52860 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 166 / Tuesday, August 27, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 

EPA-APPROVED IOWA REGULATIONS

Iowa citation Title State effective date EPA approval date Explanation 

Iowa Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Commission [567] 

*******

Polk County 

CHAPTER V ................... Polk County Board of 

Health Rules and 

Regulations Air Pollution Chapter V.

08/03/11 08/27/13 [insert Federal 

Register page number where the document begins].

Article I, Section 5–2, definition of ‘‘variance’’; 

Article VI, Sections 5–16(n), (o) and (p); Article VIII;; Article IX, Sections 5–27(3) and (4); 

Article X, Section 5–28, subsections (a) 

through (c); Article XIII and Article XVI, Section 5–75 are not part of the SIP. 

Article VI, Section 5–17, adopted by Polk County 

on 7/26/2011, is not part of the SIP, and the 

previously approved version of Article VI, Section 5–17 remains part of the SIP. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2013–20750 Filed 8–26–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 372 

[EPA–HQ–TRI–2011–0174; FRL–9835–5] 

RIN 2025–AA30 

Electronic Reporting of Toxics Release 

Inventory Data 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: In this final rule, EPA 

requires facilities to report non-tradesecret Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) 

forms to EPA using electronic software 

provided by the Agency. Electronic 

reporting of TRI forms provides 

numerous benefits, including making it 

easier for facilities to report accurate 

information, expediting form 

completion due to the pre-population of 

many form elements, decreasing the cost 

to EPA of processing forms, and 

providing TRI information more quickly 

to the public. The only exception to this 

electronic reporting requirement is for 

the few facilities that submit trade secret 

TRI information, which will continue to 

submit their trade secret reporting forms 

and substantiation forms in hard copy. 

Under this rulemaking, EPA also 

requires facilities to submit 

electronically via the Internet (i.e., not 

on paper forms or CD–ROMs) any 

revisions or withdrawals of previously 

submitted TRI reporting forms. 

Additionally, EPA will no longer accept 

submissions, revisions, or withdrawals 

of TRI reporting forms submitted for 

reporting years prior to reporting year 

1991. For trade secret submissions, EPA 

will still only accept revisions or 

withdrawals of previously submitted 

trade secret information on paper forms, 

though only for reporting years back to 

reporting year 1991. 

DATES: This final rule is effective on 

January 21, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a 

docket for this action under Docket ID 

No. EPA–HQ–TRI–2011–0174. All 

documents in the docket are listed on 

the www.regulations.gov Web site. 

Although listed in the index, some 

information is not publicly available, 

e.g., Confidential Business Information 

(CBI) or other information for which 

disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Certain other material, such as 

copyrighted material, is not placed on 

the Internet and will be publicly 

available only in hard copy form. 

Publicly available docket materials are 

available either electronically through 

www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at 

the OEI Docket, EPA/DC, EPA West, 

Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. 

NW., Washington, DC. The Public 

Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 

4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

excluding legal holidays. The telephone 

number for the Public Reading Room is 

(202) 566–1744, and the telephone 

number for the EPA Docket Center is 

(202) 566–1752. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

general information on TRI, contact the 

Emergency Planning and Community 

Right-to-Know Hotline at (800) 424– 

9346 or (703) 412–9810, TDD (800) 553– 

7672, http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/

hotline/. For specific information on 

this rulemaking, contact David Turk, 

Toxics Release Inventory Program 

Division, Mailcode 2844T, OEI, 

Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 

Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, 

DC 20460; Telephone: (202) 566–1527; 

Email: turk.david@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background and General Information 

A. Acronyms and Abbreviations Used in 

This Document 

CBI—Confidential Business Information 

CDX—Central Data Exchange 

CFR—Code of Federal Regulations 

CROMERR—Cross-Media Electronic 

Reporting Regulation 

DPC—TRI Data Processing Center 

EO—Executive Order 

EPA—U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

EPCRA—Emergency Planning and 

Community Right-to-Know Act 

FR—Federal Register 

GPEA—Government Paperwork Elimination 

Act 

ICR—Information Collection Request 

NAICS—North American Industry 

Classification System 

NTTAA—National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act of 1995 

OEI—Office of Environmental Information 

(EPA) 

OMB—Office of Management and Budget 

(Executive Office of the President) 

PPA—Pollution Prevention Act 

RY—Reporting Year 

SIC—Standard Industrial Code 

TDX—TRI Data Exchange 

TRI—Toxics Release Inventory 

TRI–MEweb—Toxics Release InventoryMade Easy Internet-based Software 

Application 

U.S.C.—United States Code 

B. Does this action apply to me? 

This final rule applies to facilities that 

submit annual reports under section 313 

of the Emergency Planning and 

Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) 

and section 6607 of the Pollution 

Prevention Act (PPA). To determine 


pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 166 / Tuesday, August 27, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 52861 

whether your facility is affected by this 

action, you should carefully examine 

the applicability criteria in Part 372, 

Subpart B, of Title 40 of the Code of 

Federal Regulations. Potentially affected 

categories and entities may include, but 

are not limited to the following: 

Category Examples of potentially affected entities 

Industry ...................... Facilities included in the following NAICS manufacturing codes (corresponding to SIC codes 20 through 39): 311 *, 

312 *, 313 *, 314 *, 315 *, 316, 321, 322, 323 *, 324, 325 *, 326 *, 327, 331, 332, 333, 334 *, 335 *, 336, 337 *, 339 *, 

111998 *, 211112 *, 212324 *, 212325 *, 212393 *, 212399 *, 488390 *, 511110, 511120, 511130, 511140 *, 511191, 

511199, 512220, 512230 *, 519130 *, 541712 *, or 811490 *. 

* Exceptions and/or limitations exist for these NAICS codes. 

Facilities included in the following NAICS codes (corresponding to SIC codes other than SIC codes 20 through 39): 

• 212111, 212112, 212113 (correspond to SIC 12, Coal Mining (except 1241)); 

• 212221, 212222, 212231, 212234, 212299 (correspond to SIC 10, Metal Mining (except 1011, 1081, and 1094)); 

• 221111, 221112, 221113, 221118, 221121, 221122, 221330 (Limited to facilities that combust coal and/or oil for 

the purpose of generating power for distribution in commerce) (correspond to SIC 4911, 4931, and 4939, Electric 

Utilities); 

• 424690, 425110, 425120 (Limited to facilities previously classified in SIC 5169, Chemicals and Allied Products, 

Not Elsewhere Classified); 

• 424710 (corresponds to SIC 5171, Petroleum Bulk Terminals and Plants); 

• 562112 (Limited to facilities primarily engaged in solvent recovery services on a contract or fee basis (previously 

classified under SIC 7389, Business Services, NEC)); and 

• 562211, 562212, 562213, 562219, 562920 (Limited to facilities regulated under the Resource Conservation and 

Recovery Act, Subtitle C, 42 U.S.C. 6921 et seq.) (correspond to SIC 4953, Refuse Systems). 

Federal Government Federal facilities. 

If you have questions regarding the 

applicability of this action to a 

particular entity, consult the individual 

listed in the preceding FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section. This 

action may also be of interest to those 

who use EPA’s TRI data and have an 

interest in the public availability of 

high-quality, timely TRI data and 

information, including state agencies, 

local governments, communities, 

environmental groups and other nongovernmental organizations, as well as 

members of the general public. 

II. What is EPA’s statutory authority for 

taking this action? 

The EPA is implementing this action 

under sections 313(g), 313(h), and 328 

of EPCRA, 42 U.S.C. 11023(g), 11023(h) 

and 11048, and section 6607 of the 

Pollution Prevention Act, 42 U.S.C. 

13106. 

Under EPCRA, Congress granted EPA 

broad rulemaking authority. EPCRA 

section 328 provides that the 

‘‘Administrator may prescribe such 

regulations as may be necessary to carry 

out this chapter.’’ 42 U.S.C. 11048. 

EPCRA requires EPA to ‘‘publish a 

uniform toxic chemical release form for 

facilities covered’’ by the TRI Program. 

42 U.S.C. 11023(g). 

The Government Paperwork 

Elimination Act (GPEA) (Pub. L. 105– 

277 (44 U.S.C. 3504)) allows Federal 

agencies to provide for electronic 

submissions and the use of electronic 

signatures, when practicable. Similarly, 

EPA’s Cross-Media Electronic Reporting 

Regulation (CROMERR) (40 CFR part 3), 

published in the Federal Register on 

October 13, 2005, states that any 

requirement in Title 40 of the CFR to 

submit a report directly to EPA can be 

satisfied with an electronic submission 

that meets certain conditions, once the 

Agency publishes a notice that 

electronic document submission is 

available for that requirement. 

III. Background Information and 

Summary of Final Rule 

A. Description of Change 

EPA is requiring facilities to submit 

non-trade-secret TRI reporting forms to 

EPA electronically via the Internet. EPA 

will no longer accept paper submissions 

of TRI reports, except for trade secret 

submissions as defined under EPCRA 

section 322 (42 U.S.C. 11042) which 

will still be submitted on paper forms 

(including sanitized and unsanitized 

versions). 

EPA currently provides an onlinereporting application, TRI–MEweb, for 

facilities to use to submit TRI reporting 

forms electronically. TRI-MEweb 

provides a number of features that allow 

facilities to prepare and submit their 

TRI reports to EPA more efficiently. For 

example, it includes data validation 

tools that help facilities submit 

complete and valid data and compare 

current reporting year data to prior 

reporting year data—a feature which can 

sometimes help facilities identify 

potential data errors. Additionally, TRI– 

MEweb will pre-populate forms based 

on the prior year’s reporting data, which 

will expedite the data preparation 

process and help reduce errors. 

Under this rule, only TRI facilities 

that submit trade secret information will 

continue to submit two versions of the 

substantiation form and two versions of 

Form R or Form A—sanitized versions 

that include the generic chemical name 

that is structurally descriptive of the 

chemical being claimed as a trade secret 

and unsanitized versions that include 

the trade secret chemical name. EPA 

strongly recommends that TRI facilities 

that submit TRI trade secret information 

use a computer or typewriter to prepare 

their hard-copy submissions of TRI 

information and consult the TRI Web 

site (http://www.epa.gov/tri) for more 

detailed information. 

Facilities often send additional, 

unsolicited documentation concerning 

their TRI reporting to EPA. Though EPA 

does not currently request that facilities 

submit TRI-related, miscellaneous 

documents, some documents contain 

useful information on current or future 

non-reporting (e.g., due to not reaching 

reporting thresholds and facility 

closures), internal self-audits, notices of 

bankruptcy, and changes in facility 

ownership. Such miscellaneous 

documents help the EPA maintain the 

quality of TRI data. Miscellaneous 

documents that do not directly address 

TRI non-reporting or provide contextual 

information on TRI reporting are 

typically not useful to the Agency. The 

EPA requests that facilities refrain from 

submitting unsolicited documents that 

do not provide useful context on matters 

related to TRI reporting. 

To codify this rule, EPA is adding 

paragraph (c) to 40 CFR 372.85 to 

require regulated facilities to submit TRI 

reporting forms electronically using the 

current electronic reporting tool 

provided by EPA. EPA is also revising 

40 CFR 372.85(b) to remove a mention 

of magnetic media, which conforms the 


pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with RULES
52862 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 166 / Tuesday, August 27, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 

regulation to the proposal and thereby 

maintains consistency throughout TRI 

regulations and avoids confusion. 

In summary, EPA will only accept TRI 

reporting forms that are submitted 

electronically via the Internet, except for 

trade secret TRI forms and 

substantiations; and EPA will not accept 

or process TRI reporting forms that are 

not submitted in the appropriate 

manner. 

B. How does a facility register to use 

TRI-MEweb to prepare and submit TRI 

reporting forms? 

TRI-MEweb is an interactive, userfriendly Web-based application that 

guides facilities through the TRI 

reporting process. As currently 

implemented, one or more 

representatives from each facility must 

establish an account with EPA’s Central 

Data Exchange (CDX) in order to 

prepare, transmit, certify, and submit 

TRI Forms. CDX is EPA’s centralized 

node on the Environmental Information 

Exchange Network that serves as EPA’s 

main mechanism for receiving and 

exchanging electronic information 

reported via the Internet. A facility 

representative may register for a CDX 

account or gain access to an existing 

CDX account at https://cdx.epa.gov/. 

During the CDX registration process, 

CDX prompts the facility representative 

to indicate which applications (e.g., 

TRI-MEweb) to link with the account. If 

the facility representative has 

previously registered with CDX for other 

purposes, then he/she can add TRIMEweb to his/her existing CDX account. 

When adding TRI-MEweb to the CDX 

account, CDX will ask the facility 

representative to select a role as a form 

Preparer or Certifying Official. Both a 

Preparer or Certifying Official can enter 

data onto a facility’s TRI reporting form 

in TRI-MEweb and validate it for 

certification; but only a Certifying 

Official can approve and certify a TRI 

reporting form and submit the final, 

certified form to EPA. Preparers and 

Certifying Officials can use the same 

account to perform their TRI reporting 

roles (preparing and/or certifying TRI 

forms) for multiple facilities for which 

they are responsible. 

EPA’s current electronic reporting 

procedures require each Certifying 

Official to sign and submit an Electronic 

Signature Agreement (ESA) to the EPA 

before certifying any TRI reports for a 

given facility. Currently, once a facility 

representative registers in CDX as a TRIMEweb certifying official, the 

representative may elect to: (1) Sign and 

submit an ESA electronically using a 

real-time online process through a thirdparty identity verification vendor; or (2) 

sign and mail a paper ESA to the EPA’s 

Data Processing Center (DPC). 

Real-time Online Process: Starting 

with RY 2012, Certifying Officials may 

use a third-party identity verification 

vendor to establish an ESA by 

voluntarily providing personal 

identifying information to authenticate 

his or her identity. The EPA does not 

collect any of this personal information. 

If successfully used, the electronic 

method allows near-instantaneous 

approval of an ESA. An electronic ESA 

will allow a Certifying Official to certify 

and submit TRI reporting forms for 

multiple facilities for which the official 

is responsible. The electronic ESA 

approval method is optional. 

If the Certifying Official does not wish 

to provide personal information to this 

third-party vendor, they should submit 

a paper ESA form, described below, at 

least two weeks before the July 1st 

reporting deadline. Further, not every 

Certifying Official will be able to 

authenticate his or her identification 

successfully using this identity 

verification process and will, as a result, 

need to submit a paper ESA form. 

Paper ESA: In lieu of the electronic 

ESA process, the CDX registration 

process can generate a printable ESA 

form. A Certifying Official must then 

sign and mail this ESA form to EPA’s 

DPC for approval before the Certifying 

Official can begin to certify and submit 

any TRI forms to EPA. It may take up 

to five business days for EPA to approve 

a hardcopy ESA so EPA encourages 

Certifying Officials who submit a paper 

ESA to do so well before the July 1st 

deadline. Multiple facilities, each with 

a unique TRI Facility Identification 

(TRIFID), can also be added to a single 

paper ESA form. All TRIFIDs associated 

with the Certifying Official will be listed 

on the printout of the ESA document. 

Once the ESA is approved by EPA 

(whether instantaneously through the 

electronic ESA process or via receipt 

and processing of a paper ESA), the 

Certifying Official may review, certify, 

and submit any pending TRI 

submissions to EPA using TRI-MEweb 

and CDX. More detailed information on 

these procedures is available on the TRI 

Web site (http://www.epa.gov/tri). 

C. How does a facility use TRI-MEweb 

to prepare and submit TRI reporting 

forms? 

Once registered with CDX and TRIMEweb, a facility’s Preparer or 

Certifying Official can gain access to 

TRI-MEweb through CDX. Once opened, 

the TRI-MEweb application provides 

interactive Web pages that enable a 

Preparer or Certifying Official to enter 

and validate the current year’s TRI 

reporting form(s). After providing and 

validating the pertinent TRI reporting 

forms, a Preparer (or Certifying Official) 

can transmit the data electronically for 

certification where it is then available 

for certification by the facility’s 

Certifying Official(s). The Certifying 

Official can then log into TRI-MEweb 

via CDX to review, certify, and submit 

the TRI report to EPA. Once EPA 

receives the certified report, the data are 

then ultimately sent to the public TRI 

database (and if appropriate, also to a 

state, tribe, or territory). 

Some TRI facilities have their own 

software or use private software to assist 

in collecting chemical release data. This 

‘‘third-party software’’ is often designed 

to produce output data files that match 

EPA’s electronic data structure 

specifications. TRI-MEweb accepts 

chemical data files from third-party 

software using Extensible Markup 

Language (XML). Detailed information 

describing the XML schema TRI-MEweb 

uses for the current reporting year is 

available online at http://

www.exchangenetwork.net/exchanges/

cross/tri.htm. 

Detailed instructions on using CDX 

and TRI-MEweb, including tutorials, are 

available on the TRI Web site and in the 

Reporting Forms and Instructions (RFI), 

which is also available through the TRI 

Web site. Facilities may also contact the 

TRI Information Center, the CDX 

Helpdesk, the Regional TRI 

Coordinators, or the TRI Program staff at 

EPA Headquarters for further assistance. 

Please see the ‘‘Contact Us’’ information 

located on the TRI Web site for further 

details. 

TRI facilities are required to report to 

the EPA and the appropriate state, tribe, 

or territory (known as the dual-reporting 

requirement). However, facilities that 

are located in states, Indian country, or 

territories that actively participate with 

the TRI Data Exchange (TDX) can meet 

the dual-reporting requirement by 

submitting TRI reports using TRIMEweb. For such facilities, reports 

submitted via TRI-MEweb are 

electronically made available to the 

state, tribe, or territory in which the 

facility is located, thus satisfying the 

requirement to submit TRI reporting 

forms to both the applicable state and 

EPA. Please note that some states, tribes, 

or territories may require additional 

reporting beyond the federal 

requirements. Dual-reporting does not 

satisfy such additional requirements. 

For facilities located in states, Indian 

country, or territories not actively 

participating in TDX, the Certifying 

Official can print a hard copy of the TRI 

reporting forms or save the forms to a 

diskette and then submit the signed 


pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 166 / Tuesday, August 27, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 52863 

hard copy forms or diskette along with 

a printed and signed certification 

statement to the appropriate state, tribe, 

or territory. 

D. How will this rule affect revisions, 

withdrawals, and late submissions of 

TRI reporting forms? 

This rule requires facilities that wish 

to revise or withdraw previously 

submitted non-trade-secret TRI 

reporting forms to do so through TRIMEweb. The EPA will continue to allow 

facilities to revise, withdraw, or submit 

TRI reports going back to RY 1991, but 

not for reporting years prior to RY 1991. 

In January of 2014, the EPA will release 

a version of TRI-MEweb that will allow 

a facility to revise or withdraw TRI 

reports in TRI-MEweb for prior 

reporting years, back to RY 1991, even 

if the facility did not use TRI-MEweb for 

the original submission. The process 

used in TRI-MEweb to submit, revise, or 

withdraw TRI reports for RY 2005 

through the present year will differ from 

the process used for reporting years 

prior to RY 2005. As addressed below, 

TRI-MEweb will provide more 

validation checks for the RY 2005 

through the present reporting year 

period than it will provide for reporting 

years prior to RY 2005. 

For revisions to TRI reporting forms 

submitted for RY 2005 through the 

current reporting year, TRI-MEweb will 

display TRI reporting forms as 

submitted and allow facilities to modify 

their data. TRI-MEweb will also validate 

the data using the validation checks that 

were in place in TRI-MEweb for those 

data for that reporting year. Similarly, 

TRI-MEweb will provide these 

validation checks for late submissions 

for RY 2005 through the current 

reporting year. 

For revisions to TRI reporting forms 

submitted for RYs 1991–2004, TRIMEweb will provide a blank form for 

that reporting year and allow the facility 

to enter data into the form. TRI-MEweb 

will perform basic error checking to 

ensure nonsensical values are not 

provided (e.g., submitting letters in a 

numeric field or providing negative 

release quantities), but will not perform 

the extensive validation checks 

provided for RY 2005 through the 

current reporting year. TRI-MEweb will 

likewise only provide basic error 

checking for late submissions of TRI 

reporting forms for RYs 1991–2004. 

Keeping the interface simple and not 

implementing complicated validation 

checks for RYs 1991–2004 makes it 

economically and functionally feasible 

to modify TRI-MEweb to support these 

additional reporting years. Further, 

extending the range of reporting years in 

which facilities may revise, withdraw, 

and submit TRI reporting forms from RY 

2005 (as in the proposed rule) to RY 

1991 will allow facilities a greater 

number of years to submit updated TRI 

reporting forms. The TRI reporting 

forms have remained relatively stable 

from RY 1991 through RY 2004 and this 

range of years includes the first 

reporting year (RY 1991) in which 

facilities reported data elements 

required by the Pollution Prevention 

Act of 1990. The EPA has not received 

a revision for a reporting year prior to 

RY 1991 since 2004. 

As with original TRI submissions, 

preparing and submitting revisions/

withdrawals electronically should 

facilitate the reporting process for 

facilities, while also making it possible 

for EPA to more quickly process and 

make the updated data available to the 

public. Information on using TRIMEweb to submit TRI revisions/

withdrawals will be available on the TRI 

Web site and in the TRI-MEweb 

application. 

As part of a process to reconcile a 

facility’s name, address, and/or 

ownership and other facility-level 

information that differs from 

information provided during a previous 

reporting year, the EPA has historically 

contacted facilities about such 

differences and allowed facilities to 

update their facility-level information 

via letters, emails, and other methods 

less formal than a certified TRI reporting 

form. Additionally, facilities could 

access, print, mark up, and certify a 

copy of a submitted TRI reporting form 

using the electronic Facility Data Profile 

(eFDP) application to request revisions 

to that TRI reporting form. With this 

rulemaking, the EPA will no longer 

solicit or allow revisions to TRI 

reporting forms via the reconciliation 

process or process marked-up copies of 

certified forms printed using the eFDP 

application. Instead, facilities that wish 

to revise or withdraw previously 

submitted non-trade-secret TRI 

reporting forms must use TRI-MEweb to 

do so. 

Please note that any revisions to and 

withdrawals of TRI reporting forms 

should also be submitted to the state, 

tribe, or territory that received the initial 

TRI report. The TRI Reporting in Indian 

Country rulemaking, published in the 

Federal Register on April 19, 2012, 

applies to RY 2012 onward, which 

means submissions of, revisions to, and 

withdrawals of TRI reporting forms for 

reporting years prior to RY 2012 should 

be sent to EPA and the appropriate state 

rather than to EPA and the tribe to 

which the facility currently reports. For 

example, while a facility located in 

Indian Country would submit TRI 

reporting forms to the EPA and the 

appropriate tribe for a revision to a RY 

2012 TRI report, this facility should 

submit a revision to a TRI reporting 

form to the EPA and the appropriate 

state for any reporting year prior to RY 

2012. More information on how to 

revise and withdraw TRI reporting 

forms while located in Indian Country 

is available via the TRI Web site 

(http://www.epa.gov/tri). Facilities may 

also contact the TRI Information Center, 

Regional TRI Coordinators, or TRI 

Program staff at EPA Headquarters for 

further assistance. 

IV. What comments did EPA receive on 

this rule for electronic reporting of 

Toxics Release Inventory Data and 

what are EPA’s responses to those 

comments? 

EPA received five comments on the 

Federal Register document ‘‘Electronic 

Reporting of Toxics Release Inventory 

Data’’ (March 5, 2012; 77 FR 13061). 

These comments are accessible under 

Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–TRI–2011– 

0174. The commenters included three 

individuals, one agency, and one 

industry group. The comments from the 

individuals and agency were supportive 

of EPA’s intent to streamline and 

improve the submission of TRI reporting 

forms by requiring facilities to report 

such data electronically. These 

comments generally stated that the rule 

would enable faster release of TRI data, 

reduce transcription errors, and improve 

data quality. Two of these commenters, 

while supporting EPA’s action, 

requested that EPA provide some 

allowance for facilities unable to access 

the Internet for various reasons such as: 

A grace period for new facilities, a 

transition period for smaller facilities, 

and waivers for facilities in rural areas 

lacking Internet service. One of these 

commenters expressed concern with the 

EPA continuing to allow paper 

submissions of TRI reporting forms 

containing trade secret information. 

This commenter also requested EPA 

institute a more rigorous process for 

approving certifying officials and 

suggested that EPA require facilities to 

register more than one certifying 

official. 

EPA had proposed limiting revisions 

and withdrawals of TRI reporting forms 

back to RY 2005 due to current 

capabilities of TRI-MEweb. In response, 

the industry group comment requested 

that EPA consider allowing revisions to 

and withdrawals of data submitted for 

reporting years prior to 2005. 

Specifically, this comment suggested 

EPA allow facilities to submit on paper 

any revisions or withdrawals of 


pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with RULES
52864 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 166 / Tuesday, August 27, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 

previously submitted TRI reporting 

forms for reporting years prior to 2005. 

EPA’s responses are provided below. 

1. Comment Recommending the EPA 

Allow Revisions and Withdrawals of TRI 

Reporting Forms for Reporting Years 

Prior to 2005 via Paper 

One comment stated the EPA should 

continue to accept revisions and 

withdrawals of TRI reporting forms for 

all reporting years rather than limiting 

revisions and withdrawals to those 

pertaining to RY 2005 through the 

present reporting year. The comment 

argues that maintaining the capability 

for facilities to revise or withdraw 

reports for reporting years prior to 2005 

is important for purposes of compliance 

and enforcement and helps ensure data 

accuracy and integrity in the publiclyavailable databases that provide TRI 

data. 

Recognizing the potential difficulties 

in updating TRI-MEweb to 

accommodate revisions and 

withdrawals of TRI for all reporting 

years, the comment recommends the 

EPA accept such revisions and 

withdrawals on paper for reporting 

years prior to 2005. To support its 

position, the comment notes that the 

EPA receives a small number of 

revisions and withdrawals pertaining to 

reporting years prior to 2005 and 

suggests the cost to process paper 

submissions of these revisions and 

withdrawals would be minimal because 

EPA already plans to receive a limited 

number of trade secret submissions 

submitted by paper. 

The EPA has reassessed its proposal 

to limit revisions and withdrawals of 

TRI reporting forms back to RY 2005 

and will modify TRI-MEweb to support 

revisions, withdrawals, and late 

submittals of TRI reporting forms back 

to RY 1991. Keeping the interface 

simple and not implementing 

complicated validation checks for RYs 

1991–2004 makes it economically and 

functionally feasible to modify TRIMEweb to support additional reporting 

years. This update to TRI-MEweb will 

also support the spirit of the rulemaking 

to minimize paper flows of TRI 

reporting forms and expedite the release 

of TRI data to the public. 

Extending the range of reporting years 

in which facilities may revise, 

withdraw, and submit TRI reporting 

forms from RY 2005 (as proposed) to RY 

1991 will allow facilities a greater 

number of years to submit updated TRI 

reporting forms. EPA believes RY 1991 

is a logical reporting year to serve as a 

cutoff because the reporting form 

remained relatively stable during this 

period and it includes the first reporting 

year (RY 1991) in which facilities 

reported data elements required by the 

Pollution Prevention Act of 1990. The 

EPA has not received a revision for a 

reporting year prior to RY 1991 since 

2004. 

2. Comment Recommending the EPA 

Require TRI Facilities To Report Trade 

Secrets Electronically 

One comment stated that the EPA 

should require TRI facilities to report 

trade secrets electronically so that EPA 

can completely eliminate the need to 

spend any resources or money 

processing TRI reporting forms 

submitted by paper. The comment also 

stated it would be more effective to 

institute such a requirement now than 

to conduct another rulemaking process 

later to require the electronic reporting 

of trade secrets. 

The EPA recognizes the benefits in 

requiring facilities to submit all TRI 

submissions electronically. However, to 

incorporate trade secret reports into 

TRI-MEweb, EPA would require 

enhancements to TRI-MEweb to ensure 

it adheres to the higher level of security 

compliance required to accept trade 

secrets via an online reporting tool. Due 

to resource constraints, EPA is not at 

this time incorporating the few trade 

secret reports received yearly 

(consistently fewer than ten such 

reports) into TRI-MEweb. However, EPA 

does not foreclose the possibility that 

incorporating trade secrets into TRIMEweb might prove worthwhile in the 

future. 

3. Comment Recommending Changes to 

the Certifying Official Registration 

Process 

One comment suggested that the EPA 

should provide a more rigorous 

registration process than it currently 

uses for a person to register as a 

Certifying Official because the reports 

are submitted online, so the lack of a 

handwritten signature and the ease to 

which certifying officials can submit 

TRI forms could cause a certifier to 

minimize the importance of the 

certification process. 

The comment also recommends that 

the EPA require each facility to 

designate at least two Certifying 

Officials with the Central Data Exchange 

(CDX) to help ensure facilities can 

certify their TRI reporting form(s) 

should a Certifying Official be 

unavailable near the TRI reporting 

deadline. 

TRI regulations require TRI reporters 

to designate a senior management 

official who can certify TRI submissions 

for the facility. EPA defines a ‘‘senior 

management official’’ to be a person 

who is ‘‘an official with management 

responsibility for the person or persons 

completing the report’’ or ‘‘the manager 

of environmental programs for the 

facility or establishments, or for the 

corporation owning or operating the 

facility or establishments responsible for 

certifying similar reports under other 

environmental regulatory 

requirements.’’ 40 CFR 372.3. The 

ultimate responsibility for submitting 

TRI reporting forms rests on the owners 

and operators of facilities that trigger 

TRI reporting thresholds. 40 CFR 372.5, 

.30. TRI reporters bear the responsibility 

to ensure they follow statutory and 

regulatory requirements, including 

submitting TRI reports in a timely 

fashion. EPA believes TRI reporters 

recognize this responsibility regardless 

of whether they submit electronically or 

by paper. 

Currently, in order to become a 

Certifying Official for a facility, a person 

must sign (in hard copy or electronically 

with adequate identity proofing) an 

electronic signature agreement (ESA) 

and send the ESA to the EPA before 

being able to certify and submit TRI 

forms using TRI-MEweb. The 

certification process used for TRI 

reporting follows EPA’s CROMERR 

regulations (40 CFR part 3) that provide 

baseline requirements for electronic 

reporting to help ensure the signatory of 

any electronic submission understands 

the content of the submission. Recently, 

EPA bolstered its online reporting 

security by requiring Certifying Officials 

to select a question and provide an 

answer prior to gaining access to TRI 

reports ready for submission. 

Additionally, EPA continually considers 

new ways to improve the security of its 

online reporting processes. 

Different TRI reporters have different 

management structures and some TRI 

facilities might only have one person 

who satisfies the definition for a ‘‘senior 

management official.’’ The EPA strongly 

encourages facilities to register more 

than one Certifying Official with CDX, 

but does not wish to impose a 

requirement on businesses that they 

register two or more Certifying Officials 

when one Certifying Official is 

adequate. 

4. Comment Expressing Concern That 

the Online Reporting System Could Fail 

One comment expresses concern that 

some unforeseen problem, such as a 

storm, could disable the online 

reporting system used to submit TRI 

reporting forms. The comment requests 

the EPA extend the reporting deadline 

or provide an alternative reporting 

method should an unforeseen problem 

arise. 


pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 166 / Tuesday, August 27, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 52865 

The TRI reporting deadline is a 

statutory deadline. However, as 

appropriate, EPA can respond to 

unforeseen events such as natural 

disasters that would prevent the timely 

submittal of TRI reporting forms. 

Should such an event arise, the Agency 

would consider the particular 

circumstances and conduct outreach as 

necessary. 

5. Comment Recommending EPA 

Provide a Liaison With Facilities To 

Assist With Reporting TRI Reporting 

Forms Electronically 

One comment recommends that EPA 

designate human resources that can act 

both as liaisons to facilities that seek 

assistance with submitting TRI reporting 

forms electronically and as an internal 

development team to continue to make 

improvements to the electronic 

reporting application using feedback 

received from facilities. 

EPA recognizes the need to assist 

facilities with submitting TRI reporting 

forms electronically, and addresses this 

need, in part, by maintaining the TRI 

Information Center and CDX Helpdesk. 

Furthermore, facilities may solicit 

assistance from the TRI DPC, Regional 

TRI Coordinators, or TRI Program staff 

at EPA Headquarters. 

Each year EPA typically incorporates 

improved enhancements into TRIMEweb, often including features to 

address aspects of the software with 

which facilities have required assistance 

in the past. The Agency plans to 

continue improving TRI-MEweb and 

encourages TRI reporters to suggest 

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

tri for how to contact the TRI Program). 

6. Comment Expressing Concern That 

Some Facilities Might Have Difficulties 

in Accessing the Internet 

One comment expressed concern that 

some small facilities and some facilities 

in rural regions might have difficulties 

in accessing broadband Internet. 

Another comment suggested it could 

take some time for facilities that do not 

currently use a computer and/or TRIMEweb to adapt to online reporting. 

Due to these potential concerns, the 

comments suggest that the EPA allow 

for a grace period, consider an interim 

or transition period, allow for smaller 

facilities in rural areas to file for 

waivers, or grandfather smaller and/or 

rural facilities under the old rule. For 

waivers, one comment suggested 

facilities would need to be longstanding 

reporters of TRI data and demonstrate 

evidence of extreme difficulty regarding 

compliance. 

One comment also noted the 

percentage of facilities filing by paper 

has remained relatively constant since 

Reporting Year 2005, potentially 

implying there is a reason why 

approximately five percent of TRI 

reporters continue to submit TRI reports 

by paper. 

The EPA has provided notice of this 

rulemaking since January 2011 when 

EPA published a notice in the Federal 

Register (76 FR 2677) that the Agency 

was considering requiring TRI facilities 

to submit TRI reporting forms 

electronically. Additionally, EPA sent a 

letter via email or postal carrier (if an 

email address was not available) to 

technical contacts for facilities that 

submitted TRI reporting forms for RY 

2009 and RY 2008. This letter notified 

these facilities that EPA was considering 

a proposed rule to require the electronic 

submission of TRI reporting forms and 

informed the facilities of an online 

discussion forum where any interested 

stakeholder could comment on EPA’s 

plan to require electronic reporting of 

TRI reporting forms. EPA recognized the 

discussion forum was provided 

electronically, which could bias the 

discussion toward facilities with access 

to computers, so EPA explained in the 

letter that facilities could physically 

mail comments to the Agency so that 

the Agency could make these comments 

available on the discussion forum. 

While a few comments on the forum 

expressed concern for small facilities 

and facilities in rural regions, the EPA 

did not receive any feedback on the 

forum or any written letters indicating 

any particular facility would face 

difficulty in complying with a 

requirement to submit TRI reporting 

forms using TRI-MEweb. Nor has the 

EPA received any formal comments in 

response to the proposal for this 

rulemaking that indicated any particular 

facility would have difficulties 

submitting electronically. Facilities 

have not stated they would need a grace 

period to follow an electronic reporting 

requirement for submitting TRI 

reporting forms, and the facilities have 

been alerted to this rulemaking for more 

than two years and will have nearly a 

year to prepare before RY 2013 TRI 

reports are due. The EPA does not 

foresee that facilities meeting TRI 

reporting thresholds—which include 

having ten or more full-time employees 

and manufacturing, processing, or 

otherwise using listed toxics above 

threshold amounts—will have difficulty 

using a computer or accessing the 

Internet. The EPA compared facilities 

that reported for RY 2010 with a 

database the Federal Communications 

Commission (FCC) maintains that 

indicates what parts of the country can 

access broadband. This analysis 

determined that all but sixteen facilities 

likely have access to broadband. Of 

these sixteen facilities, fourteen already 

use TRI-MEweb to submit TRI reporting 

forms to EPA. 

Further, as mentioned in the preamble 

for the proposal, the EPA stopped 

mailing reporting forms to facilities as a 

matter of course, instead placing the TRI 

reporting forms on the TRI Web site 

since RY 2006. Since RY 2006, only one 

facility has requested that the Agency 

provide a paper form. This facility could 

access the Internet, but had recently 

elected to no longer maintain the 

connection. 

7. Comment Recommending Improved 

Sharing of TRI Information 

One comment notes that this 

rulemaking provides an opportunity to 

facilitate and encourage similar 

reporting on the state and local level as 

well, suggesting the next step should be 

an information-sharing system or 

proposal of how to streamline 

information electronically with the 

public on the state and local level. The 

comment notes that the ‘‘TRI Data 

Exchange (TDX) has great potential to be 

the platform by which a certain level of 

intra-governmental cooperation is 

achieved. . . .’’ 

The EPA does believe that TDX is an 

effective tool that states, tribes, and 

territories can use to access TRI reports 

and that participation in TDX benefits 

facilities and participating states, tribes, 

and territories by automatically sending 

TRI reports alongside the federal 

submittal, thereby reducing the 

collective burden to mail, receive, and 

process the reports. 

Outside of TDX, the EPA also 

cooperates with state and tribal partners 

on TRI-related issues by regularly 

meeting with state, tribal, and EPA 

regional staff to discuss and coordinate 

TRI-related efforts on national and local 

levels. Additionally, to streamline 

information on a local level, the EPA 

provides a fact sheet for each state. 

These fact sheets summarize TRI data 

for each given state. These efforts are 

designed to help public users of TRI 

data view and understand TRI data 

within their communities. 

The EPA is also committed to provide 

timely access to TRI data to the public 

by making TRI data available less than 

one month after the July 1st reporting 

deadline. With electronic reporting, a 

higher percentage of reports could be 

processed and released within the first 

month. Once EPA publicly releases the 

TRI data, the public can access the TRI 

data using several tools, which currently 

include TRI Explorer, myRight-ToVerDate Mar<15>2010 13:33 Aug 26, 2013 Jkt 229001 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 E:\FR\FM\27AUR1.SGM 27AUR1

pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with RULES
52866 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 166 / Tuesday, August 27, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 

Know (myRTK), and Envirofacts (EPA’s 

one-stop source for environmental 

information). The EPA continually seeks 

to improve the ways in which it shares 

TRI data with the public. 

8. Comments Supporting the 

Rulemaking 

Several comments approve of this rule 

as it will lower costs to the EPA, enable 

the Agency to provide TRI data more 

quickly, reduce the possibility of 

transcription errors, improve data 

quality due to the use of data quality 

checks in TRI-MEweb, and follow the 

general trend toward electronic 

reporting. 

EPA appreciates the support offered 

by these comments and agrees that this 

rule makes it possible for EPA to 

process the data more quickly and better 

provide communities with access to the 

latest TRI data on toxic chemical 

releases and other waste management. 

EPA also agrees that the rule will 

improve the quality of TRI reporting 

forms due to the data quality checks 

incorporated into TRI-MEweb. 

V. References 

EPA has established an official public 

docket for this action under Docket ID 

No. EPA–HQ–TRI–2011–0174. The 

public docket includes information 

considered by EPA in developing this 

action, which is electronically or 

physically located in the docket. For 

assistance in locating any of these 

documents, please consult the person 

listed in the above FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section. 

VI. What are the statutory and 

Executive Order reviews associated 

with this action? 

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory 

Planning and Review and Executive 

Order 13563: Improving Regulation and 

Regulatory Review 

This action is not a ‘‘significant 

regulatory action’’ under the terms of 

Executive Order (EO) 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 does not impose any new 

information collection burden. Instead, 

this action would merely change the 

manner in which the Agency receives 

information. The Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) has previously 

approved the information collection 

requirements contained in the existing 

regulations 40 CFR part 372 under the 

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction 

Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. and has 

assigned the following OMB control 

numbers 2025–0009 (EPA Information 

Collection Request (ICR) No. 1363.21) 

and 2050–0078 (EPA ICR No. 1428.08). 

The OMB control numbers for EPA’s 

regulations in 40 CFR are listed in 40 

CFR part 9. 

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act, as 

Amended by the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 

1996, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq. 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act 

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. 

For purposes of assessing the impacts 

of today’s rule on small entities, 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. 

EPA conducted an economic analysis 

to consider the possible effects of this 

rulemaking on small entities. This 

analysis, ‘‘Economic Analysis of the 

Electronic Reporting Final Rule: 

Community Right-to-Know; Toxic 

Chemical Release Reporting’’ (Ref. #1), 

demonstrates this rule should not create 

an economic burden on an individual 

small business of more than 1% of its 

sales (or equivalent metric) and, thus, 

will not have a significant adverse 

impact on small businesses. 

In summary, this rule will create a 

one-time burden and a minor 

subsequent burden for facilities that 

have not previously used TRI-MEweb to 

submit TRI reporting forms to EPA. This 

burden would relate to obtaining access 

to a computer and the Internet, 

establishing an account in CDX, and 

associating the CDX account with TRIMEweb. A more detailed analysis of the 

impacts on small entities is located in 

EPA’s economic analysis support 

document, Economic Analysis of the 

Electronic Reporting Final Rule: 

Community Right-to-Know; Toxic 

Chemical Release Reporting, located in 

the docket. 

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. 

The small entities directly regulated by 

this final rule are small businesses and 

small governmental jurisdictions. We 

have determined that 3,180 small parent 

entities will need to familiarize 

themselves with this rulemaking and 

112 small parent entities might need to 

register with CDX, establish an ESA, 

and purchase a computer and obtain 

Internet access. The maximum impact 

incurred by any small parent entity is 

approximately 0.5 percent of their 

annual revenue. 

Although this final rule will not have 

a significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities, 

EPA nonetheless has tried to reduce the 

impact of this rule on small entities. 

Throughout the process for this 

rulemaking, the EPA invited facilities to 

provide feedback on whether it would 

be difficult to report electronically. 

Further, the Agency has continually 

strived to provide an intuitive, userfriendly reporting system to prepare and 

submit TRI data that has become widely 

used by facilities submitting TRI forms. 

Ultimately, due to its economic analysis 

and its understanding of regulated 

community, the EPA does not believe 

this rulemaking will be burdensome for 

facilities, including small parent 

entities, that submit TRI forms. 

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

This rule does 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. 

This rule will merely require facilities 

under the TRI Program to submit 

electronic reports using TRI–MEweb. 

Most facilities already adhere to this 

requirement, thus this rule will affect a 

relatively small number of facilities. 

Further, the cost to adhere to this rule 

is small and, in aggregate, will not cost 

more than $100 million or more for 

state, local, and tribal governments, or 

the private sector in any one year. Thus, 

this rule is not subject to the 

requirements of sections 202 or 205 of 

the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(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. Any 

small government that reports to the TRI 

Program will not incur significant costs 

because the cost, if any, to report 

electronically, as described above, is 

minimal. 


pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 166 / Tuesday, August 27, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 52867 

E. Executive Order 13132, Federalism 

This action 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. This action 

would require facilities that submit 

annual reports under section 313 of 

EPCRA to do so electronically, which 

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. Thus, 

Executive Order 13132 does not apply 

to this action. 

F. Executive Order 13175, Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

This action does not have tribal 

implications, as specified in Executive 

Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 

2000). EPA has determined that this rule 

does not have tribal implications 

because it will not have substantial 

direct effects on tribal governments, on 

the relationship between the Federal 

Government and the Indian tribes, or on 

the distribution of power and 

responsibilities between the Federal 

Government and Indian tribes, as 

specified in the Executive Order. 

Instead, the rule merely affects how 

facilities report information to the TRI 

Program. Thus, Executive Order 13175 

does not apply to this action. 

G. Executive Order 13045, Protection of 

Children From Environmental Health 

Risks and Safety Risks 

EPA interprets E.O. 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 E.O. 13045 because it does 

not establish an environmental standard 

intended to mitigate health or safety 

risks. 

H. Executive Order 13211, Actions 

Concerning Regulations That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use 

This action 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 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 EPA to provide 

Congress, through OMB, explanations 

when the Agency decides not to use 

available and applicable voluntary 

consensus standards. 

This action does not involve technical 

standards. Therefore, 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 

E.O. 12898 (59 FR 7629, Feb. 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. 

EPA has determined that this rule will 

not have disproportionately high and 

adverse human health or environmental 

effects on minority or low-income 

populations because it does not affect 

the level of protection provided to 

human health or the environment. 

Instead, this rule would merely address 

the manner in which regulated facilities 

submit reporting information. 

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, 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. 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 of the rule 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). This final 

rule is effective January 21, 2014. 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 372 

Environmental protection, 

Community right-to-know, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements. 

Dated: August 16, 2013. 

Gina McCarthy, 

Administrator. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, Chapter I of Title 40 of the 

Code of Federal Regulations is amended 

as follows: 

PART 372—TOXIC CHEMICAL 

RELEASE REPORTING: COMMUNITY 

RIGHT–TO–KNOW 

■ 1. The authority citation for Part 372 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 11023 and 11048. 

■ 2. Amend § 372.85 by: 

■ a. Revising paragraph (b) introductory 

text, and 

■ b. Adding paragraph (c). 

The revised and added text reads as 

follows: 

§ 372.85 Toxic chemical release reporting 

form and instructions. 

* * * * * 

(b) Form elements. Information 

elements reportable on EPA Form R and 

Form R Schedule 1 include the 

following: 

* * * * * 

(c) Filing Requirements. Effective 

January 21, 2014, facilities that submit 

TRI reporting forms (without claiming a 

trade secret), including revisions and 

withdrawals of TRI reporting forms, to 

EPA must prepare, certify, and submit 

their data to EPA electronically, using 

the TRI online-reporting software 

provided by EPA. 

(1) EPA will no longer accept nontrade-secret TRI reports, revisions, or 

withdrawals on paper reporting forms, 

magnetic media, or CD–ROMs. 

Information and instructions regarding 

online reporting are available on the TRI 

Web site. 

(2) Facilities must submit 

electronically any revisions or 

withdrawals of previously submitted 

TRI reporting forms. Facilities may 

submit, revise, or withdraw TRI 

reporting forms for reporting years 1991 

through the present reporting year. 


pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with RULES
52868 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 166 / Tuesday, August 27, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 

(3) The only exception to this TRI 

electronic reporting requirement of 

paragraph (c) relates to TRI submissions 

that claim a trade secret (including 

sanitized and unsanitized reporting 

forms) and revisions and withdrawals of 

such TRI submissions, which must be 

submitted to EPA on paper. Facilities 

may submit, revise, or withdraw these 

paper trade secret (including sanitized 

and unsanitized) TRI reporting forms for 

reporting years 1991 through the present 

reporting year. 

[FR Doc. 2013–20744 Filed 8–26–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 1 

[CS Docket No. 97–151; FCC 98–20] 

Pole Attachment Complaint 

Procedures 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of 

effective date. 

SUMMARY: This document announces the 

approval of the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) for information 

collection requirements in the sections 

of regulations concerning pole 

attachments outlined in the DATES

section. 

DATES: Effective August 27, 2013, the 

amendments to §§ 1.1403(e) and 1.1404 

published at 63 FR 12025, March 12, 

1998,have been approved by OMB. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michele Levy Berlove, Competition 

Policy Division, Wireline Competition 

Bureau at Michele.Berlove@fcc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 

22, 1998, OMB approved the 

information collection requirements 

contained in sections 1.1403(e) and 

1.1404 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations as a revision to OMB 

Control Number 3060–0392. 

On January 24, 2001, OMB approved 

the information collection requirements 

contained in sections 1.1404(g), 

1.1404(h) and 1.1404(j) of Title 47 of the 

Code of Federal Regulations as a 

revision to OMB Control Number 3060– 

0392. 

These information collection 

requirements required OMB approval to 

become effective. The Commission 

publishes this document as an 

announcement of those approvals. If 

you have any comments on the burden 

estimates listed below, or how the 

Commission can improve the 

collections and reduce any burdens 

caused thereby, please contact Thomas 

Butler, Federal Communications 

Commission, Room 5–C458, 445 12th 

Street SW., Washington, DC 20554. 

Please include the OMB Control 

Number 3060–0392 in your 

correspondence. The Commission will 

also accept your comments via the 

Internet if you send them to PRA@

fcc.gov. 

To request materials in accessible 

formats for people with disabilities 

(Braille, large print, electronic files, 

audio format), send an email to fcc504@

fcc.gov or call the Consumer & 

Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 

418–0530 (voice, (202) 419–0432 

(TTY)). 

Synopsis: As required by the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. 3507), the FCC is notifying the 

public that it received OMB approval for 

the information collection requirements 

described above. The OMB Control 

Number is 3060–0392. The total annual 

reporting burden for respondents for 

these collections of information, 

including the time for gathering and 

maintaining the collection of 

information, has been most recently 

approved to be: 

For 3060–0392: 1,772 responses, for a 

total of 2,629 hours, and $450,000 in 

annual costs. 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor a collection of information 

unless it displays a current valid OMB 

Control Number. No person shall be 

subject to any penalty for failing to 

comply with a collection of information 

subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act, 

which does not display a current, valid 

OMB Control Number. The foregoing 

notice is required by the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104– 

13, October 1, 1995, and 44 U.S.C. 3507. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Gloria J. Miles, 

Federal Register Liaison. 

[FR Doc. 2013–20672 Filed 8–26–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 121018563–3148–02] 

RIN 0648–XC817 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Reallocation of 

Pacific Cod in the Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands Management Area 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; reallocation. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is reallocating the 

projected unused amounts of Pacific cod 

from catcher vessels using trawl gear to 

American Fisheries Act trawl catcher/

processors and Amendment 80 catcher/ 

processors in the Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands management area. This 

action is necessary to allow the 2013 

total allowable catch of Pacific cod to be 

harvested. 

DATES: Effective August 22, 2013, 

through 2400 hrs, Alaska local time 

(A.l.t.), December 31, 2013. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Steve Whitney, 907–586–7269. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

manages the groundfish fishery in the 

Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) 

according to the Fishery Management 

Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea 

and Aleutian Islands Management Area 

(FMP) prepared by the North Pacific 

Fishery Management Council under 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act. Regulations governing fishing by 

U.S. vessels in accordance with the FMP 

appear at subpart H of 50 CFR part 600 

and 50 CFR part 679. 

The 2013 Pacific cod total allowable 

catch (TAC) specified for catcher vessels 

using trawl gear in the BSAI is 51,312 

metric tons (mt) as established by the 

final 2013 and 2014 harvest 

specifications for groundfish in the 

BSAI (78 FR 13813, March 1, 2013). The 

Regional Administrator has determined 

that catcher vessels using trawl gear will 

not be able to harvest 2,000 mt of the 

2013 Pacific cod TAC allocated to those 

vessels under § 679.20(a)(7)(ii)(A)(9). 

The Regional Administrator has also 

determined that this unharvested 

amount is unlikely to be harvested 

through the hierarchy set forth in 

§ 679.20(a)(7)(iii)(A). Therefore, in 

accordance with § 679.20(a)(7)(iii)(A) 

and § 679.20(a)(7)(iii)(B), NMFS 


pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with RULES