This subpart explains how the EPA administers section 306 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) (42 U.S.C. 7606) and section 508 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) (33 U.S.C. 1368), which disqualify persons convicted for certain offenses under those statutes (see § 1532.1105), from eligibility to receive certain contracts, subcontracts, assistance, loans and other benefits (see coverage under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), 48 CFR part 9, subpart 9.4 and subparts A through I of 2 CFR part 180). It also explains: the procedures for seeking reinstatement of a person's eligibility under the CAA or CWA; the criteria and standards that apply to EPA's decision-making process; and requirements of award officials and others involved in Federal procurement and nonprocurement activities in carrying out their responsibilities under the CAA and CWA.

(a) Portions of this subpart apply to you if you are convicted, or likely to be convicted, of any offense under section 7413(c) of the CAA or section 1319(c) of the CWA.

(b) Portions of this subpart apply to you if you are the EPA debarring official, a Federal procurement or nonprocurement award official, a participant in a Federal procurement or nonprocurement program that is precluded from entering into a covered transaction with a person disqualified under the CAA or CWA, or if you are a Federal department or agency anticipating issuing an exception to a person otherwise disqualified under the CAA or CWA.

If you are convicted of any offense described in § 1532.1105, you are automatically disqualified from eligibility to receive any contract, subcontract, assistance, sub-assistance, loan or other nonprocurement benefit or transaction that is prohibited by a Federal department or agency under the Governmentwide debarment and suspension system (i.e. covered transactions under subpart A through I of 2 CFR part 180, or prohibited awards under 48 CFR part 9, subpart 9.4), if you:

(a) Will perform any part of the transaction or award at the facility giving rise to your conviction (called the violating facility); and

(b) You own, lease or supervise the violating facility.

The CAA specifically authorizes the EPA to extend a CAA disqualification to other facilities that are owned or operated by the convicted person. The EPA also has authority under subparts A through I of 2 CFR part 180, or under 48 CFR part 9, subpart 9.4, to take discretionary suspension and debarment actions on the basis of misconduct leading to a CAA or CWA conviction, or for activities that the EPA debarring official believes were designed to improperly circumvent a CAA or CWA disqualification.

As provided for in Executive Order 11738 (3 CFR, 1973 Comp., p. 799), the purpose of CAA and CWA disqualification is to enforce the Federal Government's policy of undertaking Federal procurement and nonprocurement activities in a manner that improves and enhances environmental quality by promoting effective enforcement of the CAA or CWA.

If you are convicted under these statutes, the EPA enters your name and address and that of the violating facility into the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS) as soon as possible after the EPA learns of your conviction. In addition, the EPA enters other information describing the nature of your disqualification. Federal award officials and others who administer Federal programs consult the EPLS before entering into or approving procurement and nonprocurement transactions. Anyone may access the EPLS through the internet, currently at http://www.epls.gov.

(a) CAA and CWA disqualifications are exclusions mandated by statute. In contrast, suspensions and debarments imposed under subparts A through I of 2 CFR part 180 or under 48 CFR part 9, subpart 9.4, are exclusions imposed at the discretion of Federal suspending or debarring officials. This means that if you are convicted of violating the CAA or CWA provisions described under § 1532.1105, ordinarily your name and that of the violating facility is placed into the EPLS before you receive a confirmation notice of the listing, or have the opportunity to discuss the disqualification with, or seek reinstatement from, the EPA.

(b) CAA or CWA disqualification applies to both the person convicted of the offense, and to the violating facility during performance of an award or covered transaction under the Federal procurement and nonprocurement suspension and debarment system. It is the EPA's policy to carry out CAA and CWA disqualifications in a manner which integrates the disqualifications into the Governmentwide suspension and debarment system. Whenever the EPA determines that the risk presented to Federal procurement and nonprocurement activities on the basis of the misconduct which gives rise to a person's CAA or CWA conviction exceeds the coverage afforded by mandatory disqualification, the EPA may use its discretionary authority to suspend or debar a person under subparts A through I of 2 CFR part 180, or under 48 CFR part 9, subpart 9.4.

You must remain ineligible until the EPA debarring official certifies that the condition giving rise to your conviction has been corrected. If you desire to have your disqualification terminated, you must submit a written request for reinstatement to the EPA debarring official and support your request with persuasive documentation. For information about the process for reinstatement see §§ 1532.1205 and 1532.1300.

(a) After consulting with the EPA debarring official, the head of any Federal department or agency (or designee) may exempt any particular award or a class of awards with that department or agency from CAA or CWA disqualification. In the event an exemption is granted, the exemption must:

(1) Be in writing; and

(2) State why the exemption is in the paramount interests of the United States.

(b) In the event an exemption is granted, the exempting department or agency must send a copy of the exemption decision to the EPA debarring official for inclusion in the official record.

There may be several ways that you learn about your disqualification. You are legally on notice by the statutes that a criminal conviction the CAA or CWA automatically disqualifies you. As a practical matter, you may learn about your disqualification from your defense counsel, a Federal contract or award official, or from someone else who sees your name in the EPLS. As a courtesy, the EPA will attempt to notify you and the owner, lessor or supervisor of the violating facility that your names have been entered into the EPLS. The EPA will inform you of the procedures for seeking reinstatement and give you the name of a person you can contact to discuss your reinstatement request.

(a) You must submit a written request for reinstatement to the EPA debarring official stating what you believe the conditions were that led to your conviction, and how those conditions have been corrected, relieved or addressed. Your request must include documentation sufficient to support all material assertions you make. The debarring official must determine that all the technical and non-technical causes, conditions and consequences of your actions have been sufficiently addressed so that the Government can confidently conduct future business activities with you, and that your future operations will be conducted in compliance with the CAA and CWA.

(b) You may begin the reinstatement process by having informal discussions with the EPA representative named in your notification of listing. Having informal dialogue with that person will make you aware of the EPA concerns that must be addressed. The EPA representative is not required to negotiate conditions for your reinstatement. However, beginning the reinstatement process with informal dialogue increases the chance of achieving a favorable outcome, and avoids unnecessary delay that may result from an incomplete or inadequate reinstatement request. It may also allow you to resolve your disqualification by reaching an agreement with the EPA debarring official under informal procedures. Using your informal option first does not prevent you from submitting a formal reinstatement request with the debarring official at any time.

If you request reinstatement under § 1532.1205, the EPA debarring official may obtain review and comment on your request by anyone who may have information about, or an official interest in, the matter. For example, the debarring official may consult with the EPA Regional offices, the Department of Justice or other Federal agencies, or state, tribal or local governments. The EPA debarring official will make sure that you have an opportunity to address important allegations or information contained in the administrative record before making a final decision on your request for reinstatement.

(a) If your reinstatement request is based on factual information (as opposed to a legal matter or discretionary conclusion) that is different from the information provided by others or otherwise contained in the administrative record, the debarring official will decide whether those facts are genuinely in dispute, and material to making a decision. If so, a fact-finding proceeding will be conducted in accordance with 2 CFR 180.830 through 180.840, and the debarring official will consider the findings when making a decision on your reinstatement request.

(b) If the basis for your disagreement with the information contained in the administrative record relates to a legal issue or discretionary conclusion, or is not a genuine dispute over a material fact, you will not have a fact-finding proceeding. However, the debarring official will allow you ample opportunity to support your position for the record and present matters in opposition to your continued disqualification. A summary of any information you provide orally, if not already recorded, should also be submitted to the debarring official in writing to assure that it is preserved for the debarring official's consideration and the administrative record.

(a) The EPA debarring official will consider all information and arguments contained in the administrative record in support of, or in opposition to, your request for reinstatement, including any findings of material fact.

(b) The debarring official will also consider any mitigating or aggravating factors that may relate to your conviction or the circumstances surrounding it, including any of those factors that appear in 2 CFR 180.860 that may apply to your situation.

(c) Finally, if disqualification applies to a business entity, the debarring official will consider any corporate or business attitude, policies, practices and procedures that contributed to the events leading to conviction, or that may have been implemented since the date of the misconduct or conviction. You can obtain any current policy directives issued by the EPA that apply to CAA or CWA disqualification or reinstatement by contacting the Office of the EPA Debarring Official, U.S. EPA, Office of Grants and Debarment (3901R), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460.

(a) The EPA debarring official will make a decision regarding your reinstatement request under § 1532.1205(a), when the administrative record is complete, and he or she can determine whether the condition giving rise to the CAA or CWA conviction has been corrected-usually within 45 days of closing the administrative record.

(b) A reinstatement request is not officially before the debarring official while you are having informal discussions under § 1532.1205(b).

The EPA debarring official will notify you of the reinstatement decision in writing, using the same methods for communicating debarment or suspension action notices under 2 CFR 180.615.

(a) The EPA debarring official may, at any time, resolve your CAA or CWA eligibility status under the terms of an administrative agreement. Ordinarily, the debarring official will not make an offer to you for reinstatement until after the administrative record for decision is complete, or contains enough information to enable him or her to make an informed decision in the matter.

(b) Any resolution of your eligibility status under the CAA or CWA resulting from an administrative agreement must include a certification that the condition giving rise to the conviction has been corrected.

(c) The EPA debarring official may enter into an administrative agreement to resolve CAA or CWA disqualification issues as part of a comprehensive criminal plea, civil or administrative agreement when it is in the best interest of the United States to do so.

(a) Any certification of correction issued by the EPA debarring official whether the certification results from a reinstatement decision under §§ 1532.1205(a) and 1532.1230, or from an administrative agreement under §§ 1532.1205(b) and 1532.1300, is conditioned upon the accuracy of the information, representations or assurances made during development of the administrative record.

(b) If the EPA debarring official finds that he or she has certified correction of the condition giving rise to a CAA or CWA conviction or violation on the basis of a false, misleading, incomplete or inaccurate information; or if a person fails to comply with material condition of an administrative agreement, the EPA debarring official may take suspension or debarment action against the person(s) responsible for the misinformation or noncompliance with the agreement as appropriate. If anyone provides false, inaccurate, incomplete or misleading information to EPA in an attempt to obtain reinstatement, the EPA debarring official will refer the matter to the EPA Office of Inspector General for potential criminal or civil action.

(a) If the EPA debarring official denies your request for reinstatement under the CAA or CWA, you can ask for review of the debarring official's decision in two ways:

(1) You may ask the debarring official to reconsider the decision for material errors of fact or law that you believe will change the outcome of the matter; and/ or

(2) You may request the Director, Office of Grants and Debarment (OGD Director), to review the debarring official's denial within 30 days of your receipt of the debarring official's decision under § 1532.1230 or paragraph (a)(1) of this section. However, the OGD Director can reverse the debarring official's decision denying reinstatement only where the OGD Director finds that there is a clear error of material fact or law, or where the OGD Director finds that the debarring official's decision was arbitrary, capricious, or an abuse of discretion.

(b) A request for review under this section must be in writing and state the specific findings you believe to be in error and include the reasons or legal bases for your position.

(c) A review under this section is solely within the discretion of the OGD Director.

(d) The OGD Director must notify you of his or her decision under this section, in writing, using the notice procedures at 2 CFR 180.615 and 180.975.

If your eligibility for procurement and nonprocurement participation is restored under the CAA or CWA, whether by decision, appeal, or by administrative agreement, the EPA will remove your name and that of the violating facility from the EPLS, generally within 5 working days of your reinstatement.

In addition to definitions under subpart A through I of 2 CFR part 180 that apply to this part as a whole, the following two definitions apply specifically to CAA and CWA disqualifications under this subpart:

(a) Person means an individual, corporation, partnership, association, state, municipality, commission, or political subdivision of a state, or any interstate body.

(b) Violating facility means any building, plant, installation, structure, mine, vessel, floating craft, location or site of operations that gives rise to a CAA or CWA conviction, and is a location at which or from which a Federal contract, subcontract, loan, assistance award or other covered transactions may be performed. If a site of operations giving rise to a CAA or CWA conviction contains or includes more than one building, plant, installation, structure, mine, vessel, floating craft, or other operational element, the entire location or site of operation is regarded as the violating facility unless otherwise limited by the EPA.