Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 18 / Tuesday, January 28, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 4403 

PART 165—REGULATED NAVIGATION 

AREAS AND LIMITED ACCESS AREAS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 165 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1231; 46 U.S.C. 

Chapter 701, 3306, 3703; 50 U.S.C. 191, 195; 

33 CFR 1.05–1, 6.04–1, 6.04–6, and 160.5; 

Pub. L. 107–295, 116 Stat. 2064; Department 

of Homeland Security Delegation No. 0170.1. 

■ 2. Add § 165.T11–615 to read as 

follows: 

§ 165.T11–615 Safety zone; BWRC 

Southwest Showdown Three, Parker, AZ 

(a) Location. The limits of the safety 

zone will include all the navigable 

waters of the Colorado River on 

Moovalya Lake between Headgate Dam 

and 0.5 miles north of the Blue Water 

Marina in Parker, Arizona. 

(b) Enforcement period. This section 

will be enforced from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

from February 21, 2014 through 

February 23, 2014. 

(c) Definitions. The following 

definition applies to this section: 

Designated representative, means any 

commissioned, warrant, or petty officer 

of the Coast Guard on board Coast 

Guard, Coast Guard Auxiliary, or local, 

state, and federal law enforcement 

vessels who have been authorized to act 

on the behalf of the Captain of the Port. 

(d) Regulations. (1) Entry into, transit 

through or anchoring within this safety 

zone is prohibited unless authorized by 

the Captain of the Port of San Diego or 

his designated representative. 

(2) All persons and vessels shall 

comply with the instructions of the 

Coast Guard Captain of the Port or his 

designated representative. 

(3) Upon being hailed by U.S. Coast 

Guard or designated patrol personnel by 

siren, radio, flashing light or other 

means, the operator of a vessel shall 

proceed as directed. 

(4) The Coast Guard may be assisted 

by other federal, state, or local agencies. 

Dated: January 9, 2014. 

S.M. Mahoney, 

Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the 

Port San Diego. 

[FR Doc. 2014–01562 Filed 1–27–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–04–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Parts 30 and 31 

[EPA–HQ–OARM–2013–0705; FRL–9803–9] 

Changes to Dispute Procedures 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Interim final rule with request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: This regulatory update revises 

agency policies and procedures for 

certain pre-award and post-award 

assistance agreement disputes at the 

United States Environmental Protection 

Agency. This section provides a uniform 

process, including appropriate 

timelines, for the efficient, effective and 

timely resolution of assistance 

agreement disputes. This rule is exempt 

from the notice and comment 

requirements of the Administrative 

Procedure Act (APA) because it is a 

matter relating to agency management 

concerning grants. 

DATES: Effective date: January 28, 2014. 

Comment date: Comments must be 

received on or before March 31, 2014. 

Applicability date: This interim final 

rule applies to disputes arising from 

agency decisions issued on or after 

January 28, 2014. Disputes arising from 

agency decisions issued prior to the 

effective date of this rule will remain 

subject to the procedures in the prior 

regulations. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–HQ– 

OARM–2013–0705, by one of the 

following methods: 

• www.regulations.gov: Follow the 

on-line instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• Email: January.elizabeth@epa.gov. 

• Mail: OARM Docket, Environmental 

Protection Agency, Mailcode: 28221T, 

1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 

Washington, DC 20460]. 

• Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center, 

WJC West, Room 3334, 1301 

Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC 

20004. The telephone number for the 

Docket Center is 202–566–1744. For 

additional information about EPA’s 

public docket, visit http://www.epa.gov/ 

dockets. Such deliveries are only 

accepted during the Docket’s normal 

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

p.m., and special arrangements should 

be made for deliveries of boxed 

information. 

Instructions: Direct your comments to 

Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OARM–2013– 

0705. EPA’s policy is that all comments 

received will be included in the public 

docket without change and may be 

made available online at http://

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided, unless 

the comment includes information 

claimed to be Confidential Business 

Information (CBI) or other information 

whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Do not submit information that you 

consider to be CBI or otherwise 

protected through www.regulations.gov 

or email. The www.regulations.gov Web 

site is an ‘‘anonymous access’’ system, 

which means EPA will not know your 

identity or contact information unless 

you provide it in the body of your 

comment. If you send an email 

comment directly to EPA without going 

through www.regulations.gov your email 

address will be automatically captured 

and included as part of the comment 

that is placed in the public docket and 

made available on the Internet. If you 

submit an electronic comment, EPA 

recommends that you include your 

name and other contact information in 

the body of your comment and with any 

disk or CD–ROM you submit. If EPA 

cannot read your comment due to 

technical difficulties and cannot contact 

you for clarification, EPA may not be 

able to consider your comment. 

Electronic files should avoid the use of 

special characters, any form of 

encryption, and be free of any defects or 

viruses. 

Docket: All documents in the docket 

are listed in the www.regulations.gov 

index. 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 

either electronically in 

www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at 

Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OARM–2013– 

0705. OARM 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 OARM Docket is (202) 

566–1752. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Elizabeth January, National Policy 

Training and Compliance Division in 

the Office of Grants and Debarment 

(3903R), Environmental Protection 

Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue 

NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone 

number: 617–918–8655; fax number: 

617–918–8555; email address: 

january.elizabeth@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information 

A. Affected Entities 

Entities affected by this action are 

those that apply for and/or receive 

Federal financial assistance (grants, 

cooperative agreements or fellowships) 

from EPA including but not limited to: 


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State and local governments, Indian 

Tribes, Intertribal Consortia, Institutions 

of Higher Education, Hospitals, and 

other Non-profit Organizations, and 

Individuals. 

II. Background 

On September 21, 2011, the EPA 

Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued 

a final audit report entitled ‘‘EPA 

Should Improve Timeliness for 

Resolving Audits under Appeal’’ 

(Report No. 11–P–0687, ‘‘Report’’). The 

Report cited examples where appeals of 

Agency decisions to sustain some or all 

of the questioned costs in OIG audits of 

awards had been in resolution for 10 to 

21 years. The Report recommended, 

among other things, reforms to EPA’s 

dispute resolution process for audit 

appeals, including establishing 

timelines and milestones for each step 

of the resolution process, limits on time 

extensions and the submission of 

additional documentation, and limits on 

the number of opportunities to request 

reconsideration of decisions by an 

Assistant Administrator or Regional 

Administrator. In response to the 

Inspector General dated December 19, 

2011, EPA agreed to implement these 

reforms. 

While the OIG’s recommended 

reforms specifically addressed the 

resolution of audit appeals, EPA 

believes there is merit to applying the 

reforms more broadly to ensure timely 

resolution of other types of disputes 

between the Agency and recipients of, 

or applicants for, an assistance 

agreement. Accordingly, EPA is revising 

its assistance agreement dispute 

procedures in 40 CFR parts 30 and 31 

subpart F to generally apply the OIG’s 

recommendations to all monetary and 

non-monetary pre-award and postaward disputes. The only exception is 

for disputes involving applicants for 

competitive assistance agreements, 

which are governed by the procedures 

set forth at 70 FR 3629 et seq that can 

be found at http://www.epa.gov/ogd/

competition/70fr3629.pdf. EPA is not 

addressing these procedures in this 

rulemaking since they currently provide 

a meaningful, timely and effective 

process for resolving assistance 

agreement competition-related disputes 

and disagreements. 

In addition, this rule does not apply 

to any appeal process regarding an 

award official’s determination that an 

entity is not qualified for an award that 

may be developed under guidance 

implementing Section 872 of the 

Duncan Hunter National Defense 

Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 

(Pub. L. 110–417, as amended). 

Consistent with the Report 

recommendations, this revision will 

streamline the resolution process for 

covered disputes by establishing 

submission and decision-making 

timelines for each stage of the process 

(with provisions for extensions in the 

interest of fairness and equity), 

specifying the contents of submissions 

and the administrative record, and, for 

Regional decisions, eliminating 

petitions for discretionary review to 

EPA Assistant Administrators. Viewed 

as a whole, EPA believes these reforms 

will make the dispute process more 

timely and efficient for applicants and 

recipients while providing them a full 

and fair opportunity to present their 

case. 

Besides incorporating the OIG’s 

recommendations, this revision updates 

the list of determinations made 

pursuant to other Agency decisionmaking processes that may affect 

assistance agreements but that are not 

subject to review under this section or 

the Agency’s procedures for resolving 

assistance agreement competitionrelated disputes or disagreements. 

7 U.S.C. 135 et seq., 15 U.S.C. 2601 

et seq., 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq., 42 U.S.C. 

241, 242b, 243, 246, 300f, 300j–1, 300j– 

2, 300j–3, 1857 et seq., 6901 et seq., 

7401 et seq., 9601 et seq., OMB Circular 

A–110 (64 FR 54926, October 8, 1999), 

20 U.S.C. 4011 et seq., and 33 U.S.C. 

1401 et seq. 

III. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory 

Planning and Review 

This action is not a ‘‘significant 

regulatory action’’ under the terms of 

Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, 

October 4, 1993) and is therefore not 

subject to review under Executive 

Orders 12866 and 13563 (76 FR 3821, 

January 21, 2011). This action will 

provide a uniform process, including 

appropriate timelines for the efficient, 

effective and timely resolution of 

assistance agreement disputes. 

B. Paperwork Reduction Act 

This action does not impose any new 

information collection burden. 

However, the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) has previously approved 

the information collection requirements 

contained in the existing regulations 40 

CFR parts 30.63 and 31.70 under the 

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction 

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

assigned OMB control number 2030– 

0020. The OMB control numbers for 

EPA’s regulations in 40 CFR are listed 

in 40 CFR part 9. 

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

Today’s interim final rule is not 

subject to the Regulatory Flexibility Act 

(RFA), which generally requires an 

agency to prepare a regulatory flexibility 

analysis for any rule that will have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

The RFA applies only to rules subject to 

notice and comment rulemaking 

requirements under the Administrative 

Procedure Act (APA) or any other 

statute. This rule is not subject to notice 

and comment requirements under the 

APA or any other statute because this 

rule pertains to grants, which the APA 

expressly exempts from notice and 

comment rulemaking requirements. 5 

U.S.C. 553(a)(2). 

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

This action contains no Federal 

mandates under the provisions of Title 

II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 

Act of 1995 (UMRA), 2 U.S.C. 1531– 

1538 for State, local, or tribal 

governments or the private sector. The 

action imposes no enforceable duty on 

any State, local or tribal governments or 

the private sector. Therefore, this action 

is not subject to the requirements of 

sections 202 or 205 of the UMRA. 

This action 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. This 

action affects all applicants and 

recipients of EPA financial federal 

assistance and therefore no one entity 

type will be impacted disproportionally 

or significantly. 

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 

affects all applicants and recipients of 

EPA financial federal assistance and 

therefore no one entity type will be 

impacted disproportionally. Thus, 

Executive Order 13132 does not apply 

to this action. 

F. Executive Order 13175 

This action does not have tribal 

implications, as specified in Executive 

Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 

2000). This action affects all applicants 

and recipients of EPA financial federal 

assistance and therefore no one entity 

type will be impacted disproportionally. 

Thus, Executive Order 13175 does not 


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apply to this action. Although Executive 

Order 13175 does not apply to this 

action, EPA has made a conscious effort 

to engage tribal entities on changes to 

federal financial assistance 

requirements. EPA published materials 

summarizing these changes which can 

be found at http://www.epa.gov/ogd/

grants/regulations.htm. EPA intends to 

host informational sessions tailored to 

tribal entities. 

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of 

Children From Environmental Health 

Risks and Safety Risks 

This action is not subject to EO 13045 

(62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997) because 

it is not economically significant as 

defined in EO 12866. 

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 

Executive Order (EO) 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 concluded that it is not 

practicable to determine whether there 

would be disproportionately high and 

adverse human health or environmental 

effects on minority and/or low income 

populations from this final rule. 

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. Section 808 allows 

the issuing agency to make a rule 

effective sooner than otherwise 

provided by the CRA if the agency 

makes a good cause finding that notice 

and public procedure is impracticable, 

unnecessary or contrary to the public 

interest. This determination must be 

supported by a brief statement. 5 U.S.C. 

808(2). 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. This action is not 

a ‘‘major rule’’ as defined by 5 U.S.C. 

804(2). This interim final rule applies to 

disputes arising from agency decisions 

issued on or after January 28, 2014. 

Disputes arising from agency decisions 

issued prior to the effective date of this 

rule will remain subject to the 

procedures in the prior regulations. 

List of Subjects 

40 CFR Part 30 

Environmental protection, 

Accounting, Grant programs, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements. 

40 CFR Part 31 

Environmental protection, 

Accounting, Administrative practice 

and procedure, Grant programs, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

Dated: January 6, 2014. 

Gina McCarthy, 

Administrator. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, the Environmental Protection 

Agency amends 40 CFR parts 30 and 31 

as follows: 

PART 30—UNIFORM ADMINISTRATIVE 

REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTS AND 

AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS 

OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, 

AND OTHER NON-PROFIT 

ORGANIZATIONS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 30 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 135 et seq., 15 U.S.C. 

2601 et seq., 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq., 42 U.S.C. 

241, 242b, 243, 246, 300f, 300j–1, 300j–2, 

300j–3, 1857 et seq., 6901 et seq., 7401 et 

seq., 9601 et seq., and OMB Circular A–110 

(64 FR 54926, October 8, 1999). 

■ 2. Revise § 30.63 to read as follows: 

§ 30.63 Disputes. 

Pre-award and post-award dispute 

procedures for EPA assistance 

agreements are outlined at 40 CFR part 

31, subpart F. 

PART 31—UNIFORM ADMINISTRATIVE 

REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTS AND 

COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS TO 

STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS 

■ 3. The authority citation for part 31 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq., 42 U.S.C. 

7401 et seq., 42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq., 42 U.S.C. 

300f et seq., 7 U.S.C. 136 et seq., 15 U.S.C. 

2601 et seq., 42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq., 20 U.S.C. 

4011 et seq., and 33 U.S.C. 1401 et seq. 

■ 4. Revise subpart F, consisting of 

§§ 31.70 through 31.77, to read as 

follows: 

Subpart F—Disputes 

Sec. 

31.70 Purpose and scope of this part. 

31.71 Definitions. 

31.72 Submission of Appeal. 

31.73 Notice of receipt of Appeal to 

Affected Entity. 

31.74 Determination of Appeal. 

31.75 Request for review. 

31.76 Notice of receipt of request for 

review. 

31.77 Determination of request for review. 

§ 31.70 Purpose and scope of this part. 

(a) This section provides the process 

for the resolution of pre-award and postaward assistance agreement disputes as 

described in § 31.71, except for: 

(1) Assistance agreement competitionrelated disputes; and 

(2) Any appeal process relating to an 

award official’s determination that an 

entity is not qualified for award that 

may be developed pursuant to guidance 

implementing Section 872 of the 

Duncan Hunter National Defense 

Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 

(Pub. L. 110–417, as amended). 

(b) Pre-award and post-award 

disagreements between affected entities 


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and EPA related to an assistance 

agreement should be resolved at the 

lowest level possible. If an agreement 

cannot be reached, absent any other 

applicable statutory or regulatory 

dispute provisions, affected entities 

must follow the dispute procedures 

outlined in this subpart. 

(c) Determinations affecting assistance 

agreements made under other Agency 

decision-making processes are not 

subject to review under the procedures 

in this Subpart or the Agency’s 

procedures for resolving assistance 

agreement competition-related disputes. 

These determinations include, but are 

not limited to: 

(1) Decisions on requests for 

exceptions under § 31.6; 

(2) Bid protest decisions under 

§ 31.36(b)(12); 

(3) National Environmental Policy Act 

decisions under part 6; 

(4) Policy decisions of the EPA 

Internal Audit Dispute Resolution 

Process (formerly known as Audit 

Resolution Board); and 

(5) Suspension and Debarment 

Decisions under 2 CFR parts 180 and 

1532. 

§ 31.71 Definitions. 

As used in this part: 

Action Official (AO) is the EPA 

official who authors the Agency 

Decision to the Affected Entity 

regarding a pre-award or post-award 

matter. 

Affected Entity is an entity that 

applies for and/or receives Federal 

financial assistance from EPA including 

but not limited to: State and local 

governments, Indian Tribes, Intertribal 

Consortia, Institutions of Higher 

Education, Hospitals, and other Nonprofit Organizations, and Individuals. 

Agency Decision is the Agency’s 

initial pre-award or post-award 

determination. The Agency Decision is 

sent by the Action Official (AO) to the 

Affected Entity electronically and 

informs them of their dispute rights 

including appealing the Agency 

Decision to the DDO. 

Assistance Agreement Appeal (or 

Appeal) is the letter an Affected Entity 

submits to the DDO to challenge an 

Agency Decision. 

Dispute is a disagreement by an 

Affected Entity with a specific Agency 

Decision regarding a pre-award or postaward action. 

Disputes Decision Official (DDO) is 

the designated agency official 

responsible for issuing a decision 

resolving an Appeal. 

(1) The DDO for a Headquarters 

Assistance Agreement Appeal is the 

Director of the Grants and Interagency 

Agreement Management Division in the 

Office of Grants and Debarment or 

designee. To help provide for a fair and 

impartial review, the AO for the 

challenged Agency Decision may not 

serve as the Headquarters DDO and the 

DDO cannot serve as the Review Official 

for the Appeal decision. 

(2) The DDO for a Regional Assistance 

Agreement Appeal is the official 

designated by the Regional 

Administrator to issue the written 

decision resolving the Appeal. To help 

provide for a fair and impartial review, 

the AO for the challenged Agency 

Decision may not serve as the Regional 

DDO and the DDO cannot serve as the 

Review Official for the Appeal decision. 

Request for Review is the letter an 

Affected Entity submits to the 

designated Review Official to challenge 

the DDO’s Appeal decision. 

Review Official is the EPA official 

responsible for issuing a decision 

resolving an Affected Entity’s request 

for review of a DDO’s Appeal decision. 

(1) For a Headquarters DDO Appeal 

decision, the Review Official is the 

Director of the Office of Grants and 

Debarment or designee. 

(2) For a Regional DDO Appeal 

decision, the Review Official is the 

Regional Administrator or designee. 

§ 31.72 Submission of Appeal. 

An Affected Entity or its authorized 

representative may dispute an Agency 

Decision by electronically submitting an 

Appeal to the DDO identified in the 

Agency Decision. In order for the DDO 

to consider the Appeal, it must satisfy 

the following requirements: 

(a) Timeliness. The DDO must receive 

the Appeal no later than 30 calendar 

days from the date the Agency Decision 

is electronically sent to the Affected 

Entity. The DDO will dismiss any 

Appeal received after the 30-day period 

unless the DDO grants an extension of 

time to submit the Appeal. The Affected 

Entity must submit a written request for 

extension to the DDO before the 

expiration of the 30-day period. The 

DDO may grant a one-time extension of 

up to 30 calendar days when justified by 

the situation, which may include the 

unusual complexity of the Appeal or 

because of exigent circumstances. 

(b) Method of submission. The 

Affected Entity must submit the Appeal 

electronically via email to the DDO, 

with a copy to the AO, using the email 

addresses specified in the Agency 

Decision within the 30-day period 

stated in paragraph (a) of this section. 

(c) Contents of Appeal. The Appeal 

submitted to the DDO must include: 

(1) A copy of the disputed Agency 

Decision; 

(2) A detailed statement of the 

specific legal and factual grounds for the 

Appeal, including copies of any 

supporting documents; 

(3) The specific remedy or relief the 

Affected Entity seeks under the Appeal; 

and 

(4) The name and contact information, 

including email address, of the Affected 

Entity’s designated point of contact for 

the Appeal. 

§ 31.73 Notice of receipt of Appeal to 

Affected Entity. 

Within 15 calendar days of receiving 

the Appeal, the DDO will provide the 

Affected Entity a written notice, sent 

electronically, acknowledging receipt of 

the Appeal. 

(a) Timely Appeals. If the Appeal was 

timely submitted, the notice of 

acknowledgement may identify any 

additional information or 

documentation that is required for a 

thorough consideration of the Appeal. 

The notice should provide no more than 

30 calendar days for the Affected Entity 

to provide the requested information. If 

it is not feasible to identify such 

information or documentation in the 

notice the DDO may request it at a later 

point in time prior to Appeal resolution. 

(b) Untimely Appeals. If the DDO did 

not receive the Appeal within the 

required 30-day period, or any 

extension of it, the DDO will notify the 

Affected Entity that the Appeal is being 

dismissed as untimely and the Agency 

Decision of the AO becomes final. The 

notification will also identify the 

Review Official. The dismissal of an 

untimely Appeal constitutes the final 

agency action, unless further review is 

sought in accordance with the 

requirements of § 31.75. In limited 

circumstances, the DDO may, as a 

matter of discretion, consider an 

untimely Appeal if doing so would be 

in the interests of fairness and equity. 

§ 31.74 Determination of Appeal. 

(a) Record on Appeal. In determining 

the merits of the Appeal, the DDO will 

consider the record related to the 

Agency Decision, any documentation 

that the Affected Entity submits with its 

Appeal, any additional documentation 

submitted by the Affected Entity in 

response to the DDO’s request under 

§ 31.73(a), and any other information 

the DDO determines is relevant to the 

Appeal provided the DDO gives notice 

of that information to the Affected 

Entity. The Affected Entity may not on 

its own initiative submit any additional 

documents. 

(b) Appeal decision. The DDO will 

issue the Appeal decision within 180 

calendar days from the date the Appeal 


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is received by the DDO unless a longer 

period is necessary based on the 

complexity of the legal, technical and 

factual issues presented. The DDO will 

notify the Affected Entity if the 

expected decision will not be issued 

within the 180 day period and if feasible 

will indicate when the decision is 

expected to be issued. The Appeal 

decision will also identify the Review 

Official. The DDO will issue the Appeal 

decision electronically. The DDO’s 

decision will constitute the final agency 

action unless the Affected Entity files a 

timely request for review in accordance 

with the Request for Review procedures 

in § 31.75. 

§ 31.75 Request for review. 

An Affected Entity may file an 

electronic written request for review of 

the DDO’s Appeal decision to the 

appropriate Review Official within 15 

calendar days from the date the Appeal 

decision is electronically sent to the 

Affected Entity. The request for review 

must comply with the following 

requirements: 

(a) Submission of request for review. 

The request must be submitted to the 

Review Official identified in the Appeal 

decision as follows: 

(1) If a Headquarters DDO issued the 

Appeal decision, the request must be 

electronically submitted to the Director 

of the Office of Grants and Debarment, 

or designee, at the email address 

identified in the Appeal decision, with 

a copy to the DDO. 

(2) If the Appeal decision was issued 

by a DDO located in an agency Regional 

Office, the request for review must be 

electronically submitted to the Regional 

Administrator, or designee, at the email 

address identified in the Appeal 

decision, with a copy to the DDO. 

(b) Contents and grounds of request 

for review. The request for review must 

include a copy of the DDO’s Appeal 

decision and provide a detailed 

statement of the factual and legal 

grounds warranting reversal or 

modification of the Appeal decision. 

The only ground for review of a DDO’s 

Appeal decision is that there was a clear 

and prejudicial error of law, fact or 

application of agency policy in deciding 

the Appeal. 

(c) Conducting the review. In 

reviewing the Appeal decision, the 

Review Official will only consider the 

information that was part of the Appeal 

decision unless: 

(i) The Affected Entity provides new 

information in the request for review 

that was not available to the DDO for the 

Appeal decision; and 

(ii) The Review Official determines 

that the new information is relevant and 

should be considered in the interests of 

fairness and equity. 

§ 31.76 Notice of receipt of request for 

review. 

Timeliness. The Review Official will 

provide the Affected Entity electronic 

written notice acknowledging receipt of 

the review request within 15 calendar 

days of receiving the request. The 

Review Official will further provide a 

copy of the notice to the DDO. 

(a) If the request was submitted in 

accordance with section § 31.75, the 

notice of acknowledgment will also 

advise the Affected Entity that the 

Review Official expects to issue a 

decision within 45 calendar days from 

the date they received the request. 

(b) If the request for review was not 

submitted within the required 15 

calendar day period, or does not allege 

reviewable grounds consistent with 

§ 31.75, the Review Official will notify 

the Affected Entity that the request is 

denied as untimely and/or for failing to 

state a valid basis for review. In limited 

circumstances, the Review Official may, 

as a matter of discretion, consider an 

untimely review if doing so would be in 

the interest of fairness and equity. 

§ 31.77 Determination of request for 

review. 

(a) Within 15 calendar days of 

receiving a copy of the notice 

acknowledging the receipt of a timely 

and reviewable Request for Review, the 

DDO will submit the Appeal record to 

the Review Official. 

(b) The Review Official will issue a 

final written decision within 45 

calendar days of the submission of the 

request for review unless a longer 

period is necessary based on the 

complexity of the legal, technical and 

factual issues presented. 

(1) The Review Official will notify the 

Affected Entity if the expected decision 

will not be issued within the 45-day 

period and if feasible will indicate when 

the decision is expected to be issued. 

(2) The Review Official’s decision 

constitutes the final agency action and 

is not subject to further review within 

the agency. 

[FR Doc. 2014–00963 Filed 1–27–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R04–OAR–2013–0173; FRL–9904–91– 

Region 4] 

Air Quality Implementation Plan; 

Alabama; Attainment Plan for the Troy 

Area 2008 Lead Nonattainment Area 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is taking final action to 

approve a state implementation plan 

(SIP) revision, submitted by the State of 

Alabama through the Alabama 

Department of Environmental 

Management (ADEM), to EPA on 

November 9, 2012, for the purpose of 

providing for attainment of the 2008 

Lead (Pb) National Ambient Air Quality 

Standards (NAAQS) in the Troy 2008 

Lead nonattainment area (hereafter 

referred to as the ‘‘Troy Area’’ or 

‘‘Area’’). The Troy Area is comprised of 

a portion of Pike County in Alabama 

surrounding the Sanders Lead Company 

(hereafter referred to as ‘‘Sanders 

Lead’’). EPA is taking final action to 

approve Alabama’s November 9, 2012 

SIP submittal regarding the attainment 

plan based on Alabama’s attainment 

demonstration for the Troy Area. The 

attainment plan includes the base year 

emissions inventory requirements, an 

analysis of the reasonably available 

control technology (RACT) and 

reasonably available control measures 

(RACM) requirements, reasonable 

further progress (RFP) plan, modeling 

demonstration of lead attainment and 

contingency measures for the Troy Area. 

This action is being taken in accordance 

with Clean Air Act (CAA or Act). 

DATES: This rule is effective February 

27, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a 

docket for this action under Docket 

Identification No. EPA–R04–OAR– 

2013–0173. 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, i.e., Confidential Business 

Information or other information whose 

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 Regulatory Development Section, 

Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and 


ehiers on DSK2VPTVN1PROD with RULES