Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 190 / Wednesday, October 1, 1997 / Notices 51465

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[OPPTS–00225; FRL–5748–3]

Notice of Availability of Pollution

Prevention Grants and Announcement

of Financial Assistance Programs

Eligible for Review

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of Availability of

Pollution Prevention Grants.

SUMMARY: EPA expects to have

approximately $5 million available in

fiscal year 1998 grant/cooperative

agreement funds under the Pollution

Prevention Incentives for States (PPIS)

grant program. The grant dollars are

targeted at State and Tribal programs

that address the reduction or

elimination of pollution across all

environmental media: air, land, and

water. Grants/cooperative agreements

will be awarded under the authority of

the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Your EPA Regional Pollution Prevention

Coordinator. Contact names for each

Regional Office are listed under Unit

VII. of this document.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Availability:

Internet

Electronic copies of this document

and the Guidance document are

available from the EPA home page at the

Federal Register-Environmental

Documents entry for this document

under ‘‘Laws and Regulations’’ (http://

www.epa.gov/ fedrgstr/).

Fax-on-Demand

Using a faxphone call 202–401–0527

and select item 3055 for a copy of the

1998 Guidance document.

I. Background

Approximately $50 million has been

awarded to more than 100 State and

Tribal organizations under EPA’s

multimedia pollution prevention grant

program, since its inception in 1989.

In November 1990, the Pollution

Prevention Act of 1990 (the Act) (Pub.

L. 101–508) was enacted, establishing as

national policy that pollution should be

prevented or reduced at the source

whenever feasible. Section 6603 of the

Act defines source reduction as any

practice that:

(1) Reduces the amount of any

hazardous substance, pollutant, or

contaminant entering any waste stream

or otherwise released into the

environment (including fugitive

emissions) prior to recycling, treatment,

or disposal.

(2) Reduces the hazards to public

health and the environment associated

with the release of such substances,

pollutants, or contaminants.

EPA further defines pollution

prevention as the use of other practices

that reduce or eliminate the creation of

pollutants through increased efficiency

in the use of raw materials, energy,

water, or other resources, or protection

of natural resources, or protection of

natural resources by conservation.

Section 6605 of the Act authorizes

EPA to make matching grants to States

to promote the use of source reduction

techniques by businesses. In evaluating

grant applications, the Act directs EPA

to consider whether the proposed State

program will:

(1) Make technical assistance

available to businesses seeking

information about source reduction

opportunities, including funding for

experts to provide onsite technical

advice and to assist in the development

of source reduction plans.

(2) Target assistance to businesses for

which lack of information is an

impediment to source reduction.

(3) Provide training in source

reduction techniques.

In addition to this grant making

authority, the Act authorized EPA to

establish a national source reduction

clearinghouse and expanded EPA’s

authorities to collect data to better track

source reduction activities. The Act also

requires EPA to report periodically to

Congress on EPA progress in

implementing the Act.

II. Availability of FY 98 Funds

EPA expects to have approximately $5

million in grant/cooperative agreement

funds available for FY 1998 Pollution

Prevention activities. The Agency has

delegated grant making authority to the

EPA Regional offices. Regional offices

are responsible for the solicitation of

interest, the screening of proposals, and

the actual selection of awards. PPIS

grant guidance will be provided to all

applicants along with any

supplementary information the Regions

may wish to provide.

All applicants must address the

national program criteria listed under

Unit V.2. of this document. In addition,

applicants may be required to meet

supplemental Regional criteria.

Interested applicants should contact

their Regional Pollution Prevention

Coordinator for more information (see

Unit VII. of this document for the listing

of Regional Pollution Prevention

contacts).

III. Catalogue of Federal Domestic

Assistance

The number assigned to the PPIS

program in the Catalogue of Federal

Domestic Assistance is 66.708 (formerly

66.900).

IV. Matching Requirements

Organizations receiving pollution

prevention grant funds are required to

match Federal funds by at least 50

percent. For example, the Federal

government will provide half of the total

allowable cost of the project, and the

State will provide the other half. A grant

request for $100,000 would support a

total allowable project cost of $200,000,

with the State also providing $100,000.

State contributions may include dollars,

in-kind goods and services, and/or third

party contributions.

V. Eligibility

1. Applicants. In accordance with the

Act, eligible applicants for purposes of

funding under this grant program

include the 50 States, the District of

Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, any

territory or possession of the United

States, any agency or instrumentality of

a State including State universities, and

all Federally recognized Native

American tribes. For convenience, the

term ‘‘State’’ in this notice refers to all

eligible applicants. Local governments,

private universities, private nonprofit

entities, private businesses, and

individuals are not eligible. The

organizations excluded from applying

directly are encouraged to work with

eligible applicants in developing

proposals that include them as

participants in the projects. EPA

strongly encourages this type of

cooperative arrangement.

2. Activities and criteria—a. General.

The purpose of the PPIS grant program

is to support the establishment and

expansion of State and Tribal

multimedia pollution prevention

programs. EPA specifically seeks to

build State pollution prevention

capabilities or to test, at the State level,

innovative pollution prevention

approaches and methodologies. Funds

awarded under the PPIS grant program

must be used to support pollution

prevention programs that address the

transfer and reduction of potentially

harmful pollutants across all

environmental media: air, water, and

land. Programs should reflect

comprehensive and coordinated

pollution prevention planning and

implementation efforts State-wide.

b. 1998 National Criteria. There are a

growing number of business assistance
51466 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 190 / Wednesday, October 1, 1997 / Notices

organizations established within States

interacting with businesses in an

increasing number of areas, including

environmental concerns. Consequently,

as a means to provide substantive

support of pollution prevention, EPA is

eager to ensure that the PPIS grants will

add to the success and sustainability of

State environmental assistance

providers and contribute to the

development of a cooperative network

of coordinated business assistance

providers. Through the PPIS grant

funds, EPA seeks to leverage the

expertise of the various environmental

assistance organizations to work jointly

with business assistance organizations

in an effort to provide seamless

assistance to industry. To this end,

applicants must provide documentation

showing they have entered into a

partnership agreement with at least one

environmental and/or business

assistance provider in their State.

EPA also believes it is important for

the sustainability of State pollution

prevention programs to complement the

goals and strategies of the State

Performance Partnership Agreements

(PPAs), and Performance Partnership

Grants (PPGs) under the National

Environmental Performance Partnership

System (NEPPS) or for those States not

participating in the PPAs and PPGs, to

show that the pollution prevention work

they are undertaking complements and

supports the State’s environmental

strategic plans. EPA encourages all

applicants to develop proposals focused

on priority industrial sectors,

geographic areas, and/or State and

Federal Reinvention activities (if

applicable). Where the State

environmental programs may lack a

single comprehensive environmental

strategy, PPIS applications must show a

correlation between the proposed

activity and the environmental goals, or

objectives of the State environmental

program. The application must

demonstrate how the proposed

pollution prevention activities will

advance State environmental goals as

stated in either PPAs, PPGs, or other

State environmental strategic planning

documents. Applicants submitting

proposals that do not show a correlation

between the environmental goals of the

State and the proposed pollution

prevention activity will not be

considered eligible for funding.

EPA, through the PPIS grants, is also

working to encourage better awareness

by the state regulatory and media

programs of how pollution prevention

and the State pollution prevention

programs are helping the regulatory

programs address their ever growing

and increasingly complex

environmental management problems.

To address this, applications must

include activities the pollution

prevention program will undertake to

ensure communication and feedback to

the regulatory programs showing how

pollution prevention is helping to

advance multimedia environmental

protection.

Based on the above, proposals that do

not address these three criteria will not

be eligible for funding. In summary, in

the narrative of the grant application,

the following three requirements must

be clearly addressed:

(1) Identify the partnering

organization(s) and demonstrate or

document the relationship. This can be

done, for example, through a letter of

agreement, a joint statement, or

principles of agreement signed by both

parties or multiple parties.

(2) Describe how the activities

proposed in the grant will support the

State’s PPA, PPG under NEPPS, or

where the State is not participating in

the PPA - PPG process, show how the

proposal complements the goals and

objectives laid out in State strategic

planning documents. Applications must

show a correlation between the

proposed activity and the

environmental goals or objectives of the

State environmental program if the State

environmental program lacks a single

comprehensive environmental strategy.

Proposals must include copies of

language from PPAs, PPGs, or other

strategic planning documents and show

directly how P2 will be used to support

those goals and objectives.

(3) Describe the outreach and

communication strategies that will be

undertaken to ensure that the State’s

regulatory and environmental programs

are made aware of the pollution

prevention activities in their State and

how those activities are addressing

multimedia environmental management

problems. For example, a work plan

might incorporate identifiable activities

which supply relevant source reduction

information to the affected regulatory

program.

Applicants should consult the PPIS

program guidance for more detailed

information on the 1998 goals and

criteria.

Proposals accepted for review under

this program must qualify as pollution

prevention as defined by EPA.

3. Program management. Awards for

FY 1998 funds will be managed through

the EPA Regional Offices. Applicants

should contact their EPA Regional

Pollution Prevention Coordinator to

obtain specific deadlines for submitting

proposals. National funding decisions

will be made by April 1998.

4. Contacts. Interested applicants are

requested to contact the appropriate

EPA Regional Pollution Prevention

Coordinator listed under Unit VI. of this

document to obtain specific instructions

and guidance for submitting proposals.

VI. State Single Point of Contact

This program is eligible for review

under Executive Order 12372. States

must notify the following office in

writing within 30 days of this

publication whether their State’s official

E.O. 12372 process will review

applications in this program: Policy,

Information and Training Branch,

Grants Administration Division (3903R),

U.S. EPA, 401 M St., SW., Washington,

DC 20460, Attention: Carol H. Hoffman.

Applicants must contact their State’s

Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for

intergovernmental review as early as

possible to find out if the program is

subject to the State’s official E.O. 12372

review process and what material must

be submitted to the SPOC for review.

Please note that federally recognized

tribal organizations are not required to

comply with this procedure.

VII. Regional Pollution Prevention

Contacts

Region 1: (Connecticut, Maine,

Massachusetts, New Hampshire,

Rhode Island, Vermont), Mark

Mahoney, JFK Federal Bldg/SPN,

Boston, MA 02203, Telephone: (617)

565–1155.

Region II: (New Jersey, New York,

Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands), Janet

Sapadin, (2-OPM-PPI), 290 Broadway,

25th Floor, New York, NY 10007,

Telephone: (212) 637–3584.

Region III: (Delaware, Maryland,

Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia,

District of Columbia), Jeff Burke,

(3EP10), 841 Chestnut Bldg.,

Philadelphia, PA 19107, Telephone:

(215) 566–2761.

Region IV: (Alabama, Florida, Georgia,

Kentucky, Mississippi, North

Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee),

Bernie Hayes, Atlanta Federal Center,

61 Forsyth St., SW., Atlanta, GA

30303, Telephone: (404) 562–9430.

Region V: (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan,

Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin), Phil

Kaplan, (DRP-8J), 77 West Jackson

Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604, Telephone:

(312) 353–4669.

Region VI: (Arkansas, Louisiana, New

Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas), Eli

Martinez, (6EN-XP), 1445 Ross Ave.,

12th Floor, Suite 1200, Dallas, TX

75202, Telephone: (214) 665–2119.

Region VII: (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri,

Nebraska), Marc Matthews, (ARTD/

TSPP), 726 Minnesota Ave., Kansas
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 190 / Wednesday, October 1, 1997 / Notices 51467

City, KS 66101, Telephone: (913) 551–

7517.

Region VIII: (Colorado, Montana, North

Dakota, South Dakota, Utah,

Wyoming), Linda Walters, (8P2-P2),

999 18th St., Suite 500, Denver, CO

80202, Telephone: (303) 312–6385.

Region IX: (Arizona, California, Hawaii,

Nevada, American Samoa, Guam)

(WST-1-1), Bill Wilson, 75 Hawthorne

Ave., San Francisco, CA 94105,

Telephone: (415) 744–2192.

EPA Region X: (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon,

Washington), Carolyn Gangmark,

1200 Sixth Ave., Seattle, WA 98101,

Telephone: (206) 553–4072.

Dated: September 23, 1997.

William H. Sanders III,

Director, Office of Pollution Prevention and

Toxics.

[FR Doc. 97–26014 Filed 9–30–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–F

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[OPP–00502; FRL–5742–1]

Proposed Pesticide Amendment

Reinvention Measures

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

SUMMARY: EPA is soliciting comments

on a proposed revised policies and

procedures concerning certain types of

registration amendments. The proposal

is available in a draft Pesticide

Registration (PR) Notice entitled

‘‘Notifications, Non-notifications and

Minor Formulation Amendments’’

which is available upon request.

Interested parties may request a copy of

the Agency’s proposed policy as set

forth in the ADDRESSES unit of this

notice.

DATES: Written comments, identified by

the docket number ‘‘OPP–00502,’’ must

be received on or before December 1,

1997.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments

identified by the docket control number

OPP–00502 by mail to: Public

Information and Records Integrity

Branch, Information Resources and

Services Division (7506C), Office of

Pesticide Programs, Environmental

Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW.,

Washington, DC 20460. In person, bring

comments directly to the OPP docket

which is located in Rm. 1132 of Crystal

Mall #2, 1921 Jefferson Davis Highway,

Arlington, VA. The PR Notice is

available by contacting the person

whose name appears under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Comments and data may also be

submitted electronically by following

the instructions under Unit V. of this

document. No Confidential Business

Information (CBI) should be submitted

through e-mail.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: By

mail: Jeff Kempter (7505C),

Environmental Protection Agency, 401

M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460.

Office location, telephone number, and

e-mail address: Rm. 713E, CM #2, 1921

Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA,

(703) 305–5448, e-mail:

kempter.carlton@epamail.epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Availability:

Internet

Electronic copies of this document

and the PR Notice are available from the

EPA home page at the Federal RegisterEnvironmental Documents entry for this

document under ‘‘Regulations’’ (http://

www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/).

Fax on Demand

Using a faxphone call 202–401–0527

and select item 6102 for a copy of the

PR notice.

This Federal Register notice

announces the availability of the draft

PR Notice and solicits comment on the

proposed policy. If, after reviewing any

comments, EPA determines that changes

to the Notice are warranted, the Agency

will revise the draft PR Notice prior to

release.

I. Purpose

The purpose of the proposed PR

Notice is to reinvent the registration

process by expanding the types of minor

amendments which may be

accomplished by notification, nonnotification, or minor formula changes.

The proposed PR Notice will supersede

the document now in effect, PR Notice

95-2 (May 31, 1995). The goal of this

notice is to increase the efficiency and

timeliness of the registration

amendment process so as to reduce

regulatory burdens while maintaining

protection to human health and the

environment.

II. Applicability

The proposed PR Notice will apply to

all applicants seeking minor registration

amendments which meet the criteria in

the notice.

III. Contents of the PR Notice

The proposed PR Notice simply

expands the current PR Notice 95-2 to

include more kinds of minor labeling

amendments which may be

accomplished by notification or nonnotification. In addition, the proposed

notice revises the process for

submission and review of notifications

to reflect the new requirements of the

Food Quality Protection Act of 1996.

IV. Submission of Confidential Business

Information

Information submitted as a comment

concerning this document may be

claimed confidential by marking any

part or all of that information as CBI.

Information so marked will not be

disclosed except in accordance with

procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.

A copy of the comment that does not

contain CBI must be submitted for

inclusion in the public record.

Information not marked confidential

may be disclosed publicly by EPA

without prior notice.

V. Public Record

A record has been established for this

action under docket number ‘‘OPP–

00502’’ (including comments and data

submitted electronically as described

below). A public version of this record,

including printed, paper versions of

electronic comments, which does not

include any information claimed as CBI,

is available for inspection from 8:30

a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday,

excluding legal holidays. The public

record is located in Rm. 1132 of the

Public Information and Records

Integrity Branch, Information Resources

and Services Division (7506C), Office of

Pesticide Programs, Environmental

Protection Agency, Crystal Mall #2,

1921 Jefferson Davis Highway,

Arlington, VA.

Electronic comments can be sent

directly to EPA at:

opp-docket@epamail.epa.gov

Electronic comments must be

submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the

use of special characters and any form

of encryption.

The official record for this action, as

well as the public version, as described

above will be kept in paper form.

Accordingly, EPA will transfer all

comments received electronically into

printed, paper form as they are received

and will place the paper copies in the

official record which will also include

all comments submitted in writing. The

official record is the paper record

maintained at the address in

ADDRESSES at the beginning of this

document.

List of Subjects

Environmental protection,

Administrative practice and procedure,

Agricultural commodities, pesticides

and pests.