51656 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 191 / Thursday, October 2, 1997 / Notices

substance, for essential uses should be

permitted only if: (i) All economically

feasible steps have been taken to

minimize the essential use and any

associated emission of the controlled

substance; and (ii) the controlled

substance is not available in sufficient

quantity and quality from the existing

stocks of banked or recycled controlled

substances * * *.’’

Section 614 (b) of the Clean Air Act

Amendments of 1990 (the Act) provides:

‘‘In the case of conflict between any

provision of this title [Title VI of the

Act] and any provision of the Protocol,

the more stringent provision shall

govern.’’ Thus, to the extent that an

accelerated phaseout schedule has been

adopted under the Protocol, EPA can

legally provide exemptions for uses

authorized by the Protocol but not

otherwise specified in the Act as long as

any additional production does not

exceed the production reduction

schedule contained in section 604(a).

The first step in the process to qualify

a use as essential under the Protocol is

for the user to ascertain whether the use

of the controlled substance meets the

Decision IV/25 criteria. The user should

then notify EPA of the candidate use

and provide information for U.S.

government agencies and the Protocol

Parties to evaluate that use according to

the criteria under Decision IV/25. The

UNEP Technology and Economic

Assessment Panel (TEAP) has issued a

handbook entitled ‘‘Handbook on

Essential Use Nominations,’’ available

from EPA, to guide applicants.

Applicants should follow the guidelines

in the handbook when preparing their

exemption requests. Past applicants

should note that the current TEAP

handbook has been substantially revised

to reflect Decision VIII/10 of the Parties.

Upon receipt of the exemption

request, EPA reviews the application

and works with other interested federal

agencies to determine whether it meets

the essential use criteria and as a result,

warrants being nominated for an

exemption. Applicants should be aware

that recent essential use exemptions

granted to the U.S. for 1997 were

limited to chlorofluoro-carbons (CFCs)

for metered dose inhalers (MDIs) to treat

asthma and chronic obstructive

pulmonary disease.

In the case of multiple exemption

requests for a single use, EPA aggregates

exemption requests received from

individual entities into a single U.S.

request. An important part of the EPA

review is to determine that the aggregate

request for a particular out-year

adequately reflects the market

penetration potential and expected

availability of CFC substitutes by that

point in time. If the sum of individual

requests does not incorporate such

assumptions, the U.S. government may

adjust the aggregate request to better

reflect true market needs.

Nominations submitted to the Ozone

Secretariat by the U.S. and other Parties

are then forwarded to the UNEP TEAP

and its Technical Options Committees

(TOCs), which review the submissions

and make recommendations to the

Parties for exemptions. Those

recommendations are then considered

by the Parties at their annual meeting

for final decision. If the Parties declare

a specified use of a controlled substance

as essential and issue the necessary

exemptions from the production

phaseout, EPA may propose regulatory

changes to reflect the decisions by the

Parties consistent with the Act.

The timing of the reviews is such that

in any given year the Parties review

nominations for exemption from the

production phaseout intended for the

following year and any subsequent

years. This means that, if nominated,

applications submitted in response to

today’s notice for CFC production in

1999 and beyond will be considered by

the Parties in 1998 for final action at the

Meeting of the Parties in September of

that year.

II. Information Required for Essential

Use Applications for Production or

Importation of Class I Substances in

1999 and Subsequent Years

Through this notice, EPA requests

applications for essential use

exemptions for all Class I substances for

1999 and subsequent years. All requests

for exemptions submitted to EPA must

present the information relevant to the

application as prescribed in the TEAP

Handbook mentioned in the previous

section. As noted earlier, the TEAP

handbook has been substantially revised

to incorporate Decision VIII/10 adopted

by the Parties at their Eighth Meeting, in

November 1996. Decision VIII/10 will

require applicants to expand on

information provided in previous

nominations as well as provide new

information. Since the U.S. government

does not forward incomplete or

inadequate nominations to the Ozone

Secretariat, it is important for applicants

to provide all information requested in

the Handbook, including the

information specified in the

supplemental research and development

form (page 43) and the accounting

framework matrix (page 41). Parties

have been asked to request this

information from companies, and these

forms will assist the EPA in preparing

a complete and comprehensive

nomination. In brief, the TEAP

Handbook states that applicants must

present information on:

• Role of use in society

• Alternatives to use, including

education programs on alternatives

• Steps to minimize use, including

development of CFC-free alternatives

• Steps to minimize emissions

• Amount of substance available

through recycling and stockpiling

• Quantity of controlled substances

requested by year.

EPA anticipates that the 1998 review

by the Parties of MDI essential use

requests will focus extensively on

research efforts underway to develop

alternatives to CFC MDIs, on education

programs to inform patients and

providers of the phaseout and the

transition to alternatives, and on steps

taken to minimize CFC use and

emissions including efforts to recapture

or reprocess the controlled substance.

Accordingly, applicants are strongly

advised to present detailed information

on these points, including the scope and

cost of such efforts and the medical and

patient organizations involved in the

work. Applicants can strengthen their

exemption requests by submitting a

complete set of education materials and

including copies of printed, electronic

or audio-visual tools. Applicants are

given notice that exemption requests

without adequate information on

research and education will not be

considered complete.

Applicants should submit their

exemption requests to EPA as noted in

the ADDRESSES section at the beginning

of today’s notice.

Dated: September 25, 1997.

Richard D. Wilson,

Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Air

and Radiation.

[FR Doc. 97–26183 Filed 10–1–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–U

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–5902–6]

Availability of FY 96 Grant

Performance Report for Georgia

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability of grantee

performance evaluation report.

SUMMARY: EPA’s grant regulations (40

CFR 35.150) require the Agency to

evaluate the performance of agencies

which receive grants. EPA’s regulations

for regional consistency (40 CFR 56.7)

require that the Agency notify the

public of the availability of the reports
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 191 / Thursday, October 2, 1997 / Notices 51657

of such evaluations. EPA recently

performed an end-of-year evaluation of

one state air pollution control program

(Georgia Environmental Protection

Division). This audit was conducted to

assess the agency’s performance under

the grant made to them by EPA pursuant

to section 105 of the Clean Air Act. EPA

Region 4, has prepared a report for the

state of Georgia identified above and is

now available for public inspection.

ADDRESSES: The report may be

examined at the EPA’s Region 4 office,

61 Forsyth Street, SW, Atlanta, Georgia

30303, in the Air, Pesticides, and Toxics

Management Division.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Linda Thomas, (404) 562–9064, at the

above Region 4 address.

Dated: September 24, 1997.

Michael V. Peyton,

Acting Regional Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97–26184 Filed 10–1–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–5901–6]

National Drinking Water Advisory

Council; Notice of Open Meetings

Under section 10(a)(2) of Pub. L. 92–

423, ‘‘The Federal Advisory Committee

Act,’’ notice is hereby given that a

meeting of the National Drinking Water

Advisory Council established under the

Safe Drinking Water Act, as amended

(42 U.S.C. S300f et seq.), will be held on

October 15, 1997 from 10 a.m. until 6

p.m. and October 16, 1997, from 9 a.m.

until 5 p.m., at the Ramada Plaza Hotel

Pentagon, 4641 Kenmore Avenue,

Alexandria, Virginia 22304. The

purpose of this meeting will be to

provide the Council with the

recommendations from the Operator

Certification Working Group Report and

to discuss with the Council the

effectiveness and continued use of its

working groups. Other issues to be

covered at the meeting will include: A

status on the activities of the Microbial

Disinfectants/Disinfection By-products

Federal Advisory Committee, SDWA

implementation issues, accountability

and performance measures.

This meeting is open to the public.

The Council encourages the hearing of

outside statements and will allocate one

hour on October 15, 1997, for this

purpose. Oral statements will be limited

to ten minutes and it is preferred that

only one person present the statement.

Any outside parties interested in

presenting an oral statement should

petition the Council by telephone at

(202) 260–2285 or by E-Mail at

shaw.charlene@epamail.epa.gov by

October 14, 1997.

Any person who wishes to file a

written statement can do so before or

after a Council meeting. Written

statements received prior to the meeting

will be distributed to all members of the

Council before any final discussion or

vote is completed. Any statements

received after the meeting will become

part of the permanent meeting file and

will be forwarded to the Council

members for their information.

Members of the public that would like

to attend the meeting, present an oral

statement, or submit a written

statement, should contact Ms. Charlene

Shaw, Designated Federal Officer,

National Drinking Water Advisory

Council, U.S. EPA, Office of Ground

Water and Drinking Water (4601), 401 M

Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20460. The

telephone number is Area Code (202)

260–2285 or E-Mail

shaw.charlene@epamail.epa.gov.

Dated: September 26, 1997.

Elizabeth Fellows,

Acting Director, Office of Ground Water and

Drinking Water.

[FR Doc. 97–26179 Filed 10–1–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–5900–8]

Announcement of Stakeholders

Meeting on the National Primary

Drinking Water Regulation for Radon222

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency.

ACTION: Notice of stakeholders meeting.

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) will be holding a one-day

public meeting on Thursday, October

30, 1997, in Boston, MA. The purpose

of this meeting is to present information

on EPA’s plans for activities to develop

a proposed National Primary Drinking

Water Regulation (NPDWR) for radon222, and solicit public input on major

technical and implementation issues,

and on preferred approaches for

continued public involvement. This

upcoming meeting is the third of a

series of stakeholders meetings on the

NPDWR for radon. The first meeting

was held on June 26, 1997 in

Washington, DC and the second meeting

on September 2, 1997 in San Francisco,

CA. These meetings were initiated as

part of the Drinking Water Program

Redirection efforts to help refocus EPA’s

drinking water priorities and to support

strong, flexible partnerships among

EPA, States, Tribes, local governments,

and the public. At the upcoming

meeting, EPA is seeking input from

State and Tribal drinking water and

radon programs, the regulated

community (public water systems),

public health and safety organizations,

environmental and public interest

groups, and other stakeholders on a

number of issues related to developing

the NPDWR for radon. EPA encourages

the full participation of stakeholders

throughout this process.

DATES: The stakeholder meeting on the

NPDWR for radon will be held on

Thursday, October 30, 1997 from 9:00

a.m. to 5:00 p.m EST. Check-in will

begin at 8:30 a.m.

ADDRESSES: To register for the meeting,

please contact the Safe Drinking Water

Hotline at 1–800–426–4791. Those

registered for the meeting by October 17,

1997 will receive an agenda, logistics

sheet, and background materials prior to

the meeting. The agenda and

background materials will be similar to

the previous stakeholders meetings on

radon held in Washington, DC and San

Francisco, CA. Members of the public

who cannot participate may submit

comments in writing by November 14,

1997 to Sylvia Malm, at the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency, 401

M St., SW (4607), Washington, DC,

20460. The meeting will be held in

Boston, MA. The address of the meeting

site will be included with the

background materials or available from

the Hotline.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

general information on meeting

logistics, please contact the Safe

Drinking Water Hotline at 1–800–426–

4791. For information on the activities

related to developing the NPDWR for

radon and other EPA activities under

the Safe Drinking Water Act, contact the

Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1–800–

426–4791. For information on radon in

indoor air, contact the National Safety

Council’s National Radon Hotline at 1–

800–SOS–RADON.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

On July 18, 1991 (56 FR 33050), EPA

proposed a Maximum Contaminant

Level Goal (MCLG) and National

Primary Drinking Water Regulation

(NPDWR) for radon and other

radionuclides in public water supplies.

EPA proposed to regulate radon at 300

pCi/L. Commenters on the 1991

proposed NPDWR for radon raised

several concerns, including cost of

implementation, especially for small