[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 177 (Wednesday, September 11, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47931-47932]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-23220]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-5607-9]


Extension of Comment Period for the Notice of Availability and 
Request for Comments on the Permit Improvement Team's Concept Paper on 
Environmental Permitting and Task Force Recommendations

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments; extension of 
comment period.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) is 
extending the comment period for the Permit Improvement Team's Concept 
Paper on Environmental Permitting and Task Force Recommendations, which 
appeared in the Federal Register on July 19, 1996 (see 61 FR 37744). 
The public comment period was to end on September 3, 1996. The purpose 
of this notice is to extend the comment period an additional 30 days 
beyond that, to end on October 3, 1996. This extension of the comment 
period is provided to allow commenters an opportunity to comment 
further on the concept paper.

DATES: EPA will accept public comments on the concept paper and 
recommendations until October 3, 1996. Comments postmarked after the 
close of the comment period will be stamped ``late.''

ADDRESSES: The public must send an original and two copies to Docket 
Number F-96-PT2A-FFFFF, located at the RCRA Docket. The official 
address is: RCRA Information Center, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency (5035W), 401 M Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20460. Although 
the mailing address for the RCRA Information Center has not changed, 
the office was physically moved in November 1995. Therefore, hand-
delivered comments should be taken to the new address: 1235 Jefferson 
Davis Highway, First Floor, Arlington, Virginia. (Also see the section 
under ``Supplementary Information'' regarding the paperless office 
effort for submitting public comments.) The RCRA Information Center is 
open for public inspection and copying of supporting information from 
9:00 am to 4:00 pm Monday through Friday, except for Federal holidays. 
The public must make an appointment to review docket materials by 
calling (703) 603-9230. The public may copy a maximum of 100 pages from 
any regulatory document at no cost. Additional copies cost $0.15 per 
page.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lance Miller, PIT Executive Director 
at Permits Improvement Team, Mail Stop 100, 2890 Woodbridge Ave., 
Edison, NJ 08837, phone: (908) 321-6782.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Availability of Document

    The PIT Concept Paper on Environmental Permitting and Task Force 
Recommendations can be obtained via the Internet at `gopher://
gopher.epa.gov' or `http://www.epa.gov'. After reaching either of these 
Internet sites, locate the search function and type `Permit Improvement 
Team' to locate the Concept Paper on Environmental Permitting and Task 
Force Recommendations.

Background Information

    The PIT was established in July 1994 and is composed of 
representatives from EPA Headquarters and Regional offices and state, 
tribal and local permitting agencies. The PIT held numerous stakeholder 
meetings to solicit input on the most critical permitting issues as 
well as to obtain feedback on the PIT's initial recommendations. 
Although significant input on the PIT's recommendations has been 
received through the stakeholder meetings, a final opportunity to 
review and comment on the recommendations is being provided to ensure 
that all stakeholders have an opportunity to participate in the 
development of significant change in direction for permitting programs 
that is being contemplated. The Agency intends to use the concept paper 
on environmental permitting as an overall guide for reforms to permit 
programs, where appropriate. The individual recommendations contained 
in the document will be considered by program and regional offices as 
they develop specific plans in response to the concepts discussed in 
the PIT recommendations. These plans will include providing assistance 
to states

[[Page 47932]]

and tribes that choose and implement appropriate permit reform. As 
specific program changes are developed, opportunities for stakeholder 
input will be provided. It is anticipated that stakeholders will use 
the final concept paper, as well as other relevant documents and 
authorities such as applicable statutes, in their review of specific 
permit program changes. This will help to provide all stakeholders with 
a common context when commenting on these specific changes. For some 
permitting programs, minor changes may be needed to implement many of 
the concepts specified in the document; while other programs may 
require more significant modifications. Some of these modifications may 
also require changes to statutes and regulations and could necessitate 
technical research and analysis prior to revising permit programs to 
conform with the recommendations. Therefore, the time-frame to 
implement the recommendations could range from several months to many 
years. The Agency notes that the current permitting systems were 
developed over the last three decades, and that changes need to be made 
within the existing systems while they evolve to the approach 
envisioned in the concept paper. Furthermore, as implementation 
proceeds, it is likely that some of the concepts will require revision 
based on new information.

Paperless Office Effort

    EPA is asking prospective commenters to voluntarily submit one 
additional copy of their comments on labeled personal computer 
diskettes in ASCII (TEXT) format or a word processing format that can 
be converted to ACSII (TEXT). It is essential to specify on the disk 
label the word processing software and version/edition as well as the 
commenter's name. This will allow EPA to convert the comments into one 
of the word processing formats utilized by the Agency. Please use 
mailing envelopes designed to physically protect the submitted 
diskettes. EPA emphasizes that submission of comments on diskettes is 
not mandatory, nor will it result in any advantage or disadvantage to 
any commenter. Rather, EPA is experimenting with this procedure as an 
attempt to expedite our internal review and response to comments. This 
expedited procedure is in conjunction with the Agency ``Paperless 
Office'' campaign.
James Mathews,
Acting Assistant Administrator for the Office of Solid Waste and 
Emergency Response.
[FR Doc. 96-23220 Filed 9-10-96; 8:45 am]
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