Access to Confidential Business Information by Eastern Research Group and Its Identified Subcontractors and PG Environmental
| Published date | 24 March 2021 |
| Citation | 86 FR 15663 |
| Record Number | 2021-06065 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Environmental Protection Agency |
15663
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 55 / Wednesday, March 24, 2021 / Notices
import) mercury, mercury-added
products, and persons who otherwise
intentionally use mercury in a
manufacturing process.
Estimated average number of
potential respondents per year: 756.
Frequency of response: Every three
years.
Estimated yearly average number of
responses for each respondent: 0.33.
Estimated total annual burden hours:
52,000 hours.
Estimated total annual costs: EPA
estimates the annual average industry
burden and cost over three years at
approximately 17,000 hours and $1.4
million dollars, respectively, with a
total industry burden of approximately
52,000 hours and $4.2 million over the
three-year period. Annual average
agency burden and costs annualized
over 3 years are 1,600 hours and $0.15
million, with a total agency burden of
approximately 4,800 hours and $0.4
million over 3 years. Total annual
burden and cost for both industry and
agency annualized over 3 years is
19,000 hours and $1.8 million dollars.
Total overall burden and costs are
57,000 hours and $4.6 million.
III. Are there changes in the estimates
from the last approval?
In June 2018, EPA finalized a rule to
require reporting from persons who
manufacture (including import) mercury
or mercury-added products, or
otherwise intentionally use mercury in
a manufacturing process. That rule was
challenged in the Second Circuit Court
of Appeals by the Natural Resources
Defense Council and several state
attorneys general in July 2018. The
petitioners argued that three exemptions
to the reporting requirements violated
the statutory mandate within TSCA
section 8(b)(10). Oral arguments were
held on November 20, 2019 and the
court issued its decision in June 5, 2020.
The Agency prevailed on two issues, but
the Second Circuit vacated an
exemption (40 CFR 713.7(b)(2)) for
persons who import pre-assembled
products that contain a mercury-added
component. As a result, such persons
are now required to report pursuant to
40 CFR 713.7(b). Additionally, an
interim final rule will be used to
effectuate the decision of the court,
including necessary regulatory
amendments.
Based on the numbers of reporters of
mercury data to the IMERC Database, as
well as EPA’s TRI program and CDR
rule, there will be a change in
manufacturers (including importers) or
processors that could respond to this
information collection. The annual
public burden for this collection of
information is estimated about 23 hours
per respondent. This request represents
a decrease of 9 hours per respondent
from that currently in the OMB
inventory, or a total decrease of 20,522
hours (from 72,567 to 52,045 hours).
This increase is due to, a decrease in
rule familiarization burden, a decrease
in form completion burden due to
mercury export prohibitions, and
changes in the number of estimated
respondents.
In addition, OMB has requested that
EPA move towards using the 18-
question format for ICR Supporting
Statements used by other federal
agencies and departments and is based
on the submission instructions
established by OMB in 1995, replacing
the alternate format developed by EPA
and OMB prior to 1995. EPA intends to
update this Supporting Statement
during the comment period to reflect the
18-question format, and has included
the questions in an attachment to this
Supporting Statement. In doing so, the
Agency does not expect the change in
format to result in substantive changes
to the information collection activities
or related estimated burden and costs.
IV. What is the next step in the process
for this ICR?
EPA will consider the comments
received and amend the ICR as
appropriate. The final ICR package will
then be submitted to OMB for review
and approval pursuant to 5 CFR
1320.12. EPA will issue another Federal
Register document pursuant to 5 CFR
1320.5(a)(1)(iv) to announce the
submission of the ICR to OMB and the
opportunity to submit additional
comments to OMB. If you have any
questions about this ICR or the approval
process, please contact the technical
person listed under
FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT
.
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
Dated: March 17, 2021.
Michal Freedhoff,
Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of
Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2021–06009 Filed 3–23–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[EPA–HQ–OPPT–2003–0004; FRL–10021–
67]
Access to Confidential Business
Information by Eastern Research
Group and Its Identified
Subcontractors and PG Environmental
AGENCY
: Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION
: Notice.
SUMMARY
: EPA has authorized its
contractor and subcontractor, Eastern
Research Group (ERG), Lexington, MA;
and PG Environmental, Golden, CO, to
access information which has been
submitted to EPA under all sections of
the Toxic Substances Control Act
(TSCA). Some of the information may be
claimed or determined to be
Confidential Business Information (CBI).
DATES
: Access to the confidential data
will occur no sooner than March 31,
2021.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
:
For technical information contact:
Scott Sherlock, Program Management
and Operations Division (7407M), Office
of Pollution Prevention and Toxics,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC
20460–0001; telephone number: (202)
564–8257; fax number: (202) 564–8251;
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. General Information
A. Does this action apply to me?
This action is directed to the public
in general. This action may, however, be
of interest to all who manufacture,
process, or distribute industrial
chemicals. Since other entities may also
be interested, the Agency has not
attempted to describe all the specific
entities that may be affected by this
action.
B. How can I get copies of this document
and other related information?
The docket for this action, identified
by docket identification (ID) number
EPA–HQ–OPPT–2003–0004 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
VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:30 Mar 23, 2021 Jkt 253001 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\24MRN1.SGM 24MRN1
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
15664
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 55 / Wednesday, March 24, 2021 / Notices
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.
Due to the public health concerns
related to COVID–19, the EPA Docket
Center (EPA/DC) and Reading Room is
closed to visitors with limited
exceptions. The staff continues to
provide remote customer service via
email, phone, and webform. For the
latest status information on EPA/DC
services and docket access, visit https://
www.epa.gov/dockets.
II. What action is the Agency taking?
Under EPA contract number
68HERC21D0007, contractor and
subcontractors ERG, 110 Hartwell Ave,
Suite 1, Lexington, MA and PG
Environmental, 1113 Washington Ave,
Golden, CO, will assist the Office of
Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT)
in enforcement program
implementation; enforcement case
support; conducting inspections;
provide laboratory support; and perform
analysis.
In accordance with 40 CFR 2.306(j),
EPA has determined that under EPA
contract number 68HERC21D0007, ERG
and PG Environmental will require
access to CBI submitted to EPA under
all section(s) of TSCA to perform
successfully the duties specified under
the contract. ERG and PG
Environmental personnel will be given
access to information submitted to EPA
under all section(s) of TSCA. Some of
the information may be claimed or
determined to be CBI.
EPA is issuing this notice to inform
all submitters of information under all
sections of TSCA that EPA may provide
ERG and PG Environmental access to
these CBI materials on a need-to-know
basis only. All access to TSCA CBI
under this contract will take place at
EPA Headquarters and ERG’s site
located at 14555 Avion Parkway, Suite
200, Chantilly, VA, in accordance with
EPA’s TSCA CBI Protection Manual.
Access to TSCA data, including CBI,
will continue until March 09, 2026. If
the contract is extended, this access will
also continue for the duration of the
extended contract without further
notice.
ERG and PG Environmental personnel
will be required to sign nondisclosure
agreements and will be briefed on
appropriate security procedures before
they are permitted access to TSCA CBI.
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.
Dated: March 19, 2021.
Pamela Myrick,
Director, Project Management and Operations
Division, Office of Pollution Prevention and
Toxics.
[FR Doc. 2021–06065 Filed 3–23–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[EPA–HQ–OPP–2021–0080; FRL–10021–46]
Pesticide Product Registration;
Receipt of Applications for New Uses
(March 2021)
AGENCY
: Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION
: Notice.
SUMMARY
: EPA has received applications
to register new uses for pesticide
products containing currently registered
active ingredients. Pursuant to the
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), EPA is hereby
providing notice of receipt and
opportunity to comment on these
applications.
DATES
: Comments must be received on
or before April 23, 2021.
ADDRESSES
: Submit your comments,
identified by the docket identification
(ID) number and the File Symbol of the
EPA registration number of interests as
shown in the body of this document, by
one of the following methods:
•Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
Do not submit electronically any
information you consider to be
Confidential Business Information (CBI)
or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute.
•Mail: OPP Docket, Environmental
Protection Agency Docket Center (EPA/
DC), (28221T), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave.
NW, Washington, DC 20460–0001.
•Hand Delivery: To make special
arrangements for hand delivery or
delivery of boxed information, please
follow the instructions at https://
www.epa.gov/dockets/where-send-
comments-epa-dockets.
Due to the public health concerns
related to COVID–19, the EPA Docket
Center (EPA/DC) and Reading Room is
closed to visitors with limited
exceptions. The staff continues to
provide remote customer service via
email, phone, and webform. For the
latest status information on EPA/DC
services and docket access, visit https://
www.epa.gov/dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
:
Marietta Echeverria, Registration
Division (7505P), main telephone
number: (703) 305–7090, email address:
RDFRNotices@epa.gov. The mailing
address for each contact person is:
Office of Pesticide Programs,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC
20460–0001. As part of the mailing
address, include the contact person’s
name, division, and mail code. The
division to contact is listed at the end
of each application summary.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
:
I. General Information
A. Does this action apply to me?
You may be potentially affected by
this action if you are an agricultural
producer, food manufacturer, or
pesticide manufacturer. The following
list of North American Industrial
Classification System (NAICS) codes is
not intended to be exhaustive, but rather
provides a guide to help readers
determine whether this document
applies to them. Potentially affected
entities may include:
•Crop production (NAICS code 111).
•Animal production (NAICS code
112).
•Food manufacturing (NAICS code
311).
B. What should I consider as I prepare
my comments for EPA?
1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this
information to EPA through
regulations.gov or email. Clearly mark
the part or all of the information that
you claim to be CBI. For CBI
information in a disk or CD–ROM that
you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the
disk or CD–ROM as CBI, and then
identify electronically within the disk or
CD–ROM the specific information that
is claimed as CBI. In addition to one
complete version of the comment that
includes information claimed as CBI, a
copy of the comment that does not
contain the information claimed as CBI
must be submitted for inclusion in the
public docket. Information so marked
will not be disclosed except in
accordance with procedures set forth in
40 CFR part 2.
2. Tips for preparing your comments.
When preparing and submitting your
comments, see the commenting tips at
https://www.epa.gov/dockets/
commenting-epa-dockets.
II. Registration Applications
EPA has received applications to
register new uses for pesticide products
containing currently registered active
ingredients. Pursuant to the provisions
of FIFRA section 3(c)(4) (7 U.S.C.
136a(c)(4)), EPA is hereby providing
VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:40 Mar 23, 2021 Jkt 253001 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\24MRN1.SGM 24MRN1
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
