81 FR 90840 - TSCA Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements; Standards for Small Manufacturers and Processors

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 241 (December 15, 2016)

On June 22, 2016, President Obama signed into law the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act which amended the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA). TSCA, as amended, requires EPA to review the size standards for small manufacturers and processors, which are currently used in connection with reporting regulations under TSCA Section 8(a). In particular, EPA must make a determination whether a revision of those standards is warranted. EPA's preliminary determination is that revisions to currently codified size standards for TSCA Section 8(a) are indeed warranted. As part of the ongoing review process, the EPA is requesting public comment on whether a revision of the current size standard definitions is warranted at this time.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 241 (Thursday, December 15, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 90840-90842]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-30176]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPPT-2016-0675; FRL-9956-03]


TSCA Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements; Standards for 
Small Manufacturers and Processors

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: On June 22, 2016, President Obama signed into law the Frank R. 
Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act which amended the 
Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA). TSCA, as amended, requires EPA to 
review the size standards for small manufacturers and processors, which 
are currently used in connection with reporting regulations under TSCA 
Section 8(a). In particular, EPA must make a determination whether a 
revision of those standards is warranted. EPA's preliminary 
determination is that revisions to currently codified size standards 
for TSCA Section 8(a) are indeed warranted. As part of the ongoing 
review process, the EPA is requesting public comment on whether a 
revision of the current size standard definitions is warranted at this 
time.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 17, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2016-0675, 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: Document Control Office (7407M), Office of Pollution 
Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), Environmental Protection Agency, 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 http://www.epa.gov/dockets/contacts.html.
    Additional instructions on commenting or visiting the docket, along 
with more information about dockets generally, is available at http://www.epa.gov/dockets.

[[Page 90841]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical information contact: 
Lynne Blake-Hedges, Chemistry, Economics, and Sustainable Strategies 
Division (7406M), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., 
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (202) 564-8807; email 
address: [email protected].
    For general information contact: The TSCA-Hotline, ABVI-Goodwill, 
422 South Clinton Ave., Rochester, NY 14620; telephone number: (202) 
554-1404; email 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 manufacture 
or process chemical substances or mixtures. 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:
     Basic Chemical Manufacturers (NAICS code 3251);
     Resin, Synthetic Rubber, and Artificial Synthetic Fibers 
and Filament Manufacturers (NAICS code 3252);
     Pesticide, Fertilizer, and Other Agricultural Chemical 
Manufacturers (NAICS code 3255);
     Paint, Coating, and Adhesive Manufacturers (NAICS code 
3255);
     Other Chemical Product and Preparation Manufacturers 
(NAICS code 3259); and
     Petroleum Refineries (NAICS code 32411).

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 http://www.epa.gov/dockets/comments.html.

II. What action is the agency taking?

    On June 22, 2016, President Obama signed into law the Frank R. 
Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act which amends the 
Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA), the nation's primary chemicals 
management law. A summary of the new law, is available at https://www.epa.gov/assessing-and-managing-chemicals-under-tsca/frank-r-lautenberg-chemical-safety-21st-century-act. This particular action 
involves the revised TSCA section 8(a)(3)(C), which requires EPA, after 
consultation with the Administrator of the Small Business 
Administration, to review the adequacy of the standards for determining 
the manufacturers and processors which qualify as small manufacturers 
and processors for purposes of TSCA sections 8(a)(1) and 8(a)(3). TSCA 
furthermore requires that (after consulting with the Small Business 
Administration and providing public notice and an opportunity for 
comment) EPA make a determination as to whether revision of the 
standards is warranted.
    In the 1980s, the EPA issued standards that are used in identifying 
which businesses qualify as small manufacturers and processors for 
purposes of the reporting and recordkeeping rules issued under TSCA 
section 8(a). (Under TSCA, manufacture includes import, so references 
to chemical manufacture include chemical import.) These size standards 
describe who is generally exempt from reporting requirements under TSCA 
section 8(a). This exemption arises because TSCA section 8(a)(1) 
generally exempts small manufacturers and processors from reporting 
requirements, except in limited cases set forth in TSCA section 
8(a)(3).
    In 1982, the EPA finalized standards for determining which 
manufacturers of a reportable chemical substance qualified as small 
manufacturers for purposes of a particular set of TSCA section 8(a) 
rules. These are the Preliminary Assessment Information Reporting 
(PAIR) rules, codified in 40 CFR part 712, subpart B. The small 
manufacturer standard for PAIR rules is found at 40 CFR 712.25(c).
    In 1988 EPA established general small manufacturer standards for 
use in other rules issued under TSCA section 8(a) (40 CFR 704.3). For 
example, these are the standards that now apply to the Chemical Data 
Reporting (CDR) rule (40 CFR part 711). The general standards are 
somewhat different from the earlier standards that are codified for use 
in the PAIR rules. The general small manufacturer standard is as 
follows:
    Small manufacturer or importer means a manufacturer or importer 
that meets either of the following standards:
    (1) First standard. A manufacturer or importer of a substance is 
small if its total annual sales, when combined with those of its parent 
company (if any), are less than $40 million. However, if the annual 
production or importation volume of a particular substance at any 
individual site owned or controlled by the manufacturer or importer is 
greater than 45,400 kilograms (100,000 pounds), the manufacturer or 
importer shall not qualify as small for purposes of reporting on the 
production or importation of that substance at that site, unless the 
manufacturer or importer qualifies as small under standard (2) of this 
definition.
    (2) Second standard. A manufacturer or importer of a substance is 
small if its total annual sales, when combined with those of its parent 
company (if any), are less than $4 million, regardless of the quantity 
of substances produced or imported by that manufacturer or importer.
    (3) Inflation index. EPA shall make use of the Producer Price Index 
for Chemicals and Allied Products, as compiled by the U.S. Bureau of 
Labor Statistics, for purposes of determining the need to adjust the 
total annual sales values and for determining new sales values when 
adjustments are made. EPA may adjust the total annual sales values 
whenever the Agency deems it necessary to do so, provided that the 
Producer Price Index for Chemicals and Allied Products has changed more 
than 20 percent since either the most recent previous change in sales 
values or the date of promulgation of this rule, whichever is later. 
EPA shall provide Federal Register notification when changing the total 
annual sales values.
    Certain rules issued under TSCA section 8(a) directly codify slight 
variations of the general small manufacturer standards at 40 CFR 704.3. 
(See, e.g., 40 CFR 704.45). Other rules issued under TSCA section 8(a) 
establish (for use in a particular rule) analogous standards for small 
processors (See, e.g., 40 CFR 704.33).
    As an initial step in evaluating whether a change in these current 
size standards are warranted, EPA reviewed the change in the Producer 
Price Index (PPI) for Chemicals and Allied Products between 1988 (the 
year the size

[[Page 90842]]

standards were last revised) and 2015 (the most recent year of PPI data 
available) (Ref. 1). EPA found that the PPI has changed by 129 percent, 
far exceeding the 20 percent inflation index specified as a level above 
which EPA may adjust annual sales levels in the current standard if 
deemed necessary. Furthermore, among the more than 500 revenue-based 
size standards set by the Small Business Administration (SBA), the 
lowest is $5.5 million, and more than 75% of those standards are in 
excess of $7.5 million. Some revenue-based standards are as high as 
$38.5 million. Thus, EPA's existing $4 million annual sales standard is 
an outlier at the low end of this range. Because of the magnitude of 
the increase in the PPI since the last revision of the size standards 
and the current annual sales standard is comparatively low given 
current revenue-based size standards developed by SBA, EPA has 
preliminarily determined that a revision to currently codified size 
standards is warranted.
    EPA is requesting public comment on the adequacy of the current 
standards and whether revision of the standards is warranted. In the 
event that EPA determines that a revision to the standards is 
warranted, any such revision would occur by subsequent rulemaking, 
which would involve a further opportunity for public notice and 
comment. Accordingly, the scope of this first action (i.e., the 
determination) will not necessarily include responding to stakeholder 
comments as to what specific amendments ought to be made to the 
standards.
    EPA is also in the process of consulting with the SBA on the 
adequacy of the current standards and whether revision of the standards 
is warranted. (Ref. 2.) EPA has requested that SBA provide its input 
within 15 business days of receiving EPA's consultation request. When 
SBA's consultation response becomes available, EPA plans to add that 
response to the docket for this preliminary determination.

III. References

    The following is a listing of the documents that are specifically 
referenced in this document. The docket includes these documents and 
other information considered by EPA, including documents that are 
referenced within the documents that are included in the docket, even 
if the referenced document is not physically located in the docket. For 
assistance in locating these other documents, please consult the 
technical person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. ``Producer Price Index, Series 
WPU06, Chemicals and Allied Products, 1933-2015''. Retrieved 
November 14, 2016 from http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/srgatet.
2. Jones, Jim. Letter to Maria Contreras-Sweet. ``Consultation under 
Section 8(a)(3)(C) the Toxic Substances Control Act''. December 7, 
2016.

    Authority:  15 U.S.C. 2607(a)(3)(C).

    Dated: December 7, 2016.
Jim Jones,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2016-30176 Filed 12-14-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P