Document ID: EPA-HQ-OAR-2022-0710-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Access by EPA Contractors to Information Claimed as Confidential Business Information Submitted under the Clean Air Act and Related to Various Fuel Quality Regulations
Posted Date: 2022-09-16T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 179 (Friday, September 16, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56945-56946]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-20024]

[[Page 56945]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2022-0710; FRL-10148-01-OAR]

Access by EPA Contractors to Information Claimed as Confidential 
Business Information Submitted Under the Clean Air Act and Related to 
Various Fuel Quality Regulations

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of contractor access to data and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to authorize 
various contractors to access information that is submitted to EPA, and 
which may be claimed as, or may be determined to be, confidential 
business information (CBI). The information is related to EPA's fuel 
quality programs, including fuel and fuel additive registration, the 
renewable fuel standard, standards applicable to gasoline and diesel 
fuel, and gasoline detergent additives.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 21, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2022-0710, by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov 
(our preferred method) Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Email: [email protected]. Include Docket ID No. EPA-
HQ-OAR-2022-0710 in the subject line of the message.
     Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket 
Center, Air 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.-4:30 p.m., 
Monday-Friday (except Federal Holidays).
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID 
No. for this rulemaking. Comments received may be posted without change 
to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided. For the full EPA public comment policy, information about CBI 
or multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective 
comments, please visit http://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anne-Marie Pastorkovich, Environmental 
Protection Agency, telephone number: 202-343-9623; email address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Does this notice apply to me?

    This action is directed to the public. However, this action may be 
of particular interest to parties who submit information to EPA 
regarding various fuel standards, such as fuel and fuel additive 
registration under 40 CFR part 79; the renewable fuel standard (RFS) 
under 40 CFR part 80; and the standards for reformulated and 
conventional gasoline, regulated blendstocks, diesel fuel, and 
detergent under 40 CFR part 1090. Parties who may be interested in this 
action include fuel manufacturers (such as refiners and importers), 
renewable fuel producers, biointermediate producers, manufacturers of 
fuel additives, renewable fuel exporters, parties in the fuel 
distribution chain, and all those who submit registrations or reports 
to EPA via any method or system. Existing e-registration and e-
reporting systems include the EPA Central Data Exchange (CDX), DCFUEL, 
OTAQREG, and the EPA Moderated Transaction System (EMTS).
    This Federal Register notice may be of relevance to parties that 
submit data and other information under the above-listed programs or 
systems. Since other parties may also be interested, we have not 
attempted to describe all the specific parties that may be affected by 
this action. If you have further questions regarding the applicability 
of this action to a party, please contact the person listed in FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

II. Public Participation

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2022-
0710 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. EPA may publish 
any comment received 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) 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. 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). For 
additional submission methods, the full EPA public comment policy, 
information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general guidance 
on making effective comments, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

III. Description of Programs and Potential Disclosure of Information 
Claimed as Confidential Business Information (CBI) to Contractors

    EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ) has 
responsibility for protecting public health and the environment by 
regulating air pollution from motor vehicles, engines, and the fuels 
used to operate them, and by encouraging travel choices that minimize 
emissions. To implement various Clean Air Act (CAA) programs, and to 
permit regulated entities flexibility in meeting regulatory 
requirements (e.g., compliance on average), we collect compliance 
reports and other information from them. Parties may claim the 
submitted information as CBI. Information submitted under such a claim 
is handled in accordance with EPA's regulations at 40 CFR part 2, 
subpart B and in accordance with EPA procedures, including 
comprehensive system security planning. When EPA has determined that 
disclosure of information claimed as CBI to contractors is necessary, 
the corresponding contract must address the appropriate use and 
handling of the information by the contractor and the contractor must 
require its personnel who require access to information claimed as CBI 
to sign written non-disclosure agreements before they are granted 
access to data.
    In accordance with 40 CFR 2.301(h), we have determined that the 
contractors, subcontractors, and grantees (collectively referred to as 
``contractors'') listed below require access to CBI submitted to us 
under the CAA and in connection with various programs related to the 
regulation of fuels under 40 CFR parts 79, 80 and 1090. OTAQ collects 
this data to monitor compliance with CAA programs and, in many cases, 
to permit regulated parties flexibility in meeting regulatory 
requirements. Certain programs under 40 CFR parts 79, 80 and 1090 are 
designed to permit regulated parties an opportunity to comply on 
average, or to engage in transactions using various types of credits. 
For example, parties that participate in programs that utilize credits 
(e.g., the gasoline sulfur and gasoline benzene

[[Page 56946]]

program, or renewable identification numbers, RINs, in RFS) submit 
information related to credit or RIN transactions. Data submitted under 
40 CFR parts 79, 80 and1090 includes information related to fuel and 
fuel additives (e.g., chemical formulas), renewable fuels, gasoline, 
diesel fuel, gasoline detergent additives, and regulated blendstocks. 
Fuels program data is reviewed and assessed to determine the 
environmental performance of the programs or to plan for regulatory 
improvements. We are issuing this notice to inform all affected 
submitters of information that we plan to grant access to material that 
may be claimed as CBI to the contractors identified below on a need-to-
know basis.
    Under EPA Contract Number HHSN316201200188, VMD Systems 
Integrators, Incorporated (``VMD''), 4114 Legato Rd. Suite 700, Fairfax 
Virginia 22033-4002 provides report processing, program support, 
technical support and analysis and information technology services that 
involve access to information claimed as CBI related to 40 CFR parts 
79, 80, and 1090. General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT), 3150 
Fairview Park Drive, Falls Church, Virginia, 22042, is a subcontractor 
of VMD performing work on this contract. GDIT, in turn, has the 
following subcontractors:
     Ferguson Digital Solutions Inc., 12639 Blue Sky Drive, 
Clarksburg Maryland 20871;
     Powersolv, Inc., 1801 Robert Fulton Drive, Suite 550, 
Reston, Virginia 20191;
     Potomac Economics, LTD, 9990 Fairfax Blvd., Suite 560, 
Fairfax, Virginia 22030; and
     Premier ITech, Inc., 8869 Grand Ave., Beulah, Colorado 
81023.
    Access to data by VMD and its subcontractors will begin September 
26, 2022 and will continue until June 30, 2027. If the contract is 
extended, this access will continue for the remainder of the contract 
without further notice. If the contract expires prior to June 30, 2027, 
the access will cease at that time. If VMD employs additional 
subcontractors to support EPA on a regular basis or on a limited or 
one-time basis under the above-listed contract, and those 
subcontractors require access to CBI, EPA will notify interested 
parties of the contemplated disclosure and provide them with an 
opportunity to comment by publishing a notice in the Federal Register.
    Under General Services Administration (GSA) Alliant Contract number 
GS00Q09BGD0022, FEDSIM Task Order 47QFCA-18-F-0009, Project Number: 
00045-OAR-000, CGI Federal, Incorporated, 12601 Fair Lakes Circle, 
Fairfax, Virginia 22033-4902, provides report processing, program 
support, technical support and analysis and information technology 
services that involve access to information claimed as CBI related to 
40 CFR parts 79, 80, and 1090. Access to data by CGI will begin 
September 26, 2022 and will continue until at least February 25, 2023. 
If the project date extended, this access will continue without further 
notice. If the project ends prior to February 25, 2023, the access will 
cease at that time. If CGI employs subcontractors to support EPA on a 
regular basis or on a limited or one-time basis under the above-listed 
contract, and those subcontractors require access to CBI, EPA will 
notify interested parties of the contemplated disclosure and provide 
them with an opportunity to comment by publishing a notice in the 
Federal Register.
    EPA uses the services of Senior Environmental Employees (SEEs) 
whose involve access to information claimed as CBI. These SEEs are 
provided by the Center for Workforce Inclusion (CWI). The Grant Numbers 
are 84021701--Washington, DC; and Grant Number 83967201--Ann Arbor, MI. 
CWI is located at 8403 Colesville Road, Suite 200, Silver Spring, MD 
20910. The Ann Arbor, MI Grant Number 83967201 will expire on September 
30, 2022, and the work will continue with CWI under new Grant Number 
8404420, starting October 1, 2022. Access to data by CWI SEEs will 
begin September 26, 2022 and will continue indefinitely thereafter. If 
the grantee providing SEEs changes, EPA will notify interested parties 
of the contemplated disclosure and provide them with an opportunity to 
comment by publishing a notice in the Federal Register.
    Parties who want further information about this notice or about 
OTAQ's disclosure of information claimed as CBI to contactors may 
contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Byron Bunker,
Director, Compliance Division, Office of Transportation & Air Quality.
[FR Doc. 2022-20024 Filed 9-15-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P