[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 187 (Tuesday, September 27, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59699-59700]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-24870]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPPT-2011-0793; FRL-8890-4]


Receipt of Request for Waiver from Testing

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Regulations issued by EPA under section 4 of the Toxic 
Substances
    Control Act require that specified chemical substances be tested to 
determine if they are contaminated with halogenated dibenzo-p-dioxins 
(HDDs) or halogenated dibenzofurans (HDFs), and that results be 
reported to EPA. However, the regulations allow for exclusion and 
waiver from these requirements if an appropriate application is 
submitted to EPA and is approved. EPA has received a request for a 
waiver from these testing requirements from 3M and will accept comments 
on this request. EPA will publish another Federal Register notice on or 
before November 14, 2011, announcing its decisions on this request.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 11, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2011-0793, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Document Control Office (7407M), Office of Pollution 
Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.
     Hand Delivery: OPPT Document Control Office (DCO), EPA 
East Bldg., Rm. 6428, 1201 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. 
Attention: Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2011-0793. The DCO is open from 
8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The 
telephone number for the DCO is (202) 564-8930. Such deliveries are 
only accepted during the DCO's normal hours of operation, and special 
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPPT-
2011-0793. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the docket without change and may be made available online at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, 
unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to 
be CBI or otherwise protected through regulations.gov or e-mail. The 
regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, which means 
EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you 
provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-mail comment 
directly to EPA without going through regulations.gov, your e-mail 
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the 
comment that is placed in the docket and made available on the 
Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you 
include your name and other contact information in the body of your 
comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your 
comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for 
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic 
files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of 
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the docket index 
available at http://www.regulations.gov. Although listed in the index, 
some information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other 
material, such as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet 
and will be publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly 
available docket materials are available either in the electronic 
docket at http://www.regulations.gov, or, if only available in hard 
copy, at the OPPT Docket. The OPPT Docket is located in the EPA Docket 
Center (EPA/DC) at Rm. 3334, EPA West Bldg., 1301 Constitution Ave., 
NW., Washington, DC. The EPA/DC Public Reading Room hours of operation 
are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal 
holidays. The telephone number of the EPA/DC Public Reading Room is 
(202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the OPPT Docket is (202) 
566-0280. Docket visitors are required to show photographic 
identification, pass through a metal detector, and sign the EPA visitor 
log. All visitor bags are processed through an X-ray machine and 
subject to search. Visitors will be provided an EPA/DC badge that must 
be visible at all times in the building and returned upon departure.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical information contact: 
Rebecca Edelstein, National Program Chemicals

[[Page 59700]]

Division, Office Pollution Prevention and Toxics (7404T), Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-
0001; telephone number: (202) 564-8566; e-mail address: 
[email protected].
    For general information contact: The TSCA-Hotline, ABVI-Goodwill, 
422 South Clinton Ave., Rochester, NY 14620; telephone number: (202) 
554-1404; 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. As such, the 
Agency has not attempted to describe the specific entities that this 
action may apply to. Although others may be affected, this action 
applies directly to the submitter of the request for waiver. 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. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through 
regulations.gov or e-mail. Clearly mark the part or all of the 
information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk or 
CD-ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD-ROM as 
CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the 
specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one 
complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as 
CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information 
claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket. 
Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with 
procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.
    2. Tips for preparing your comments. When submitting comments, 
remember to:
    i. Identify the document by docket ID number and other identifying 
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
    ii. Follow directions. The Agency may ask you to respond to 
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
    iii. Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives and 
substitute language for your requested changes.
    iv. Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information 
and/or data that you used.
    v. If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you 
arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced.
    vi. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns and 
suggest alternatives.
    vii. Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the use of 
profanity or personal threats.
    viii. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period 
deadline identified.

II. Background

A. What action is the agency taking?

    EPA is announcing receipt of a request for waiver from testing from 
3M. EPA will accept comments on this request and will publish another 
Federal Register notice on or before November 14, 2011, announcing its 
decisions on this request. See 40 CFR 766.32(c).

B. What is the Agency's authority for taking this action?

    Under 40 CFR part 766, EPA requires testing of certain chemical 
substances to determine whether they may be contaminated with HDDs and 
HDFs. Under 40 CFR 766.32(a)(2)(i), a waiver may be granted if a 
responsible company official certifies that the chemical substance is 
produced only in quantities of 100 kilograms (kg) or less per year, and 
only for research and development purposes.
    Under 40 CFR 766.32(b), a request for a waiver must be made 60 days 
before resumption of manufacture or importation of a chemical substance 
not being manufactured, imported, or processed as of June 5, 1987.
    On September 14, 2011, EPA received a waiver request from 3M under 
40 CFR 766.32(a)(2)(i). The request indicates that 3M intends to import 
tetrabromobisphenol A (CASRN 79-94-7), a chemical substance subject to 
testing under 40 CFR part 766, as part of an experimental formulation 
for research and development purposes. 3M will import less than 100 kg 
of tetrabromobisphenol A.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Dibenzofurans, Dioxins, Hazardous 
substances, Tetrabromobisphenol A.

    Dated: September 22, 2011.
Wendy C. Hamnett,
Director, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics.
[FR Doc. 2011-24870 Filed 9-23-11; 11:15 am]
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