40 CFR § 82.184 - Petitions.

(a) Who may petition. Any person may petition the Agency to amend existing listing decisions under the SNAP program, or to add a new substance to any of the SNAP lists.

(b) Types of petitions. Five types of petitions exist:

(1) Petitions to add a substitute not previously reviewed under the SNAP program to the acceptable list. This type of petition is comparable to the 90-day notifications, except that it would generally be initiated by entities other than the companies that manufacture, formulate, or otherwise use the substitute. Companies that manufacture, formulate, or use substitutes that want to have their substitutes added to the acceptable list should submit information on the substitute under the 90-day review program;

(2) Petitions to add a substitute not previously reviewed under the SNAP program to the unacceptable list;

(3) Petitions to delete a substitute from the acceptable list and add it to the unacceptable list or to delete a substitute from the unacceptable and add it to the acceptable list;

(4) Petitions to add or delete use restrictions on an acceptability listing.

(5) Petitions to grandfather use of a substitute listed as unacceptable or acceptable subject to use restrictions.

(c) Content of the petition. The Agency requires that the petitioner submit information on the type of action requested and the rationale for the petition. Petitions in paragraphs (b)(1) and (2) of this section must contain the information described in § 82.178, which lists the items to be submitted in a 90-day notification. For petitions that request the re-examination of a substitute previously reviewed under the SNAP program, the submitter must also reference the prior submittal or existing listing. Petitions to grandfather use of an unacceptable substitute must describe the applicability of the test to judge the appropriateness of Agency grandfathering as established by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia Circuit (see Sierra Club v. EPA, 719 F.2d 436 (D.C. Cir. 1983)). This test includes whether the new rule represents an abrupt departure from previously established practice, the extent to which a party relied on the previous rule, the degree of burden which application of the new rule would impose on the party, and the statutory interest in applying the new rule immediately.

(d) Petition process.

(1) Notification of affected companies. If the petition concerns a substitute previously either approved or restricted under the SNAP program, the Agency will contact the original submitter of that substitute.

(2) Review for data adequacy. The Agency will review the petition for adequacy of data. As with a 90-day notice, the Agency may suspend review until the petitioner submits the information necessary to evaluate the petition. To reach a timely decision on substitutes, EPA may use collection authorities such as those contained in section 114 of the Clean Air Act as amended, as well as information collection provisions of other environmental statutes.

(3) Review procedures. To evaluate the petition, the Agency may submit the petition for review to appropriate experts inside and outside the Agency.

(4) Timing of determinations. If data are adequate, as described in § 82.180, the Agency will respond to the petition within 90 days of receiving a complete petition. If the petition is inadequately supported, the Agency will query the petitioner to fill any data gaps before the 90-day review period begins, or may deny the petition because data are inadequate.

(5) Rulemaking procedures. EPA will initiate rulemaking whenever EPA grants a petition to add a substance to the list of unacceptable substitutes, remove a substance from any list, or change or create an acceptable listing by imposing or deleting use conditions or use limits.

(6) Communication of decision. The Agency will inform petitioners within 90 days of receiving a complete petition whether their request has been granted or denied. If a petition is denied, the Agency will publish in the Federal Register an explanation of the determination. If a petition is granted, the Agency will publish the revised SNAP list incorporating the final petition decision within 6 months of reaching a determination or in the next scheduled update, if sooner, provided any required rulemaking has been completed within the shorter period.