Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 181 / Thursday, September 18, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 48949

Section 1404.19 Arbitration Process

Subsection (c). The language has been

clarified to state that ‘‘post hearing’’ will

not be allowed. This permits the parties

to present pre-hearing summaries or

briefs of their positions. One comment

expressed concern that the ‘‘no

transcript’’ provision of the rule might

be interpreted to mean that the

arbitrator could not tape the hearing for

his/her own use. This is not the

intention of the rule. Arbitrators may

tape the proceedings, if both parties

agree, as a supplement to his/her notes.

Section 1404.20 Arbitrator Eligibility

Eight of the nine individuals

submitting comments about the

proposed rule objected to the policy of

having only arbitrators with five (5)

years or less experience on the FMCS

Roster automatically placed on the

expedited arbitration panels. Some

argued fairness, others stated that in

order to be able to render quick

decisions, more arbitration experience

was required. FMCS has modified its

policy to that at lease two more senior

arbitrators will be listed on every

expedited panel. Given the number of

arbitrators with five (5) years of less

listing on the Roster, it is possible that

many, if not most, expedited arbitration

panels will contain more than two more

senior arbitrators. The parties continue

to have the right to jointly request any

special qualifications that they feel

necessary.

The Federal Mediation and

Consiliation Service amends 29 CFR

part 1404 as follows:

PART 1404—ARBITRATION SERVICES

1. The authority citation for part 1404

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 29 U.S.C. 172 and 29 U.S.C. 173

et seq.

2. By adding Subpart D to read as

follows:

Subpart D—Expedited Arbitration

Sec.

1404.17 Policy.

1404.18 Prcedures for requesting expedited

panels.

1404.19 Arbitration process.

1404.20 Arbitrator eligibility.

1404.21 Proper use of expedited arbitration.

Subpart D—Expedited Arbitration

§ 1404.17 Policy

In an effort to reduce the time and

expense of some grievance arbitrators,

FMCS is offering expedited procedures

that may be appropriate in certain nonprecedential cases or those that do not

involve complex or unique issues.

Expedited Arbitrator is intended to be a

mutually agreed upon process whereby

arbitrator appointments, hearings and

awards are acted upon quickly by the

parties, FMCS, and the arbitrators. The

process is streamlined by mandating

short deadlines and eliminating

requirements for transcripts, briefs and

lengthy opinions.

§ 1404.18 Procedures for requesting

expedited panels.

(a) With the excepting of the specific

changes noted in this Subpart, all FMCS

rules and regulations governing its

arbitration services shall apply to

Expedited Arbitration.

(b) Upon receipt of a joint Request for

Arbitration Panel (Form R–43)

indicating that expedited services are

desired by both parties, the OAS will

require a panel of arbitrators.

(c) A panel of arbitrators submitted by

the OAS in expedited cases shall be

valid for up to 30 days. Only one panel

will be submitted per case. If the parties

are unable to mutually agree upon an

arbitrator or if prioritized selections are

not received from both parties within 30

days, the OAS will make a direct

appointment of an arbitrator not on the

original panel.

(d) If the parties mutually select an

arbitrator, but the arbitrator is not

available, the parties may select a

second name from the same panel or the

OAS will make a direct appointment of

another arbitrator not listed on the

original panel.

§ 1404.19 Arbitration process.

(a) Once notified of the expedited case

appointment by the OAS, the arbitrator

must contact the parties within seven

(7) calendar days.

(b) The parties and the arbitrator must

attempt to schedule a hearing within 30

days of the appointment date.

(c) Absent mutual agreement, all

hearings will be concluded within one

day. No transcripts of the proceedings

will be made and the filing of posthearing briefs will not be allowed.

(d) All awards must be completed

within seven (7) working days from the

hearing. These awards are expected to

be brief, concise, and not required

extensive written opinion or research

time.

§ 1404.20 Arbitrator eligibility.

In an effort to increase exposure for

new arbitrators, those arbitrators who

have been listed on the Roster of

Arbitrators for a period of five (5) years

or less will be automatically placed on

expedited panels submitted to the

parties. However, all panels will also

contain the names of at least two more

senior arbitrators. In addition, the

parties may jointly request a larger pool

of arbitrators or a direct appointment of

their choice who is listed on the Roster.

§ 1404.21 Proper use of expedited

arbitration.

(a) FMCS reserves the right to cease

honoring request for Expedited

Arbitration if a pattern of misuse of this

becomes apparent. Misuse may be

indicated by the parties’ frequent delay

of the process or referral of

inappropriate cases.

(b) Arbitrators who exhibit a pattern

of unavailability of appointments or

who are repeatedly unable to schedule

hearings or render awards within

established deadlines will be considered

ineligible for appointment for this

service.

John Calhoun Wells,

Director.

[FR Doc. 97–24727 Filed 9–17–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6732–01–M

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 62

[OR–1–0001; FRL–5891–5]

Approval and Promulgation of State

Plans for Designated Facilities and

Pollutants: Oregon; Correction

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency.

ACTION: Direct final rule; correction.

SUMMARY: On December 19, 1995,

pursuant to sections 111 and 129 of the

Clean Air Act (Act), the EPA

promulgated new source performance

standards (NSPS) applicable to new

Municipal Waste Combustors (MWCs)

and Emission Guidelines applicable to

existing MWCs. On April 8, 1997, the

United States Court of Appeals for the

District of Columbia Circuit vacated 40

CFR part 60, subparts Cb and Eb, as they

apply to MWC units with capacity to

combust less than or equal to 250 tons/

day of municipal solid waste (small

MWCs), consistent with the opinion in

Davis County Solid Waste Management

and Recovery District v. EPA, 101 F.3d

1395 (D.C. Cir. 1996), as amended, 108

F.3d 1454 (D.C. Cir. 1997). As a result,

40 CFR part 60, subparts Eb and Cb,

apply only to large MWC units which

are defined as units with individual

capacity to combust more than 250 tons/

day of municipal solid waste.

In a July 10, 1997, Federal Register

document (62 FR 36995), the EPA

approved the State Plan submitted by

Oregon to implement and enforce
48950 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 181 / Thursday, September 18, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

Subpart Cb, as it applies to large MWC

units only. However, the approval

action inadvertently included the Coos

County, Coos Bay, Oregon, waste

combustor site. This MWC has the

capacity to combust less than or equal

to 250 tons per year of municipal solid

waste. As such, this source is designated

a ‘‘small source,’’ and is not subject to

the requirements of the approved State

Plan. This action corrects the list of

identified sources by removing ‘‘Coos

County, Coos Bay, Oregon,’’ from 40

CFR § 62.9505 Identification of Sources

(see 62 FR 36997).

Since the affected sources in the area

are presently aware of this correction,

no reopening or extension to the

comment period is planned. However, a

reopening to the comment period will

be considered if requested by an

interested person, based on a showing

that additional time for comment is

necessary in light of this correction.

DATES: This correction is effective

September 18, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be addressed to: Catherine Woo, Office

of Air Quality (OAQ–107), EPA, 1200

Sixth Avenue, Seattle, Washington

98101.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Catherine Woo, Office of Air Quality

(OAQ–107), EPA, 1200 Sixth Avenue,

Seattle, Washington 98101, (206) 553–

1814.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under

Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735,

October 4, 1993), this action is not a

‘‘significant regulatory action’’ and, is

therefore not subject to review by the

Office of Management and Budget. In

addition, this action does not impose

any enforceable duty or contain any

unfunded mandate as described in the

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

(P.L. 104–4), or require prior

consultation with State officials as

specified by Executive Order 12875 (58

FR 58093, October 28, 1993), or involve

special consideration of environmental

justice related issues as required by

Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629,

February 16, 1994).

Because this action is not subject to

notice-and-comment requirements

under the Administrative Procedure Act

or any other statute, it is not subject to

the provisions of the Regulatory

Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).

Under 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A) as added

by the Small Business Regulatory

Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, EPA

submitted a report containing this rule

and other required information to the

U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of

Representatives and the Comptroller

General of the General Accounting

Office prior to publication of this rule in

today’s Federal Register. This rule is

not a ‘‘major rule’’ as defined by 5

U.S.C. 804(2).

In rule FR Doc. 97–18082 published

on July 10, 1997, make the following

correction. On page 36997, col. 3,

§ 62.9505 Identification of Sources is

corrected by removing and reserving

paragraph (b).

Dated: September 4, 1997.

Chuck Clarke,

Regional Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97–24696 Filed 9–17–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL–5893–2]

National Oil and Hazardous

Substances Contingency Plan;

National Priorities List Update

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency.

ACTION: Notice of deletion of the Hranica

Landfill Site from the National Priorities

List.

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) announces the deletion of

the Hranica Landfill Superfund Site

(Site) in Buffalo Township,

Pennsylvania from the National

Priorities List (NPL). The NPL is

Appendix B of 40 CFR part 300 which

is the National Oil and Hazardous

Substances Contingency Plan (NCP),

which EPA promulgated pursuant to

section 105 of the Comprehensive

Environmental Response,

Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980

(CERCLA), as amended. EPA and the

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have

determined that all appropriate Fundfinanced responses under CERCLA have

been implemented and that no further

cleanup by responsible parties is

appropriate. Moreover, EPA and the

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have

determined that remedial actions

conducted at the Site to date remain

protective of public health, welfare, and

the environment.

EFFECTIVE DATE: September 18, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comprehensive information

on this Site is available through the

public docket which is available for

viewing at the Site information

repositories at the following locations:

Hazardous Waste Technical Information

Center, 9th Floor, EPA Region III, 841

Chestnut Building, Philadelphia, PA,

19107, (215) 566–5364. Buffalo

Township Municipal Building, 109 Bear

Creek Road, Buffalo Township, PA

16055, (412)–259–2648.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Garth Connor, Remedial Project

Manager, EPA Region III, 841 Chestnut

Building, Philadelphia, PA 19107, 215–

566–3209.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The site to

be deleted from the NPL is: Hranica

Landfill, Buffalo Township,

Pennsylvania.

A Notice of intent to delete for this

site was published June 19, 1997 (62 FR

33381). The closing date for comments

on the notice of intent to delete was July

21, 1997. EPA received no comments.

The EPA identifies sites which appear

to present a significant risk to public

health, welfare, or the environment and

it maintains the NPL as the list of those

sites. Sites on the NPL may be the

subject of Hazardous Substance

Response Trust Fund (Fund-) financed

remedial actions. Any site deleted from

the NPL remains eligible for Fundfinanced remedial actions in the

unlikely event that conditions at the site

warrant such action. Section

300.425(e)(3) of the NCP states that

Fund-financed actions may be taken at

sites deleted from the NPL. Deletion of

a site from the NPL does not affect

responsible party liability or impede

agency efforts to recover costs

associated with response efforts.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 300

Environmental protection, Air

pollution control, Chemicals, Hazardous

substances, Hazardous waste,

Intergovernmental relations, Superfund,

Water supply.

Dated: September 9, 1997.

W. Michael McCabe,

Regional Administrator, EPA Region III.

For the reason set out in the preamble,

40 CFR part 300 is amended as follows:

PART 300—[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for part 300

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1321(c)(2); 42 U.S.C.

9601–9657; E.O. 12777, 56 FR 54757, 3 CFR,

191 Comp., p. 351; E.O. 12580, 52 FR 2923,

3 CFR, 1987 Comp., p. 193.

Appendix B [Amended]

2. Table 1 of Appendix B to part 300

is amended by removing the site

‘‘Hranica Landfill, Buffalo Township,

Pennsylvania.’’

[FR Doc. 97–24547 Filed 9–17–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P