[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 152 (Thursday, August 7, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42553-42554]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-20822]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-5871-5]


Extension of Comment Period for Waste Minimization Software and 
Documents

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Extension of comment period for a draft software package and 
other draft documents pertaining to priorities for waste minimization.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is extending the 
comment period for a draft software package and other draft documents 
pertaining to priorities for waste minimization. The notice of 
availability for these materials appeared in the Federal Register on 
June 23, 1997 (62 FR 33868). This extension is necessary to allow 
commenters time to review additional materials placed in the docket 
after the comment period began and to provide adequate opportunity for 
commenters to fully evaluate and prepare comments on the draft software 
package and other draft documents.

DATES: EPA will continue to accept written comments on the draft 
software package and other draft documents pertaining to priorities for 
waste minimization until October 7, 1997.

ADDRESSES: To obtain copies: Copies of the software package and the 
documents cited in this notice can be obtained by calling the RCRA/
Superfund/CERCLA Hotline at (800) 424-9346, TDD (800) 553-7672 (hearing 
impaired), or (703) 412-9810 in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, 
from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. Eastern time.
    The software package and documents are also available in electronic 
format on the Internet, and can be obtained by accessing:

WWW: http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/minimize.
FTP: ftp.epa/gov
Login: anonymous
Password: your Internet address
Files are located in /pub/gopher/OSWRCRA.

TO SUBMIT COMMENTS: Please send an original and two copies of comments, 
referencing docket number F-97-MPCA-FFFFF, to: RCRA Docket Information 
Center, Office of Solid Waste (5305G), U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency Headquarters (EPA, HQ), 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460. 
Hand deliveries of comments should be made to the Arlington, VA, 
address listed below. Comments may also be submitted electronically by 
sending electronic mail through the Internet to: rcra-
[email protected]. Comments in electronic format should also be 
identified by the docket number F-97-MPCA-FFFFF. All electronic 
comments must be submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the use of special 
characters and any form of encryption.
    Commenters should not submit electronically any confidential 
business information (CBI). An original and two copies of CBI must be 
submitted under separate cover to: RCRA CBI Document Control Officer, 
Office of Solid Waste (5305W), U.S. EPA, 401 M Street, S.W., 
Washington, DC 20460.
    Public comments and supporting materials are available for viewing 
in the RCRA Information Center (RIC), located at Crystal Gateway I, 
First Floor, 1235 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA. The RIC is 
open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding federal 
holidays. To review docket materials, it is recommended that the public 
make an appointment by calling (703) 603-9230. The public may copy a 
maximum of 100 pages from any regulatory docket at no charge. 
Additional copies cost $0.15/page.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions pertaining to 
waste minimization, or questions pertaining to specific aspects of this 
notice, contact the RCRA/Superfund/EPCRA Hotline at the telephone 
numbers cited above, or U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of 
Solid Waste, Waste Minimization Branch, 401 M Street, S.W.(5302W), 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone: (703) 308-8402, fax: (703) 308-8433.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On June 23, 1997, EPA announced the availability of a beta-test 
version of a software package which will prioritize chemicals according 
to their persistence, bioaccumulation, toxicity, and quantity; a draft 
list of chemicals derived from the software and ranked according to 
persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity; and a crosswalk identifying 
which RCRA waste codes are likely to contain these chemicals. These 
materials have been prepared in order to assist hazardous waste 
generators, government agencies, technical assistance centers, and 
others involved in waste minimization in making progress towards the 
goals of EPA's 1994 Waste Minimization National Plan, which calls for a 
fifty percent reduction in the presence of the most persistent, 
bioaccumulative, and toxic chemicals in hazardous wastes by the year 
2005. See 62 FR 33868 (June 23, 1997) for a more detailed explanation 
of the materials which were made available.

II. Extension of the Comment Period

    EPA has received at least six written requests to extend the 
comment period by 60 days or more to allow adequate time for commenters 
to fully evaluate and prepare comments on the software and accompanying 
written materials. In requesting an extension, the requestors generally 
cite the complexity of the technical issues associated with EPA's 
screening methodology, the difficulty of determining the sources of 
information used to evaluate specific chemicals, and the quantity of 
information and materials to be reviewed. Requestors also pointed out 
that certain materials provided in the docket were incomplete and 
therefore could not be reviewed at the beginning of the comment period.
    EPA has examined the materials in the docket and has determined 
that two documents, the Waste Minimization National Plan and the 
Chemical Use Clusters Scoring Methodology, were incomplete or partially 
illegible. As of July 29, 1997, EPA replaced both documents with 
complete, fully legible versions. EPA points out that Appendix D of the 
Chemical Use Clusters Scoring

[[Page 42554]]

Methodology ends at page D-6, which is a placeholder for a table which 
was never developed in final form for inclusion in Appendix D. EPA is 
assembling some of the information that was intended for inclusion in 
that table and will make it available in the docket by August 7, 1997.
    Additionally, EPA is developing materials to assist reviewers in 
identifying the underlying sources of data used as the basis for 
scoring chemicals, beyond the explanations already provided in 
Appendices B and C of the draft Waste Minimization Prioritization Tool 
(Beta Test Version 1.0): User's Guide and System Documentation (EPA530-
R-97-019). EPA intends to place these additional materials in the 
docket by August 7, 1997. EPA determined that it needed to extend the 
comment period by a total of 60 days to allow commenters to review 
these additional materials and to provide an adequate opportunity for 
public participation in the review of this waste minimization 
prioritization software and accompanying documents.

    Dated: July 31, 1997.
Matthew Hale,
Acting Director, Office of Solid Waste.
[FR Doc. 97-20822 Filed 8-6-97; 8:45 am]
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