[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 81 (Tuesday, April 28, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 23254-23255]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-11264]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 70

[FRL-6005-1]


Operating Permits Program; Notice of Availability of Draft Rules; 
Extension of Comment Period

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Extension of comment period for notice of availability of draft 
rules.

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SUMMARY: On March 25, 1998, EPA published a notice in the Federal 
Register announcing opportunity for public review and comment on 
portions of the draft preamble and all but two sections of draft 
revisions to the operating permits regulations in 40 CFR part 70. (The 
remaining portions of the preamble and regulations will be made 
available at a later date.) The public review period for that notice 
ends April 24, 1998. This action extends the public review period for 
that notice until May 26, 1998.

DATES: Comments on the draft preamble and regulatory revisions must be 
received by May 26, 1998.

ADDRESSES: The draft preamble and regulatory revisions are available in 
EPA's Air Docket number A-93-50 as items VI-A-5 and VI-A-4, 
respectively. This docket is available for public inspection and 
copying between 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, at the 
address listed below. A reasonable fee may be charged for copying. The 
address of the EPA air docket is: EPA Air Docket (6102), Attention: 
Docket Number A-93-50, Room M-1500, Waterside Mall, 401 M Street SW, 
Washington, DC, 20460. Requests for material may be made by telephone 
at 202-260-7548.
    The drafts may also be downloaded from the Internet at: http://
www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/t5pgm.html.
    Comments on the materials referenced in today's notice must be 
mailed (in duplicate if possible) to: EPA Air Docket (6102), Attention: 
Docket No. A-93-50, at the above address. Please identify comments as 
concerning today's notice of availability of items VI-A-4 and VI-A-5.


[[Page 23255]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ray Vogel (telephone 919-541-3153) or 
Roger Powell (telephone 919-541-5331), Mail Drop 12, EPA, Information 
Transfer and Program Integration Division, Research Triangle Park, 
North Carolina, 27711. Internet addresses are: [email protected] and 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The part 70 operating permits regulations 
were originally promulgated on July 21, 1992 (57 FR 32250). Revisions 
to part 70 were proposed on August 29, 1994 (59 FR 44460) and August 
31, 1995 (60 FR 45530). On May 13, 1997, the Agency released a draft of 
the final preamble and regulatory revision rulemaking that would revise 
part 70 for purposes of considering any final comments from interested 
parties before final action. The draft rulemaking reflected EPA's 
consideration of comments on the 1994 and 1995 proposals, and included 
additional regulatory changes that EPA believed appropriate based on 
comments. Availability of the May 13, 1997 draft and a 30-day public 
review period were announced in a June 3, 1997 Federal Register notice 
(62 FR 30289).
    Subsequently, after discussing the draft rulemaking with industry, 
environmental, and State/local permitting agency representatives 
(``stakeholders''), EPA decided that additional changes were necessary, 
particularly to the section on permit revision procedures. 
Consequently, EPA announced in a July 3, 1997 notice (62 FR 36039) that 
the public should withhold comment on the May 1997 draft until a new 
draft was prepared.
    Since May 1997, EPA has discussed with stakeholders alternative 
approaches to the permit revision system contained in the May draft. 
While the discussions with stakeholders to date have involved the 
provisions of Secs. 70.7 and 70.8, EPA also wants to discuss with the 
stakeholders any concerns with the remaining sections. To prepare for 
those discussions, it is important to be aware of concerns from the 
public at large on the remaining sections. Therefore, the March 25, 
1998 notice (63 FR 14392) announced availability of the remaining 
sections of part 70 for public review and provided for a period until 
April 25, 1998 for the public to submit any comments. The preamble and 
regulatory revisions related to Secs. 70.7 and 70.8 will be made 
available in a future Federal Register notice of availability.
    Items VI-A-4 and VI-A-5 in docket A-93-50 contain the portions of 
the preamble and regulations for the revisions that may be made to 
Secs. 70.2 through 70.6 and Secs. 70.9 through 70.11 of the part 70 
regulations. That material is also available on the Internet at the 
address noted above. As in the June 3, 1997 notice, EPA seeks comment 
only on regulatory revisions that have changed since the August 1994 
and August 1995 proposals. The changes since the proposals are 
addressed in the preamble discussions on the relevant sections of part 
70 (e.g. Sec. 70.2).
    This action extends the comment submittal period until May 26, 
1998. Please send comments directly to Docket A-93-50 at the address 
previously provided and specify that they are in response to this 
notice. Comments will be forwarded from the Air Docket to the Operating 
Permits Group of EPA.

    Dated: April 21, 1998.
Richard D. Wilson,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 98-11264 Filed 4-27-98; 8:45 am]
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