Document ID: EPA-HQ-OPPT-2017-0026-0009
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Statutory Requirements for Substantiation of Confidential Business Information Claims under Toxic Substances Control Act; Compliance Date Extension
Posted Date: 2017-09-20T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 181 (Wednesday, September 20, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43964-43965]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-20046]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPPT-2017-0026; FRL-9968-03]

Compliance Date Extension; Statutory Requirements for 
Substantiation of Confidential Business Information (CBI) Claims Under 
the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: EPA is extending the compliance dates published in the Federal 
Register on January 19, 2017 and previously extended in the Federal 
Register on February 21, 2017. Specifically, the Agency set September 
19, 2017 as the deadline by which submitters of TSCA submissions 
containing information claimed as CBI and filed between June 22, 2016 
and March 21, 2017 had to submit to EPA the substantiation required by 
TSCA section 14(c)(3) for all information claimed as confidential, 
other than information exempt from substantiation pursuant to TSCA 
section 14(c)(2). The

[[Page 43965]]

Agency is now giving submitters until October 19, 2017 to provide the 
substantiations to EPA.

DATES: For TSCA submissions containing information claimed as CBI that 
was filed between June 22, 2016 and March 21, 2017, submitters have 
until October 19, 2017 to provide the required substantiation.

ADDRESSES: The docket for this action, identified by docket 
identification (ID) number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2017-0026, is available at 
http://www.regulations.gov or at the Office of Pollution Prevention and 
Toxics Docket (OPPT Docket), Environmental Protection Agency Docket 
Center (EPA/DC), West William Jefferson Clinton Bldg., Rm. 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 OPPT Docket is (202) 566-
0280. Please review the visitor instructions and additional information 
about the docket available at http://www.epa.gov/dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical information contact: 
Scott Sherlock, Attorney Advisor, 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; email address: 
sherlock.scott@epa.gov.
    For general information contact: The TSCA-Hotline, ABVI-Goodwill, 
422 South Clinton Ave., Rochester, NY 14620; telephone number: (202) 
554-1404; email address: TSCA-Hotline@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Does this action apply to me?

    This announcement 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.). This may include businesses identified by the 
North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) codes 325 and 
32411. Because this action 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.

II. What action is the agency taking?

    EPA is extending the compliance dates published in the Federal 
Register on January 19, 2017, and previously extended in the Federal 
Register on February 21, 2017. Specifically, the Agency is now giving 
those submitters until October 19, 2017, to submit the substantiations 
required by TSCA section 14(c)(3). This extension is in response to 
concerns raised by industry stakeholders regarding the ability for 
companies to meet the previous September 19, 2017, deadline due to 
recent severe weather events. EPA is providing this additional 
flexibility for stakeholders because of the impacts of hurricanes 
Harvey and Irma.
    For more detail on the requirements of TSCA section 14(c)(3) and 
how to comply with those requirements, see the Federal Register on 
January 19, 2017 (82 FR 6522) (FRL-9958-34) and the Federal Register on 
February 21, 2017 (82 FR 11218) (FRL-9959-39).

III. What is the agency's authority for taking this action?

    EPA has determined that TSCA section 14(c)(3), 15 U.S.C. 
2613(c)(3), requires an affected business to substantiate all TSCA CBI 
claims, except for information subject to TSCA section 14(c)(2), at the 
time the affected business submits the claimed information to EPA.
    TSCA section 14(c)(1)(a) requires an affected business to assert a 
claim for protection from disclosure concurrent with submission of the 
information in accordance with existing or future rules. TSCA section 
14(c)(3) in turn requires an affected business submitting a claim to 
protect information from disclosure to substantiate the claim, also in 
accordance with existing or future rules.
    Because EPA published its interpretation that TSCA section 14(c)(3) 
requires up front substantiation after some companies had already 
asserted confidentiality claims subject to TSCA section 14(c)(3), the 
Agency set a future deadline for submission of substantiations 
pertaining to those submissions. This notice extends that deadline.

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.

    Dated: September 14, 2017.
Nancy B. Beck,
Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2017-20046 Filed 9-15-17; 4:15 pm]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P