Document q3BvqO4jDkpMp8317DR6EqB3n

April 8, 2024 VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL holly.rink@kobelco.com RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED Ms. Holly Rink Kobelco Construction Machinery U.S.A. 22350 Merchants Way Katy, Texas 77449 RE: Request for Informaon under 208(a) of the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7542(a) The United States Environmental Protecon Agency ("EPA") hereby requires Kobelco Construcon Machinery U.S.A. and any of its parent organizaons, affiliates, predecessors, successors, and assignees (collecvely "Kobelco" or "you" or "your")1, to provide certain informaon as part of an EPA invesgaon. The EPA issues this Request for Informaon under Secon 208(a) of the Clean Air Act (CAA), 42 U.S.C. 7542(a). Under Secon 208(a), the Administrator of the EPA may require persons who are subject to the CAA to provide informaon necessary to determine whether a manufacturer or other person has acted in compliance with these requirements and the regulaons promulgated thereunder. The Administrator has delegated this authority to the undersigned Chief of the Vehicle and Engine Enforcement Branch in the Air Enforcement Division, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. Appendix A of this leter provides definions for terms used in this Request for Informaon ("RFI"). Appendix B provides instrucons for your responses to this RFI. Appendix C specifies the informaon that you must provide in response to this RFI. Appendix D provides informaon about asserng a claim of confidenality over informaon you submit in response to this RFI. Appendix E contains a cerficaon, which must be signed and accompany your response to this RFI, atesng to the truth and completeness of your response. You must provide informaon responding to Requests 1 and 2, in Appendix C, within thirty (30) calendar days from the date of this Request for Informaon. Please carefully review the instrucons, definions, and specific requests as you prepare your response. If you ancipate being unable to fully respond to this Request for Informaon by this deadline, you must contact Greg Orehowsky at (202) 343-9292, or orehowsky.gregory@epa.gov, within seven (7) days of receipt of this Request for Informaon and, with an appropriate jusficaon, request an extension of me to answer some or all the requests below. If mely submited, the EPA will review your request and may extend the me in which your response must be provided. Failure to provide the required informaon may result in a civil acon pursuant to Secon 205(b) of the CAA, 42 U.S.C. 7524(b). Failure to provide all requested informaon in its enrety, and in the format requested, may result in addional inquiries and penales. It is important that your responses be clear, accurate, organized, and 1 See definion 2 in Appendix A. complete. The EPA may regard the submission of informaon that is misleading, false, incomplete, or submited without regard to its accuracy as a violaon of the CAA or of criminal statutes. You are entled to assert a business confidenality claim covering all or part of the informaon you provide in response to this Request for Informaon, in accordance with the procedures described in the Confidenality of Business Informaon ("CBI") regulaons, 40 C.F.R. Part 2, Subpart B. However, no CBI claim may be made with respect to emissions data as defined at 40 C.F.R. 2.301(a)(2). You must specify the page, paragraph, and sentence, or line and numeral when idenfying the informaon subject to your CBI claim. Appendix D of this Request for Informaon specifies the asseron and substanaon requirements for business confidenality claims. The EPA may, without further noce, provide the public with any informaon not subject to a CBI claim. You must provide all requested informaon under an authorized signature with the following cerficaon, provided in Appendix E: I cerfy under penalty of law that I have examined and am familiar with the informaon in the enclosed documents, including all atachments. Based on my inquiry of those individuals with primary responsibility for obtaining the informaon, I cerfy that the statements and informaon are, to the best of my knowledge and belief, complete, accurate and true. I am aware that there are significant penales for knowingly subming false statements and informaon, including the possibility of fines or imprisonment pursuant to Secon 113(c)(2) of the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7413(c)(2), and 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 1341. The EPA may use any informaon provided in response to this Request for Informaon in an administrave, civil, or criminal acon. Please submit the requested informaon electronically within 30 calendar days of your receipt of this leter. You may do so via email to Mr. Greg Orehowsky, Air Enforcement Division, U.S. Environmental Protecon Agency, at Orehowsky.gregory@epa.gov. Please note that the EPA email server will allow atachments up to 20 MB. Alternavely, you may want to provide documents in response to this Request for Informaon by way of a secure file sharing site. Please let us know how you want to proceed. Quesons concerning this request for informaon should be directed to Greg Orehowsky at (202) 343-9292, or Orehowsky.gregory@epa.gov. MARK Digitally signed by MARK PALERMO PALERMO Date: 2024.04.08 11:18:33 -04'00' __________________________ Enclosures: Mark J. Palermo, Chief Vehicle and Engine Enforcement Branch Air Enforcement Division Office of Civil Enforcement Appendix A: Definions Appendix B: Instrucons for Responses Appendix C: Request for Informaon Appendix D: Confidenal Business Informaon Appendix E: Statement of Cerficaon 2 Appendix A Definions 1. All terms used in this Request for Informaon will have their ordinary meaning unless such terms are defined in the CAA, 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q, or the nonroad regulaons found at 40 C.F.R. Parts 89, 1039 and 1068. 2. The terms "Kobelco," "you," and "your" include, but are not limited to, Kobelco Construcon Machinery U.S.A. Inc., Kobelco Construction Machinery Japan Co., Ltd., and any of their affiliates, predecessors, successors, and assignees that are involved with the engines idenfied in Request 1 of Appendix C. 3. The term "Hino" includes, but is not limited to, Hino Motors, Ltd, Hino Motor Sales U.S.A., and any of their affiliates, predecessors, successors, and assignees. 4. The term "affiliate" means any enty involved with the engines idenfied in Request 1 of Appendix C that is: related to you by shareholdings or other means of control; associated with you as a parent, subsidiary, sibling, or predecessor enty; associated with you as an agent; or acng in lieu of you or the enes named in Definion 2. 5. The term "enty" means any natural person, corporaon, partnership, Limited Liability Company, sole proprietorship, joint venture, or any formal or informal group, organizaon, or associaon. 6. The term "informaon" means any writen, recorded, or graphic mater of any nature whatsoever, regardless of how it was recorded, and whether it is an original or copy, including but not limited to, the following: memoranda, reports, expense reports, books, manuals, instrucons, financial reports, working papers, records, notes, leters, noces, confirmaons, telegrams, receipts, appraisals, pamphlets, magazines, newspapers, prospectuses, interoffice and intraoffice communicaons, electronic mail ("email"), instant messages, calendars, contracts, cables, notaons of any type of conversaon, telephone call, meeng, or other communicaon, bullens, printed mater, computer printouts, invoices, transcripts, diaries, analyses, returns, summaries, minutes, bills, accounts, esmates, projecons, comparisons, messages, correspondence, press releases, circulars, financial statements, reviews, opinions, offers, studies and invesgaons, quesonnaires and surveys, presentaons, spreadsheets, and work sheets. The term "informaon" includes all dras, preliminary versions, alteraons, modificaons, revisions, changes, and amendments to the foregoing, as well as any atachments or appendices thereto. The term "informaon" also means any graphic or oral records or representaons of any kind (including, without limitaon, photographs, charts, graphs, voicemails, microfiche, microfilm, videotapes, recordings, and moon pictures), electronic and mechanical records or representaons of any kind (including, without limitaon, tapes, cassetes, disks, computer server files, computer hard drive files, CDs, DVDs, back-up tape, memory scks, recordings, and removable computer media such as thumb drives, flash drives, memory cards, and external hard drives), and other writen, printed, typed, or other graphic or recorded mater of any kind or nature, however produced or reproduced, and whether preserved in wring, film, tape, electronic format, disk, videotape, or otherwise. Informaon bearing any notaon not part of the original text is considered separate informaon. A dra or non-idencal copy is separate informaon within the meaning of this term. 7. The term "person" includes an individual, corporaon, partnership, or associaon (see Secon 302(e) of the CAA, 42 U.S.C. 7602(e)). 8. "Exempted" or "exempt" means relang to engines that are not required to meet otherwise applicable standards, subject to one or more qualifying condions. 9. "Date" means day, month, and year. 3 10. "We," "us," and "our" means the delegate of the Administrator of the Environmental Protecon Agency. 11. "Nonroad compression-ignion engine" means an engine regulated under 40 C.F.R. Part 89 or Part 1039. 4 Appendix B Instrucons for Responses 1. Provide a detailed, complete, accurate, and true response to each of the requests in Appendix C, below. Provide any narrave responses or lists in English. 2. Responses to Request 1 of Appendix C should be provided in a Microso Excel format or other widely available searchable, unlocked electronic spreadsheet format. 3. When a numeric response is provided, precisely specify the units of measure represented by the number. 4. This Request for Informaon is a connuing request. You must promptly supplement your response to any request in Appendix C in the event you learn that you possess responsive informaon not yet produced or if you gain possession, custody, or control of responsive informaon aer inially responding to this Request for Informaon. 5 Appendix C Request for Informaon Pursuant to Secon 208 of the Act, 42 U.S.C. 7542, within thirty (30) calendar days of receiving this leter, you must provide the following informaon in an organized, unlocked, electronic spreadsheet. You may use the spreadsheet we have included as Atachment A "Kobelco RFI Spreadsheet." 1. For each nonroad compression ignion engine idenfied in Atachment A "Kobelco RFI Spreadsheet", please provide the following informaon: a. Idenfy whether the engine was purchased by Kobelco (yes/no); b. The date Kobelco purchased the engine; c. The purchase price paid for the engine; d. The date Kobelco installed the engine into equipment; e. The type of equipment the engine was installed into (such as an excavator or crane); f. The serial number or VIN of the equipment; g. The equipment model number; h. The date the engine, or equipment with the installed engine, was imported into the United States; i. The date Kobelco sold the equipment; j. The name of the purchaser of the equipment; k. If Kobelco exported the equipment with the installed engine or the engine alone out of the United States, provide the date of export. l. With respect to those engines and equipment idenfied in part k above, provide the country of export; m. The EPA engine family name if missing or different from what is listed in the Kobelco RFI Spreadsheet; n. If the engine is claimed to be exempt from EPA regulaons, list the regulaon that provides the basis for the exempon. 2. Idenfy each person responsible for responding to this Request for Informaon, including their tle and the request(s) to which they responded. 6 Appendix D Confidenal Business Informaon An enty may assert a business confidenality claim covering all or part of the informaon provided in response to this Informaon Request for any business informaon entled to confidenal treatment under Secon 208(c) of the CAA, 42 U.S.C. 7542, and 40 C.F.R. Part 2, subpart B. Under Secon 208(c) of the CAA, enes are entled to confidenal treatment of informaon that would divulge methods or processes entled to protecon as trade secrets. Under 40 C.F.R. Part 2, subpart B, business confidenality means "the concept of trade secrecy and other related legal concepts which give (or may give) a business the right to preserve the confidenality of business informaon and to limit its use or disclosure by others in order that the business may obtain or retain business advantages it derives from its rights in the informaon." 40 C.F.R. 2.201(e). Informaon covered by a claim of business confidenality will be disclosed by the EPA only to the extent, and by means of the procedures, set forth in Secon 208(c) of the CAA and 40 C.F.R. Part 2, subpart B. If no such business confidenality claim accompanies the response to this Informaon Request when it is received by the EPA, then such informaon may be made available to the public without further noce. See 40 C.F.R. 2.204(a)(3). Pursuant to 40 C.F.R. 2.301(h), the EPA possesses the authority to disclose to any authorized representave of the United States informaon which might otherwise be entled to confidenal treatment. To assert a business confidenality claim, an enty must place on (or atach to) all informaon subject to the claim either a cover sheet, stamped or typed legend, or other suitable form of noce employing language such as "trade secret," "proprietary," or "company confidenal" at the me it provides its response to this Informaon Request. Allegedly confidenal porons of otherwise non-confidenal documents should be clearly idenfied and may be provided separately to facilitate idenficaon and handling by the EPA. An enty should indicate whether confidenal treatment is only required unl a certain date or unl the occurrence of a certain event. The criteria the EPA will use in determining whether material claimed as business confidenal is entled to confidenal treatment are set forth at 40 C.F.R. 2.208(a)-(d) and 2.301. Emission data, as defined at 40 C.F.R. 2.301(a)(2), is expressly not entled to confidenal treatment under 40 C.F.R. Part 2, subpart B. See 42 U.S.C. 7542(c); 40 C.F.R. 2.301(e). 7 Appendix E Statement of Cerficaon [This Cerficaon is for signature by the president, secretary, treasurer, or vice-president of the corporaon in charge of a principal business funcon, or another execuve with authority to perform similar policy or decisionmaking funcons of the corporaon.] You are subming the enclosed documents in response to the U.S. Environmental Protecon Agency's ("EPA") Request for Informaon, issued pursuant to Secon 208(a) of the Clean Air Act, to determine compliance with the Clean Air Act and its affiliated regulaons. I cerfy that I am fully authorized by ______________________________ [corporate affiliaon[s]] to provide the above informaon on its behalf to EPA. I cerfy under penalty of law that I have examined and am familiar with the informaon in the enclosed documents, including all atachments. Based on my inquiry of those individuals with primary responsibility for obtaining the informaon, I cerfy that the statements and informaon are, to the best of my knowledge and belief, complete, accurate and true. I am aware that there are significant penales for knowingly subming false statements and informaon, including the possibility of fines or imprisonment pursuant to Secon 113(c)(2) of the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7413(c)(2), and 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 1341. Date: _________________________________ Name (Printed): _________________________________ Signature: _________________________________ Title: _________________________________ 8