+(,121/,1(

Citation: 75 Fed. Reg. 3462 2010 

Content downloaded/printed from 

HeinOnline (http://heinonline.org)

Thu Jul 22 11:34:23 2010

-- Your use of this HeinOnline PDF indicates your acceptance

 of HeinOnline's Terms and Conditions of the license

 agreement available at http://heinonline.org/HOL/License

-- The search text of this PDF is generated from 

 uncorrected OCR text.
Federal Register/Vol. 75, No. 13/Thursday, January 21, 2010/Notices

to intervene or protest must serve a copy

of that document on the Applicant and

all the parties in this proceeding.

The Commission encourages

electronic submission of protests and

interventions in lieu of paper using the

"eFiling" link at http://www.ferc.gov.

Persons unable to file electronically

should submit an original and 14 copies

of the protest or intervention to the

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,

888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC

20426.

This filing is accessible on-line at

http://www.ferc.gov, using the "eLibrary" link and is available for

review in the Commission's Public

Reference Room in Washington, DC.

There is an "eSubscription" link on the

Web site that enables subscribers to

receive e-mail notification when a

document is added to a subscribed

docket(s). For assistance with any FERC

Online service, please e-mail

FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov, or call

(866) 208-3676 (toll free). For TTY, call

(202) 502-8659.

Comment Date: 5 p.m. Eastern Time

on January 21, 2010.

Kimberly D. Bose,

Secretay.

[FR Doe. 2010-1007 Filed 1-20-10; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPPT-2009-1013; FRL-8807-9]

Claims of Confidentiality of Certain

Chemical Identities Submitted under

Section 8(e) of the Toxic Substances

Control Act

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: EPA is announcing a new

general practice of reviewing

submissions under section 8(e) of the

Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)

for confidential business information

(CBI) claims of chemical identities listed

on the public portion of the TSCA

Chemical Substances Inventory. Where

a health and safety study submitted

under section 8(e) of TSCA involves a

chemical identity that is already listed

on the public portion of the TSCA

Chemical Substances Inventory, EPA

expects to find that the chemical

identity clearly is not entitled to

confidential treatment. EPA believes

this new general practice will make

more health and safety information

available to the public and support an

important part of the Agency's mission:

To promote public understanding of the

potential risks posed by chemicals in

commerce.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

general information contact: Colby

Lintner, Regulatory Coordinator,

Environmental Assistance Division

(7408M), Office of Pollution Prevention

and Toxics, Environmental Protection

Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,

Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone

number: (202) 554-1404; e-mail address:

TSCA-Hotline@epa.gov.

For technical information contact:

Scott M. Sherlock, Environmental

Assistance Division, Office of Pollution

Prevention and Toxics, Environmental

Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania

Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-

0001; telephone number: (202) 564-

8257; e-mail address:

sherlock.scott@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this Action Apply to Me?

This notice is directed to the public

in general. It may, however, be of

particular interest to you if you

manufacture (defined by statute to

include import) and/or process

chemicals covered by TSCA (15 U.S.C.

2601 et seq.). You may be identified by

the North American Industrial

Classification System (NAICS) codes

325 and 32411. Because this notice is

directed to the general public and other

entities may also be interested, the

Agency has not attempted to describe all

the specific entities that may be

interested in this action. If you have any

questions regarding the applicability of

this action to a particular entity, consult

the technical person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

B. How Can I Get Copies of this

Document and Other Related

Information?

1. Docket. EPA has established a

docket for this action under docket

identification (ID) number EPA-HQOPPT-2009-1013. All documents in the

docket are listed in the docket index

available at http://www.regulations.gov.

Although listed in the index, some

information is not publicly available,

e.g., CBI or other information whose

disclosure is restricted by statute.

Certain other material, such as

copyrighted material, will be publicly

available only in hard copy. Publicly

available docket materials are available

electronically at http://

www.regulations.gov, or, if only

available in hard copy, at the OPPT

Docket. The OPPT Docket is located in

the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC) at Rm.

3334, EPA West Bldg., 1301

Constitution Ave., NW., Washington,

DC. The EPA/DC Public Reading Room

hours of operation are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30

p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding

legal holidays. The telephone number of

the EPA/DC Public Reading Room is

(202) 566-1744, and the telephone

number for the OPPT Docket is (202)

566-0280. Docket visitors are required

to show photographic identification,

pass through a metal detector, and sign

the EPA visitor log. All visitor bags are

processed through an X-ray machine

and subject to search. Visitors will be

provided an EPA/DC badge that must be

visible at all times in the building and

returned upon departure.

2. Other related information. For

information about EPA's programs to

evaluate new and existing chemicals

and their potential risks, go to http://

www.epa.gov/oppt/index.htm. For more

information about reporting under

TSCA section 8(e), go to http://

www.epa.gov/opptintr/tsca8e/

index.htm.

II. What Action is the Agency Taking?

The Agency expects to respond to

certain CBI claims regarding chemical

identities with a determination letter

under 40 CFR 2.306(d) and 40 CFR

2.204(d)(2). This Federal Register

document only serves to announce this

new general practice and is not itself a

final Agency action; rather, any

determination letter issued by EPA will

constitute the Agency's final

determination that the chemical identity

at issue clearly is not entitled to

confidential treatment under TSCA

section 14 (15 U.S.C. 2613).

At this time, EPA expects to issue

these letters only when the chemical

identity claimed as CBI: (1) Is already

publicly available on the TSCA

Chemical Substances Inventory, and (2)

is submitted under TSCA section 8(e) as

part of-or data from-a health and

safety study.

Each letter will provide a contact

person within the Agency whom the

recipient of the letter can contact with

any questions or concerns about the

determination related to their

submission.

This action is part of a broader effort

to increase transparency and provide

more valuable information to the public

by identifying programs where non-CBI

may have been claimed and treated as

CBI in the past. For such information,

EPA is considering what actions might

be appropriate in accordance with its

regulations at 40 CFR part 2, subpart B.

3462

HeinOnline -- 75 Fed. Reg. 3462 2010
Federal Register/Vol. 75, No. 13/Thursday, January 21, 2010/Notices

III. What is the Agency's Authority for

Taking this Action?

As a general rule, TSCA section

14(b)(1) provides that health and safety

studies and data from health and safety

studies are not entitled to treatment as

CBI, with an exception for information

that "discloses processes used in the

manufacturing or processing of a

chemical substance or mixture," or, in

the case of a mixture, where release of

the data discloses the portion of a

mixture comprised by a particular

substance. 15 U.S.C. 2613(b)(1).

EPA considers information contained

in a notice of substantial risk under

TSCA section 8(e) to be health and

safety information and, therefore,

covered by the term "health and safety

study," as defined in section 3(6) of

TSCA. See "TSCA Section 8(e);

Notification of Substantial Risk; Policy

Clarification and Reporting Guidance,"

68 FR 33129 at 33136, June 3, 2003

(FRL-7287-4). Chemical identity is part

of a health and safety study. See e.g., 40

CFR 716.3 and 40 CFR 720.3(k). As

such, chemical identity associated with

a health and safety study in a TSCA

section 8(e) submission is not entitled to

confidential treatment unless it falls

into the exemption under TSCA section

14(b)(1). Where the identity of a

chemical substance is already contained

on the public portion of the TSCA

Chemical Substances Inventory, which

is publicly available from the National

Technical Information Service and other

sources, EPA believes that the identity

itself, even assuming it might otherwise

be CBI, as well as any information that

might be derived from it about processes

or portions, has already been disclosed.

EPA's regulations regarding CBI at 40

CFR part 2, subpart B provide for a

process where the relevant office

determines that certain information

clearly is not entitled to confidential

treatment. See 40 CFR 2.306(d); 40 CFR

2.204(d)(2); and 40 CFR 2.205(f). As

provided in the regulations, the letters

will serve as the final EPA

determinations concerning the subject

confidentiality claims, and recipients of

the letters may seek judicial review

under 5 U.S.C. 701 et seq.

IV. Why is EPA Taking this Action?

Part of the Agency's mission is to

promote public understanding of

potential risks by providing

understandable, accessible and

complete information on potential

chemical risks to the broadest audience

possible. In support of this mission,

EPA posts useful information about

chemicals regulated under TSCA for the

public on its website (http://

www.epa.gov/oppt/index.htm). One

important source of this information is

submissions to the Agency under TSCA

section 8(e). TSCA section 8(e) requires

that:

Any person who manufactures, processes,

or distributes in commerce a chemical

substance or mixture and who obtains

information which reasonably supports the

conclusion that such substance or mixture

presents a substantial risk of injury to health

or the environment shall immediately inform

the Administrator of such information unless

such person has actual knowledge that the

Administrator has been adequately informed

of such information.

15 U.S.C. 2607(e).

When EPA receives submissions

under TSCA section 8(e), it makes this

information available on its website.

Previously, EPA's general practice had

been to redact chemical identity from

TSCA section 8(e) postings where the

identity was claimed as CBI even when

the chemical identity was listed on the

public portion of the TSCA Chemical

Substances Inventory. EPA believes that

the posting of the TSCA section 8(e)

information received is incomplete and

far less informative where the public is

not able to view the chemical identity

associated with the new health and

safety information posted. Where the

identity of the chemical is already

publicly available on the TSCA

Chemical Substances Inventory, the new

general practice will allow the public to

link the TSCA section 8(e) information

with the relevant chemical and will

support the Agency's mission of

promoting public understanding of

potential risks.

List of Subjects

Environmental protection, Chemicals,

Confidential business information,

Reporting and recordkeeping.

Dated: January 14, 2010.

Steve A. Owens,

Assistant Administrator, Office of Prevention,

Pesticides and Toxic Substances.

[FR Doe. 2010-1105 Filed 1-20-10; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-S

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL-9104-9]

Cross-Media Electronic Reporting Rule

State Authorized Program Revision

Approval: State of North Carolina

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This notice announces EPA's

approval, under regulations for CrossMedia Electronic Reporting, of the State

of North Carolina's request to revise its

EPA-authorized program to allow

electronic reporting.

DATES: EPA's approval is effective

January 21, 2010.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Evi

Huffer, U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency, Office of Environmental

Information, Mail Stop 2823T, 1200

Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,

Washington, DC 20460, (202) 566-1697,

huffer.evi@epa.gov, or David Schwarz,

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,

Office of Environmental Information,

Mail Stop 2823T, 1200 Pennsylvania

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460,

(202) 566-1704,

sch warz. david@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

On October 13, 2005, the final CrossMedia Electronic Reporting Rule

(CROMERR) was published in the

Federal Register (70 FR 59848) and

codified as part 3 of title 40 of the CFR.

CROMERR establishes electronic

reporting as an acceptable regulatory

alternative to paper reporting and

establishes requirements to assure that

electronic documents are as legally

dependable as their paper counterparts.

Subpart D of CROMERR requires that

state, tribal or local government

agencies that receive, or wish to begin

receiving, electronic reports under their

EPA-authorized programs must apply to

EPA for a revision or modification of

those programs and get EPA approval.

Subpart D provides standards for such

approvals based on consideration of the

electronic document receiving systems

that the state, tribe, or local government

will use to implement the electronic

reporting. Additionally, in § 3.1000(b)

through (e) of 40 CFR part 3, subpart D

provides special procedures for program

revisions and modifications to allow

electronic reporting, to be used at the

option of the state, tribe or local

government in place of procedures

available under existing programspecific authorization regulations. An

application submitted under the subpart

D procedures must show that the state,

tribe or local government has sufficient

legal authority to implement the

electronic reporting components of the

programs covered by the application

and will use electronic document

receiving systems that meet the

applicable subpart D requirements.

On October 15, 2008, the State of

North Carolina Department of

Environment and Natural Resources

(NCDENR) submitted an application for

its Integrated Build Environment for

Application Management (IBEAM)

electronic document receiving system

3463

HeinOnline -- 75 Fed. Reg. 3463 2010