[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 90 (Thursday, May 9, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27235-27236]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-11165]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OA-2013-0320; FRL-9810-5]


Technical Guidance for Assessing Environmental Justice in 
Regulatory Analysis

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Announcement of issuance of draft guidance for public comment.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued for 
public comment a document entitled, ``Technical Guidance for Assessing 
Environmental Justice in Regulatory Analysis.'' The purpose of this 
guidance is to provide EPA analysts with technical information on how 
to consider environmental justice in regulatory analyses. This guidance 
takes into account EPA's past experience in integrating EJ into the 
rulemaking process, and underscores EPA's ongoing commitment to 
ensuring the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people 
with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of 
environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
    A Science Advisory Board (SAB) review of this document will be 
announced in May 2013. Information on the SAB review can be found here: 
http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/02ad90b136fc21ef85256eba00436459/0f7d1a0d7d15001b8525783000673ac3!OpenDocument&TableRow=2.0#2.
    In addition, the EPA will host two webinars on the draft guidance.

Wednesday, May 29, 1:00-2:30 p.m. EST; https://epa.connectsolutions.com/r4nnz6umjci/.
Thursday, June 6, 3:00-4:30 p.m. EST; https://epa.connectsolutions.com/r8fs6ctfovg/.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 8, 2013, 60 days 
after publication in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OA-
2013-0320 by one of the following methods:
     www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected].
     Fax: 202-566-2363.
     Mail: Technical Guidance for Assessing Environmental 
Justice in Regulatory Analysis, Environmental Protection Agency, 
Mailcode: 1890T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460.
     Hand Delivery: EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. 
NW., Washington, DC. Such deliveries are only accepted during the 
Docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be 
made for deliveries of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OA-2013-
0320. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in 
the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
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 www.regulations.gov or email. The 
www.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 email comment 
directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov your email 
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the 
comment that is placed in the public 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. For additional 
information about EPA's public docket visit the EPA Docket Center 
homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.

[[Page 27236]]

Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, will be publicly 
available only in hard copy. Publicly available docket materials are 
available either electronically in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy 
at the Technical Guidance for Assessing Environmental Justice in 
Regulatory Analysis Docket, EPA/DC, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 
Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC. The Public Reading Room is open 
from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal 
holidays. The telephone number for the Public Reading Room is (202) 
566-1744, and the telephone number for the Technical Guidance for 
Assessing Environmental Justice in Regulatory Analysis is (202) 566-
2273.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Kelly Maguire, Office of Policy, 
National Center for Environmental Economics, Mail code 1809T, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Mail code 
1809T, Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-566-2273; fax 
number: 202-566-2363; email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Technical Guidance for Assessing 
Environmental Justice in Regulatory Analysis is available in the public 
docket for this notice. The docket can be viewed online at 
www.regulations.gov or in person at the EPA Docket Center, EPA West, 
Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC. The telephone 
number for the Docket Center is 202-566-1744. For additional 
information about EPA's public docket, visit http://www.epa.gov/dockets.

I. General Information

    The Technical Guidance for Assessing Environmental Justice in 
Regulatory Analysis begins to address the issue of how to analytically 
consider environmental justice in regulatory analyses. It directs EPA 
analysts to assess whether potential environmental justice (EJ) 
concerns exist prior to the rulemaking and whether such concerns are 
likely to be exacerbated or mitigated for each regulatory option under 
consideration. The guidance makes recommendations designed to ensure 
consistency across EPA assessments of potential EJ concerns for 
regulatory actions. The recommendations encourage analysts to conduct 
the highest quality analysis feasible, recognizing that data 
limitations, time and resource constraints, and analytic challenges 
will vary by media and circumstance. They are not designed to be 
prescriptive and do not mandate the use of a specific approach. No new 
risk assessment or socio-economic assessment methods are required, thus 
minimizing resource or analytical burdens. This guidance takes into 
account EPA's past experience in integrating EJ into the rulemaking 
process, and underscores EPA's ongoing commitment to ensuring the fair 
treatment and meaningful involvement of all people with respect to the 
development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, 
regulations, and policies. This guidance will enable EPA to conduct 
better analysis of regulations which will ultimately enable EPA to make 
better decisions.

II. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through 
www.regulations.gov or email. 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:
     Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other 
identifying information (subject heading, Federal Register date and 
page number).
     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.
     Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives 
and substitute language for your requested changes.
     Describe any assumptions and provide any technical 
information and/or data used.
     If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how 
you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced.
     Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and 
suggest alternatives.
     Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the 
use of profanity or personal threats.
     Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period 
deadline identified.

    Dated: May 2, 2013.
Michael L. Goo,
Associate Administrator, Office of Policy.
[FR Doc. 2013-11165 Filed 5-8-13; 8:45 am]
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