[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 141 (Monday, July 25, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42545-42546]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-14605]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OPPT-2005-0040; FRL-7727-3]


Response to Petition Regarding Animal Welfare; Notice of 
Availability

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: EPA received a petition, dated April 5, 2005, from the People 
for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). The petition requests EPA 
initiate rulemaking to require that: All chemical testing conducted in 
connection with test rules and voluntary consent orders under the Toxic 
Substances Control Act (TSCA), as well as testing under the voluntary 
High Production Volume (HPV) Challenge Program, adhere to certain 
animal welfare principles contained in guidance provided to 
participants in the voluntary HPV Challenge Program; and EPA enforce 
those guidelines where they are not followed. The petition states that 
it is filed under section 21 of TSCA and section 553(e) of the 
Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Although EPA believes the 
petitioner's request is outside the scope of TSCA section 21, EPA 
responded to the petitioners within the 90-day timeframe established in 
TSCA for section 21 petitions. EPA has responded to the petition by 
denying the request and is announcing the public availability of this 
response.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information contact: Colby 
Lintner, Regulatory Coordinator, Environmental Assistance Division 
(7408M), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-
0001; telephone number: (202) 554-1404; e-mail address: [email protected].
    For technical information contact: Roy Seidenstein, Chemical 
Control Division (7405M), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (202) 564-9274; e-mail 
address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this Action Apply to Me?

    This action is directed to the public in general, and may be of 
particular interest to participants in the voluntary HPV Challenge 
Program and persons who are or may be required to conduct testing of 
chemical substances under TSCA. Since other entities may also be 
interested, the Agency has not attempted to describe all the specific 
entities that may be interested in this action. If you have any 
questions regarding the applicability of this action to a particular 
entity, consult the technical person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.

B. How Can I Get Copies of this Document and Other Related Information?

    1. Docket. EPA has established an official public docket for this 
action under docket identification (ID) number OPPT-2005-0040. The 
official public docket consists of the documents specifically 
referenced in this action, any public comments received, and other 
information related to this action. Although a part of the official 
docket, the public docket does not include Confidential Business 
Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted 
by statute. The official public docket is the collection of materials 
that is available for public viewing at the EPA Docket Center, Rm. 
B102-Reading Room, EPA West, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, 
DC. The EPA Docket Center is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The EPA Docket Center Reading 
Room telephone number is (202) 566-1744 and the telephone number for 
the OPPT Docket, which is located in EPA Docket Center, is (202) 566-
0280.
    2. Electronic access. You may access this Federal Register document 
electronically through the EPA Internet under the ``Federal Register'' 
listings at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/. The documents referenced in 
Unit I.B.1 are also accessible through the EPA Internet at http://
www.epa.gov/chemrtk/

[[Page 42546]]

awpetition.htm/. In addition, an electronic version of the public 
docket is available through EPA's electronic public docket and comment 
system, EPA Dockets. You may use EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/edocket/ to submit or view public comments, access the index listing of 
the contents of the official public docket, and to access those 
documents in the public docket that are available electronically. 
Although not all docket materials may be available electronically, you 
may still access any of the publicly available docket materials through 
the docket facility identified in Unit I.B.1. Once in the system, 
select ``search,'' then key in the appropriate docket ID number.
    Certain types of information will not be placed in the EPA Dockets. 
Information claimed as CBI and other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute, which is not included in the official public 
docket, will not be available for public viewing in EPA's electronic 
public docket. EPA's policy is that copyrighted material will not be 
placed in EPA's electronic public docket but will be available only in 
printed, paper form in the official public docket. To the extent 
feasible, publicly available docket materials will be made available in 
EPA's electronic public docket. When a document is selected from the 
index list in EPA Dockets, the system will identify whether the 
document is available for viewing in EPA's electronic public docket. 
Although not all docket materials may be available electronically, you 
may still access any of the publicly available docket materials through 
the docket facility identified in Unit I.B.1. EPA intends to work 
towards providing electronic access to all of the publicly available 
docket materials through EPA's electronic public docket.

II. What Action is the Agency Taking?

    This action announces the availability of EPA's response to the 
petition. The public may access both the petition and EPA's response as 
described in Unit I.B.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Animal welfare, Toxic substances, 
Voluntary High Production Volume Challenge Program.


    Dated: July 15, 2005.
Susan B. Hazen,
Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Prevention, Pesticides and 
Toxic Substances.

[FR Doc. 05-14605 Filed 7-22-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S