Petition for Rulemaking Under TSCA; Reasons for Agency Response; Denial of Requested Rulemaking
A Proposed Rule by the Environmental Protection Agency on 05/21/2021
AGENCY:
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION:
Petition for rulemaking; denial; reasons for Agency response.
SUMMARY:
This document announces the availability of EPA's response to a portion of the petition it received February 8, 2021, from People for Protecting Peace River, Center for Biological Diversity, and 16 other organizations. While the petition requested three actions related to TSCA, EPA has determined that only one of those actions is an appropriate request: A request to issue a test rule under TSCA requiring testing of phosphogypsum and process wastewater from phosphoric acid production. EPA is treating the other portions of the petition involving TSCA as a petition under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA); those other portions request EPA to initiate the prioritization process for designating phosphogypsum and process wastewater as high-priority substances for risk evaluation, and to make a determination by rule under TSCA that the use of phosphogypsum in road construction is a significant new use. Therefore, this document does not provide EPA's response to these two TSCA-requested actions. Also, this document does not address the petitioners' requests under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). After careful consideration, EPA has denied the TSCA section 21 portion of the petition for the reasons set forth in this document.
DATES:
EPA's response to this TSCA section 21 petition was signed May 5, 2021.
ADDRESSES:
The docket for this TSCA section 21 petition, identified by docket identification (ID) number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2021-0174, is available at http://www.regulations.gov or at the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics Docket (OPPT Docket), Environmental Protection Agency Docket Center (EPA/DC), West William Jefferson Clinton Bldg., Rm. 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC. The Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the OPPT Docket is (202) 566-0280.
Due to the public health concerns related to COVID-19, the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC) and Public Reading Room are closed to visitors with limited exceptions. The EPA/DC staff continue to provide remote customer service via email, phone, and webform. For the latest status information on EPA/DC services and docket access, visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
For technical information contact: Brooke Porter, Existing Chemicals Risk Management Division (7404T), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (202) 564-6388; email address: porter.brooke@epa.gov.
For general information contact: The TSCA-Hotline, ABVI-Goodwill, 422 South Clinton Ave., Rochester, NY 14620; telephone number: (202) 554-1404; email address: TSCA-Hotline@epa.gov.
Pipeline Safety: Information Collection Activities
A Notice by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration on 05/25/2021
AGENCY:
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), DOT.
ACTION:
Notice and request for comments.
SUMMARY:
In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the information collection requests (ICR) summarized below are being forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comments. A Federal Register notice soliciting comments on the following information collections with a 60-day comment period was published on February 16, 2021, (86 FR 9568).
DATES:
Comments must be submitted on or before June 24, 2021.
Privacy Act Statement: DOT may solicit comments from the public regarding certain general notices. DOT posts these comments, without edit, including any personal information the commenter provides, to www.regulations.gov, as described in the system of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at www.dot.gov/privacy.
Confidential Business Information: Confidential Business Information (CBI) is commercial or financial information that is both customarily and actually treated as private by its owner. Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552), CBI is exempt from public disclosure. If your comments responsive to this notice contain commercial or financial information that is customarily treated as private, that you actually treat as private, and that is relevant or responsive to this notice, it is important that you clearly designate the submitted comments as CBI. Pursuant to 49 CFR 190.343, you may ask PHMSA to give confidential treatment to information you give to the Agency by taking the following steps: (1) Mark each page of the original document submission containing CBI as “Confidential”; (2) send PHMSA, along with the original document, a second copy of the original document with the CBI deleted; and (3) explain why the information you are submitting is CBI. Unless you are notified otherwise, PHMSA will treat such marked submissions as confidential under the FOIA, and they will not be placed in the public docket of this notice. Submissions containing CBI should be sent to Angela Hill, DOT, PHMSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, PHP-30, Washington, DC 20590-0001. Any commentary PHMSA receives that is not specifically designated as CBI will be placed in the public docket for this matter.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Angela Hill by telephone at 202/680-2034 or by email at Angela.Hill@dot.gov.
A Rule by the Environmental Protection Agency on 05/14/2021
AGENCY:
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION:
Interim final rule; request for comments.
SUMMARY:
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is rescinding the final rule entitled “Increasing Consistency and Transparency in Considering Benefits and Costs in the Clean Air Act Rulemaking Process.” The EPA is rescinding the rule because the changes advanced by the rule were inadvisable, untethered to the CAA, and not necessary to effectuate the purposes of the Act.
DATES:
This rule is effective June 14, 2021. The EPA will consider comments on this rule received on or before June 14, 2021.
If a member of the public requests a public hearing by May 21, 2021, the EPA will hold a virtual public hearing on Wednesday, June 9, 2021. Refer to the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below for additional information.
ADDRESSES:
You may send comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2020-0044, by the following method:Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov/ (our preferred method). Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2020-0044 for this rulemaking. Comments received may be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov/, including any personal information provided. For detailed instructions on sending comments and additional information on the rulemaking process, see the “Public Participation” heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document. Out of an abundance of caution for members of the public and our staff, the EPA Docket Center and Reading Room are closed to the public, with limited exceptions, to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19. Our Docket Center staff will continue to provide remote customer service via email, phone, and webform. We encourage the public to submit comments via https://www.regulations.gov/ or email, as there may be a delay in processing mail and faxes. Hand deliveries and couriers may be received by scheduled appointment only. For further information on EPA Docket Center services and the current status, please visit us online at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Leif Hockstad, Office of Air Policy and Program Support, Office of Air and Radiation, U.S. EPA, Mail Code 6103A, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460; (202) 343-9432; email address: hockstad.leif@epa.gov.
A Proposed Rule by the Environmental Protection Agency on 05/19/2021
AGENCY:
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION:
Proposed rule.
SUMMARY:
The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to issue regulations to implement certain provisions of the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, as enacted on December 27, 2020. This rulemaking proposes to: Establish the hydrofluorocarbon production and consumption baselines based on historical data; establish the allowance allocation program to phase down hydrofluorocarbon production and consumption; determine an initial methodology to allocating allowances and allowing for the transfer of those allowances; establish provisions for the international transfer of allowances; establish requirements to support compliance with phasing down hydrofluorocarbon production and consumption; establish recordkeeping and reporting requirements; release certain data to provide transparency and support implementation of the program; and, address certain other elements related to the effective implementation of the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act. In addition to the proposed provisions, EPA is seeking advance input on how the Agency may alter its determination of company-specific allocations in later years. EPA is considering these issues, and therefore is seeking public input on them, but is not making any particular proposal in relation to them, and therefore will not finalize any requirements on these topics before issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking and requesting public comment.
DATES:
Comments on this notice of proposed rulemaking must be received on or before July 6, 2021. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), comments on the information collection provisions are best assured of consideration if the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) receives a copy of your comments on or before June 18, 2021. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a virtual public hearing on June 3, 2021. The date, time, and other relevant information for the virtual public hearing will be available at https://www.epa.gov/climate-hfcs-reduction.
ADDRESSES:
You may send comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0044, by any of the following methods:
Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID No. for this rulemaking. Comments received may be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. EPA is temporarily suspending its Docket Center and Reading Room for public visitors, with limited exceptions, to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19. Our Docket Center staff will continue to provide remote customer service via email, phone, and webform. We encourage the public to submit comments via https://www.regulations.gov as there may be a delay in processing mail. Hand deliveries and couriers may be received by scheduled appointment only. For further information on EPA Docket Center services and the current status, please visit us online at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
You may find the following suggestions helpful for preparing your comments: Direct your comments to specific sections of this proposed rulemaking and note where your comments may apply to future separate actions where possible; explain your views as clearly as possible; describe any assumptions that you used; provide any technical information or data you used that support your views; provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns; offer alternatives; and, make sure to submit your comments by the comment period deadline. Please provide any published studies or raw data supporting your position. Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. EPA will generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of the primary submission (e.g., on the web, cloud, or other file sharing system).
If you produced, imported, exported, or destroyed hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and were subject to the regulatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) [1] requirements (under 40 CFR part 98) and are seeking to provide EPA with your past HFC activity, you must report that data to EPA's electronic Greenhouse Gas Reporting Tool (e-GGRT) (https://ghgreporting.epa.gov/ghg/login.do). Companies that were not subject to the GHGRP may also submit HFC activity through e-GGRT. Information on how to report through e-GGRT in general is available at: https://ccdsupport.com/confluence, and specific guidance on HFC reporting is available at: https://ccdsupport.com/confluence/display/help/e-GGRT+and+HFC+Data+Reporting+related+to+AIM. EPA requests that any company that reports on HFC activity to the GHGRP in response to the requests in this proposed rule also submit a comment to the docket noting the date that the company submitted the information to e-GGRT so that EPA can more easily track such submissions.
EPA recognizes that given the nature of this proposed rulemaking, potentially affected entities may wish to submit Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other confidential information. CBI should not be submitted through https://www.regulations.gov. For submission of confidential comments or data (e.g., information relevant to your company's use of a hydrofluorocarbon in an application listed in subsection (e)(4)(B)(iv) titled Mandatory Allocations), please work with the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section, particularly if submitting a comment containing CBI. For additional submission methods, the full EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Andy Chang, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Stratospheric Protection Division, telephone number: Start Printed Page 27151202-564-6658; or email address: chang.andy@epa.gov. You may also visit EPA's website at https://www.epa.gov/climate-hfcs-reduction for further information.
Certain New Chemicals; Receipt and Status Information for April 2021
A Notice by the Environmental Protection Agency on 05/19/2021
AGENCY:
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION:
Notice.
SUMMARY:
EPA is required under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), as amended by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, to make information publicly available and to publish information in the Federal Register pertaining to submissions under TSCA Section 5, including notice of receipt of a Premanufacture notice (PMN), Significant New Use Notice (SNUN) or Microbial Commercial Activity Notice (MCAN), including an amended notice or test information; an exemption application (Biotech exemption); an application for a test marketing exemption (TME), both pending and/or concluded; a notice of commencement (NOC) of manufacture (including import) for new chemical substances; and a periodic status report on new chemical substances that are currently under EPA review or have recently concluded review. This document covers the period from 04/01/2021 to 04/30/2021.
DATES:
Comments identified by the specific case number provided in this document must be received on or before June 18, 2021.
ADDRESSES:
Submit your comments, identified by docket identification (ID) number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2021-0068, and the specific case number for the chemical substance related to your comment, by one of the following methods:
Additional instructions on commenting or visiting the docket, along with more information about dockets generally, is available at http://www.epa.gov/dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
For technical information contact: Jim Rahai, Project Management and Operations Division (7407M), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (202) 564-8593; email address: rahai.jim@epa.gov.
For general information contact: The TSCA-Hotline, ABVI-Goodwill, 422 South Clinton Ave., Rochester, NY 14620; telephone number: (202) 554-1404; email address: TSCA-Hotline@epa.gov.