[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 134 (Wednesday, July 13, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 41372-41373]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-17489]
[[Page 41371]]
Vol. 76
Wednesday,
No. 134
July 13, 2011
Part IV
Department of Commerce
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Bureau of Industry and Security
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15 CFR Part 714
Impact of Reducing the Mixture Concentration Threshold for Commercial
Schedule 3 Chemical Activities Under the Chemical Weapons Convention
Regulations; Proposed Rule
Federal Register / Vol. 76 , No. 134 / Wednesday, July 13, 2011 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 41372]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Bureau of Industry and Security
15 CFR Part 714
[Docket No. 100817371-0505-01]
Impact of Reducing the Mixture Concentration Threshold for
Commercial Schedule 3 Chemical Activities Under the Chemical Weapons
Convention Regulations
AGENCY: Bureau of Industry and Security, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of inquiry.
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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is seeking public
comments on the impact of amending the Chemical Weapons Convention
Regulations (CWCR) to reduce the concentration level at which the CWCR
exempt certain mixtures containing Schedule 3 chemicals from the
declaration requirements that apply to Schedule 3 chemical production
and the reporting requirements that apply to exports and imports of
Schedule 3 chemicals under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
BIS is considering amending the CWCR declaration requirements that
apply to the production of Schedule 3 chemicals to conform with the low
concentration exemption adopted by the Organization for the Prohibition
of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in 2003, which applies when the
concentration of any single Schedule 3 chemical in a mixture is ``30%
or less,'' by weight or volume (whichever yields the lesser percent).
Currently, the CWCR do not require the quantity of a Schedule 3
chemical contained in a mixture to be counted for declaration or
reporting purposes if the concentration of the Schedule 3 chemical in
the mixture is ``less than 80%'' by volume or weight (whichever yields
the lesser percent). The current low concentration level was
implemented in accordance with requirements set forth in the Chemical
Weapons Convention Implementation Act (CWCIA). Accordingly, publication
and implementation of regulatory changes affecting this low
concentration exemption level would be contingent upon amendment of the
CWCIA by the Congress.
In addition, consistent with U.S. national discretion, BIS is
considering amending the CWCR reporting requirements for exports and
imports of Schedule 3 chemicals by reducing the low concentration
exemption that applies to certain mixtures containing Schedule 3
chemicals from the current low concentration level of ``less than 80%''
of a Schedule 3 chemical by volume or weight (whichever yields the
lesser percent) to a concentration of ``30% or less.''
DATES: Comments are due August 12, 2011.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
E-mail: [email protected]. Include the phrase ``Schedule
3 Notice of Inquiry'' in the subject line of the message.
Fax: (202) 482-3355 (Attn: Willard Fisher). Please alert
the Regulatory Policy Division, by calling (202) 482-2440, if you are
faxing comments.
Mail or Hand Delivery/Courier: Willard Fisher, U.S.
Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, Regulatory
Policy Division, 14th Street & Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Room 2705,
Washington, DC 20230.
Send comments regarding the collection of information identified in
this notice of inquiry, including suggestions for reducing the burden,
to Jasmeet Seehra, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), by e-mail to
[email protected], or by fax to (202) 395-7285; and to
the Regulatory Policy Division, Bureau of Industry and Security,
Department of Commerce, 14th Street & Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Room
2705, Washington, DC 20230. Comments on this collection of information
should be submitted separately from comments on the notice of inquiry--
all comments on the latter should be submitted by one of the three
methods outlined above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions on the CWC requirements
for Schedule 3 chemicals, contact Douglas Brown, Treaty Compliance
Division, Office of Nonproliferation and Treaty Compliance, Bureau of
Industry and Security, U.S. Department of Commerce, Phone: (202) 482-
2163. For questions on the submission of comments, contact Willard
Fisher, Regulatory Policy Division, Office of Exporter Services, Bureau
of Industry and Security, U.S. Department of Commerce, Phone: (202)
482-2440.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production,
Stockpiling, and Use of Chemical Weapons and Their Destruction,
commonly called the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC or ``the
Convention''), is an international arms control and nonproliferation
treaty that established the Organization for the Prohibition of
Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to implement the verification provisions of the
treaty. The CWC imposes a number of obligations on countries that have
ratified the Convention (States Parties), including enactment of
legislation to prohibit the production, storage, and use of chemical
weapons, and establishment of a National Authority to liaison with the
OPCW and other States Parties. The CWC also requires States Parties to
implement a comprehensive data declaration and inspection regime to
provide transparency and to verify that both the public and private
sectors of States Parties are not engaged in activities prohibited
under the CWC.
Part VIII, paragraph 5 of the Verification Annex to the CWC
(Schedule 3 Regime) provides that declarations ``are generally not
required for mixtures containing a low concentration of a Schedule 3
chemical'' and that the Conference of the States Parties to the
Convention would consider and approve guidelines to establish the
appropriate ``low concentration'' exemption level. Schedule 3
chemicals, as set forth in the Convention's ``Annex on Chemicals,''
include those chemicals and precursors identified in the Convention as
posing a risk to the object and purpose of the Convention, but less
than the ``high'' or ``significant'' risk identified in the Convention
with regard to Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 chemicals, respectively.
The Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS)
administers the Chemical Weapons Convention Regulations (CWCR) (15 CFR
parts 710-722), which implement provisions of the Chemical Weapons
Implementation Act of 1998 (CWCIA) (22 U.S.C. 6701 et seq.). At the
time that the CWCIA was enacted, the OPCW had not yet established
guidelines concerning low concentration limits for declarations of
Schedule 3 chemicals. In section 402(a)(2) of the CWCIA (22 U.S.C.
6742(a)(2)), Congress set 80% as the concentration of any Schedule 3
chemical in a mixture, below which the CWC's declaration, reporting and
inspection requirements do not apply. Consistent with the CWCIA, the
CWCR do not require that the quantity of a Schedule 3 chemical
contained in a mixture be counted for declaration or reporting purposes
if the concentration of the Schedule 3 chemical in the mixture is
``less than 80%'' by volume or weight, whichever yields the lesser
percent.
The declaration and reporting requirements in the CWC that affect
commercial activities involving Schedule 3 chemicals are described in
[[Page 41373]]
part 714 of the CWCR. These CWCR provisions:
(1) Require annual declarations by certain facilities (i.e.,
``declared'' Schedule 3 ``plant sites'') that were engaged in the
production of a Schedule 3 chemical in excess of 30 metric tons during
the previous calendar year, or which anticipate engaging in such
production in the next calendar year (15 CFR 714.1(a)(1));
(2) Require that the calculation of the quantity of any Schedule 3
chemical that is produced must include the quantities produced in
mixtures, if the concentration of the Schedule 3 chemical in the
mixture is equal to or greater than 80% by volume or by weight,
whichever yields the lesser percent (15 CFR 714.1(a)(3));
(3) Define Schedule 3 chemical production to include all steps in
the production of a Schedule 3 chemical in any units within the same
plant through chemical reaction, including any associated processes
(e.g., purification, separation, extraction, distillation, or refining)
in which the chemical is not converted into another chemical (15 CFR
714.1(a)(2));
(4) Provide that all ``declared Schedule 3'' plant sites are
subject to routine inspection by the OPCW (15 CFR 714.1(e)); and
(5) Require persons, plant sites, and trading companies to submit
annual reports of exports and imports of any Schedule 3 chemical to, or
from, other destinations if the total quantity that was exported or
imported exceeded 30 metric tons of a Schedule 3 chemical (15 CFR
714.2(a)).
During the OPCW's Fifth Session of the Conference of the States
Parties to the Convention, which was held in The Hague, Netherlands, on
May 19, 2000, the States Parties established guidelines concerning low
concentration limits for declarations of Schedule 3 chemicals.
Specifically, the States Parties agreed that the Convention's
declaration and reporting requirements would not apply to a chemical
mixture in which the concentration of any single Schedule 3 chemical is
``30% or less'' by volume or weight, whichever yields the lesser
percent. This agreement is documented in OPCW decision C-V/DEC.19 and
can be obtained from the OPCW Web site (www.opcw.org). Accordingly, if
U.S. requirements are to mirror the low concentration exemption level
adopted by the OPCW after the enactment of the CWCIA, both statutory
and regulatory changes must be implemented.
Discussion and Request for Comments
BIS is seeking public comments on the potential effects of amending
the CWCR declaration requirements that apply to the production of
Schedule 3 chemicals by reducing the exemption for mixtures containing
low concentrations of Schedule 3 chemicals from the current level of
``less than 80%'' by volume or weight (whichever yields the lesser
percent) to a concentration of ``30% or less'' by volume or weight
(whichever yields the lesser percent). These comments will assist BIS
in assessing the impact of this change on U.S. persons involved in the
production of Schedule 3 chemicals.
Additionally, BIS is seeking public comments on the potential
effects of amending the CWCR reporting requirements that apply to
certain exports and imports of Schedule 3 chemicals by reducing the
exemption for mixtures containing low concentrations of Schedule 3
chemicals from the current level of ``less than 80%'' by volume or
weight (whichever yields the lesser percent) to a concentration of
``30% or less'' by volume or weight (whichever yields the lesser
percent).
In particular, BIS seeks comments on the potential impact of these
changes on costs, operations, and trade.
Furthermore, BIS is seeking public comments on the anticipated
impact of these changes with respect to an existing collection of
information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
3501 et seq.) (PRA). Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no
person is required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a
penalty for failure to comply with, a collection of information subject
to the PRA, unless that collection of information displays a currently
valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Control Number. The changes
that are being considered by BIS would revise an existing collection of
information subject to the requirements of the PRA. This collection has
been approved by OMB under Control Number 0694-0091 (Chemical Weapons
Convention--Declaration and Report Forms), which carries burden hour
estimates of 10.6 hours for Schedule 1 Chemicals, 11.9 hours for
Schedule 2 chemicals, 2.5 hours for Schedule 3 chemicals, 5.3/5.1/5.1
hours for unscheduled discrete organic chemicals (includes Annual
Declaration on Past Activities, No Changes Authorization Form, and
Change in Inspection Status Form, respectively), and 0.17 hours for
Schedule 1 notifications.
Specifically, these changes would affect this approved information
collection with respect to information collection activities (e.g.,
declarations, reports, recordkeeping) involving CWC Schedule 3
chemicals that are subject to declaration and/or reporting requirements
under the CWCR. In this regard, BIS is seeking comments that address
the anticipated impact of the changes being considered by BIS on the
burden hours and costs associated with Schedule 3 chemical activities
under this approved information collection.
Send comments regarding this collection of information, including
suggestions for reducing the burden, to Jasmeet Seehra, Office of
Management and Budget (OMB), and to the Regulatory Policy Division,
Bureau of Industry and Security, Department of Commerce, as indicated
in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.
Submission of Comments
All comments must be submitted to the address indicated in this
notice. The Department requires that all comments be submitted in
written form.
The Department encourages interested persons who wish to comment to
do so at the earliest possible time. The period for submission of
comments will close on August 12, 2011. The Department will consider
all comments received before the close of the comment period. Comments
received after the end of the comment period will be considered, if
possible, but their consideration cannot be assured. The Department
will not accept comments accompanied by a request that a part or all of
the material be treated confidentially because of its business
proprietary nature or for any other reason. The Department will return
such comments and materials to the persons submitting the comments and
will not consider them. All comments submitted in response to this
notice will be a matter of public record and will be available for
public inspection and copying.
The Office of Administration, Bureau of Industry and Security, U.S.
Department of Commerce, displays public comments on the BIS Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) Web site at http://www.bis.doc.gov/foia. This
office does not maintain a separate public inspection facility. If you
have technical difficulties accessing this Web site, please call BIS's
Office of Administration, at (202) 482-2165, for assistance.
Dated: July 1, 2011.
Matthew S. Borman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Export Administration.
[FR Doc. 2011-17489 Filed 7-12-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-33-P