[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 27 (Thursday, February 9, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7742-7743]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-3297]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 761
[OPPTS-66019A; FRL-4935-5]
RIN 2070-AB20
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs); Manufacturing, Processing, and
Distribution in Commerce Exemptions; Notice of Informal Hearing
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of Informal Hearing.
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SUMMARY: On December 6, 1994, EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and
Toxics published a proposed rule with respect to 19 petitions for
exceptions to the general prohibitions on the manufacture, import,
processing, and distribution in commerce of PCBs under the Toxic
Substances Control Act (TSCA). EPA has received a request for a hearing
on four of the petitions that seek an exemption to allow the
importation of PCBs from Canada for disposal in the United States. EPA
will hold a half-day informal public hearing in the Washington, DC area
on the four petitions. This notice announces the time and location of
that hearing.
DATES: The hearing will take place on Monday, March 6, 1995, from 9:00
a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Written requests to participate in the hearing must
be received on or before February 24, 1995. If reply comments are
submitted, they must be received on or before March 20, 1995.
ADDRESSES: The hearing will be held at EPA Headquarters, 401 M St.,
SW., Washington, DC, in the Washington Information Center (WIC),
conference room number 17 from 9 am to 1 pm. Three copies of the
request to participate in the informal hearing, identified with the
docket number OPPTS-66019A must be submitted to: OPPT Document Control
Officer, Attn: TSCA Docket Receipts (7407), Office of Pollution
Prevention and Toxics, Rm. G-99, Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M
St., SW., Washington, DC 20460. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for the
type of information that must be included in the request and who may
participate. Requests for a waiver to participate in the informal
hearing by those [[Page 7743]] organizations that did not file main
comments must be sent to EPA Headquarters Hearing Clerk, Mail Code
1900, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan B. Hazen, Director,
Environmental Assistance Division (7408), Office of Pollution
Prevention and Toxics, Rm. E-543B, Environmental Protection Agency, 401
M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460, Telephone: (202) 554-1404, TDD: (202)
554-0551, FAX: (202) 554-5603 (document requests only).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: TSCA section 3(c)(3) prohibits the
manufacture, import, processing, and distribution in commerce of PCBs
in most situations unless EPA grants an exemption from the prohibition
by rulemaking. 15 U.S.C. 2605(e)(3). On December 6, 1994, EPA published
a proposed rule addressing 19 petitions for exemptions from the TSCA
section 6(e)(3) prohibition (59 FR 62875). EPA also announced that it
would conduct an informal hearing upon request. EPA received a request
for a hearing from S.D. Myers on EPA's proposed decision on their four
petitions which seek an exemption from the prohibition on importing
PCBs from Canada for disposal in the United States. EPA will hold an
informal hearing on its proposed decision to deny these four petitions
on March 6, 1995. In general, the procedures that govern rulemaking,
including informal hearings, with respect to petitions for exemptions
from the TSCA section 6(e)(3) prohibitions are specified in 40 CFR part
750, subparts A through C. Subpart B specifies the procedures that
govern rulemaking for petitions seeking exemptions to manufacture and
import PCBs. The procedures in that subpart govern the March 6 informal
hearing and subsequent rulemaking activities involving the Myers'
petitions. The following notice summarizes those procedures.
Participants and commenters are advised to consult 40 CFR part 750,
subpart B for greater detail.
Each person or organization desiring to participate in the informal
hearing shall file a written request to participate with the OPPT
Document Control Officer (see ADDRESSES above). The request shall be
received on or before February 24, 1995 (40 CFR 750.18(a)).
The request shall include: (1) A brief statement of the interest of
the person or organization in the proceeding; (2) a brief outline of
the points to be addressed; (3) an estimate of the time required (not
to exceed 15 minutes); and (4) if the request comes from an
organization, a nonbinding list of the persons to take part in the
presentation. An organization that has not filed main comments on the
rulemaking will not be allowed to participate in the hearing, unless a
waiver of this requirement is granted by the Record and Hearing Clerk
(see ADDRESSES above) or the organization is appearing at the request
of EPA or under subpoena (40 CFR 750.18(b)). A panel of EPA employees
shall preside at the hearing, and one panel member will chair the
proceedings. The panel may question any individual or group
participating in the hearing on any subject relating to the rulemaking.
Cross-examination will normally not be permitted at this stage.
However, persons in the hearing audience may submit questions in
writing for the hearing panel to ask the participants, and the hearing
panel may, at their discretion, ask these questions (40 CFR 750.19).
See 40 CFR 750.19 and 750.7(c) for the rule governing the submission of
additional material by the hearing participants.
After the close of the hearing, any participant in the hearing may
submit a written request for cross-examination. The request shall be
received by EPA no later than 1 week after a full transcript of the
hearing becomes available (to determine when the transcript is
available, interested persons may contact the Environmental Assistance
Division (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT above)). See 40 CFR
750.20 and 750.8 for a description of the information that shall be
included in such a request.
Interested persons may file reply comments. Reply comments shall be
received on or before March 20, 1995, and shall be restricted to
comments on: (1) other comments; (2) material in the hearing record;
and (3) material which was not and could not possibly have been
available to the commenting party a sufficient time before main
comments were due on February 6, 1995. (40 CFR 750.15). Extensions of
time for filing reply comments may be granted pursuant to 40 CFR
750.4(c).
Reply comments and a transcript of the hearing will be placed in
the Nonconfidential Information Center as part of the rulemaking record
for the proposed rule (docket number OPPTS-66019A). A full list of
these materials is available for inspection and copying in the TSCA
Nonconfidential Information Center from 12 noon to 4 p.m. However, any
information claimed as Confidential Business Information (CBI) that is
part of the record for this rulemaking is not available for public
review. A public version of the record, from which information claimed
as CBI has been excluded, is available for inspection. The address for
the TSCA Docket Receipts appears under the ADDRESSES section of this
notice.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 761
Environmental protection, Hazardous substances, Labeling,
Polychlorinated biphenyls, Reporting and Recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: February 2, 1995.
Joseph S. Carra,
Acting Director, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics.
[FR Doc. 95-3297 Filed 2-8-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-F