[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 204 (Wednesday, October 22, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54847-54848]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-27976]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OPPTS-400117; FRL-5750-6]


Public Meetings on the Toxics Release Inventory Reporting Form

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of public meetings.

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SUMMARY: EPA will hold approximately nine public meetings over the next 
year to solicit comments relating to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) 
reporting form, Form R. The purpose of the meetings is to obtain 
comments from stakeholders on ways to improve the type of right-to-know 
information available to communities and to help streamline right-to-
know reporting to ease the paperwork burden for businesses affected by 
the requirements. This notice announces three upcoming meetings. 
Additional meeting dates will be announced in future Federal Register 
notices.

DATES: The meetings will take place:
    1. Thursday, November 13, 1997, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, East Tower, Rm. 542, 401 M St., SW., 
Washington, DC. Register to speak by 5 p.m., Friday, November 7, 1997.
    2. Tuesday, November 18, 1997, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Marianas Conference Room, 75 Hawthorne 
St., San Francisco, CA. Register to speak by 5 p.m., Thursday, November 
13, 1997.
    3. Thursday, November 20, 1997, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. 325 (3rd floor), 77 West Jackson 
Boulevard, Chicago, IL. Register to speak by 5 p.m., Friday, November 
14, 1997.

ADDRESSES: All comments should be sent in triplicate to: OPPT Document 
Control Officer (7407), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW., Room G-099, East 
Tower, Washington, DC 20460. Each comment must bear the docket control 
number ``OPPTS-400117.''
    Comments and data may also be submitted electronically to: oppt. 
[email protected]. Follow the instructions under Unit II. of this 
document. No Confidential Business Information (CBI) should be 
submitted through e-mail.
    All comments which contain information claimed as CBI must be 
clearly marked as such. Three sanitized copies of any comments 
containing information claimed as CBI must also be submitted and will 
be placed in the public record. Persons submitting information on any 
portion of which they believe is entitled to treatment as CBI by EPA 
must assert a business confidentiality claim in accordance with 40 CFR 
2.203(b) for each such portion. This claim must be made at the time 
that the information is submitted to EPA. If a submitter does not 
assert a confidentiality claim at the time of submission, EPA will 
consider this as a waiver of any confidentiality claim and the 
information may be made available to the public by EPA without further 
notice to the submitter.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michelle Price, (Mail Stop 7408), 
Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460; 
Telephone: (202) 260-3372; Fax number: (202) 401-8142; e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    EPA will hold approximately nine public meetings over the next year 
to solicit comments relating to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) 
reporting form, Form R. The purpose of the meetings is to obtain 
comments from stakeholders on ways to improve the type of right-to-know 
information available to communities and to help streamline right-to-
know reporting to ease the paperwork burden for businesses affected by 
the requirements. Topics for comment include the following: format of 
the Form R; nomenclature used in the Form R; opportunities for burden 
reduction in both the Form R and the Form A; additional clarification 
of the elements in the Form R; and EPA's presentation of the data in 
public information documents.
    The sections of the Form R that EPA would like specific comment on 
are sections 5, 6 and 8. In section 5, there have been a number of 
issues raised over the years with regard to the definition of 
``release,'' particularly with respect to Class I underground injection 
wells and RCRA Subtitle C landfills. Several commenters believe that 
EPA's interpretation of the EPCRA definition of ``release'' will lead 
to the misperception that a reported EPCRA section 313 ``release'' 
necessarily results in an actual exposure of people or the environment 
to a toxic chemical. The Agency would like to hear suggestions on ways 
to collect and disseminate the data that are consistent with the 
Agency's interpretation of the EPCRA definition of ``release'' and 
would address the concerns raised regarding public misperception.
    There have also been a number of issues raised with regard to the 
reporting of toxic chemicals in wastes in section 8 of the Form R. 
Section 8 collects information on waste managed at the facility whether 
or not the waste was generated at the reporting facility. Some 
individuals are concerned about public misperception of the data in 
section 8 because of the focus on the amount of waste managed at the 
facility, not waste generated. EPA would like comments on ways to 
change section 8 of the Form R which would continue to allow the user 
to assess wastes managed by the facility but would minimize the 
perception that the wastes reported in section 8 were generated by the 
reporting facility.
    On any of the above issues, EPA would like to receive specific 
comments

[[Page 54848]]

from interested parties for changes, modifications, deletions, and/or 
additions of data elements to the Form R and the Form A.
    Individuals wishing to attend these meetings must sign-up in 
advance in order to assure that all participants have an opportunity to 
speak. Depending on the number of individuals registered, oral 
presentations or statements will be limited to approximately 5 to 15 
minutes. To register, contact Michelle Price at the number listed under 
``FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.'' When registering, give your name, 
organization, postal (and electronic, if any) mailing address, 
telephone and fax numbers. If there is insufficient interest in any of 
the meetings, that meeting may be canceled. Individuals registered will 
be notified in the event a meeting is canceled. The Agency bears no 
responsibility for attendees' decision to purchase nonrefundable 
transportation tickets or accommodation reservations.

II. Public Record and Electronic Submissions

    The official record for this action, as well as the public version, 
has been established for this action under docket control number 
``OPPTS-400117'' (including comments and data submitted electronically 
as described below). A public version of this record, including 
printed, paper versions of electronic comments, which does not include 
any information claimed as CBI, is available for inspection from noon 
to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The 
official record is located in the TSCA Nonconfidential Information 
Center, Rm. NE-B607, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC.
    Electronic comments can be sent directly to EPA at:
    [email protected]


    Electronic comments must be submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the 
use of special characters and any form of encryption. Comments and data 
will also be accepted on disks in WordPerfect 5.1/6.1 or ASCII file 
format. All comments and data in electronic form must be identified by 
the docket control number ``OPPTS-400117.'' Electronic comments on this 
action may be filed online at many Federal Depository Libraries.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Community right-to-know.

    Dated: October 17, 1997.
Susan B. Hazen,
Director, Environmental Assistance Division, Office of Pollution 
Prevention and Toxics.

[FR Doc. 97-27976 Filed 10-21-97; 8:45 am]
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