redelivered to another facility without being 

injected into your well in each quarter.

40 CFR 98.446(b)(3) ............... Production/Throughput Quantities and Composition (‘‘No Determination’’). 

If you receive CO2 in containers: Net mass of CO2 received 

(metric tons) annually.

40 CFR 98.446(b)(4) ............... Production/Throughput Quantities and Composition a (‘‘No Determination’’). 

If you use more than one receiving flow meter: Total net mass 

of CO2 received (metric tons) through all flow meters annually.

40 CFR 98.446(c) ................... Production/Throughput Quantities and Composition a (‘‘No Determination’’). 

If the date specified in 40 CFR 98.446(e) is during the reporting year for this annual report, report the following starting 

on the date specified in 40 CFR 98.446(e): For each separator flow meter (mass or volumetric), report CO2 mass produced (metric tons) annually.

40 CFR 98.446(f)(4)(i) ............. Production/Throughput Quantities and Composition a (‘‘No Determination’’). 

If the date specified in 40 CFR 98.446(e) is during the reporting year for this annual report, report the following starting 

on the date specified in 40 CFR 98.446(e): For each separator flow meter (mass or volumetric), report CO2 concentration in flow (volume or wt. % CO2 expressed as a decimal 

fraction) in each quarter.

40 CFR 98.446(f)(4)(ii) ............ Production/Throughput Quantities and Composition (‘‘No Determination’’). 

If the date specified in 40 CFR 98.446(e) is during the reporting year for this annual report, report the following starting 

on the date specified in 40 CFR 98.446(e): If a volumetric 

flow meter is used, volumetric flow rate at standard conditions (standard cubic meters) in each quarter.

40 CFR 98.446(f)(4)(iii) ........... Production/Throughput Quantities and Composition (‘‘No Determination’’). 

If the date specified in 40 CFR 98.446(e) is during the reporting year for this annual report, report the following starting 

on the date specified in 40 CFR 98.446(e): If a mass flow 

meter is used, mass flow rate (metric tons) in each quarter.

40 CFR 98.446(f)(4)(iv) ........... Production/Throughput Quantities and Composition (‘‘No Determination’’). 

aThese data elements could have also been placed in the ‘‘Greenhouse Gases Reported’’ data category because the product is also the GHG 

reported. 

Summary of Comments. 

This section contains summaries of 

the significant public comments and our 

responses thereto. Other public 

comments were also received. Response 

to these comments can be found in 

‘‘Confidentiality Determinations in the 

2012 CBI re-proposals: Responses to 

Public Comments’’ in Docket EPA–HQ– 

OAR–2011–0028 and on the Web site, 

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ 

emissions/CBI.html. 

Comment: One commenter that injects 

CO2 for enhanced oil and gas recovery 

(ER) stated that data elements related to 

the quantity of CO2 received onsite must 

be protected as CBI. The commenter 

asserted that information on the 

quantity of CO2 received at individual 

flow meters and the total quantity of 

CO2 received at a facility that conducts 

ER is not publicly available. The 

commenter also disagreed with the 

EPA’s conclusion that public release of 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 156 / Monday, August 13, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 48083 

14Subpart UU is neither a direct emitter nor a 

supplier source category; for the purposes of this 

action, the EPA assigned the subpart UU data 

elements to one of the supplier data categories 

because they are most similar in type and 

characteristics to supplier data. 

the quantity of CO2 received does not 

create a substantial competitive 

disadvantage for the company. 

Combined with publicly available 

information on CO2 pipeline capacities, 

the commenter asserted that CO2

suppliers and pipeline transportation 

companies could use data on the 

quantity of CO2 reported as received by 

specific facilities to their advantage in 

price negotiations on future contracts 

with the CO2 purchasers (i.e., the 

reporting facilities under subparts RR 

and UU). The commenter stated that 

this risk is amplified because there are 

so few CO2 suppliers in the market. 

Response: EPA had proposed that the 

data elements in Table 6, which relate 

to the quantity of CO2 received onsite, 

are not CBI on the basis that they are 

either publicly available or may be 

derived from publicly available data. 

However, the commenter claims this is 

not the case for data from facilities that 

conduct ER. Our initial review of 

available information lends support to 

the comment, which suggests that EPA 

may need to assess the confidentiality 

determination of these data elements 

separately for ER and non-ER facilities. 

However, EPA had not analyzed these 

data elements in Table 6 separately for 

ER and non-ER activities in the reproposal. Further, facilities subject to 

the reporting requirements in Table 6 

are not required to include in their 

annual report whether they are 

conducting ER. Therefore, even if EPA 

were to make separate determinations in 

this final rule for ER and non-ER 

facilities, EPA would not be able to 

withhold or disclose any of the data 

elements in Table 6 upon finalizing and 

in accordance with the determinations, 

which is the reason for making these 

confidentiality determinations through 

rulemaking. See 40 CFR 2.301(d). EPA 

would need additional information, in 

particular whether the facilities conduct 

ER, before it can complete its 

confidentiality determinations for any of 

these data. In light of the above, the EPA 

is not making a confidentiality 

determination for the data elements in 

Table 6 in this final rule. Should we 

decide to make available any of these 

data in the future, we will at that time 

evaluate the confidentiality status of 

these data elements on a case-by-case 

basis, in accordance with existing CBI 

regulations in 40 CFR part 2, subpart B. 

Comment: One commenter that 

conducts ER asserted that certain data 

elements related to the quantity of 

produced CO2 measured at a separator 

meter should be protected as CBI. This 

commenter stated that the total mass of 

produced CO2 by well or within a field 

is not already in the public domain and 

that the fact that some data from ER 

wells is publicly available does not 

demonstrate that publication of this data 

would not cause competitive harm. 

The commenter asserted that CO2 is 

an essential commodity in ER projects, 

and because of its cost, companies go to 

great lengths to use it efficiently and to 

recycle as much of it as possible. The 

commenter stated that publication of 

produced CO2 data, when coupled with 

publicly available information on oil 

and gas production by well, would 

enable competitors to calculate CO2

utilization rates for both individual 

wells and fields. The commenter noted 

that because this data would be 

available annually, it would be possible 

to track changes in CO2 utilization over 

time. The commenter stated that from 

these CO2 utilization rates, competitors 

would gain insight into production 

costs, as well as information on how the 

reservoir was performing over time. The 

commenter stated that this information 

could be used in contract negotiations 

for CO2 supply, as well as enabling 

competitors to fine tune investment, 

acquisition, and development strategies. 

The commenter also asserted that if 

data on the quantities of both injected 

CO2 and produced CO2 are publicly 

available, competitors can determine the 

quantity of CO2 received by a site, 

because the total quantity of CO2

injected equals the amount of CO2

received on site plus the amount of CO2

produced, less any surface emissions 

(which will be made public under 

subpart RR because they are ‘‘emission 

data’’). 

Response: After reviewing the 

additional information provided by the 

commenter, the EPA agrees that the 

mass of produced CO2 measured at a 

separator meter could be sensitive 

information for some facilities that 

report under Subpart RR and not for 

others. Therefore, the EPA decided not 

to make categorical confidentiality 

determinations for the data elements 

related to the mass of produced CO2

measured per separator meter at this 

time (40 CFR 98.446(f)(4)(i) through (iv) 

listed in Table 6 of this preamble). We 

will evaluate the confidentiality status 

of these data elements on a case-by-case 

basis, in accordance with existing CBI 

regulations in 40 CFR part 2, subpart B. 

3. Subpart UU—Injection of Carbon 

Dioxide 

Summary of Changes. 

In the 2012 CBI re-proposal, the EPA 

proposed confidentiality determinations 

for subpart UU.14 We received comment 

that, for ER projects, information related 

to the quantity of CO2 received is not 

publicly available and may be likely to 

cause substantial competitive harm if 

made publicly available. For the reasons 

explained below, we have determined 

that the data elements that are listed in 

Table 7 of this preamble are CBI for 

facilities without an EPA-approved 

subpart RR R&D project exemption and 

non-CBI for facilities with an EPAapproved subpart RR R&D project 

exemption. The EPA did not receive 

comments on the remaining subpart UU 

data elements, and is finalizing 

confidentiality determinations as 

proposed for the subpart UU data 

elements that are not listed in Table 7 

of this preamble. The final 

confidentiality determinations for all 

subpart UU data elements can be found 

in the Memorandum, ‘‘Final Data 

Category Assignments and 

Confidentiality Determinations for the 

2012 Final CBI Rule’’ in Docket EPA– 

HQ–OAR–2011–0028 and on the EPA’s 

Web site (see http://www.epa.gov/ 

climatechange/emissions/CBI.html). 

TABLE 7—SUBPART UU DATA ELEMENTS WITH CHANGED CONFIDENTIALITY DETERMINATIONS SINCE PROPOSAL

Data element Citation 

Finalized data category and 

CBI determination for facilities without an R&D 

exemption 

Finalized data category and 

CBI determination for facilities with an R&D 

exemption 

If you receive CO2 by pipeline, report the following for each receiving flow meter: Total net mass of CO2 received (metric 

tons) annually.

40 CFR ..............

98.476(a)(1) ......

GHGs Reported and Production/Throughput 

Quantities and Composition a (CBI).

Production/Throughput 

Quantities and Composition a (non-CBI). 

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48084 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 156 / Monday, August 13, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

TABLE 7—SUBPART UU DATA ELEMENTS WITH CHANGED CONFIDENTIALITY DETERMINATIONS SINCE PROPOSAL— 

Continued 

Data element Citation 

Finalized data category and 

CBI determination for facilities without an R&D 

exemption 

Finalized data category and 

CBI determination for facilities with an R&D 

exemption 

If you receive CO2 by pipeline, report the following for each receiving flow meter: If a volumetric flow meter is used to receive CO2: Volumetric flow through a receiving flow meter at 

standard conditions (standard cubic meters) in each quarter.

40 CFR ..............

98.476(a)(2)(i) ...

Production/Throughput 

Quantities and Composition (CBI).

Production/Throughput 

Quantities and Composition (non-CBI). 

If you receive CO2 by pipeline, report the following for each flow 

meter: If a volumetric flow meter is used to receive CO2: The 

volumetric flow through a receiving flow meter that is redelivered to another facility without being injected into your well 

(standard cubic meters) in each quarter.

40 CFR ..............

98.476(a)(2)(ii) ..

Production/Throughput 

Quantities and Composition (CBI).

Production/Throughput 

Quantities and Composition (non-CBI). 

If you receive CO2 by pipeline, report the following for each receiving flow meter: If a volumetric flow meter is used to receive CO2: CO2 concentration in the flow (volume % CO2 expressed as a decimal fraction) in each quarter.40 CFR ..............

98.476(a)(2)(iii) ..

Production/Throughput 

Quantities and Composition (CBI).

Production/Throughput 

Quantities and Composition (non-CBI). 

If you receive CO2 by pipeline, report the following for each flow 

meter: If a mass flow meter is used to receive CO2, report the 

mass flow through a receiving flow meter (in metric tons) in 

each quarter.

40 CFR ..............

98.476(a)(3)(i) ...

Production/Throughput 

Quantities and Composition (CBI).

Production/Throughput 

Quantities and Composition (non-CBI). 

If you receive CO2 by pipeline, report the following for each flow 

meter: If a mass flow meter is used to receive CO2, report the 

mass flow through a receiving flow meter that is redelivered to 

another facility without being injected into your well (in metric 

tons) in each quarter.

40 CFR ..............

98.476(a)(3)(ii) ..

Production/Throughput 

Quantities and Composition (CBI).

Production/Throughput 

Quantities and Composition (non-CBI). 

If you receive CO2 by pipeline, report the following for each flow 

meter: If a mass flow meter is used to receive CO2, report 

CO2 concentration in the flow (wt. % CO2 expressed as a decimal fraction) in each quarter.

40 CFR ..............

98.476(a)(3)(iii) ..

Production/Throughput 

Quantities and Composition (CBI).

Production/Throughput 

Quantities and Composition (non-CBI). 

If you receive CO2 in containers, report: The mass (metric tons) 

or volume at standard conditions (standard cubic meters) of 

contents in containers in each quarter.

40 CFR ..............

98.476(b)(1) ......

Production/Throughput 

Quantities and Composition (CBI).

Production/Throughput 

Quantities and Composition (non-CBI). 

If you receive CO2 in containers, report: The concentration of 

CO2 of contents in containers (volume or wt. % CO2 expressed as a decimal fraction) in each quarter.

40 CFR ..............

98.476(b)(2) ......

Production/Throughput 

Quantities and Composition (CBI).

Production/Throughput 

Quantities and Composition (non-CBI). 

If you receive CO2 in containers, report: The mass (metric tons) 

or volume (standard cubic meters) of contents in containers 

that is redelivered to another facility without being injected into 

your well in each quarter.

40 CFR ..............

98.476(b)(3) ......

Production/Throughput 

Quantities and Composition (CBI).

Production/Throughput 

Quantities and Composition (non-CBI). 

If you receive CO2 in containers, report: The net total mass of 

CO2 received (in metric tons) annually.

40 CFR ..............

98.476(b)(4) ......

Production/Throughput 

Quantities and Composition a (CBI).

Production/Throughput 

Quantities and Composition a (non-CBI). 

If you use more than one receiving flow meter, report the net 

total mass of CO2 received (metric tons) through all flow meters annually.

40 CFR ..............

98.476(c) ...........

GHGs Reported and Production/Throughput 

Quantities and Composition a (CBI).

Production/Throughput 

Quantities and Composition a (non-CBI). 

aThese data elements could have also been placed in the ‘‘Greenhouse Gases Reported’’ data category because the product is also the GHG 

reported. 

Summary of Comments. 

This section contains summaries of 

the significant public comments and our 

responses thereto. Other public 

comments were also received. Response 

to these comments can be found in 

‘‘Confidentiality Determinations in the 

2012 CBI re-proposals: Responses to 

Public Comments’’ in Docket EPA–HQ– 

OAR–2011–0028 and on the Web site, 

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ 

emissions/CBI.html. 

Comment: One commenter that injects 

CO2 for ER stated that certain data 

elements related to the quantity of CO2

received on-site must be protected as 

CBI. The commenter asserted that 

information on the quantity of CO2

received at individual flow meters and 

the total quantity of CO2 received at a 

facility that conducts ER is not publicly 

available. The commenter also disagreed 

with the EPA’s conclusion that public 

release of the quantity of CO2 received 

does not create a substantial competitive 

disadvantage for the company. The 

commenter asserted that, combined 

with publicly available information on 

CO2 pipeline capacities, CO2 suppliers 

and pipeline transportation companies 

could use data on the quantity of CO2

reported as received by specific 

facilities to their advantage in price 

negotiations on future contracts with the 

CO2 purchasers (i.e., the reporting 

facilities under subparts RR and UU). 

The commenter stated that this risk is 

amplified because there are so few CO2

suppliers in the market. 

Response: After reviewing the 

additional information provided by the 

commenter, the EPA agrees that the 

quantity of CO2 reported as received on 

site could be sensitive information. The 

EPA proposed that the data elements 

related to the quantity of CO2 received 

would not be entitled to CBI protection 

because we believed that none of the 

data elements on CO2 received included 

information on CO2 prices or contract 

terms, and would not allow a 

competitor to deduce the reporter’s 

operating costs and cause competitive 

harm. After reviewing this comment and 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 156 / Monday, August 13, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 48085 

15See www.ghgdata.epa.gov. 

16 40 CFR 98.474(a)(1)(iii) and (a)(3)(iii). 

17For example, see the proceedings of the 

Department of Energy National Energy Technology 

Laboratory Carbon Storage Program Infrastructure 

Annual Review Meeting. 

publicly available information, the EPA 

agrees that facilities that report under 

subpart UU and conduct ER activities 

are likely to experience substantial 

competitive harm if data on CO2

received were released to the public. As 

the commenter notes, the information 

on the quantity of CO2 received per flow 

meter or per reporting facility is not 

publicly available. If this data were 

public, knowledge of a CO2–ER 

purchaser’s demand for CO2 could give 

the CO2 suppliers an unfair advantage in 

price negotiations. In addition, a small 

number of companies supply most of 

the CO2 to the economy, which further 

exacerbates the CO2–ER purchaser’s 

competitive disadvantage. The majority 

of CO2 sold to ER operations in the 

United States is produced from natural 

CO2 bearing formations. According to 

Reporting Year 2010 data from the 

Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, two 

companies dominated the CO2 supply 

market, producing approximately 80 

percent of the CO2 available for 

purchase from natural CO2 bearing 

formations.15

In addition to facilities that conduct 

ER, acid gas operations (facilities that 

separate a CO2 stream during natural gas 

processing and inject it underground) 

will report under subpart UU. The 

amount of CO2 separated in acid gas 

operations is reported by these facilities 

under subpart PP. These facilities are 

allowed to report the amount of CO2

received under subpart UU by using the 

amount of CO2 reported under subpart 

PP, following the subpart PP methods 

and requirements.16 This subpart PP 

data was determined to be CBI in the 

2011 Final CBI rule. Therefore, the EPA 

has decided to change the 

confidentiality determination to treat as 

CBI 12 subpart UU data elements related 

to the quantity of CO2 received (see 

Table 7 of this preamble for the list of 

affected data elements). 

Other than facilities conducting ER or 

acid gas operations, the facilities that 

must report under subpart UU include 

facilities that have received a Research 

and Development (R&D) project 

exemption from subpart RR. The EPA 

notes that data on the quantity of CO2

received would not be competitively 

sensitive for facilities that have received 

an R&D project exemption from subpart 

RR. It is standard practice that CO2 that 

is received by non-ER facilities for R&D 

geologic sequestration projects is wholly 

injected underground without a 

recycled component. The quantity of 

CO2 injected for these projects is readily 

available from public sources and thus 

the quantity of CO2 received by these 

projects is widely known.17 The EPA 

has concluded that the disclosure of the 

amount of CO2 received is unlikely to 

cause competitive harm to facilities 

with a R&D project exemption. 

Therefore, the EPA is finalizing a 

determination that for the subcategory 

of subpart UU reporters that have 

received an R&D project exemption from 

subpart RR, the 12 data elements related 

to CO2 received are not eligible for CBI 

treatment and will not be protected as 

CBI (see Table 7 of this preamble for the 

list of affected data elements). 

III. Confidentiality Determinations for 

New Data Elements in Subparts II and 

TT and Responses to Public Comments 

The Technical Corrections final rule, 

which was issued after the 2011 Final 

CBI Rule, added seven new non-input 

data elements to subparts II and TT. 

Confidentiality determinations for the 

remainder of the data elements in these 

subparts have already been finalized in 

the 2011 Final CBI Rule. Subsequent to 

the 2011 Final CBI Rule, we proposed 

category assignments and 

confidentiality determinations for these 

new data elements in the 2012 CBI reproposal. The EPA did not receive any 

comment on the data category 

assignments or confidentiality 

determinations for any data elements for 

which we proposed confidentiality 

determinations for these two subparts in 

the 2012 CBI re-proposal. Thus, the EPA 

is finalizing confidentiality 

determinations for these new subpart II 

and TT data elements as proposed. The 

final confidentiality determinations for 

these new subpart II and TT data 

elements can be found in the 

memorandum, ‘‘Final Data Category 

Assignments and Confidentiality 

Determinations for the 2012 Final CBI 

Rule.’’ 

IV. Amendments to Table A–6 and A– 

7 To Defer Reporting of Certain Inputs 

to Emission Equations in Subparts W, 

FF and TT 

We are finalizing the proposed 

amendments made in the Subpart W 

CBI re-proposal to Table A–7 of subpart 

A, which included amendments to 

address the renumbering of 11 inputs, 

the addition of 10 new inputs, and the 

deletion of 21 data elements that were 

re-categorized to other data categories 

because the data elements are not the 

actual values used in the equations. 

(The deletions recognized, for example, 

the distinction between individual 

measured values used to calculate 

emissions, which are inputs, and the 

reported average of these measured 

values, which is not used as an input to 

emissions equations.) We are finalizing 

these amendments as proposed with the 

exception that we are correcting a 

typographical error in the Subpart W 

CBI re-proposal by replacing the word 

‘‘required’’ with ‘‘recovered’’ in two 

entries (40 CFR 98.236(c)(6)(i)(G) and 

(H)) for subpart W of Table A–7 of 

subpart A of Part 98. We are finalizing 

Table A–7 of subpart A with this minor 

wording change in response to public 

comment and to more accurately reflect 

the actual reporting requirements. As 

proposed in the Subpart W CBI reproposal, we are deferring the deadline 

for reporting all subpart W inputs until 

March 31, 2015 to allow sufficient time 

to: (1) Evaluate the extent to which 

potential competitive harm may result if 

any of the inputs to equations were 

reported and made publicly available; 

and (2) determine whether emissions 

can be calculated or verified using 

additional methodologies, consistent 

with the transparency and accuracy 

goals of Part 98. 

The Technical Corrections final rule 

added one new subpart TT data element 

that is used as an input to an emission 

equation (the methane correction factor 

(MCF) value used in the calculations (40 

CFR 98.446(b)(4)). In the 2012 CBI reproposal, we proposed to assign this 

data element to the inputs to equations 

category. We also proposed that this 

data element be added to Table A–6 of 

subpart A to defer its reporting to March 

31, 2013. We received no comments on 

the proposal described above. The EPA 

is therefore finalizing the assignment of 

this data element to the ‘‘Inputs to 

Emission Equations’’ data category and 

its addition to Table A–6 of subpart A 

to require its reporting by March 31, 

2013. 

The Technical Corrections final rule 

similarly added two new subpart FF 

data elements that are used as inputs to 

emission equations: 

• Moisture content used in Equation 

FF–1 and FF–3 (40 CFR 98.326(o)). 

• The gaseous organic concentration 

correction factor used, if Equation FF– 

9 was required (40 CFR 98.326(o)). 

In the 2012 CBI re-proposal, we 

proposed to assign these two data 

elements in 98.236(o) to the ‘‘Inputs to 

Emission Equations’’ data category and 

defer their reporting deadline to March 

31, 2013. As explained in the proposed 

rule, the paragraph citation for these 

two data elements (40 CFR 98.326(o)) is 

already included in Table A–6 of 

subpart A deferring the reporting 

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48086 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 156 / Monday, August 13, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

18 75 FR 74774, December 1, 2010. 

deadline until March 31, 2013; 

therefore, no amendment to Table A–6 

of subpart A is required to defer their 

reporting to March 31, 2013. We 

received no public comments on our 

proposal, and we are finalizing the 

category assignment and deferral of the 

reporting deadline for these two new 

subpart FF data elements as proposed. 

In the Technical Corrections final 

rule, we also re-numbered the rule 

citations for three subpart TT data 

reporting elements. In the 2012 CBI reproposal, the EPA proposed to amend 

Table A–6 of subpart A list of paragraph 

references for subpart TT data elements 

to reflect the revision to the paragraph 

citations. We did not receive any 

comment, and we are finalizing as 

proposed the amendments to Table A– 

6 of subpart A in this action. 

V. Background and Amendments to the 

Best Available Monitoring Method for 

Subpart I 

A. Background 

Following the publication of the final 

subpart I rule,18 an industry association 

requested reconsideration of numerous 

provisions in the final rule. The final 

amendments in this action are in 

response to the request for 

reconsideration of the specific provision 

that requires facilities that have been 

granted extensions to use BAMM to 

recalculate their emissions for the time 

period for which BAMM was used at a 

later date using methods that are fully 

compliant with subpart I. 

B. Amendments to the Best Available 

Monitoring Method Provisions for 

Subpart I 

For the reasons explained in Section 

IV of the subpart I CBI re-proposal, we 

are finalizing amendments to the 

subpart I BAMM provisions. These 

amendments to subpart I eliminate the 

requirement that facilities granted an 

extension to use BAMM must 

recalculate and resubmit the emissions 

estimate for the BAMM extension 

period. The EPA received comments in 

support of these amendments and no 

comments opposing them. Accordingly, 

we are finalizing as proposed these 

amendments to subpart I. 

VI. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory 

Planning and Review and Executive 

Order 13563: Improving Regulation and 

Regulatory Review 

This action, which finalizes 

confidentiality determinations for data 

elements in the 9 subparts included in 

the preamble, finalizes amendments to 

subpart A of Part 98, and removes the 

requirement that facilities that are 

granted an extension to use BAMM 

must recalculate and resubmit the 

emissions estimate for the BAMM 

extension period is not a ‘‘significant 

regulatory action’’ under the terms of 

Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, 

October 4, 1993) and is therefore not 

subject to review under Executive 

Orders 12866 and 13563 (76 FR 3821, 

January 21, 2011). 

B. Paperwork Reduction Act 

This action, which finalizes 

confidentiality determinations for data 

elements in the 9 subparts included in 

the preamble, finalizes amendments to 

subpart A of Part 98, and removes the 

requirement that facilities that are 

granted an extension to use BAMM 

must recalculate and resubmit the 

emissions estimate for the BAMM 

extension period does not impose any 

new information collection burden and 

does not increase the existing reporting 

burden. The Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) has previously approved 

the information collection requirements 

contained in these subparts, under 40 

CFR part 98, under the provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 

3501 et seq. The Information Collection 

Request (ICR) documents prepared by 

the EPA have been assigned the 

following OMB control numbers: 2060– 

0650, for subparts I, DD, and SS; 2060– 

0651, for subpart W; 2060–0649, for 

subparts RR and UU; and 2060–0647 for 

subparts FF, II, and TT. The OMB 

control numbers for EPA’s regulations 

in 40 CFR are listed at 40 CFR part 9. 

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

generally requires an agency to prepare 

a regulatory flexibility analysis of any 

rule subject to notice and comment 

rulemaking requirements under the 

Administrative Procedure Act or any 

other statute unless the agency certifies 

that the rule will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. Small entities 

include small businesses, small 

organizations, and small governmental 

jurisdictions. 

For purposes of assessing the impacts 

of this rule on small entities, a small 

entity is defined as: (1) A small business 

as defined by the Small Business 

Administration’s (SBA) regulations at 13 

CFR 121.201; (2) a small governmental 

jurisdiction that is a government of a 

city, county, town, school district or 

special district with a population of less 

than 50,000; and (3) a small 

organization that is any not-for-profit 

enterprise which is independently 

owned and operated and is not 

dominant in its field. 

After considering the economic 

impacts of today’s final rule on small 

entities, I certify that this action will not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

In determining whether a rule has a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities, the 

impact of concern is any significant 

adverse economic impact on small 

entities, since the primary purpose of a 

regulatory flexibility analyses is to 

identify and address regulatory 

alternatives ‘‘which minimize any 

significant economic impact of the rule 

on small entities.’’ 5 U.S.C. 603,604. 

Thus, an agency may certify that a rule 

will not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities if the rule relieves regulatory 

burden, has no burden, or otherwise has 

a positive economic effect on all of the 

small entities subject to the rule. This 

action, which finalizes confidentiality 

determinations for data elements in the 

9 subparts included in the preamble, 

finalizes amendments to subpart A of 

Part 98, and removes the requirement 

that facilities that are granted an 

extension to use BAMM must 

recalculate and resubmit the emissions 

estimate for the BAMM extension 

period does not increase the existing 

reporting burden on small entities. We 

have therefore concluded that today’s 

final rule will relieve or have no burden 

on small entities subject to the rule. 

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(UMRA) 

These final rule amendments and 

confidentiality determinations do not 

contain a federal mandate that may 

result in expenditures of $100 million or 

more for state, local, and tribal 

governments, in the aggregate, or the 

private sector in any one year. The 

amendment to subpart I removes the 

requirement that facilities that are 

granted an extension to use BAMM 

must recalculate and resubmit the 

emissions estimate for the BAMM 

extension period and the confidentiality 

determinations are administrative in 

nature and do not increase the costs of 

compliance for facilities to comply with 

Part 98. Thus, this rule is not subject to 

the requirements of sections 202 or 205 

of the UMRA. 

This rule is also not subject to the 

requirements of section 203 of UMRA 

because it contains no regulatory 

requirements that might significantly or 

uniquely affect small governments. The 

confidentiality determinations for data 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 156 / Monday, August 13, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 48087 

elements that this action finalizes are 

administrative in nature, and this action 

removes the requirement that facilities 

that are granted an extension to use 

BAMM must recalculate and resubmit 

the emissions estimate for the BAMM 

extension period. 

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism 

This action, which finalizes 

confidentiality determinations for data 

elements in the 9 subparts included in 

the preamble, finalizes amendments to 

subpart A of Part 98, and removes the 

requirement that facilities that are 

granted an extension to use BAMM 

must recalculate and resubmit the 

emissions estimate for the BAMM 

extension period does not have 

federalism implications. It will not have 

substantial direct effects on the states, 

on the relationship between the national 

government and the states, or on the 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government, as specified in 

Executive Order 13132. For a more 

detailed discussion about how Part 98 

relates to existing state programs, please 

see Section II of the preamble to the 

final Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule (74 

FR 56266, October 30, 2009). 

This action applies to suppliers of 

GHGs and facilities that directly emit 

GHGs above threshold levels. Relatively 

few government facilities are affected by 

this action since Part 98 applies only to 

government entities that own a facility 

that directly emits GHGs above 

threshold levels. This action also does 

not limit the power of states or localities 

to collect GHG data and/or regulate 

GHG emissions, nor does it directly 

affect the power of states or localities to 

disclose or protect information reported 

to those states or localities. Thus, 

Executive Order 13132 does not apply 

to this action. 

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

This action, which finalizes 

confidentiality determinations for data 

elements in the 9 subparts included in 

the preamble, finalizes amendments to 

subpart A of Part 98, and removes the 

requirement that facilities that are 

granted an extension to use BAMM 

must recalculate and resubmit the 

emissions estimate for the BAMM 

extension period does not have tribal 

implications, as specified in Executive 

Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 

2000). This action does not increase the 

reporting burden. Thus, Executive Order 

13175 does not apply to this action. For 

a summary of the EPA’s consultations 

with tribal governments and 

representatives, see Section VIII.F of the 

preamble to the final Greenhouse Gas 

Reporting Rule (74 FR 56371, October 

30, 2009). 

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of 

Children From Environmental Health 

Risks and Safety Risks 

The EPA interprets Executive Order 

13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997) as 

applying only to those regulatory 

actions that concern health or safety 

risks, such that the analysis required 

under section 5–501 of the Executive 

Order has the potential to influence the 

regulation. This action is not subject to 

Executive Order 13045 because it does 

not establish an environmental standard 

intended to mitigate health or safety 

risks. 

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use 

This action, which finalizes 

confidentiality determinations for data 

elements in the 9 subparts included in 

the preamble, finalizes amendments to 

subpart A of Part 98, and removes the 

requirement that facilities that are 

granted an extension to use BAMM 

must recalculate and resubmit the 

emissions estimate for the BAMM 

extension period is not subject to 

Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, 

May 22, 2001), because it is not a 

significant regulatory action under 

Executive Order 12866. 

I. National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act 

Section 12(d) of the National 

Technology Transfer and Advancement 

Act of 1995 (NTTAA), Public Law 104– 

113, 12(d) (15 U.S.C. 272 note) directs 

the EPA to use voluntary consensus 

standards in its regulatory activities 

unless to do so would be inconsistent 

with applicable law or otherwise 

impractical. Voluntary consensus 

standards are technical standards (e.g., 

materials specifications, test methods, 

sampling procedures, and business 

practices) that are developed or adopted 

by voluntary consensus standards 

bodies. NTTAA directs the EPA to 

provide Congress, through OMB, 

explanations when the agency decides 

not to use available and applicable 

voluntary consensus standards. 

This final action, which finalizes 

confidentiality determinations for data 

elements in the 9 subparts included in 

the preamble, finalizes amendments to 

subpart A of Part 98, and removes the 

requirement that facilities that are 

granted an extension to use BAMM 

must recalculate and resubmit the 

emissions estimate for the BAMM 

extension period does not add any new 

technical standards or revise any 

existing technical standards included in 

Part 98. Therefore, the EPA did not 

consider the use of any voluntary 

consensus standards. 

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal 

Actions To Address Environmental 

Justice in Minority Populations and 

Low-Income Populations 

Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, 

February 16, 1994) establishes federal 

executive policy on environmental 

justice. Its main provision directs 

federal agencies, to the greatest extent 

practicable and permitted by law, to 

make environmental justice part of their 

mission by identifying and addressing, 

as appropriate, disproportionately high 

and adverse human health or 

environmental effects of their programs, 

policies, and activities on minority 

populations and low-income 

populations in the United States. 

The EPA has determined that this 

final rule will not have 

disproportionately high and adverse 

human health or environmental effects 

on minority or low-income populations. 

This final rule does not affect the level 

of protection provided to human health 

or the environment because it addresses 

information collection and reporting 

procedures. 

K. Congressional Review Act 

The Congressional Review Act, 5 

U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the Small 

Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA), 

generally provides that before a rule 

may take effect, the agency 

promulgating the rule must submit a 

rule report, which includes a copy of 

the rule, to each House of the Congress 

and to the Comptroller General of the 

United States. The EPA will submit a 

report containing this rule and other 

required information to the U.S. Senate, 

the U.S. House of Representatives, and 

the Comptroller General of the United 

States prior to publication in the 

Federal Register. A major rule cannot 

take effect until 60 days after it is 

published in the Federal Register. This 

action is not a ‘‘major rule’’ as defined 

by 5 U.S.C. 804(2). Therefore, this rule 

will be effective on September 12, 2012, 

except for the amendments to Tables A– 

6 and A–7 of 40 CFR part 98 subpart A 

and the amendments to 40 CFR part 98 

subpart I (section 98.94(a)(2)(iii), 

(a)(3)(iii), and (a)(4)(iii), which are 

effective on August 13, 2012. 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 98 

Environmental protection, 

Administrative practice and procedure, 

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48088 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 156 / Monday, August 13, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

Greenhouse gases, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

Dated: August 2, 2012. 

Lisa P. Jackson, 

Administrator. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, title 40, chapter I, of the Code 

of Federal Regulations is amended as 

follows: 

PART 98—[AMENDED] 

■ 1. The authority citation for Part 98 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401, et seq. 

Subpart A—[Amended] 

■ 2. Table A–6 to subpart A of Part 98 

is amended by revising the entries for 

subpart TT to read as follows: 

TABLE A–6 TO SUBPART A OF PART 98—DATA ELEMENTS THAT ARE INPUTS TO EMISSION EQUATIONS AND FOR WHICH

THE REPORTING DEADLINE IS MARCH 31, 2013 

Subpart Rule citation (40 CFR part 98) 

Specific data elements for which reporting date is March 31, 2013 (‘‘All’’ means all 

data elements in the cited paragraph are not required to be reported until March 31, 

2013) 

*******

TT ................ 98.466(a)(2) ............................................... All. 

TT ................ 98.466(a)(3) ............................................... Only last year the landfill accepted waste (for closed landfills using Equation TT–4). 

TT ................ 98.466(a)(4) ............................................... Only capacity of the landfill in metric tons (for closed landfills using Equation TT–4). 

TT ................ 98.466(b)(3) ............................................... Only fraction of CH4 in landfill gas. 

TT ................ 98.466(b)(4) ............................................... Only the methane correction factor (MCF) value used in the calculations. 

TT ................ 98.466(c)(1) ............................................... All. 

TT ................ 98.466(c)(4)(i) ............................................ All. 

TT ................ 98.466(c)(4)(ii) ........................................... All. 

TT ................ 98.466(c)(4)(iii) .......................................... All. 

TT ................ 98.466(d)(2) ............................................... All. 

TT ................ 98.466(d)(3) ............................................... Only degradable organic carbon (DOCx) value used in calculations. 

TT ................ 98.466(e)(2) ............................................... Only surface area (in square meters) at the start of the reporting year for the landfill 

sections that contain waste and that are associated with the selected cover type 

(for facilities using a landfill gas collection system). 

TT ................ 98.466(f) .................................................... All. 

■ 3. Table A–7 to subpart A of Part 98 

is amended by revising the entries for 

subpart W to read as follows: 

TABLE A–7 TO SUBPART A OF PART 98—DATA ELEMENTS THAT ARE INPUTS TO EMISSION EQUATIONS AND FOR WHICH

THE REPORTING DEADLINE IS MARCH 31, 2015 

Subpart Rule Citation (40 CFR part 98) 

Specific Data Elements for Which Reporting Date 

is March 31, 2015 (‘‘All’’ means all data elements 

in the cited paragraph are not required to be reported until March 31, 2015) 

*******

W ................. 98.236(c)(1)(i) .................................................................................................... All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(1)(ii) ................................................................................................... All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(1)(iii) .................................................................................................. All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(2)(i) .................................................................................................... All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(3)(i) .................................................................................................... All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(3)(ii) ................................................................................................... Only Calculation Methodology 2. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(3)(iii) .................................................................................................. All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(3)(iv) .................................................................................................. All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(4)(i)(A) ............................................................................................... All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(4)(i)(B) ............................................................................................... All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(4)(i)(C) ............................................................................................... All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(4)(i)(D) ............................................................................................... All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(4)(i)(E) ............................................................................................... All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(4)(i)(F) ............................................................................................... All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(4)(i)(G) ............................................................................................... All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(4)(i)(H) ............................................................................................... All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(4)(ii)(A) .............................................................................................. All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(5)(i)(D) ............................................................................................... All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(5)(ii)(C) .............................................................................................. All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(6)(i)(B) ............................................................................................... All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(6)(i)(D) ............................................................................................... All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(6)(i)(E) ............................................................................................... All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(6)(i)(F) ............................................................................................... All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(6)(i)(G) ............................................................................................... Only the amount of natural gas required. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(6)(i)(H) ............................................................................................... Only the amount of natural gas required. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(6)(ii)(A) .............................................................................................. All. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 156 / Monday, August 13, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 48089 

TABLE A–7 TO SUBPART A OF PART 98—DATA ELEMENTS THAT ARE INPUTS TO EMISSION EQUATIONS AND FOR WHICH

THE REPORTING DEADLINE IS MARCH 31, 2015—Continued 

Subpart Rule Citation (40 CFR part 98) 

Specific Data Elements for Which Reporting Date 

is March 31, 2015 (‘‘All’’ means all data elements 

in the cited paragraph are not required to be reported until March 31, 2015) 

W ................. 98.236(c)(6)(ii)(B) .............................................................................................. All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(7)(i)(A) ............................................................................................... Only for Equation W–14A. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(8)(i)(F) ............................................................................................... All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(8)(i)(K) ............................................................................................... All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(8)(ii)(A) .............................................................................................. All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(8)(ii)(H) .............................................................................................. All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(8)(iii)(A) ............................................................................................. All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(8)(iii)(B) ............................................................................................. All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(8)(iii)(G) ............................................................................................. All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(12)(ii) ................................................................................................. All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(12)(v) ................................................................................................. All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(13)(i)(E) ............................................................................................. All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(13)(i)(F) ............................................................................................. All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(13)(ii)(A) ............................................................................................ All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(13)(ii)(B) ............................................................................................ All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(13)(iii)(A) ........................................................................................... All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(13)(iii)(B) ........................................................................................... All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(13)(v)(A) ............................................................................................ All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(14)(i)(B) ............................................................................................. All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(14)(ii)(A) ............................................................................................ All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(14)(ii)(B) ............................................................................................ All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(14)(iii)(A) ........................................................................................... All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(14)(iii)(B) ........................................................................................... All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(14)(v)(A) ............................................................................................ All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(15)(ii)(A) ............................................................................................ All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(15)(ii)(B) ............................................................................................ All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(16)(viii) .............................................................................................. All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(16)(ix) ................................................................................................ All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(16)(x) ................................................................................................. All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(16)(xi) ................................................................................................ All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(16)(xii) ............................................................................................... All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(16)(xiii) .............................................................................................. All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(16)(xiv) .............................................................................................. All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(16)(xv) ............................................................................................... All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(16)(xvi) .............................................................................................. All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(17)(ii) ................................................................................................. All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(17)(iii) ................................................................................................ All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(17)(iv) ................................................................................................ All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(18)(i) .................................................................................................. All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(18)(ii) ................................................................................................. All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(19)(iv) ................................................................................................ All. 

W ................. 98.236(c)(19)(vii) ............................................................................................... All. 

*******

Subpart I—[Amended] 

■ 4. Section 98.94 is amended by 

revising paragraphs (a)(2)(iii), (a)(3)(iii), 

and (a)(4)(iii) to read as follows: 

§ 98.94 Monitoring and QA/QC 

requirements. 

(a) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(iii) Approval criteria. To obtain 

approval, the owner or operator must 

demonstrate to the Administrator’s 

satisfaction that by July 1, 2011, it is not 

reasonably feasible to acquire, install, or 

operate the required piece of monitoring 

equipment, or procure necessary 

measurement services to comply with 

the requirements of this subpart. 

(3) * * * 

(iii) Approval criteria. To obtain 

approval, the owner or operator must 

demonstrate to the Administrator’s 

satisfaction that by December 31, 2011 

it is not reasonably feasible to acquire, 

install, or operate the required piece of 

monitoring equipment or procure 

necessary measurement services to 

comply with the requirements of this 

subpart. 

(4) * * * 

(iii) Approval criteria. To obtain 

approval, the owner or operator must 

demonstrate to the Administrator’s 

satisfaction that by December 31, 2011 

(or in the case of facilities that are 

required to calculate and report 

emissions in accordance with 

§ 98.93(a)(2)(ii)(A), December 31, 2012), 

it is not reasonably feasible to acquire, 

install, or operate the required piece of 

monitoring equipment according to the 

requirements of this subpart. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2012–19559 Filed 8–10–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

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