§ 790.24 - Criteria for determining whether a consensus exists concerning the provisions of a draft consent agreement.

(a) EPA will enter into consent agreements only where there is a consensus among the Agency, one or more manufacturers and/or processors who agree to conduct or sponsor the testing, and all other interested parties who identify themselves in accordance with § 790.22(b)(2). EPA will not enter into a consent agreement in either of the following circumstances:

(1) EPA and affected manufacturers and/or processors cannot reach a consensus on the testing requirements or other provisions to be included in the consent agreement.

(2) A draft consent agreement is considered inadequate by other interested parties who, pursuant to § 790.22(b)(2), have asked to participate in or monitor negotiations; and these parties have submitted timely written objections to the draft consent agreement which provide a specific explanation of the grounds on which the draft agreement is objectionable.

(b) EPA may reject objections described in paragraph (a)(2) of this section only where the Agency concludes the objections are either:

(1) Not made in good faith.

(2) Untimely.

(3) Do not involve the adequacy of the proposed testing program or other features of the agreement that may affect EPA's ability to fulfill the goals and purposes of the Act.

(4) Not accompanied by a specific explanation of the grounds on which the draft agreement is considered objectionable.

(c) The unwillingness of some manufacturers and/or processors of a prospective test chemical to sign the draft consent agreement does not, in itself, establish a lack of consensus if EPA concludes that those manufacturers and/or processors who are prepared to sign the agreement are capable of accomplishing the testing to be required and that the draft agreement will achieve the purposes of the Act in all other respects.