[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 73 (Tuesday, April 16, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18615-18617]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-9222]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OPPTS-82057; FRL-6826-5]


2002 Reporting Notice; Partial Updating of Inventory Data Base; 
Production and Site Reports

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This document announces the 2002 reporting period for the 
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory Update Rule (IUR). The 
IUR requires manufacturers and importers of certain chemical substances 
included on the TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory to report current 
data on the production volume, plant site, and site-limited status of 
the substances. The 2002 reporting period is from August 26, 2002 to 
December 23, 2002. While chemical identifiers, such as Premanufacturing 
Notice (PMN) numbers, original inventory form numbers, and bona fide 
numbers are permitted under 40 CFR part 710, to facilitate the 
compilation and timely release of the 2002 IUR data base, the Agency 
strongly encourages industry to report their chemicals by the Chemical 
Abstracts Service (CAS) or accession number only.

DATES: This document is effective April 16, 2002. The 2002 reporting 
period is from August 26, 2002 to December 23, 2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information contact: 
Barbara Cunningham, Acting Director, Environmental Assistance Division 
(7408M), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone number: (202) 554-1404; e-mail address: [email protected].
    For technical information contact: Linda Werrell Gerber, 
Information Management Division (7404M), Office of Pollution Prevention 
and Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., 
NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 564-3452; e-mail 
address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this Action Apply to Me?

    You may be potentially affected by this action if you manufactured 
or imported organic chemicals or other chemicals subject to proposed or 
final rules or orders during your company's latest fiscal year prior to 
August 26, 2002. Potentially affected categories and entities may 
include, but are not limited to:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                               Examples of potentially
                Categories                        affected entities
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chemical manufacturers                      Manufacturers of chemical
                                             substances subject to the
                                             rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chemical importers                          Importers of chemical
                                             substances. Under the
                                             regulations, importers
                                             include such persons as
                                             brokers, agents, importers
                                             of record, consignees, and
                                             owners.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This listing is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides 
a guide for readers regarding entities likely to be affected by this 
action. Other types of entities not listed in the table in this unit 
could also be affected. To determine whether you or your business is 
affected by this action, you should carefully examine the applicability 
provisions beginning at 40 CFR 710.2. 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.

B. How Can I Get Additional Information, Including Copies of this 
Document or Other Related Documents?

    You may obtain electronic copies of this document, and certain 
other related documents that might be available electronically, from 
the EPA Internet Home Page at http://www.epa.gov/. To access this 
document, on the Home Page select ``Laws and Regulations,'' 
``Regulations and Proposed Rules,'' and then look up the entry for this 
document under the ``Federal Register--Environmental Documents.'' You 
can also go directly to the Federal Register listings at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/.

II. Background

A. What Action is the Agency Taking?

    The Agency is announcing the 2002 reporting period for the Toxic 
Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory Update Rule (IUR). The IUR 
requires manufacturers and importers of certain chemical substances 
included on the TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory to report current 
data on the production volume, plant site, and site-limited status of 
the substances. The 2002 reporting period is from August 26, 2002 to 
December 23, 2002.
    The Agency received comments that several of the 1998 submitters 
were concerned about the processing time of submissions received. 
Analysis of the 1998 reporting cycle indicated that significant Agency 
resources were expended identifying and correcting misidentified CAS 
and/or accession numbers as well as identifying CAS registry numbers or 
accession numbers for chemicals reported using other identifiers i.e., 
PMN, TME, bona fide, original inventory form numbers. Therefore, in 
order to facilitate timely processing of 2002 submissions, the Agency 
strongly recommends that submitters report chemical identification as 
either CAS or accession number. If a submitter experiences difficulty 
in the identification of the appropriate CAS or accession number, the 
technical contact person identified under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT can provide assistance.

[[Page 18616]]

B. What is the Agency's Authority for Taking this Action?

    Under the authority of section 8(a) of TSCA, 15 U.S.C. 2607(a), EPA 
promulgated a reporting rule at 40 CFR part 710, subpart B, referred to 
as the IUR (51 FR 21438, June 12, 1986). The IUR requires manufacturers 
and importers of certain chemical substances included on the TSCA 
Chemical Substance Inventory to report current data on the production 
volume, plant site, and site-limited status of the substances. After 
the initial reporting during 1986, recurring reporting was required 
every 4 years. A second reporting cycle took place in 1990, a third in 
1994, and a fourth in 1998. The fifth reporting period is from August 
26, 2002 to December 23, 2002. Persons subject to the IUR must submit 
the required information during this period.

C. How Do I Know What Information is Currently in the TSCA Chemical 
Substance Inventory?

    The Agency publishes, via the National Technical Information 
Service (NTIS), an updated public Inventory twice a year, normally 
around January/February and July/August each year. One will soon be 
published (in a variety of magnetic media products (CD-ROM, diskette, 
and magnetic tape)) in February, covering all information available to 
the Agency by December 31, 2001. Specifically, each of the chemical 
substances included in these products is identified by a Chemical 
Abstracts (CA) Index or Preferred Name, the corresponding CAS registry 
number, molecular formula, and if applicable, the chemical definition 
and appropriate EPA special flags as found in the printed Inventory. 
The substances are sequenced in ascending order of the corresponding 
CAS registry numbers. The products do not include chemical synonyms 
that are copyrighted by the CAS. Furthermore, generic names or EPA 
accession numbers for substances with confidential chemical identities 
are not included on the public Inventory.
    For confidential substances, the Agency also publishes a tape 
linking the PMN case number to the corresponding accession number. The 
publication of the accession number will facilitate IUR reporting. This 
tape is also available at the NTIS.
    The magnetic media products include over 66,000 records and require 
12 megabytes of disk space for installation. The products are available 
for sale from: National Technical Information Service (NTIS), U.S. 
Department of Commerce, Springfield, VA 22161; telephone: (703) 605-
6000, toll free: 1-800-553-NTIS; Internet address: www.ntis.gov/fcpc. 
The NTIS order number for the CD-ROM is SUB-5423INQ. The NTIS order 
number for the diskettes is SUB-5435INQ. The NTIS order number for the 
tapes is PB98-500556 INQ.

D. How Do I Know If I Have to Report?

    You have to report if you manufacture or import IUR reportable 
chemical substances included on the TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory 
in excess of 10,000 pounds at a single facility during your company's 
last fiscal year ending August 26, 2002. EPA has developed a software 
regulatory advisory tool that provides a detailed series of questions 
to assist manufacturers and importers in reporting under the 2002 IUR, 
including relevant parts of the CFR cited in the rule. For further and 
more specific information, please review the IUR reporting regulations 
beginning at 40 CFR 710.2.

E. How Do I Get a 2002 Reporting Package?

    EPA will automatically mail out a reporting package to the company 
headquarters of those companies that reported in 1998. This package 
will include information describing the 2002 reporting period, Agency 
procedures and sources of information as well as instructions on how to 
download the 2002 IUR Instruction Manual and the Reporting Database 
from the Agency web site. In an effort to streamline the reporting 
process, reduce administrative costs, and accelerate processing time, 
the Agency is relying more heavily on electronic methods of information 
dissemination and collection. If you do not have access to the web, 
traditional hard copies of the reporting package will be made available 
through the TSCA Hotline. Failure to receive a reporting package from 
EPA does not obviate or otherwise affect the requirement to submit a 
timely report.
    If you did not report in 1998, but need to report in 2002, you may 
obtain the reporting package from the Agency website or the TSCA 
Hotline. Additional reporting forms, electronic or printed, will also 
be available from the TSCA Hotline.

F. How Do I Submit My Report?

    The regulation at 40 CFR 710.39 requires submitters to report using 
EPA's Form U. Submitters may report using the printed or the electronic 
2002 Form U, although the electronic version is preferred.
    1. Electronic reporting. As stated above, instructions for 
downloading the necessary information are included in the reporting 
package that will be distributed to the 1998 IUR submitters. EPA is 
encouraging submitters to use the electronic Form U for 2002 reporting. 
This new version of the software will allow you to download the 
reporting software, save files, and submit a completed version of your 
forms on disk to the Agency. Everything you will need to complete these 
forms will be available on-line.
    Section 710.32(b) provides that magnetic media submitted in 
response to the IUR must meet EPA specifications, as described in the 
``Instructions for Reporting for the Partial Updating of the TSCA 
Chemical Inventory Data Base'' available from the TSCA Hotline. 
Directions for use of the reporting data base are provided in the 
``Instructions for Reporting for the Partial Updating of the TSCA 
Chemical Inventory Data Base'' available from the TSCA Hotline at the 
address listed above. The instruction manual, the reporting form (Form 
U) in a PDF format, and the reporting data base will be made available 
by April 2002, on the Agency website or the TSCA hotline.
    2. Paper reporting. Printed copies of the Form U will be available 
upon request from the TSCA Hotline, and will not be distributed as a 
part of the reporting package. After April, the printed form can be 
requested from the TSCA Hotline at the address listed above.

G. Where Do I Send My 2002 Report?

    Please mail your completed form or magnetic media to the OPPT 
Document Control Officer, Mail Code 7407M, ATTN: Inventory Update Rule, 
Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, DC 20460. At 
this time, the Agency is not able to accept these reports 
electronically, except through the submission of a disk. All 
submissions should be mailed to this address.

H. What Happens If I Fail to Report During the 2002 Reporting Period?

    If you fail to report as required, the Agency can take enforcement 
action against you. Section 16 of the Act provides that any person who 
violates a provision of TSCA shall be liable to the United States for a 
civil penalty not to exceed $25,000 for each such violation.

I. Does this Action Involve Any New Information Collection Activities, 
Such as Reporting, Recordkeeping, or Notification?

    No. The information collection requirements contained in 40 CFR 
part 710, subpart B, have already been

[[Page 18617]]

approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) pursuant to the 
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., under OMB 
control number 2070-0070 (EPA ICR No. 1011). The annual public burden 
for this collection of information is estimated at 11.5 hours per 
response. Under the PRA, ``burden'' means the total time, effort or 
financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, 
or disclose information to or for a Federal agency. For this 
collection, it includes the time needed to review instructions, search 
existing data sources, gather and maintain the data needed, and 
complete and review the collection of information. An agency may not 
conduct or sponsor and a person is not required to respond to, a 
collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB 
number. The OMB control number for this information collection appears 
above. In addition, the OMB control numbers for EPA's regulations, 
after initial display in the final rule, are listed in 40 CFR part 9 
and appear on any form that is required to be used.
    Send any comments on the accuracy of the provided burden estimates, 
and any suggested methods for minimizing respondent burden, including 
through the use of automated collection techniques to the Director, 
Regulatory Information Division, Office of Policy, Economics and 
Innovation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code 1806A, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, DC 20460. Include the OMB control number 
in any correspondence, but do not submit the requested information to 
this address. The requested information should be submitted in 
accordance with the instructions accompanying the form, or as specified 
in the corresponding regulation.

J. What are the Agency's Plans Regarding the Revision of the IUR 
Requirements (i.e., the IUR amendments)?

    Although not promulgated at this time, the Agency is pursuing 
amending the IUR through formal revision. The technical contact person 
for the IUR amendments is Susan Sharkey, who can be contacted by phone 
at (202) 564-8789 or by e-mail at [email protected].

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Chemicals, Hazardous substances, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.


    Dated: April 8, 2002.
Stephen L. Johnson,
Assistant Administrator for Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic 
Substances.

[FR Doc. 02-9222 Filed 4-15-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S