[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 231 (Friday, November 30, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61629-61631]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-26084]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPPT-2018-0604; FRL-9983-08]


TSCA Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC); Notice of 
Public Meetings

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the peer review of the draft Risk 
Evaluation for Colour Index (C.I.) Pigment Violet 29 (PV29) and 
associated documents developed under EPA's existing chemical substance 
process under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The peer review 
panel deliberations will be conducted during a 4-day, in-person, public 
meeting of the TSCA Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC). 
This in-person meeting will also include a general TSCA orientation for 
the TSCA SACC. A portion of the in-person meeting will be closed to the 
public for the committee's discussion of information claimed as 
confidential business information (CBI). Prior to the in-person 
meeting, there will be a public, 2-hour preparatory virtual meeting to 
consider the scope and clarity of the draft charge questions for this 
peer review. During these upcoming meetings, the public is invited to 
provide oral comments for the peer review on the draft risk evaluation 
for PV29 and related documents. Comments on the draft charge questions 
will be accepted prior to and during the 2-hour preparatory virtual 
meeting. The TSCA SACC peer review panel will consider these comments 
during their discussions.

DATES: 
    Meetings: The preparatory virtual meeting will be held on January 
8, 2019, from 2 p.m. to approximately 4 p.m. (EST). The 4-day in-person 
meeting will be held from 1 p.m. (EST) to approximately 5:30 p.m. on 
January 29, 2019 and from 9 a.m. to approximately 5:30 p.m. on January 
30, 31, and February 1, 2019.
    Oral comments: Requests to make oral comments during the 
preparatory virtual meeting should be submitted on or before 12:00 p.m. 
(EST) on January 4, 2019. In order to be included on the meeting 
agenda, requests to make oral comments during the in-person 4-day peer 
review meeting should be submitted on or before January 14, 2019. 
Otherwise, requests to present oral comments during the in-person 4-day 
peer review meeting will be accepted until and possibly during the in-
person meeting. Direct your requests to make oral comments to the 
Designated Federal Officer (DFO) listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT.
    For additional instructions, see Unit I.C. and Unit I.D. of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
    Written comments: Written comments on the scope and clarity of the 
draft charge questions for the preparatory virtual meeting should be 
submitted on or before January 7, 2019. Written comments on the draft 
risk evaluation that are submitted on or before January 14, 2019 (see 
83 FR 57473, November 15, 2018) (FRL-9986-45) will be provided to the 
peer review panel members before the meeting. You may also submit 
written comments on the first date of the in-person 4-day peer review 
meeting by providing 30 copies of your written comments to the DFO at 
the start of the meeting for the DFO to distribute to the panel 
members. The TSCA SACC will consider written comments during their 
discussions.
    Special accommodations: For information on access or services for 
individuals with disabilities, and to request accommodation of a 
disability, please contact the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT at least 10 days prior to the meeting to give EPA as much time 
as possible to process your request.

ADDRESSES: 
    Preparatory Virtual Meeting: The January 8, 2019 preparatory 
virtual meeting is open to the public and will be conducted via webcast 
using Adobe Connect and telephone. Registration is required to 
participate by listening or presenting oral comments during the 
preparatory virtual meeting. Please visit https://www.epa.gov/tsca-peer-review website for additional information including how to 
register.
    In-Person Meeting: The location of the January 29 to February 1, 
2019 in-person meeting will be announced on the TSCA SACC website 
(https://www.epa.gov/tsca-peer-review) by mid-December 2018. The 
January 29 to February 1, 2019 in-person meeting may also be webcast. 
Please refer to the TSCA SACC website at https://www.epa.gov/tsca-peer-review for information on how to access the webcast. Please note that 
for the in-person meeting, the webcast is a supplementary public 
process provided only for convenience. If difficulties arise resulting 
in webcasting outages, the in-person meeting will continue as planned.
    Comments for the peer review: Submit your written comments for the 
peer review, identified by docket identification (ID) number EPA-HQ-
OPPT-2018-0604, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Do not submit 
electronically any information you consider to be Confidential Business 
Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted 
by statute.
     Mail: OPPT Docket, Environmental Protection Agency Docket 
Center (EPA/DC), (28221T), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 
20460-0001.
     Hand Delivery: To make special arrangements for hand 
delivery or delivery of boxed information, please follow the 
instructions at http://www.epa.gov/dockets/contacts.html.
    Additional instructions on commenting or visiting the docket, along 
with more information about dockets generally, is available at http://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    Requests to present oral comments, and requests for special 
accommodations. Submit requests to present oral comments or for special 
accommodations, to the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Todd Peterson, DFO, Office of 
Science Coordination and Policy (7201M), Environmental Protection 
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone 
number: (202) 564-6428; email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

    This action is directed to the public in general. This action may 
be of interest to persons who are interested in risk evaluations of 
chemical substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 
Since other entities may also be interested in this risk evaluation, 
the Agency has not attempted to describe all the specific entities that 
may be affected by this action.

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

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit CBI information to EPA through 
regulations.gov or via email. If your comments contain any information 
that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected, please contact the 
DFO listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT to obtain special 
instructions before submitting your comments.
    2. Tips for preparing your comments. When preparing and submitting 
your

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comments, see the commenting tips at http://www.epa.gov/dockets/comments.html.

C. How may I participate in the preparatory virtual meeting?

    1. Register. Registration for the January 8, 2019, preparatory 
virtual meeting is required. To participate by listening or making oral 
comments during this meeting please visit https://www.epa.gov/tsca-peer-review to register. Registration online will be confirmed by email 
that will include the webcast meeting Adobe Connect link and audio 
teleconference information.
    2. Submit written comments. Written comments for the preparatory 
virtual meeting should be submitted, using the instructions in 
ADDRESSES and Unit I.B., on or before January 7, 2019. Written comments 
should focus on the scope and clarity of the draft charge questions and 
the TSCA SACC will consider those comments during their discussions.
    3. Provide oral comments. To provide oral comments at the virtual 
meeting, please follow the applicable instructions to register on or 
before 12:00 p.m. (EST) on January 4, 2019. Oral comments to the TSCA 
SACC panel during the preparatory virtual meeting are limited to 
approximately 5 minutes due to the time limit of this meeting. Oral 
comments should focus on the scope and clarity of the draft charge 
questions and the panel will consider those comments during their 
discussions.
    4. Participate in the virtual meeting. Follow the instructions in 
Unit I.C.1. to register for the January 8, 2019 preparatory meeting. 
Your confirmation will include the webcast meeting Adobe Connect link 
and audio teleconference information.

D. How may I participate in the in-person meeting?

    You may participate in the in-person peer review meeting by 
following the instructions in this unit. To ensure proper receipt by 
EPA, it is imperative that you identify docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPPT-
2018-0604 in the subject line on the first page of your request.
    1. Provide oral comments for the peer review. The Agency encourages 
each individual or group wishing to make brief oral comments to the 
TSCA SACC during the in-person meeting to submit their request to the 
DFO listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT on or before January 
14, 2019, in order to be included on the meeting agenda. Requests to 
present oral comments for the peer review will be accepted until the 
date of the in-person meeting and, to the extent that time permits, the 
Chair of the TSCA SACC may permit the presentation of oral comments at 
the in-person meeting by interested persons who have not previously 
requested time.
    Requests to make oral comments at the in-person meeting should 
identify the name of the individual making the presentation, the 
organization (if any) the individual will represent, and any 
requirements for audiovisual equipment. Oral comments before the TSCA 
SACC during the in-person meeting are limited to approximately 5 
minutes unless prior arrangements have been made. In addition, each 
speaker should bring 30 copies of the comments and presentation for the 
DFO to distribute to the TSCA SACC at the meeting. The TSCA SACC will 
consider oral comments during their discussions.
    2. Provide written comments. Follow the instructions in ADDRESSES 
and Unit I.B., to provide written comments on the draft risk 
evaluation.
    3. Attend the meeting. Seating at the meeting will be open and on a 
first-come basis.

II. Background

A. Purpose of the TSCA SACC

    The Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC) was established 
by EPA in 2016 under the authority of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical 
Safety for the 21st Century Act, Public Law 114-182, 140 Stat. 448 
(2016), and operates in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee 
Act (FACA), 5 U.S.C. App. 2. The SACC supports activities under the 
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), 15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq., the 
Pollution Prevention Act (PPA), 42 U.S.C. 13101 et seq., and other 
applicable statutes. The SACC provides expert independent scientific 
advice and recommendations to the EPA on the scientific and technical 
aspects of risk assessments, methodologies, and pollution prevention 
measures and approaches for chemicals regulated under TSCA.
    The SACC is comprised of experts in: Toxicology; human health and 
environmental risk assessment; exposure assessment; and related 
sciences (e.g., synthetic biology, pharmacology, biotechnology, 
nanotechnology, biochemistry, biostatistics, PBPK modeling, 
computational toxicology, epidemiology, environmental fate, and 
environmental engineering and sustainability). The SACC currently 
consists of 26 members. When needed, the committee will be assisted in 
their reviews by ad hoc participants with specific expertise in the 
topics under consideration.

B. In-Person Meeting

    The focus of the TSCA SACC in-person meeting is to peer review the 
Agency's draft risk evaluation of C.I. Pigment Violet 29, which was 
developed under EPA's existing chemical substance process. C.I. Pigment 
Violet 29 is an organic pigment that has a low solubility, low 
volatility, is expected to be highly persistent, and has low 
bioaccumulation potential in fish and other animals. The pigment is 
utilized as an intermediate to create or adjust the color of other 
pigments, as well as in commercial paints, coatings, plastics, and 
rubber products.
    Under TSCA, the purpose of the risk evaluation is to determine 
whether a chemical substance presents an unreasonable risk to health or 
the environment under the conditions of use, including an unreasonable 
risk to a relevant potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulation. 
EPA released the draft risk evaluation for C.I. Pigment Violet 29 for 
public review and comment on November 15, 2018 (83 FR 57473; FRL-9986-
45), and is submitting the same materials to the TSCA SACC for peer 
review.
    After the peer review process, EPA will consider reviewer comments 
and recommendations, and public comments, to finalize the risk 
evaluation.
    Approximately one hour of the TSCA SACC's in-person meeting will be 
closed to the public for the TSCA SACC to consider and discuss material 
that has been claimed as CBI and provided to the Committee as 
background for the draft risk evaluation for PV29. In accordance with 
FACA section 10(d), and section (c)(4) of the Government in the 
Sunshine Act, 5 U.S.C. 552b, this approximately one-hour session of the 
TSCA SACC will be closed to the public to avoid the potential 
disclosure of CBI, which is protected from disclosure by statute. See 
the Administrator's determination for a closed meeting available in the 
docket identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OPPT-2018-0604 at http://www.regulations.gov.

C. TSCA SACC Documents and Meeting Minutes

    EPA's background paper, related supporting materials, and draft 
charge/questions to the TSCA SACC are available on the TSCA SACC 
website and in docket. In addition, the Agency will provide additional 
background documents (e.g., a list of the SACC Members participating in 
this meeting and the meeting agenda) as those

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materials become available. You may obtain electronic copies of these 
documents, and certain other related documents that might be available 
at http://www.regulations.gov and the TSCA SACC website at https://www.epa.gov/tsca-peer-review.
    TSCA SACC will prepare meeting minutes and final report summarizing 
its recommendations to the Agency no later than 90 days after the 
meeting. The meeting minutes and final report will be posted on the 
TSCA SACC website and in the docket.

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2625(o) et seq.; 5 U.S.C. Appendix 2 et 
seq.

    Dated: November 21, 2018.
Stanley Barone, Jr.,
Acting Director, Office of Science Coordination and Policy.
[FR Doc. 2018-26084 Filed 11-29-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P