4606 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 16 / Wednesday, January 24, 2024 / Notices 

the Review Plan rule, however, EPA has 

encountered issues that, cumulatively, 

make reaching this target highly 

unlikely. Consequently, consistent with 

TSCA section 8(b)(4)(E)(ii)(I) and 40 

CFR 710.55(e) which permit EPA to 

extend the review period by up to two 

years, EPA is extending the target 

review completion date until February 

19, 2025. As this extended deadline 

approaches, EPA will re-evaluate the 

Review Plan progress and will further 

extend the deadline, as necessary to 

complete the Review Plan reviews, up 

to February 19, 2026. 

Several issues and factors caused 

delays that are expected to prevent EPA 

from completing its review within the 

five-year period. Firstly, the volume of 

claims is significant. EPA received and 

is reviewing CBI claims for the specific 

chemical identity of more than 4,805 

chemical substances in 5,787 

submissions under the Review Plan. At 

the same time, the Agency is 

maintaining its CBI review program for 

new CBI claims under TSCA section 

14(g). This involves reviewing 

numerous and varied types of TSCA 

submissions, containing a wide array of 

CBI claims of differing complexity. The 

Agency receives approximately 600 

submissions with multiple CBI claims 

requiring review under TSCA section 

14(g) each year. Also concurrent with 

these CBI review activities, EPA is 

processing denied and withdrawn CBI 

claims for chemical identity so that 

those chemical identities may be 

disclosed on the public portion of the 

TSCA Inventory, consistent with the 

requirements of TSCA sections 8(b) and 

14. 

Secondly, adapting the Agency’s 

information technology (IT) systems to 

complete these reviews has presented 

issues and contributed to delays as part 

of processing the voluminous amount of 

CBI claims. For example, in its reviews, 

EPA observed duplication of and 

inconsistencies between confidentiality 

claims for the same chemicals across 

and between submissions. Limitations 

with existing IT tools have made 

identifying and resolving such issues a 

largely manual process, which 

consumes resources and delays Agency 

reviews. In addition, the size (i.e., very 

large file size) and other features of 

certain submissions have caused IT 

difficulties that have halted the CBI 

review process for more than six months 

and these issues have not yet been 

resolved as available resources have 

been prioritized to address more critical 

IT needs. 

Finally, EPA could not start its 

Review Plan reviews until after a delay 

of approximately six months to a year as 

a result of the decision of the U.S. Court 

of Appeals for the District of Columbia 

Circuit in Environmental Defense Fund 

v. EPA, 922 F.3d 446 (D.C. Cir. 2019). 

The Court’s decision meant that any 

company who had voluntarily provided 

substantiation in their initial Notice of 

Activity filing (mostly made in 2018) 

had to ensure those prior submissions 

included information regarding reverse 

engineering (generally by answering two 

additional substantiation questions), 

and that EPA had to provide a reporting 

period for doing so prior to beginning 

any Review Plan reviews. EPA 

published a supplement to the proposed 

Review Plan rule to address the Court’s 

decision on November 8, 2019 (84 FR 

60363 (FRL–10001–44)). The final rule 

required substantiation or supplemental 

substantiation by November 2020 (see 

40 CFR 710.47). The additional 

reporting requirement created confusion 

among some reporting entities, the 

resolution of which has further slowed 

the review process. 

These issues and factors together 

justify extending the review period 

deadline by at least one year, consistent 

with TSCA section 8(b)(4)(E)(ii)(I). 

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2607(b). 

Dated: January 18, 2024. 

Michal Freedhoff, 

Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical 

Safety and Pollution Prevention. 

[FR Doc. 2024–01351 Filed 1–23–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–ORD–2023–0240; FRL–10973–01– 

ORD] 

Scientific Integrity Policy Draft for 

Public Comment 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of public comment 

period. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing 

a 30-day public comment period on the 

draft updates to its Scientific Integrity 

(SI) Policy. In accordance with the 

requirements of the 2021 Presidential 

Memorandum on Restoring Trust in 

Government Through Scientific Integrity 

and Evidence-based Policymaking, EPA 

is revising our SI Policy. The updated SI 

Policy will adopt a new Federal 

definition of scientific integrity and 

meaningfully strengthen several policy 

elements that will help ensure a culture 

of scientific integrity at the Agency. It 

will incorporate the model scientific 

integrity policy from the National 

Science and Technology Council’s A 

Framework for Federal Scientific 

Integrity Policy and Practice (2023), 

lessons learned over the years, and the 

results of previous surveys of EPA staff 

on scientific integrity. 

DATES: The 30-day public comment 

period begins January 24, 2024 and ends 

February 23, 2024. Comments must be 

received on or before February 23, 2024 

to be considered by EPA. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–HQ– 

ORD–2023–0240, by any of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

https://www.regulations.gov/ (our 

preferred method). Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail: U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, EPA Docket Center, 

Office of Research and Development 

Docket, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 

Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, 

DC 20460. 

• Hand Delivery or Courier: EPA 

Docket Center, WJC West Building, 

Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue 

NW, Washington, DC 20004. The Docket 

Center’s hours of operations are 8:30 

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

Friday (except Federal Holidays). 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the Docket ID No. for this 

action. Comments received may be 

posted without change to https://

www.regulations.gov/, including any 

personal information provided. For 

detailed instructions on sending 

comments and additional information, 

see the ‘‘Public Participation’’ heading 

of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

section of this document. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information on the public comment 

period, contact the ORD Docket at the 

EPA Headquarters Docket Center; 

telephone: 202–566–1752; facsimile: 

202–566–9744; or email: Docket_ORD@

epa.gov. For technical information on 

the draft guidelines or information on 

the public comment period, contact Dr. 

Francesca Grifo, via email at: 

grifo.francesca@epa.gov; or via phone/ 

voicemail at 202–657–8575. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Public Participation 

Written Comments: Submit your 

comments, identified by Docket ID No. 

EPA–HQ–ORD–2023–0240, at https://

www.regulations.gov (our preferred 

method), or the other methods 

identified in the ADDRESSES section. 

Once submitted, comments cannot be 

edited or removed from the docket. The 

EPA may publish any comment received 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 16 / Wednesday, January 24, 2024 / Notices 4607 

to its public docket. Do not submit to 

EPA’s docket at https://

www.regulations.gov any information 

you consider to be Confidential 

Business Information (CBI), Proprietary 

Business Information (PBI), or other 

information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Multimedia 

submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be 

accompanied by a written comment. 

The written comment is considered the 

official comment and should include 

discussion of all points you wish to 

make. The EPA will generally not 

consider comments or comment 

contents located outside of the primary 

submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or 

other file sharing system). Please visit 

https://www.epa.gov/dockets/ 

commenting-epa-dockets for additional 

submission methods; the full EPA 

public comment policy; information 

about CBI, PBI, or multimedia 

submissions; and general guidance on 

making effective comments. 

II. Background 

EPA issued its first Scientific Integrity 

Policy in 2012 and the Agency 

appointed its first full time Scientific 

Integrity Official (SIO) in 2013 based on 

requirements in both the 2009 Scientific 

Integrity Presidential Memorandum and 

the 2010 Office of Science and 

Technology Policy (OSTP) Presidential 

Memorandum on Scientific Integrity. 

Those documents together with the 

2021 Presidential Memorandum on 

Restoring Trust in Government Through 

Scientific Integrity and Evidence-based 

Policymaking guided the draft updates 

of the 2023 Scientific Integrity (SI) 

Policy. The draft updates are derived 

from these documents, the collective 

experience of Federal agencies, and the 

informed engagement of stakeholders 

both inside and outside of government 

captured in the actions of the 2022 

National Science and Technology 

Council Scientific Integrity Fast Track 

Action Committee and their report, 

Protecting the Integrity of Government 

Science (SI–FTAC Report) and the 

National Science and Technology 

Council 2023 A Framework for Federal 

Scientific Integrity Policy and Practice. 

The draft SI Policy updates include 

but are not limited to the adoption of a 

new Federal definition of scientific 

integrity as well as the introduction and 

clarification of roles and 

responsibilities, such as the new role of 

the EPA Chief Scientist. In addition, the 

draft policy updates will significantly 

strengthen several policy elements (e.g., 

protecting scientific processes, 

reviewing science, ensuring the free 

flow of scientific information, 

supporting decision making processes, 

ensuring accountability, etc.) that will 

help ensure a culture of scientific 

integrity at the Agency. 

III. How will comments be used? 

EPA values external knowledge and 

experience with scientific integrity and 

looks forward to comments pertaining to 

policy content. Public comment 

received on the SI Policy will be 

reviewed and considered to be 

incorporated into or modify text in the 

final revised SI Policy. The final revised 

SI Policy will undergo internal EPA 

review and revision and be posted on 

EPA’s website. 

Maureen R. Gwinn, 

EPA Chief Scientist. 

[FR Doc. 2024–01313 Filed 1–23–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION 

[Docket No. FMC–2024–0003] 

Informal Public Hearing on the Impact 

of Current Conditions in the Red Sea 

and Gulf of Aden Regions 

AGENCY: Federal Maritime Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of informal public 

hearing and request for information. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Maritime 

Commission will hold an informal 

public hearing on February 7, 2024, and 

continuing February 8, 2024, if needed, 

to examine how conditions in the Red 

Sea and Gulf of Aden regions are 

impacting commercial shipping and 

global supply chains. At this hearing, 

the Commission will hear from 

stakeholders in the supply chain on 

how operations have been disrupted by 

attacks on commercial shipping, steps 

taken in response to these events, and 

the resulting effects. 

DATES: The informal public hearing will 

be held on February 7, 2024, beginning 

at 10 a.m. EST, and continuing February 

8, 2024, at 10 a.m. EST, if needed. This 

hearing will be open for public 

attendance and will be streamed live. 

Stakeholders who wish to present 

testimony at the hearing must send a 

request to testify by email addressed to 

secretary@fmc.gov and received no later 

than 5 p.m. EST on January 31, 2024. 

Submission of written testimony by 

hearing stakeholders is optional; any 

such written testimony, and written 

comments by any other interested 

persons, must be submitted to the 

Commission by email at secretary@

fmc.gov and received no later than 5 

p.m. EST on January 31, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: The informal public hearing 

will be held in the Hearing Room at the 

Surface Transportation Board, 395 E 

Street SW, Washington, DC 20423, and 

will be streamed live. All requests to 

present testimony at the hearing, and 

submissions of written testimony and 

comments for the hearing should be 

addressed to the Commission and 

emailed to secretary@fmc.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

David Eng, Secretary; Phone: (202) 523– 

5725; Email: secretary@fmc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The Commission will hold an 

informal public hearing to examine how 

conditions in the Red Sea and Gulf of 

Aden regions are impacting commercial 

shipping and global supply chains. The 

hearing will allow stakeholders in the 

supply chain to communicate with the 

Commission regarding how operations 

have been disrupted by attacks on 

commercial shipping, steps taken in 

response to these events, and the 

resulting effects. In addition, the hearing 

will allow the Commission to gather 

information and identify any new issues 

related to these disruptions that might 

be subject to Commission statutes and 

regulations. 

The hearing will be held on February 

7, 2024, beginning at 10 a.m. EST, and 

continuing February 8, 2024, at 10 a.m. 

EST, if needed, in the Hearing Room at 

the Surface Transportation Board. This 

hearing will be open for public 

attendance and will also be streamed 

live. More information about accessing 

the live stream will be posted on the 

Commission’s web page at 

www.fmc.gov. If technical issues prevent 

the Commission from streaming live, the 

Commission will post a recording of the 

meeting as soon as possible on the 

Commission’s web page at 

www.fmc.gov. Any person wishing to 

attend the hearing in person should 

report to the Surface Transportation 

Board with enough time to clear 

building security procedures before the 

scheduled start time. 

II. Public Participation at the Hearing 

How do I participate at the hearing? 

This hearing will be open for public 

attendance and will also be streamed 

live. Stakeholders who wish to present 

testimony at the hearing must send a 

request to testify by email addressed to 

secretary@fmc.gov and received no later 

than 5 p.m. EST on January 31, 2024. 

The request should include the name, 

company name and job title, street 

address, email address, phone number 

of the requester, a summary of how 

operations have been disrupted by 

attacks on commercial shipping, steps 


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