3888 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 16 / Monday, January 26, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

laboratory and analytical uses shall be 

in effect through December 31, 2021, 

subject to the restrictions in appendix G 

of this subpart, and subject to the 

recordkeeping and reporting 

requirements at § 82.13(u) through (x). 

There is no amount specified for this 

exemption. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2015–01295 Filed 1–23–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 271 

[EPA–R04–RCRA–2014–0710; FRL–9921– 

90–Region 4] 

Georgia: Final Authorization of State 

Hazardous Waste Management 

Program Revisions 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Direct final rule. 

SUMMARY: Georgia has applied to the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

for final authorization of changes to its 

hazardous waste program under the 

Resource Conservation and Recovery 

Act (RCRA). EPA has determined that 

these changes satisfy all requirements 

needed to qualify for final authorization, 

and is authorizing the State’s changes 

through this direct final rule. In the 

‘‘Proposed Rules’’ section of today’s 

Federal Register, EPA is also publishing 

a separate document that serves as the 

proposal to authorize these changes. 

EPA believes this action is not 

controversial and does not expect 

comments that oppose it. Unless EPA 

receives written comments that oppose 

this authorization during the comment 

period, the decision to authorize 

Georgia’s changes to its hazardous waste 

program will take effect. If EPA receives 

comments that oppose this action, EPA 

will publish a document in the Federal 

Register withdrawing today’s direct 

final rule before it takes effect, and the 

separate document published in today’s 

‘‘Proposed Rules’’ section of this 

Federal Register will serve as the 

proposal to authorize the changes. 

DATES: This final authorization will 

become effective on March 27, 2015 

unless EPA receives adverse written 

comment by February 25, 2015. If EPA 

receives such comment, EPA will 

publish a timely withdrawal of this 

direct final rule in the Federal Register 

and inform the public that this 

authorization will not take effect. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R04– 

RCRA–2014–0710, by one of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Email: gleaton.gwen@epa.gov. 

• Fax: (404) 562–9964 (prior to 

faxing, please notify the EPA contact 

listed below). 

• Mail: Send written comments to 

Gwendolyn Gleaton, Permits and State 

Programs Section, RCRA Programs and 

Materials Management Branch, RCRA 

Division, U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, Atlanta Federal Center, 61 

Forsyth Street SW., Atlanta, Georgia 

30303–8960. 

• Hand Delivery or Courier: Deliver 

your comments to Gwendolyn Gleaton, 

Permits and State Programs Section, 

RCRA Programs and Materials 

Management Branch, RCRA Division, 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 

Atlanta Federal Center, 61 Forsyth 

Street SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303– 

8960. Such deliveries are only accepted 

during the Regional Office’s normal 

hours of operation, and special 

arrangements should be made for 

deliveries of boxed information. 

Instructions: EPA must receive your 

comments by February 25, 2015. Direct 

your comments to Docket ID No. EPA– 

R04–RCRA–2014–0710. EPA’s policy is 

that all comments received will be 

included in the public docket without 

change and may be made available 

online at www.regulations.gov, 

including any personal information 

provided, unless the comment includes 

information claimed to be Confidential 

Business Information (CBI), or other 

information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Do not submit 

information that you consider to be CBI 

or otherwise protected through 

www.regulations.gov or email. The 

www.regulations.gov Web site is an 

‘‘anonymous access’’ system, which 

means EPA will not know your identity 

or contact information unless you 

provide it in the body of your comment. 

If you send an email comment directly 

to EPA without going through 

www.regulations.gov, your email 

address will be automatically captured 

and included as part of the comment 

that is placed in the public docket and 

made publicly available on the Internet. 

If you submit an electronic comment, 

EPA recommends that you include your 

name and other contact information in 

the body of your comment and with any 

disk or CD–ROM you submit. If EPA 

cannot read your comment due to 

technical difficulties and cannot contact 

you for clarification, EPA may not be 

able to consider your comment. 

Electronic files should avoid the use of 

special characters, any form of 

encryption, and be free of any defects or 

viruses. (For additional information 

about EPA’s public docket, visit the EPA 

Docket Center homepage at 

www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm). 

Docket: All documents in the docket 

are listed in the www.regulations.gov 

index. Although listed in the index, 

some information is not publicly 

available, e.g., CBI or other information 

whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Certain other material, such as 

copyrighted material, will be publicly 

available only in hard copy. Publicly 

available docket materials are available 

either electronically in 

www.regulations.gov, or in hard copy. 

You may view and copy Georgia’s 

application and associated publicly 

available materials from 8:00 a.m. to 

4:00 p.m. at the following locations: 

EPA, Region 4, RCRA Division, Atlanta 

Federal Center, 61 Forsyth Street SW., 

Atlanta, Georgia 30303–8960; telephone 

number: (404) 562–8500; and the 

Georgia Department of Natural 

Resources, Environmental Protection 

Division, 2 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, 

Suite 1154 East Tower, Atlanta, Georgia 

30334–4910; telephone number: (404) 

656–2833. Interested persons wanting to 

examine these documents should make 

an appointment with the office at least 

a week in advance. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Gwendolyn Gleaton, Permits and State 

Programs Section, RCRA Programs and 

Materials Management Branch, RCRA 

Division, U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, Atlanta Federal Center, 61 

Forsyth Street SW., Atlanta, Georgia 

30303–8960; telephone number: (404) 

562–8500; fax number: (404) 562–9964; 

email address: gleaton.gwen@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Why are revisions to State programs 

necessary? 

States which have received final 

authorization from EPA under RCRA 

section 3006(b), 42 U.S.C. 6926(b), must 

maintain a hazardous waste program 

that is equivalent to, consistent with, 

and no less stringent than the Federal 

program. As the Federal program 

changes, States must change their 

programs and ask EPA to authorize the 

changes. Changes to State programs may 

be necessary when Federal or State 

statutory or regulatory authority is 

modified or when certain other changes 

occur. Most commonly, States must 

change their programs because of 

changes to EPA’s regulations in 40 Code 

of Federal Regulations (CFR) parts 124, 

260 through 268, 270, 273, and 279. 

New Federal requirements and 

prohibitions imposed by Federal 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 16 / Monday, January 26, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 3889 

regulations that EPA promulgates 

pursuant to the Hazardous and Solid 

Waste Amendments of 1984 (HSWA) 

take effect in authorized States at the 

same time that they take effect in 

unauthorized States. Thus, EPA will 

implement those requirements and 

prohibitions in Georgia, including the 

issuance of new permits implementing 

those requirements, until the State is 

granted authorization to do so. 

B. What decisions has EPA made in this 

rule? 

On September 17, 2012, Georgia 

submitted a final complete program 

revision application, seeking 

authorization of changes to its 

hazardous waste program that 

correspond to certain Federal rules 

promulgated between July 1, 2007 and 

June 30, 2011 (also known as RCRA 

Clusters XVIII through XXI). EPA 

concludes that Georgia’s application to 

revise its authorized program meets all 

of the statutory and regulatory 

requirements established by RCRA, as 

set forth in RCRA section 3006(b), 42 

U.S.C. 6926(b), and 40 CFR part 271. 

Therefore, EPA grants Georgia final 

authorization to operate its hazardous 

waste program with the changes 

described in the authorization 

application, and as outlined below in 

Section G of this preamble. 

Georgia has responsibility for 

permitting treatment, storage, and 

disposal facilities within its borders and 

for carrying out the aspects of the RCRA 

program described in its revised 

program application, subject to the 

limitations of HSWA, as discussed 

above. 

C. What is the effect of this 

authorization decision? 

The effect of this decision is that the 

changes described in Georgia’s 

authorization application will become 

part of the authorized State hazardous 

waste program, and will therefore be 

federally enforceable. Georgia will 

continue to have primary enforcement 

authority and responsibility for its State 

hazardous waste program. EPA retains 

its authorities under RCRA sections 

3007, 3008, 3013, and 7003, including 

its authority to: 

• Conduct inspections, and require 

monitoring, tests, analyses or reports; 

• Enforce RCRA requirements, 

including authorized State program 

requirements, and suspend or revoke 

permits; and 

• Take enforcement actions regardless 

of whether the State has taken its own 

actions. 

This action does not impose 

additional requirements on the 

regulated community because the State 

regulations for which Georgia is being 

authorized by today’s action are already 

effective and enforceable requirements 

under State law, and are not changed by 

today’s action. 

D. Why wasn’t there a proposed rule 

before today’s rule? 

Along with this direct final rule, EPA 

is publishing a separate document in the 

‘‘Proposed Rules’’ section of today’s 

Federal Register that serves as the 

proposal to authorize these State 

program changes. EPA did not publish 

a proposed rule before today because 

EPA views this as a routine program 

change and does not expect comments 

that oppose this approval. EPA is 

providing an opportunity for public 

comment now, as described in Section 

E of this preamble. 

E. What happens if EPA receives 

comments that oppose this action? 

If EPA receives comments that oppose 

this authorization, EPA will withdraw 

today’s direct final rule by publishing a 

document in the Federal Register before 

the rule becomes effective. EPA will 

base any further decision on the 

authorization of the State program 

changes on the proposed rule 

mentioned in the previous section, after 

considering all comments received 

during the comment period, and will 

address all such comments in a later 

final rule. You may not have another 

opportunity to comment on these State 

program changes. If you want to 

comment on this authorization, you 

must do so at this time. 

If EPA receives comments that oppose 

only the authorization of a particular 

change to the State hazardous waste 

program, EPA will withdraw that part of 

today’s direct final rule, but the 

authorization of the program changes 

that the comments do not oppose will 

become effective on the date specified 

above. The Federal Register withdrawal 

document will specify which part of the 

authorization will become effective, and 

which part is being withdrawn. 

F. What has Georgia previously been 

authorized for? 

Georgia initially received final 

authorization on August 7, 1984, 

effective August 21, 1984 (49 FR 31417), 

to implement the RCRA hazardous 

waste management program. EPA 

granted authorization for changes to 

Georgia’s program on the following 

dates: July 7, 1986, effective September 

18, 1986 (51 FR 24549); July 28, 1988, 

effective September 26, 1988 (53 FR 

28383); July 24, 1990, effective 

September 24, 1990 (55 FR 30000); 

February 12, 1991, effective April 15, 

1991 (56 FR 5656); May 11, 1992, 

effective July 10, 1992 (57 FR 20055); 

November 25, 1992, effective January 

25, 1993 (57 FR 55466); February 26, 

1993, effective April 27, 1993 (58 FR 

11539); November 16, 1993, effective 

January 18, 1994 (58 FR 60388); April 

26, 1994, effective June 27, 1994 (59 FR 

21664); May 10, 1995, effective July 10, 

1995 (60 FR 24790); August 30, 1995, 

effective October 30, 1995 (60 FR 

45069); March 7, 1996, effective May 6, 

1996 (61 FR 9108); September 18, 1998, 

effective November 17, 1998 (63 FR 

49852); October 14, 1999, effective 

December 13, 1999 (64 FR 55629); 

November 28, 2000, effective March 30, 

2001 (66 FR 8090); July 16, 2002, 

effective September 16, 2002 (67 FR 

46600); November 19, 2002, effective 

January 21, 2003 (67 FR 69690); July 18, 

2003, effective September 16, 2003 (68 

FR 42605); January 27, 2005, effective 

April 20, 2005 (70 FR 12973); April 25, 

2006, effective June 26, 2006 (71 FR 

23864); and May 2, 2013, effective July 

1, 2013 (78 FR 25579). 

G. What changes is EPA authorizing 

with this action? 

On September 17, 2012, Georgia 

submitted a final complete program 

revision application, seeking 

authorization of its changes in 

accordance with 40 CFR 271.21. EPA 

now makes an immediate final decision, 

subject to receipt of written comments 

that oppose this action, that Georgia’s 

hazardous waste program revisions are 

equivalent to, consistent with, and no 

less stringent than the Federal program, 

and therefore satisfy all of the 

requirements necessary to qualify for 

final authorization. Therefore, EPA 

grants Georgia final authorization for the 

following program changes: 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with RULES
3890 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 16 / Monday, January 26, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

Description of Federal requirement Federal Register date and 

page Analogous State authority 1

217—NESHAP: Final Standards for Hazardous Waste 

Combustors (Phase I Final Replacement Standards 

and Phase II) Amendments.

73 FR 18970, 04/08/08 ...... 391–3–11–.01(2) and 391–3–11–.10(2)–(3). 

218—F019 Exemption for Wastewater Treatment 

Sludges from Auto Manufacturing Zinc Phosphating 

Processes.

73 FR 31756, 06/04/08 ...... 391–3–11–.01(2) and 391–3–11–.07(1). 

220—Academic Laboratories Generator Standards ........ 73 FR 72912, 12/01/08 ...... 391–3–11–.01(2); 391–3–11–.07(1); and 391–3–11–

.08(1). 

222—OECD Requirements; Export Shipments of Spent 

Lead-Acid Batteries.

75 FR 1236, 01/08/10 ........ 391–3–11–.01(2); 391–3–11–.08(1); 391–3–11–.09; 

and 391–3–11–.10(1)–(3). 

223—Hazardous Waste Technical Corrections and Clarifications.75 FR 12989, 03/1/10, 75 

FR 31716, 06/04/10.

391–3–11–.01(2); 391–3–11–.02(1);, 391–3–11–.07(1); 

391–3–11–.08(1); 391–3–11–.09; 391–3–11–.10(1)– 

(3); 391–3–11–.11(5)(f); and 391–3–11–.16. 

225—Removal of Saccharin and Its Salts from the List 

of Hazardous Constituents.

75 FR 48918, 12/17/10 ...... 391–3–11–.01(2); 391–3–11–.07(1); and 391–3–11– 

.16. 

226—Academic Laboratories Generator Standards 

Technical Corrections.

75 FR 79304, 12/20/10 ...... 391–3–11–.01(2) and 391–3–11–.08(1). 

227—Revision of the Land Disposal Treatment, Standards for Carbamate Wastes.76 FR 34147, 06/13/11 ...... 391–3–11–.01(2) and 391–3–11–.16. 

1The Georgia provisions are from the Georgia Rules for Hazardous Waste Management, Chapter 391–3–11, effective as of August 7, 2012. 

H. Where are the revised State rules 

different from the Federal rules? 

There are no State requirements in the 

authorized program revisions listed 

above that are considered to be more 

stringent or broader in scope than the 

Federal requirements. 

The EPA cannot delegate the import 

and export functions at 40 CFR part 262, 

subparts E and H, contained in the 

OECD Export Rule set forth in 75 FR 

1236 (January 8, 2010). Georgia has 

adopted these regulations by reference 

at Georgia Hazardous Waste 

Management Rule 391–3–11–.08(1), and 

has properly reserved EPA’s authority 

for their implementation at Rule 391–3– 

11–.01(2)(a). 

I. Who handles permits after the 

authorization takes effect? 

Georgia will issue permits for all the 

provisions for which it is authorized 

and will administer the permits it 

issues. EPA will continue to administer 

any RCRA hazardous waste permits or 

portions of permits which EPA issued 

prior to the effective date of this 

authorization until they expire or are 

terminated. EPA will not issue any more 

permits or new portions of permits for 

the provisions listed in the Table above 

after the effective date of this 

authorization. EPA will continue to 

implement and issue permits for HSWA 

requirements for which Georgia is not 

authorized. 

J. What is codification and is EPA 

codifying Georgia’s hazardous waste 

program as authorized in this rule? 

Codification is the process of placing 

the State’s statutes and regulations that 

comprise the State’s authorized 

hazardous waste program into the Code 

of Federal Regulations. EPA does this by 

referencing the authorized State rules in 

40 CFR part 272. EPA is not codifying 

the authorization of Georgia’s changes at 

this time. However, EPA reserves the 

amendment of 40 CFR part 272, subpart 

L, for the authorization of Georgia’s 

program changes at a later date. 

K. Administrative Requirements 

The Office of Management and Budget 

has exempted this action from the 

requirements of Executive Order 12866 

(58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), and 

therefore this action is not subject to 

review by OMB. This action authorizes 

State requirements for the purpose of 

RCRA section 3006 and imposes no 

additional requirements beyond those 

imposed by State law. 

Accordingly, I certify that this action 

will not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities under the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Because this 

action authorizes pre-existing 

requirements under State law and does 

not impose any additional enforceable 

duty beyond that required by State law, 

it does not contain any unfunded 

mandate or significantly or uniquely 

affect small governments, as described 

in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–4). For the same 

reason, this action also does not 

significantly or uniquely affect the 

communities of Tribal governments, as 

specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 

FR 67249, November 9, 2000). This 

action will not have substantial direct 

effects on the States, on the relationship 

between the national government and 

the States, or on the distribution of 

power and responsibilities among the 

various levels of government, as 

specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 

FR 43255, August 10, 1999), because it 

merely authorizes State requirements as 

part of the State RCRA hazardous waste 

program without altering the 

relationship or the distribution of power 

and responsibilities established by 

RCRA. This action also is not subject to 

Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, 

April 23, 1997), because it is not 

economically significant and it does not 

make decisions based on environmental 

health or safety risks. This rule is not 

subject to Executive Order 13211, 

‘‘Actions Concerning Regulations That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use’’ (66 FR 28355, May 

22, 2001) because it is not a significant 

regulatory action under Executive Order 

12866. 

Under RCRA section 3006(b), EPA 

grants a State’s application for 

authorization as long as the State meets 

the criteria required by RCRA. It would 

thus be inconsistent with applicable law 

for EPA, when it reviews a State 

authorization application, to require the 

use of any particular voluntary 

consensus standard in place of another 

standard that otherwise satisfies the 

requirements of RCRA. Thus, the 

requirements of section 12(d) of the 

National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 

272 note) do not apply. As required by 

section 3 of Executive Order 12988 (61 

FR 4729, February 7, 1996), in issuing 

this rule, EPA has taken the necessary 

steps to eliminate drafting errors and 

ambiguity, minimize potential litigation, 

and provide a clear legal standard for 

affected conduct. EPA has complied 

with Executive Order 12630 (53 FR 

8859, March 15, 1988) by examining the 

takings implications of the rule in 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 16 / Monday, January 26, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 3891 

1This fee was improperly referenced as the 

‘‘approval’’ maintenance fee when HHS was instead 

requesting input on the records maintenance fee. As 

discussed below, commenters did offer feedback on 

the timing of the records maintenance fee. 

2The final fee schedules have been renamed and 

slightly reorganized and will be added to 42 CFR 

part 84 as appendices A and B. The fee schedules 

appear in full at the end of this document, 

following the regulatory text. 

accordance with the ‘‘Attorney 

General’s Supplemental Guidelines for 

the Evaluation of Risk and Avoidance of 

Unanticipated Takings’’ issued under 

the executive order. This rule does not 

impose an information collection 

burden under the provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq. 

The Congressional Review Act, 5 

U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the Small 

Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996, generally provides 

that before a rule may take effect, the 

agency promulgating the rule must 

submit a rule report, which includes a 

copy of the rule, to each House of the 

Congress and to the Comptroller General 

of the United States. EPA will submit a 

report containing this document and 

other required information to the U.S. 

Senate, the U.S. House of 

Representatives, and the Comptroller 

General of the United States prior to 

publication in the Federal Register. A 

major rule cannot take effect until 60 

days after it is published in the Federal 

Register. This action is not a ‘‘major 

rule’’ as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2). This 

action will be effective March 27, 2015, 

unless objections to this authorization 

are received. 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 271 

Environmental protection, 

Administrative practice and procedure, 

Confidential business information, 

Hazardous waste, Hazardous waste 

transportation, Indian lands, 

Intergovernmental relations, Penalties, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

Authority: This action is issued under the 

authority of sections 2002(a), 3006, and 

7004(b) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as 

amended, 42 U.S.C. 6912(a), 6926, and 

6974(b). 

Dated: January 13, 2015. 

Heather McTeer Toney, 

Regional Administrator Region 4. 

[FR Doc. 2015–01040 Filed 1–23–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

42 CFR Part 84 

[Docket No. CDC–2013–0004; NIOSH–216] 

RIN 0920–AA42 

Respirator Certification Fees 

AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention, HHS. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Health and 

Human Services (HHS) is revising the 

fee structure currently used by the 

National Institute for Occupational 

Safety and Health (NIOSH), within the 

Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention (CDC), to charge respirator 

manufacturers for the examination, 

inspection, and testing of respirators 

which are submitted to NIOSH for the 

purpose of creating or modifying a 

certificate of approval. Existing 

regulations reflect prices for respirator 

testing and approval that were 

promulgated in 1972, and have not kept 

pace with the actual costs of providing 

these services that benefit respirator 

manufacturers. This final rule is 

designed to update the regulations. 

DATES: This final rule is effective on 

May 26, 2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Rachel Weiss, Program Analyst; 1090 

Tusculum Ave., MS: C–46, Cincinnati, 

OH 45226; telephone (855) 818–1629 

(this is a toll-free number); email 

NIOSHregs@cdc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final 

rule is designed to establish fees for the 

following: (1) Reviewing applications 

submitted to NIOSH; (2) issuing a 

certificate of approval; (3) modifying a 

certificate of approval; (4) maintaining a 

certificate of approval; (5) performing 

specific, standard laboratory tests which 

are requested by applicants; (6) 

developing and/or performing novel 

tests which are required to evaluate 

respirator performance; (7) qualifying 

applicant respirator production sites 

and quality systems; (8) verifying 

quality system performance through 

manufacturing site quality audits; (9) 

verifying commercially available 

respirator performance through product 

quality audits; (10) replacing testing 

equipment; and (11) providing and 

maintaining laboratories and office 

space. 

The preamble is organized as follows: 

I. Public Participation 

II. Background 

III. Summary of Final Rule and Response to 

Public Comments 

IV. Regulatory Assessment Requirements 

A. Executive Order 12866 and Executive 

Order 13563 

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

C. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

D. Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act 

E. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 

F. Executive Order 12988 (Civil Justice) 

G. Executive Order 13132 (Federalism) 

H. Executive Order 13045 (Protection of 

Children From Environmental Health 

Risks and Safety Risks) 

I. Executive Order 13211 (Actions 

Concerning Regulations That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use) 

J. Plain Writing Act of 2010 

I. Public Participation 

Interested persons or organizations 

were invited to participate in this 

rulemaking by submitting written views, 

recommendations, and data. In addition, 

HHS invited comments specifically on 

the following: 

(1) To delay the implementation of 

the approval 1 maintenance fee specified 

in ‘‘Respirator Certification Fee 

Schedule A—Administrative Fees’’ 2

until 4 months after the publication date 

of the final rule to allow current 

approval holders to adjust their 

inventory of old, obsolete, or marginally 

profitable certificates of approval. In 

particular, HHS invited comments on 

whether 4 months after publication of 

the final rule allows for a sufficient 

amount of time to make such 

adjustments; and 

(2) One year as the minimum amount 

of time for new fees to remain in effect 

to provide manufacturers sufficient time 

to plan for application submissions and 

to determine which approvals to 

maintain. 

Substantive comments were 

submitted by 11 interested parties, both 

to the rulemaking docket and during the 

public meeting held April 30, 2013. 

Commenters included respirator 

manufacturers, trade associations, and a 

private testing laboratory. 

II. Background 

Under 42 CFR part 84—Approval of 

Respiratory Protective Devices, NIOSH 

approves respirators used by workers in 

mines and other workplaces for 

protection against hazardous 

atmospheres. The Mine Safety and 

Health Administration (MSHA) and the 

Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration (OSHA) require U.S. 

employers to supply NIOSH-approved 

respirators to their employees whenever 

the employer requires the use of 

respirators. NIOSH currently charges 

fees for the examination, inspection, 

and testing of such respirators which is 

necessary to grant the required 

approval. This final rule is designed to 

ensure that all approval activities are 

covered by appropriate fees, to update 

the fees charged, and to create a 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with RULES