(a) Any individual, except law enforcement officers and persons convicted in the case giving rise to the award claim and any persons identified in § 303.20(b) shall be eligible to file a claim for an award as provided for in § 303.33 of this subpart.

(b) No person who was an employee of or contractor for the United States Environmental Protection Agency at the time he or she came into possession of the information disclosed to other Agency officials (or is so employed at the time of disclosure), which information constitutes in whole or part the basis for an award claim, shall be eligible to file a claim for an award.

(c) To be eligible for an award, the informant must disclose the identity of person(s) [or other pertinent information that leads to the expeditious disclosure of the identity of said person(s)] criminally culpable for the violations set forth in § 303.12 of subpart A. Disclosure of such pertinent information must be made to an employee, agent or representative of the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

The Agency's determinations as to eligibility and award amount shall constitute final Agency action as to either amount or eligibility. These determinations, consistent with the need to preserve from disclosure the identity of confidential informants (as noted in § 303.31) as well as to preserve from disclosure methods of Agency investigation, shall not be subject to administrative challenge by any person not making a claim to that award.