[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 190 (Thursday, October 1, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 52662-52663]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-26476]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 745
[OPPTS-62156B; FRL-6037-7]
RIN 2070-Ac63
Identification of Dangerous Levels of Lead; Extension of Comment
Period
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment period.
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SUMMARY: EPA is extending the comment period for a proposed rule
establishing standards for lead-based paint hazards in most pre-1978
housing and child-occupied facilities under authority of section 403 of
the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA). The proposed rule also
establishes, under authority of TSCA section 402, residential lead dust
cleanup levels and amendments to dust and soil sampling requirements
and, under authority of TSCA section 404, amendments to State program
authorization requirements.
DATES: Written comments in response to this proposed rule must be
received on or before November 30, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Each comment must bear the docket control number OPPTS-
62156B. 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., Rm. G-099, East Tower,
Washington, DC 20460.
Comments and data may also be submitted electronically to:
[email protected]. Follow the instructions in 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 copies, sanitized of any comments
containing information claimed as CBI, must also be submitted and will
be placed in the public record for this rulemaking. Persons submitting
information, 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: For general information contact:
National Lead Information Center's Clearinghouse, 1-800-424-LEAD
(5323). For technical and policy questions contact: Jonathan Jacobson,
(202) 260-3779; [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
In the Federal Register of June 3, 1998 (63 FR 30302) (FRL-5791-9),
EPA issued a proposed rule under Title IV of TSCA. Section 403 of TSCA
(15 U.S.C. 2683) directs EPA to promulgate regulations identifying
lead-based paint hazards, lead-contaminated dust, and lead-contaminated
soil. Section 402 of TSCA ( 15 U.S.C. 2682) directs EPA to promulgate
regulations governing lead-based paint activities. Section 404 of TSCA
(15 U.S.C. 2684) requires that any
[[Page 52663]]
State that seeks to administer and enforce the requirements established
by the Agency under section 402 of TSCA must submit to the
Administrator a request for authorization of such a program. The
proposed rule originally provided a 90-day public comment period. In
response to requests by interested parties to extend the public comment
period by 90 days, EPA announced on July 22, 1998 (63 FR 39262) (FRL-
6017-4) that it was extending the public comment period by 30 days,
until October 1, 1998. The Agency did not grant the request for the
full 90 days because, at the time, it felt that a 120-day comment
period was adequate. EPA, however, continues to receive requests to
extend the comment period. Given the complexity of the proposed rule
and the number of requests that the Agency has and continues to
receive, EPA now believes that an extension of the public comment
period is warranted. The Agency, therefore, is extending the public
comment period by 60 days, until November 30, 1998.
II. Public Record and Electronic Submissions
The official record for this rulemaking, as well as the public
version, has been established for this rulemaking under docket control
number OPPTS-62156B (including comments and data submitted
electronically as described in this unit). 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 12 noon to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding
legal holidays. The official rulemaking 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-62156B. Electronic comments on this
proposed rule may be filed online at many Federal Depository Libraries.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 745
Environmental protection, Hazardous substances, Lead-based paint,
Lead poisoning, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: September 29, 1998.
William H. Sanders, III,
Director, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics.
[FR Doc. 98-26476 Filed 9-29-98; 2:28 pm]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-F