2022-09629: Confidential Business Information Claims Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)

Summary

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing new and amended requirements concerning the assertion and treatment of confidential business information (CBI) claims for information reported to or otherwise obtained by EPA under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Amendments to TSCA in 2016 included many new provisions concerning the assertion, Agency review, and treatment of confidentiality claims. This document proposes procedures for submitting such claims in TSCA submissions. It addresses issues such as substantiation requirements, exemptions, electronic reporting enhancements (including expanding electronic reporting requirements), maintenance or withdrawal of confidentiality claims, and provisions in current rules that are inconsistent with amended TSCA. The proposed rule also addresses EPA procedures for reviewing and communicating with TSCA submitters about confidentiality claims.

The agency’s own summary, as published.

What this changes

Amends 11 parts of the Code of Federal Regulations — the standing rules this notice rewrites.

• 40 CFR 2 Public Information
• 40 CFR 702 General Practices and Procedures
• 40 CFR 703 Confidentiality Claims
• 40 CFR 704 Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements
• 40 CFR 707 Chemical Imports and Exports
• 40 CFR 716 Health and Safety Data Reporting
• 40 CFR 717 Records and Reports of Allegations That Chemical Substances Cause Significant Adverse Reactions to Health or the Environment
• 40 CFR 720 Premanufacture Notification
• 40 CFR 723 Premanufacture Notification Exemptions
• 40 CFR 725 Reporting Requirements and Review Processes for Microorganisms
• 40 CFR 790 Procedures Governing Testing Consent Agreements and Test Rules