[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 232 (Monday, December 3, 2001)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 60153-60154]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-29958]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 261

[FRN-7112-6]
RIN: 2050-AE07


Correction to the Hazardous Waste Identification Rule (HWIR): 
Revisions to the Mixture and Derived-from Rules: Delay of Effective 
Date; Reopening of Comment Period

ACTION: Delay of effective date and reopening of comment period.

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SUMMARY: EPA issued a direct final rule in the Federal Register on 
October 3, 2001 at 66 FR 50332 entitled Correction to the Hazardous 
Waste Identification Rule (HWIR): Revisions to the Mixture and Derived-
from Rules; Direct Final Rule. During and after the comment period for 
that direct final rule, U.S. mail delivery to EPA's dockets was delayed 
due to concerns about possible contamination. This document delays the 
effective date of that direct final rule and reopens the comment period 
for thirty days to assure that EPA receives any comments that were 
mailed during the comment period but were not received by EPA by the 
end of the comment period. EPA is requesting that anyone who submitted 
comments during the previous comment period resubmit those comments as 
described below.

DATES: This action is made on December 3, 2001. The effective date of 
the Correction to the Hazardous Waste Identification Rule, amending 40 
CFR 261.3 published in the Federal Register on October 3, 2001 at 66 FR 
50332, is delayed for 60 days, from December 3, 2001 to a new effective 
date of February 1, 2002. That direct final rule will be effective on 
February 1, 2002 unless EPA receives adverse comment by January 2, 
2002.

ADDRESSES: Please send an original and two copies of your comments 
referencing Docket number F-2001-WH3P-FFFFF to (1) if using regular 
U.S. Postal Service mail: RCRA Docket Information Center, Office of 
Solid Waste (5305W), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters 
(EPA, HQ), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460-0002, or 
(2) if delivering in person, or using special delivery, such as 
overnight express service: RCRA Docket Information Center (RIC), 
Crystal Gateway One, 1235 Jefferson Davis Highway, First Floor, 
Arlington, Virginia 22202. Because of possible mail delays in the 
Washington DC area, please send a separate copy of each public comment 
either (1) via Internet email to [email protected], or (2) to 
David M. Friedman, U.S. EPA Region 3, Mail Code 3WC11, 1650 Arch 
Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103-2029. If sending comments via email, 
please make sure this electronic copy is in an ASCII format that 
doesn't use special characters or encryption. Cite the docket Number F-
2001-WH3P-FFFFF in your electronic file.
    The RCRA Information Center is located at Crystal Gateway One, 1235 
Jefferson Davis Highway, First Floor, Arlington Virginia. If you would 
like to look at and copy supporting information for RCRA rules, please 
make an appointment with the RCRA Information Center by calling (703) 
603-9230. Docket hours are from 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Monday through 
Friday, except for Federal holidays. You may copy up to 100 pages from 
any regulatory document at no cost. Additional copies cost $0.15 per 
page.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information, contact the 
RCRA Call Center at (800) 424-9346 or TDD (800) 553-7672 (hearing 
impaired). In the Washington, DC, metropolitan area,

[[Page 60154]]

call (703) 412-9810 or TDD (703) 412-3323.
    For more detailed information on specific aspects of this 
rulemaking, contact Tracy Atagi, Office of Solid Waste 5304W, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20460-0002, 703-308-8672, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 3, 2001, EPA published in the 
Federal Register at 66 FR 50332 a direct final rule taking final action 
on two clarifying revisions to the mixture rule. The first revision 
reinserts certain exemptions to the mixture rule which were 
inadvertently deleted. The second revision clarifies that mixtures 
consisting of certain excluded wastes (commonly referred to as Bevill 
wastes) and listed hazardous wastes that have been listed solely for 
the characteristic of ignitability, corrosivity, and/or reactivity, are 
exempt once the characteristic for which the hazardous waste was listed 
has been removed.
    EPA also published a separate document at 66 FR50379 (October 3, 
2001) to serve as the proposal to Correction to the Hazardous Waste 
Identification Rule (HWIR): Revisions to the Mixture and Derived-from 
Rules if adverse comments were filed. The rule was scheduled to become 
effective on December 3, 2001 unless EPA received adverse comment by 
November 2, 2001. However, during and after the comment period for that 
rule, U.S. mail delivery to all EPA Headquarters offices in Washington, 
DC and Northern Virginia, including EPA's dockets, was delayed due to 
concerns about possible contamination. Because of the unexpected and 
unprecedented nature of this U.S. mail delay and the resulting 
uncertainty about whether EPA may have received any comments that were 
sent by U.S. mail, EPA believes that it is in the public interest to 
temporarily delay the effective date of that direct final rule for 
sixty days. The purpose of delaying the effective date is to reopen the 
comment period for thirty days to assure that EPA receives any comments 
that were submitted by U.S. mail during the comment period but were 
delayed due to U.S. mail delays.
    EPA expects that all delayed mail will be delivered by the end of 
this thirty-day period. However, to assure that EPA receives the 
comments, anyone who submitted comments during the comment period for 
Correction to the Hazardous Waste Identification Rule (HWIR): Revisions 
to the Mixture and Derived-from Rules should resubmit those comments in 
accordance with the directions in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. 
If EPA receives adverse comment on the direct final rule, EPA will 
publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the 
public that the rule will not take effect. EPA will address all public 
comments in a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule.
    To the extent that this action is subject to 5 U.S.C. 553, EPA's 
implementation of this action without opportunity for public comment, 
effective immediately upon publication today in the Federal Register, 
is based on the good cause exceptions in 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) and 
553(d)(3). Seeking public comment is impracticable and unnecessary in 
light of the imminent effective date and the extraordinary nature of 
the delays which affected all U.S. mail directed to EPA Headquarters 
offices. A brief extension of the effective date is in the public 
interest because it will assure that all comments are received and that 
interested parties are not disadvantaged by these unique circumstances.
    Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this 
action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and is therefore not 
subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget and is not 
subject to Executive Order 13211, ``Actions Concerning Regulations That 
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 
18355, May 22, 2001). In addition, 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 (Pub. L. 104-4). This action also 
does not have a substantial direct effect on one or more Indian tribes, 
on the relationship between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, 
or on the distribution of power and responsibilities between the 
Federal Government and Indian tribes, as specified by Executive Order 
13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), nor will it have substantial 
direct effects on the States, on the relationship between the national 
government and the States, or on the distribution of power and 
responsibilities among the various levels of government, as specified 
in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999), because it 
does not alter the relationship or the distribution of power and 
responsibilities established by applicable statute. Because this action 
is not subject to notice-and-comment requirements under the 
Administrative Procedure Act or any other statute, it is not subject to 
the regulatory flexibility provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act 
(5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). This action also is not subject to Executive 
Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997) because EPA interprets 
Executive Order 13045 as applying only to those regulatory actions that 
are based on health or safety risks, such that the analysis required 
under section 5-501 of the Order has the potential to influence the 
regulation. This action is not subject to Executive Order 13045 because 
it does not establish an environmental standard intended to mitigate 
health or safety risks. Because this action does not involve technical 
standards, EPA did not consider the use of any voluntary consensus 
standards under the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 
1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note). This action does not impose an information 
collection burden under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 261

    Environmental protection, Hazardous waste, Recycling, Waste 
treatment and disposal.

    Dated: November 29, 2001.
Christine Todd Whitman,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 01-29958 Filed 11-30-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P