[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 3, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 308]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-28964]



[[Page 308]]

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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Drug Enforcement Administration

21 CFR Part 1301

[Docket No. DEA-1144]
RIN 1117-AB84


Controlled Substance Destruction Alternatives to Incineration; 
Extension of Comment Period

AGENCY: Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Justice.

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; extension of comment 
period.

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SUMMARY: The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) published an advance 
notice of proposed rulemaking entitled ``Controlled Substance 
Destruction Alternatives to Incineration'' in the Federal Register on 
October 31, 2023. DEA is extending the comment period on that advance 
notice until April 1, 2024.

DATES: The comment period for the advanced notice of proposed 
rulemaking published October 31, 2023, at 88 FR 74379 is extended until 
April 1, 2024. Electronic comments must be submitted, and written 
comments must be postmarked, on or before April 1, 2024. Commenters 
should be aware that the electronic Federal Docket Management System 
will not accept comments after 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the last day 
of the comment period.

ADDRESSES: To ensure proper handling of comments, please reference 
``RIN 1117-AB84/Docket No. DEA-1144'' on all correspondence, including 
any attachments.
    <bullet> Electronic comments: DEA encourages that all comments be 
submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal, which 
provides the ability to type comments directly into the comment field 
on the web page or to attach a file containing comments. Please go to 
http://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions at that 
site for submitting comments. Upon completion of your submission, you 
will receive a Comment Tracking Number for your comment generated by 
http://www.regulations.gov. Please be aware that submitted comments are 
not instantaneously available for public view on http://www.regulations.gov. If you have received a Comment Tracking Number, 
your comment has been successfully submitted, and there is no need to 
resubmit the same comment.
    <bullet> Paper comments: Paper comments that duplicate the 
electronic submission are discouraged. Should you wish to mail a paper 
comment in lieu of submitting a comment electronically, it should be 
sent via regular or express mail to: Drug Enforcement Administration, 
Attn: DEA Federal Register Representative/DPW, 8701 Morrissette Drive, 
Springfield, Virginia 22152. Hand-delivered comments will not be 
accepted.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott A. Brinks, Regulatory Drafting 
and Policy Support Section, Diversion Control Division, Drug 
Enforcement Administration; Telephone: (571) 776-3882.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Posting of Public Comments

    Please note that all comments received in response to this docket 
are considered part of the public record. The Drug Enforcement 
Administration (DEA) will make all comments available for public 
inspection online at http://www.regulations.gov. Such information 
includes personal or business identifiers (such as name, address, state 
or Federal identifiers, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commenter. 
All information voluntarily submitted by the commenter, unless clearly 
marked as Confidential Information in the method described below, will 
be publicly posted. Comments may be submitted anonymously. The Freedom 
of Information Act applies to all comments received.
    Commenters submitting comments which include personal identifying 
information (PII), confidential, or proprietary business information 
that the commenter does not want made publicly available should submit 
two copies of the comment. One copy must be marked ``CONTAINS 
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION'' and should clearly identify all PII or 
business information the commenter does not want to be made publicly 
available, including any supplemental materials. DEA will review this 
copy, including the claimed PII and confidential business information, 
in its consideration of comments. The second copy should be marked ``TO 
BE PUBLICLY POSTED'' and must have all claimed confidential PII and 
business information already redacted. DEA will post only the redacted 
comment on http://www.regulations.gov for public inspection.
    For easy reference, an electronic copy of this document and a plain 
language summary are available at http://www.regulations.gov.

Summary

    On October 31, 2023, DEA published an advance notice of proposed 
rulemaking (ANPRM) requesting stakeholder responses to ten questions 
about methods and technology currently being utilized or developed to 
render controlled substances non-retrievable.\1\ Since publication, DEA 
received two requests from stakeholders for an extension of the comment 
period due to timeliness difficulties preparing adequate comments to 
the ANPRM during the holidays. One of those commenters, an association, 
stated that its member companies have a significant interest in this 
ANPRM, and requested an extension to allow them to provide timely and 
informative comments.
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    \1\ 88 FR 74379 (Oct. 31, 2023).
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    After considering these requests for additional response time, DEA 
is extending the comment period to allow stakeholders to prepare and 
submit comments. This allows sufficient time for persons to evaluate 
and consider all relevant information and respond accordingly. 
Therefore, the comment period is extended to April 1, 2024. Electronic 
comments must be submitted, and written comments must be postmarked, on 
or before this date.

Signing Authority

    This document of the Drug Enforcement Administration was signed on 
December 28, 2023, by Administrator Anne Milgram. That document with 
the original signature and date is maintained by DEA. For 
administrative purposes only, and in compliance with requirements of 
the Office of the Federal Register, the undersigned DEA Federal 
Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to sign and submit the 
document in electronic format for publication, as an official document 
of DEA. This administrative process in no way alters the legal effect 
of this document upon publication in the Federal Register.

Scott Brinks,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, Drug Enforcement Administration.
[FR Doc. 2023-28964 Filed 12-29-23; 11:15 am]
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