[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 195 (Tuesday, October 8, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 53670-53671]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-21719]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 721

[EPA-HQ-OPPT-2014-0760; FRL-9998-80]
RIN 2070-AB27


Significant New Use Rule on Certain Chemical Substances; Partial 
Withdrawal (PMN P-13-270)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Partial withdrawal of proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is withdrawing part of a proposed rule, published in the 
Federal Register on January 7, 2015, that proposed significant new use 
rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for certain 
chemical substances. This withdrawal covers only the portion of the 
proposed rule that would have established a SNUR for the chemical 
substance generically described as aromatic dibenzoate, which was the 
subject of premanufacture notice (PMN) P-13-270. EPA has received test 
data for this chemical substance and based on its review is withdrawing 
the proposed SNUR for the chemical substance.

DATES: As of October 8, 2019, EPA withdraws the proposed addition of 40 
CFR 721.10735, which published in the Federal Register of January 7, 
2015 (80 FR 845) (FRL-9919-23).

ADDRESSES: The docket for this action, identified by docket 
identification (ID) number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2014-0760, is available at 
http://www.regulations.gov or at the Office of Pollution Prevention and 
Toxics Docket (OPPT Docket), Environmental Protection Agency Docket 
Center (EPA/DC), West William Jefferson Clinton Bldg., Rm. 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 OPPT Docket is (202) 566-
0280. Please review the visitor instructions and additional information 
about the docket available at http://www.epa.gov/dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical information contact: 
Kenneth Moss, Chemical Control Division (7405M), Office of Pollution 
Prevention and Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: 
(202) 564-9232; email address: [email protected].
    For general information contact: The TSCA-Hotline, ABVI-Goodwill, 
422 South Clinton Ave., Rochester, NY 14620; telephone number: (202) 
554-1404; email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Does this action apply to me?

    A list of potentially affected entities is provided in the Federal 
Register of January 7, 2015 (80 FR 845) (FRL-9919-23). If you have 
questions regarding the applicability of this action to a particular 
entity, consult the technical person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.

II. What proposed SNUR is being withdrawn?

    In the Federal Register of January 7, 2015 (80 FR 845) (FRL-9919-
23), EPA issued proposed SNURs for 13 chemical substances, including 
the chemical substance generically described as aromatic dibenzoate, 
which was the subject of PMN P-13-270. EPA proposed a SNUR for this PMN 
substance that would designate certain activities as significant new 
uses based on a finding that the substance may cause significant 
adverse environmental effects and met the concern criteria at Sec.  
721.170(b)(4)(ii). The proposed SNUR would require notification before 
any use of the substance resulting in surface water concentrations 
exceeding 1 part per billion (ppb). In this Federal Register notice, 
EPA is only withdrawing the single proposed SNUR for PMN P-13-270 
(proposed to be codified as 40 CFR 721.10735).

III. Why is that proposed SNUR being withdrawn?

    Prior to the proposed SNUR, in the Federal Register of July 9, 2014 
(79 FR 39268) (FRL-9910-01), EPA issued a direct final SNUR on this 
chemical substance in accordance with the procedures in 40 CFR 
721.160(c)(3)(i). EPA received a notice of intent to submit adverse 
comments on the direct final SNUR, and, as required by 4 CFR 
721.160(c)(3)(ii), EPA withdrew the direct final SNUR in the Federal 
Register of September 4, 2014 (79 FR 52563) (FRL-9915-69), which was 
subsequently followed by the issuance of the proposed rule in the 
Federal

[[Page 53671]]

Register of January 7, 2015. The record for both the original direct 
final SNUR and the direct final SNUR withdrawal for this chemical 
substance was established as docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2014-0166, and the 
record for the subsequent proposed rule was established as docket EPA-
HQ-OPPT-2014-0760.
    Subsequent to the January 7, 2015 proposed SNUR, the PMN submitter 
conducted an acute 96-hour toxicity test in nematodes. The data were in 
agreement with, and further supported (weight-of-evidence), the 
Agency's original acute aquatic toxicity values of no effects at 
saturation. The PMN submitter also submitted an aerobic biodegradation 
study that indicated that the substance is inherently biodegradable 
under aerobic conditions, with an estimated half-life of 135 days. Due 
to the low water solubility of the PMN substance (0.004 mg/L), EPA then 
recommended a chronic sediment toxicity test as potentially useful in 
evaluating the chronic exposures of the substance in a sediment 
environment. The PMN submitter conducted this testing, which provided a 
sediment chronic value of 537.4 mg/kg (geometric mean of the no-
observed and low-observed adverse effect concentrations, or NOEC and 
LOEC), based on the measurement endpoint of emergence ratio for aquatic 
invertebrates. The concentration of concern (COC) for sediment-dwelling 
organisms was calculated by EPA, using an uncertainty factor of 10, to 
be 53.74 mg/kg.
    Using a weight-of-evidence approach (taking into account the low 
water solubility of the substance, no adverse effects at the 
substance's saturation limit observed in the results from the submitted 
aqueous test data, and the significant difficulty of getting the 
substance into aqueous test solutions), EPA considers the substance to 
have a low (aqueous-only) environmental hazard. Further, the Agency 
determined that there is low acute and chronic aqueous-only ecological 
risk for the substance based on anticipated manufacture, processing and 
use exposure scenarios and low environmental hazard.
    EPA calculated a maximum benthic sediment concentration of 
approximately 50 mg/kg for the substance using the Point Source 
Calculator (PSC) (https://www.epa.gov/tsca-screening-tools/point-source-calculator-version-105-psc-v105) aquatic model to estimate 
chemical concentrations in sediment from point sources, with low-end 
receiving stream flow. This sediment concentration value (a reasonable 
high-end estimate of exposure) is below the sediment-based COC, 
supporting the conclusion that the sediment concentrations of the 
substance are not expected to reach the sediment-based COC. As a 
result, the Agency also determined that the substance does not pose a 
significant environment risk to sediment-dwelling organisms resulting 
from the release and use of the substance and concludes that the 
substance does not meet the criteria under Sec.  721.170(b).
    Based on these conclusions from the review of all available 
scientific evidence, EPA is withdrawing the 2015 proposed SNUR for this 
chemical substance. Copies of the data and Agency review are available 
in the docket for the proposed rule, EPA-HQ-OPPT-2014-0760.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 721

    Environmental protection, Chemicals, Hazardous substances, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: September 26, 2019.
Tala Henry,
Deputy Director, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics.
[FR Doc. 2019-21719 Filed 10-7-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P