[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 140 (Thursday, July 22, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 39418-39420]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-17212]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 745

[OPPTS-62130B; FRL-6053-9]


Lead; Requirements for Disclosure of Known Lead-Based Paint and/
or Lead-Based Paint hazards in Housing; Correction to Reflect OMB 
Approval of the Information Collection Requirements

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule; correction.

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SUMMARY: EPA is confirming that the Office of Management and Budget 
approved information collection requirements contained in 40 CFR part 
745, subpart F. An ``Effective Date Note,'' which indicates that the 
information collection requirements contained in each section will not 
become effective until approved by the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB), was automatically added by the Office of the Federal Register 
(OFR). The OFR added this statement to the CFR

[[Page 39419]]

because the preamble to the final rule entitled ``Requirements for 
Disclosure of Known Lead-Based Paint and/or Lead-Based Paint Hazards in 
Housing'' (61 FR 9064, March 6, 1996)(FRL-5347-9), which was jointly 
issued by EPA and the Department of Housing and Urban Development 
(HUD), indicated that the information collection requirements contained 
in the final rule had not yet been approved by OMB pursuant to the 
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), and that the sections would not be 
effective until approved by OMB. OMB approved the information 
collection requirements contained in these regulations on April 22, 
1996, but this statement remained in the CFR. Since OMB has approved 
the information collection requirements contained in these regulations, 
this statement is not appropriate and must be removed by OFR to avoid 
further confusion.
DATES: 40 CFR 745.107, 745.110, 745.113, 745.115 became effective on 
April 22, 1996, when OMB approved the information collection 
requirements.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  For general information contact: 
Christine Augustyniak, Associate Director, Environmental Assistance 
Division (7408), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone numbers: (202) 554-1404 and TDD: (202) 554-0551; e-mail 
address: TSCA-H[email protected]. For technical information contact: 
Dayton Eckerson, National Program Chemicals Division (7404), Office of 
Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M 
St., SW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 260-1591; Fax 
number: (202) 260-0770; e-mail address: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information

A. Does this Action Apply to Me?

    You may be affected by this action if you are a seller, purchaser, 
lessor, or lessee of a non-exempt residential dwelling built before 
1978, or a real estate agent representing such parties. Potentially 
affected categories and entities may include, but are not limited to:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                          Examples of
           Categories               NAICS      SIC        potentially
                                                       affected entities
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Real Estate Operators/Lessors...      53111      651  Lessors of
                                                       residential
                                                       buildings
                                                      Lessors of
                                                       residential
                                                       dwellings
Offices of Real Estate Agents...      53121      653  Real estate agents
                                                      Real estate
                                                       brokers
Property Managers...............     531311           Property managers
Private Parties--Sales                 None     None  Sellers and buyers
 Transactions.                                         of houses,
                                                       townhouses, and
                                                       cooperatives/
                                                       condominiums
Private Parties--Rental                None     None  Lessors and
 Transactions.                                         lessees of
                                                       residential
                                                       dwellings
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This listing is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides 
a guide for readers regarding entities likely to be affected by this 
action. Other types of entities not listed above could also be 
affected. The four-digit Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes 
and the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) codes 
have been provided to assist you and others in determining whether or 
not this action applies to certain entities. To determine whether you 
or your business is affected by this action, you should carefully 
examine the applicability provisions in 40 CFR 745.100. If you have any 
questions regarding the applicability of this action to a particular 
entity, you may also consult the technical person listed in the ``FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT'' at the beginning of this document.

B. How Can I Get Additional Information, Including Copies of this 
Document and Other Related Documents?

    1. Electronically. You may obtain copies of this document and 
certain other available documents from the EPA Internet Home Page at 
http://www.epa.gov/. On the Home Page select ``Laws and Regulations'' 
and then look up the entry for this document under the ``Federal 
Register - Environmental Documents.'' You can also go directly to the 
``Federal Register'' listings at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/.
    2.  In person. This information will be added to the official 
record that was established for the March 6, 1996 final rule, 
identified by docket control number OPPTS-62130B. The official record 
consists of the documents specifically referenced in this action, any 
public comments received during an applicable comment period, and other 
information related to this action, including any information claimed 
as confidential business information (CBI). This official record 
includes the documents that are physically located in the docket, as 
well as the documents that are referenced in those documents. The 
public version of the official record does not include any information 
claimed as CBI. The public version of the official record, which 
includes printed, paper versions of any electronic comments submitted 
during an applicable comment period, is available for inspection in the 
TSCA Nonconfidential Information Center, North East Rm. B-607, 
Waterside Mall, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC. The Center is open from 
12 noon to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The 
telephone number of the Center is (202) 260-7099.

II. What Does this Correction Do?

    Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., an 
Agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to 
respond to a collection of information that is subject to approval 
under the PRA, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. 
The OMB control numbers for EPA's regulations are listed in 40 CFR part 
9, and any related collection instrument.
    As required by section 1018 of the Residential Lead-Based Paint 
Hazard Reduction Act of 1992, EPA and the Department of Housing and 
Urban Development (HUD) jointly issued regulations requiring the 
disclosure of known lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards by 
persons selling or leasing housing constructed before the phaseout of 
residential lead-based paint use in 1978. In the preamble to the final 
rule, EPA and HUD indicated that the information collection 
requirements contained in the final rule had not yet been approved by 
OMB pursuant to the PRA, and that the requirements would not be 
effective until approved by OMB (61 FR 9064, March 6, 1996).
    On May 31, 1996, EPA issued a notice in the Federal Register (61 FR 
27348) (FRL-5512-5) to announce that OMB had approved the information 
collection requirements contained in these final rules on April 22, 
1996, and that OMB

[[Page 39420]]

control number 2070-0151 had been assigned to these collection 
activities. In the July 1, 1996 issue of the Federal Register (61 FR 
33851) (FRL-5379-8), EPA amended the table in 40 CFR part 9 to add this 
OMB control number to the listing of OMB control numbers for EPA's 
regulations that appears in Sec. 9.1.
    Since there wasn't a formal connection between these subsequent 
notices and 40 CFR part 745, subpart F, [or 24 CFR part 35, subpart H], 
the OFR did not make the connection to the information collection 
requirements contained in these sections. As a result, OFR added the 
following clause to the Effective Date Note that appears at the end of 
Secs. 745.107, 745.110, 745.113, and 745.115: ``This section contains 
information collection requirements and will not become effective until 
approval has been given by the Office of Management and Budget.''

III. Why Is this Correction Issued as a Final Rule?

    EPA is publishing this action as a final rule without prior notice 
and opportunity to comment because the Agency believes that providing 
notice and an opportunity to comment is unnecessary and would be 
contrary to the public interest. As explained above, this action will 
simply allow OFR to correct the CFR to properly reflect OMB's approval 
of the information collection requirements contained in 40 CFR part 
745, subpart F. EPA therefore finds that there is ``good cause'' under 
section 553(b)(3)(B) of the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 
553(b)(3)(B)) to make this amendment without prior notice and comment.

IV. Do Any of the Regulatory Assessment Requirements Apply to this 
Action?

    No. This final rule does not impose any new requirements. It only 
implements a correction to the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). As 
such, this action does not require review by the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) under Executive Order 12866, entitled Regulatory 
Planning and Review (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., or Executive Order 13045, 
entitled Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and 
Safety Risks (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997). This action does not impose 
any enforceable duty, contain any unfunded mandate, or impose any 
significant or unique impact on small governments as described in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) (Public Law 104-4). Nor 
does it require prior consultation with State, local, and tribal 
government officials as specified by Executive Order 12875, entitled 
Enhancing the Intergovernmental Partnership (58 FR 58093, October 28, 
1993) and Executive Order 13084, entitled Consultation and Coordination 
with Indian Tribal Governments (63 FR 27655, May 19,1998), or special 
consideration of environmental justice related issues under Executive 
Order 12898, entitled Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice 
in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations (59 FR 7629, 
February 16, 1994). This action does not involve any technical 
standards that would require Agency consideration of voluntary 
consensus standards pursuant to section 12(d) of the National 
Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (NTTAA), Public Law 
104-113, section 12(d) (15 U.S.C. 272 note). In addition, since this 
action is not subject to notice-and-comment requirements under the 
Administrative Procedure Act (APA) or any other statute, it is not 
subject to the regulatory flexibility provisions of the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).

V. Will EPA Submit this Final Rule to Congress and the Comptroller 
General?

    Yes. The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added 
by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, 
generally provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency 
promulgating the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy 
of the rule, to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller 
General of the United States. Section 808 allows the issuing agency to 
make a good cause finding that notice and public procedure is 
impracticable, unnecessary or contrary to the public interest. This 
determination must be supported by a brief statement. 5 U.S.C. 808(2). 
EPA has made such a good cause finding for this final rule, therefore, 
the removal of the Effective Date Notes can be made to the CFR by OFR 
after July 22, 1999. Pursuant to 5 U.S.C 808(2), this determination is 
supported by the brief statement in Unit IV. of this preamble. EPA will 
submit a report containing this rule and other required information to 
the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Comptroller 
General of the United States prior to publication of the rule in the 
Federal Register. This is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 
804(2).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 745

    Environmental protection, Hazardous substances, Lead, Lead-based 
Paint, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: June 29, 1999.

Susan H. Wayland,

Acting Assistant Administrator for Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic 
Substances.

[FR Doc. 99-17212 Filed 7-21-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-F