[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 78 (Tuesday, April 23, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23927-23928]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-09534]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9804-1]
Forms and Procedures for Submitting Attest Engagements Under
Various Subparts
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ) is
announcing that attest engagements reports due on or after May 8, 2013
must be submitted via EPA's Central Data Exchange (CDX). The substance
of the attest engagement report itself is unchanged. EPA is switching
to all-electronic reporting using the Central Data Exchange (CDX)
because it is simple, cost effective, and efficient. As of May 8, 2013,
parties will no longer be permitted to submit attest engagements via
any method but CDX. This notice affects parties subject to attest
engagement requirements of fuels programs, including reformulated
gasoline, anti-dumping, gasoline sulfur, benzene content, and the
renewable fuel standard.
DATES: The attest engagement procedures described in this notice are
effective starting with attest engagements due or submitted to EPA on
or after May 8, 2013.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Christian, Environmental
Engineer, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.
(6406J), Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-343-9498; fax
number: 202-343-2800; email address: support.com">support@epamts-support.com.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Does this notice apply to me?
This action affects regulated parties who submit attest engagements
to EPA under various 40 C.F.R. Part 80 programs, including the
reformulated gasoline, anti-dumping, gasoline sulfur, and benzene
programs, and the renewable fuel standard. The specific programs and
forms affected are discussed in Section III--What Reports Must Be
Submitted via CDX? Reports due or submitted to EPA on or after May 8,
2013 must be submitted to the OTAQ Fuels Reporting System via the EPA
Central Data Exchange (CDX). As of that date, regulated parties will no
longer be permitted to submit attest engagements by any method other
than CDX (e.g. EPA will no longer accept reports sent by mail). This
notice also affects the resubmission of any attest engagement report to
EPA, if the resubmission occurs on or after May 8, 2013. If you have
further questions regarding the applicability of this action to a
particular party, please contact the person listed in FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
II. Why is EPA switching to all-electronic submission of attest
engagements using CDX?
The Central Data Exchange (CDX) enables fast, efficient, and secure
submission of data to EPA. The EPA Administrator designated CDX in the
Cross-Media Electronic Reporting Regulation (CROMERR), 40 CFR part 3,
published in the Federal Register on October 13, 2005 (70 FR 59848)
(FRL-7977-1). CROMERR provides the legal framework for electronic
reporting under EPA's regulations, and requires any regulated entity
that submits electronic documents directly to EPA to use CDX or an
alternative system designated by the Administrator. CDX provides a
single, centralized point of access for regulated entities to submit
information electronically to EPA; and ensures the legal dependability
of electronically submitted documents and provide a secure environment
for data exchange.
Among the advantages offered by CDX are the following features,
which will improve submission and handling of attest engagements
required under various 40 CFR Part 80 fuels programs. CDX allows
parties to:
Submit data through one centralized and secure point of
access;
Receive confirmation from EPA when submissions are
received;
Identify and download a copy of record of what was
submitted
Submit data in a variety of formats including Excel and
flat-file; and
Reduce costs associated with submitting and processing
data submissions.
EPA does not charge the regulated party to set up a CDX
account.
All active regulated parties subject to 40 CFR Part 80 already have
CDX accounts and EPA's reporting forms and procedures already specify
the submission of compliance reports using CDX. However, to date we
have only permitted the submission of attest engagement reports by
mail. Attest engagement reports due or submitted on or after May 8,
2013, may not be submitted by mail, and must be submitted using CDX.
There are several reasons for eliminating alternative submission
options. Physical media such as paper, CDs, and diskettes submitted to
EPA via postal mail is irradiated for security reasons, and is often
damaged as a result. This type of damage cannot occur with a CDX
transmission. Storing paper and physical media associated with attest
engagements requires a significant amount of secure storage space. With
CDX, no superfluous paper record or physical object requiring special
storage is generated by the submitter. EPA is able to more quickly and
efficiently process reports received through CDX, and the amount of
paper and physical media that must be utilized, reviewed, stored, and
eventually archived, is greatly reduced. Costs associated with physical
storage are also reduced.
EPA believes there is no reason to provide for alternatives to CDX
and that exclusive use of CDX will increase efficiency and lower the
costs associated with the submission and processing of attest
engagements. It will also enhance the availability and integrity of
information stored in our compliance database. Attest engagement
reports are generally not publicly available (since they often contain
information claimed as confidential business information by the
submitter), but the data must be made available to EPA program and
enforcement personnel. By utilizing CDX, information is entered into
our compliance database and available for use much more quickly. By
fully utilizing CDX, we expect not only
[[Page 23928]]
enhanced availability, but enhanced data integrity as well. Parties
using CDX are able to submit data in common file formats (including
portable document format).
Requirements for submission of attest engagement reports via CDX
are consistent with EPA, and government-wide, efforts to encourage
secure electronic reporting and reduce costs associated with the
processing and storage of paper formats and accompanying physical
media. Since all active reporting parties already have CDX accounts and
all other quarterly and annual compliance reports for these programs
are required to be submitted via CDX we no longer believe attest
engagement reports should be physically mailed to EPA. Any party
requiring a new CDX account may set up an account at http://cdx.epa.gov/epa_home.asp.
III. What reports must be submitted via CDX?
Attest engagement reports submitted in accordance with 40 CFR Part
80, subparts D, E, F, H, J, L and M (including, but not limited to
those attest engagement reports required under 40 CFR 80.125 through
80.130, 80.415, 80.1035, 80.1356 and 80.1464.) must be submitted via
CDX, starting with reports due on or after May 31, 2013.
IV. Useful References
The following Web pages provide information about CDX and provide
information, instructions, and tutorials to assist parties in
submitting reports to EPA:
General Information about the EPA Central Data Exchange
(CDX)--https://cdx.epa.gov/About/AboutRegulation
Submitting Reports--Central Data Exchange--http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/reporting/cdx.htm
Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ)--DCFUEL
Registration Quick Start Guide (PDF)--http://www.epa.gov/otaq/regs/fuels/420b11028b.pdf
Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ) DCFUEL User
Guide (PDF)--http://www.epa.gov/otaq/regs/fuels/420b11027b.pdf
Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ) DCFUEL
Submission Quick Start Guide (PDF)--http://www.epa.gov/otaq/regs/fuels/420b11029.pdf
DCFUEL On-Line Reporting Tutorial--http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/reporting/dcfuelstutorial/dcfuels.htm
List of Subjects
Environmental protection; Administrative practice and procedure;
Air pollution control; Confidential business information; Diesel fuel;
Fuel additives; Gasoline; Imports; Motor vehicle pollution; Reporting
and recordkeeping requirements; Attest engagements; Agreed upon
procedures reports.
Dated: April 3, 2013.
Byron J. Bunker,
Director, Compliance Division, Office of Transportation and Air
Quality.
[FR Doc. 2013-09534 Filed 4-22-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P