64334 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 234 / Friday, December 5, 1997 / Proposed Rules

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

Environmental protection, Air

pollution control, Carbon monoxide,

Incorporation by reference,

Intergovernmental relations, Reporting

and recordkeeping requirements.

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401–7671q.

Dated: November 26, 1997.

Felicia Marcus,

Regional Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97–31915 Filed 12–4–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–U

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 194

RIN 2060–AE30

[FRL–5932–9]

Opportunity To Present Oral

Testimony on EPA’s Proposed Rule:

‘‘40 CFR Part 194, Criteria for the

Certification and Recertification of the

Waste Isolation Pilot Plant’s (WIPP)

Compliance With the 40 CFR Part 191

Disposal Regulations: Certification

Decision;’’ Notice of Public Hearings

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency.

ACTION: Notice of Public Hearings.

SUMMARY: EPA will conduct public

hearings to receive comments on the

proposed certification decision,

published October 30, 1997, for the

Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in

Carlsbad, Albuquerque, and Santa Fe,

New Mexico.

DATES: The schedule for these hearings

is as follows: Carlsbad, January 5, 1998,

from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and January

6, 1998, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.;

Albuquerque, January 7, 1998, from

12:00 Noon to 9:00 p.m. and January 8,

1998, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon; and

Santa Fe, January 8, 1998, from 3:00

p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and January 9, 1998,

from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Procedures

for these public hearings are detailed in

the section entitled ‘‘Hearing

Procedures’’ in SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION. Specific locations for each

city is detailed in the section entitled

ADDRESSES.

ADDRESSES: EPA’s public hearings to

accept comments on EPA’s Proposed

Compliance Certification Decision for

the WIPP will be held on January 5–6,

1998, at the Pecos River Village

Conference Center, Room #3, 711

Muscatel, Carlsbad, NM; on January 7–

8 at the Albuquerque Convention

Center, Aztec/Galisteo Room, 401

Second Street, NW, Albuquerque, NM;

on January 8–9, 1998, at the Harold

Runnels Building, 1190 St. Francis

Drive, Santa Fe, NM.

EPA’s official docket for all

rulemaking activities under the Waste

Isolation Pilot Plant Land Withdrawal

Act, as amended, is located in

Washington, DC, in the Air Docket,

Room M1500, Mailcode 6102, U.S. EPA,

401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC

20460. Information on EPA’s radioactive

waste disposal standards (40 CFR Part

191), the compliance criteria (40 CFR

Part 194), and DOE’s compliance

certification application is filed in the

official EPA Air Docket, Dockets No. R–

89–01, A–92–56, and A–93–02,

respectively, and is available for review

at the following three EPA WIPP docket

locations in New Mexico: in Carlsbad at

the Municipal Library, Hours: Mon–

Thu, 10–9, Fri–Sat, 10–6, and Sun 1–5;

in Albuquerque at the Government

Publications Department, Zimmerman

Library, University of New Mexico,

Hours: Mon–Thu, 8–9, Fri, 8–5, Sat–

Sun, 1–5; and in Santa Fe at the

Fogelson Library, College of Santa Fe,

Hours: Mon–Thu, 8–12 Midnight, Fri,

8–5, Sat, 9–5, and Sun, 1–9.

Note: The dockets in New Mexico only

contain major items from the official Air

docket in Washington, DC, plus all those

docu-ments added to the official docket since

the October 1992 enactment of the WIPP

LWA.

As provided in EPA’s regulations at

40 CFR Part 2, and in accordance with

normal Air docket procedures, if copies

of any docket materials are requested, a

reasonable fee may be charged for

photocopying.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Rafaela Ferguson, Office of Radiation

and Indoor Air, (202) 564–9362 or call

EPA’s 24-hour toll-free WIPP

Information Line, 1–800–331–WIPP.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On October 23, 1997, the

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

announced its proposed decision to

issue to the Secretary of the Department

of Energy (DOE) a ‘‘certification of

compliance’’ for the Department of

Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

(WIPP), subject to several conditions

related to: (1) waste characterization (to

determine the radionuclides and other

contents of waste disposal containers);

(2) quality assurance programs at DOE

waste generator sites; (3)

implementation of passive institutional

controls (PICs) (intended to warn future

generations about the hazards of the

radioactive waste buried in the WIPP);

and (4) panel seals (used to contain the

waste within compartments in the

facility). In addition, DOE is required to

report to EPA any change in the

activities or conditions at the WIPP that

differ from those described in the

Compliance Certification Application

(CCA), and to immediately inform EPA

of any activities or conditions at the

WIPP that might cause the WIPP to

exceed the containment requirements of

the disposal regulations. This proposal,

entitled ‘‘Criteria for the Certification

and Recertification of the Waste

Isolation Pilot Plant’s Compliance with

the 40 CFR Part 191 Disposal

Regulations: Certification Decision;

Proposed Rule,’’ was published in the

Federal Register at 62 FR 58791–58838

on October 30, 1997, which marked the

start of a 120-day public comment

period.

The WIPP is being constructed by

DOE near Carlsbad, New Mexico, as a

potential repository for the safe disposal

of transuranic radioactive waste.

Pursuant to the WIPP Land Withdrawal

Act (WIPP LWA) of 1992, Pub. L. No.

102–579, as amended, EPA is required

to perform several activities including

certifying whether the WIPP will

comply with EPA’s radioactive waste

disposal standards before DOE may

commence disposal of radioactive waste

at the WIPP. On October 29, 1996, DOE

submitted a CCA containing information

intended to demonstrate that WIPP will

comply with the EPA’s disposal

regulations. EPA published an Advance

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

(ANPRM) on November 15, 1996,

announcing receipt of the CCA and

requesting comments on all aspects of

DOE’s application for 120 days until

March 17, 1997. EPA conducted a

preliminary review of the CCA and

requested DOE to submit supplemental

information. DOE submitted the

additional information EPA requested

and on May 22, 1997, the Agency

announced that DOE’s application was

deemed to be ‘‘complete’’ (62 FR 27996–

27998). EPA’s finding that the CCA was

complete commenced a statutory oneyear period to determine, by

rulemaking, whether WIPP will comply

with the disposal regulations (WIPP

LWA, section 8(d)(2); 40 CFR 194.11).

EPA has conducted an extensive

independent technical review and

evaluation (including confirmatory

audits and inspections) of the DOE’s

CCA and supplemental materials based

on the requirements specified in the

WIPP Compliance Criteria at 40 CFR

Part 194. In response to public

comments, EPA subsequently extended

the ANPRM public comment period

until publication of the proposed rule,

thus resulting in an approximately 264-
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 234 / Friday, December 5, 1997 / Proposed Rules 64335

day public comment period. All public

comments received on or before August

8, 1997, were reviewed and considered

as part of EPA’s evaluation of the CCA.

ANPRM comments received on or

before August 8, 1997, were responded

to in the Compliance Application

Review Documents (CARDs), which are

part of the proposed certification

decision. Comments received from

August 8, 1997, to October 30, 1997,

will be responded to with comments on

the proposed rule.

DOE is developing the Waste Isolation

Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad in

southeastern New Mexico as a deep

geologic repository for disposal of

transuranic (TRU) radioactive waste. As

defined by the WIPP LWA, as amended,

TRU wastes are materials containing

elements having atomic numbers greater

than 92, in concentrations greater than

100 nanocuries of alpha-emitting TRU

isotopes per gram of waste, with halflives greater than twenty years. Most

TRU wastes are items contaminated

during the production of nuclear

weapons, e.g., rags, equipment, tools,

and organic and inorganic sludges.

The WIPP LWA, as amended,

specifies the terms and conditions for

DOE’s activities at the WIPP and the

regulatory requirements which apply

throughout various stages of the

repository’s development including the

requirement that before beginning

disposal of radioactive wastes at the

WIPP, DOE must demonstrate that the

WIPP will comply with the EPA’s

radioactive wastes disposal standards,

‘‘Environmental Standards for the

Management and Disposal of Spent

Nuclear Fuel, High-Level and

Transuranic Radioactive Wastes’’ (40

CFR Part 191).

Under the WIPP LWA, as amended,

EPA is required to develop criteria for

the Administrator’s certification of

compliance with the 40 CFR Part 191

disposal standards. EPA’s final rule for

the compliance criteria was published

in the Federal Register on February 9,

1996, at 61 FR 5224–5245,

approximately one year after proposal.

On March 29, 1996, EPA issued the

Compliance Application Guidance

(CAG) which provided DOE with

specific guidelines regarding the format

and content of the compliance

certification application and a clear

description of the information that EPA

would need to make its certification

decision. The guidance provided in the

CAG is within the framework

established by 40 CFR Parts 194 and

191. On November 15, 1996, EPA

published an ANPRM in the Federal

Register at 61 FR 58499–58500, entitled

‘‘Decision to Certify Whether the Waste

Isolation Pilot Plant Complies With the

40 CFR Part 191 Disposal Regulations

and the 40 CFR Part 194 Compliance

Criteria.’’

If EPA finalizes the decision that the

WIPP meets its radioactive waste

disposal standards, then DOE may

continue to take necessary steps

required prior to emplacement of TRU

wastes in the repository. Following the

initial emplacement of TRU wastes in

the facility and throughout its

operational phase, DOE will be required

to submit a re-certification application

to EPA every five years throughout the

operational phase of the disposal

system. The Agency will review the

applications and determine whether the

WIPP remains in compliance with the

disposal standards.

Hearing Procedures

Those persons wishing to present

testimony at the public hearings are

requested to pre-register by calling

EPA’s toll-free WIPP Information Line at

1–800–331–WIPP between the hours of

11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Eastern

Standard Time (EST) with the following

information: Name/Organizational

Affiliation (if any)/address/hearing date,

location, time(s) available to testify, and

a daytime telephone number. In order to

be guaranteed an opportunity to testify,

requests must be received by EPA no

later than 12:00 p.m. EST on December

30, 1997. Speakers not registered in

advance may register at the door, if time

slots are available. Individuals testifying

on their own behalf will be allowed 5

minutes. One individual may testify as

the official representative or

spokesperson on behalf of groups and

organizations and will be allocated 10

minutes for an oral presentation. Time

allowed is exclusive of any time

consumed by questions from the

government panel and answers to these

questions. Requests to testify at a second

or possibly third location will be

accommodated, to the extent possible,

once pre-registration has been

completed. Written comments will be

considered to the same extent as oral

testimony and will be included as part

of the official hearings transcripts. The

hearing transcript will constitute the

official record of the hearing. All written

comments which are submitted outside

of the public hearings must be received

by the HQ EPA Air Docket by February

27, 1998. These comments will also be

given EPA’s full consideration. Thus, all

comments received by EPA, whether

written or oral, will be given equal

consideration in development of the

final rule.

The public will be permitted to

inspect and comment on any recertification application.

Dated: December 3, 1997.

Richard D. Wilson,

Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and

Radiation.

[FR Doc. 97–32041 Filed 12–4–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 14

RIN 1018–AD98

Humane and Healthful Transport of

Wild Mammals, Birds, Reptiles and

Amphibians to the United States;

Notice of Reopening of Comment

Period and Scheduling of Public

Meetings

AGENCY: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of public

meetings and reopening of comment

period.

SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service

(Service), pursuant to the Lacey Act

Amendments of 1981, provides notice of

the reopening of the comment period

and the scheduling of two public

meetings to receive input from the

general public for the proposed

amendment of 50 CFR part 14, covering

the humane and healthful transport of

wild mammals, birds, reptiles and

amphibians to the United States. The

comment period was extended to

October 6, 1997 for this proposed rule

and has, thus, closed. However, based

on requests received, and in order to

receive further input from the general

public, the Service will reopen the

comment period for a period of 30 days

and hold two public meetings during

that time. Therefore, additional written

comments will be accepted during that

time, and oral and written comments

will be accepted at the public meetings.

DATES: A public meeting in New York

City (Queens) will be held on January

17, 1998, from 1:00 pm–5:00 pm, and a

public meeting in Los Angeles will be

held on January 27, 1998, from 1:00

pm–5:00 pm. Comments in writing will

be accepted by the Service beginning

January 17, 1998, through February 17,

1998.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting in New

York City will be held at St. John’s

University, Bent Hall Seminar Room,

8000 Utopia Parkway, Jamaica, NY

11439. The public meeting in Los