Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 32 / Thursday, February 15, 2024 / Notices 11829 

In addition to publishing the full text 

of this document in the Federal 

Register, the Commission provides all 

interested persons an opportunity to 

view and/or print the contents of this 

document via the internet through the 

Commission’s Home Page (http://

www.ferc.gov) using the ‘‘eLibrary’’ link. 

Enter the docket number excluding the 

last three digits in the docket number 

field to access the document. From 

FERC’s Home Page on the internet, this 

information is available on eLibrary. 

The full text of this document is 

available on eLibrary in PDF and 

Microsoft Word format for viewing, 

printing, and/or downloading. To access 

this document in eLibrary, type the 

docket number excluding the last three 

digits of this document in the docket 

number field. User assistance is 

available for eLibrary and the FERC’s 

website during normal business hours 

from FERC Online Support at 202–502– 

6652 (toll free at 1–866–208–3676) or 

email at ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov, or 

the Public Reference Room at (202) 502– 

8371, TTY (202) 502–8659. Email the 

Public Reference Room at 

public.referenceroom@ferc.gov. 

The Commission strongly encourages 

electronic filings of comments, protests 

and interventions in lieu of paper using 

the ‘‘eFile’’ link at http://www.ferc.gov. 

In lieu of electronic filing, you may 

submit a paper copy. Submissions sent 

via the U.S. Postal Service must be 

addressed to: Debbie-Anne A. Reese, 

Acting Secretary, Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street 

NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426. 

Submissions sent via any other carrier 

must be addressed to: Debbie-Anne A. 

Reese, Acting Secretary, Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins 

Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852. 

The Commission’s Office of Public 

Participation (OPP) supports meaningful 

public engagement and participation in 

Commission proceedings. OPP can help 

members of the public, including 

landowners, environmental justice 

communities, Tribal members and 

others, access publicly available 

information and navigate Commission 

processes. For public inquiries and 

assistance with making filings such as 

interventions, comments, or requests for 

rehearing, the public is encouraged to 

contact OPP at (202) 502–6595 or OPP@

ferc.gov. 

Dated: February 9, 2024. 

Debbie-Anne A. Reese, 

Acting Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–03170 Filed 2–14–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Project No. 2362–044] 

ALLETE, Inc.; Notice of Waiver of 

Water Quality Certification 

On December 20, 2021, ALLETE, Inc. 

(ALLETE) filed an application for a 

license for the Grand Rapids 

Hydroelectric Project in the above 

captioned docket. On December 14, 

2022, Minnesota Pollution Control 

Agency received a complete request for 

a Clean Water Act section 401(a)(1) 

water quality certification from ALLETE 

in conjunction with the above captioned 

project. 

On December 21, 2022, staff provided 

Minnesota Pollution Control Agency 

with written notice that the applicable 

reasonable period of time for it to act on 

the certification request was one (1) year 

from the date of receipt of the request, 

and that the certification requirement 

for the license would be waived if the 

certifying authority failed to act by 

December 14, 2023. Because Minnesota 

Pollution Control Agency did not act by 

December 14, 2023, we are notifying 

you pursuant to section 401(a)(1) of the 

Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1341(a)(1), 

that waiver of the certification 

requirement has occurred. 

Dated: February 9, 2024. 

Debbie-Anne A. Reese, 

Acting Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–03168 Filed 2–14–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OPPT–2024–0038; FRL–11694– 

01–OCSPP] 

Draft Approach for Implementation of 

the EPA Label Program for Low 

Embodied Carbon Construction 

Materials; Notice of Availability, 

Webinar and Request for Comment 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is announcing the 

availability of and seeking public 

comment on a document that describes 

its draft approach for implementation of 

the EPA label program for low 

embodied carbon construction materials 

(Draft Label Program Approach), and is 

announcing a webinar on February 27, 

2024. The Inflation Reduction Act 

authorized $100 million to EPA to 

develop a program to identify and label 

construction materials and products that 

have substantially lower embodied 

carbon, in coordination with the 

General Services Administration (GSA) 

and the Department of Transportation’s 

Federal Highway Administration 

(FHWA). 

DATES: 

Webinar: February 27, 2024, noon–1 

p.m. EST.

Registration: To receive the webcast

meeting link and audio teleconference 

information before the meeting, you 

must register by 5 p.m. EST on February 

26, 2024. 

Special Accommodations: To allow 

EPA time to process your request for 

special accommodations, please submit 

your request to EPA by 5 p.m. EST on 

February 16, 2024. 

Written comments: Submit your 

comments on or before March 18, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: 

Webinar: Register online at https://

www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/ 

WN_UK3t7WwXToiRNIYFlml7CA#/ 

registration. 

Special Accommodations: Please 

contact the person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. 

Written comments: Submit your 

comments, identified by docket 

identification (ID) number EPA–HQ– 

OPPT–2024–0038, through https://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Do not submit electronically any 

information you consider to be 

Confidential Business Information (CBI) 

or other information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Additional 

instructions on commenting or visiting 

the docket, along with more information 

about dockets generally, is available at 

https://www.epa.gov/dockets. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kersey Manliclic, Data Gathering and 

Analysis Division (4410G), Office of 

Chemical Safety and Pollution 

Prevention, Environmental Protection 

Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 

Washington, DC 20460–0001; telephone 

number: (202) 566–9981; email address: 

manliclic.kersey@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Executive Summary

A. Does this action apply to me?

This is directed to the public in

general. This notice may be of specific 

interest to persons who represent 

federal contracting officers, construction 

contractors and specifiers for federal 

agencies. It may also be of interest to the 

following entities including federal 


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11830 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 32 / Thursday, February 15, 2024 / Notices 

agencies setting specifications and/or 

requirements for federal construction 

(e.g., GSA, FHWA, Department of 

Defense); manufacturers of lower 

embodied carbon construction 

materials; entities purchasing products 

covered by the Draft Label Program 

Approach for products used in federally 

funded construction projects; entities 

setting criteria for programs which 

provide funding for materials and 

products procured as part of 

transportation infrastructure and/or 

building construction projects (e.g., 

FHWA); and architects, engineers, and 

other procurement-adjacent 

professionals and organizations aiming 

to use lower embodied carbon 

construction materials and products in 

their projects, rating systems, and 

construction planning tools. 

B. What is the Agency’s authority for 

taking this action? 

IRA Section 60116 authorized $100 

million to EPA to develop a program to 

identify and label construction materials 

and products that have substantially 

lower embodied carbon, in coordination 

with the GSA and the FHWA. 

C. What action is the agency taking? 

The Agency is requesting comment on 

the document titled ‘‘Draft Approach for 

Implementation of the EPA Label 

Program for Low Embodied Carbon 

Construction Materials’’ (Draft Label 

Program Approach), which is available 

in the docket. EPA is requesting 

information on a number of remaining 

questions that will help shape and 

refine the program. EPA is also 

announcing a stakeholder engagement 

opportunity through a webinar. During 

the webinar EPA will give a 

presentation on the Draft Label Program 

Approach and provide an opportunity 

for the public to provide comments. 

D. What should I consider as I prepare 

my comments? 

1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit CBI 

to EPA through email or https://

www.regulations.gov. If you wish to 

include CBI in your comment, please 

follow the applicable instructions at 

https://www.epa.gov/dockets/ 

commenting-epa-dockets#rules and 

clearly mark the information that you 

claim to be CBI. Information so marked 

will not be disclosed except in 

accordance with procedures set forth in 

40 CFR parts 2 and 703, as applicable. 

2. Tips for preparing your comments. 

When preparing and submitting your 

comments, see the commenting tips at 

https://www.epa.gov/dockets/ 

commenting-epa-dockets.html. 

II. Background 

An increasing number of U.S. federal, 

state, and local government 

procurement policies, as well as large 

institutional procurement policies, are 

aimed at driving down greenhouse gas 

(GHG) emissions related to construction 

materials. These policies often require 

manufacturers to disclose the embodied 

carbon of the materials and products 

they produce to be eligible for 

procurement. Embodied carbon refers to 

the amount of GHG emissions 

associated with the extraction, 

production, transport and 

manufacturing of materials and 

products. 

The IRA, passed by Congress and 

signed into law in August 2022, 

leverages federal procurement and 

funding of buildings and infrastructure 

to catalyze markets for American-made 

construction materials and products 

with lower embodied carbon (also 

known as embodied greenhouse gas 

emissions). IRA Section 60116 provided 

EPA with $100 million dollars to 

develop and carry out a program to 

identify and label construction materials 

and products that have substantially 

lower levels of embodied greenhouse 

gas emissions associated with all 

relevant stages of production, use, and 

disposal, as compared to estimated 

industry averages of similar materials or 

products. EPA is committed to 

developing a label program that creates 

an easy and reliable way for purchasers 

to identify and procure such lower 

embodied carbon construction materials 

and products. 

The Draft Label Program Approach 

was developed by EPA in collaboration 

with stakeholders through a series of 

webinars announced in the Federal 

Register of January 26, 2023, titled 

‘‘Stakeholder Engagement Opportunities 

on Inflation Reduction Act Programs To 

Reduce Embodied Greenhouse Gas 

Emissions Associated With 

Construction Materials and Products’’ 

(88 FR 5002 (FRL–10439–01–OCSPP)). 

These webinars requested initial 

feedback on establishing new grant and 

technical assistance programs, and a 

carbon labeling program for 

construction materials with 

substantially lower levels of embodied 

greenhouse gas emissions. The Draft 

Label Program Approach has been 

informed greatly by the input received 

from the Request for Information (RFI) 

responses submitted, and by extensive 

collaboration with other federal 

agencies, including the GSA, FHWA, 

and others. 

III. Request for Public Comment 

A. What feedback does EPA hope to 

gain from the public comments? 

In the Draft Label Program Approach, 

the Agency has outlined the following: 

• An initial focus on steel 

construction products, asphalt mixtures, 

concrete mixtures, and flat glass, 

consistent with EPA’s 2022 Interim 

Determination and the Federal Buy 

Clean Initiative; 

• A phased approach that all material 

categories will be able to follow at a 

cadence that aligns with that material’s 

market maturity and data availability; 

• A plan to label specific construction 

materials and products based on the 

global warming potential provided via 

robust environmental product 

declarations; 

• A publicly accessible online 

registry of certified materials and 

products; 

• A tiered rating system of 

certification for materials and products; 

and 

• A conformity assessment and 

verification system aligned with the 

existing Environmental Product 

Declaration (EPD) verification system, 

and consistent with standards and best 

practices within the ISO IEC 17000 

series and EPA’s Framework for 

Assessing Environmental Performance 

for Specifications, Standards, and 

Ecolabels for Federal Purchasing. For 

more information about EPA’s 

Framework and related 

recommendations see https://

www.epa.gov/greenerproducts/ 

framework-assessment-environmentalperformance-standards-and-ecolabelsfederal. 

EPA is seeking public input on 

specific aspects of the Draft Label 

Program Approach. The following 

information and topics may help inform 

stakeholder input on data quality 

improvements, material threshold 

settings, certification and labeling, and 

the overall program approach. 

1. Data quality improvements. EPA 

has begun work to implement Phase I of 

the label program, which includes: 

• Development of a Vision for 

Improving Background Data with the 

Interagency Background Data Team, 

which will be published in the coming 

weeks. 

• Development of a proposed process 

for ensuring datasets directed for use in 

Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) development 

in Product Category Rules (PCRs) are of 

sufficient quality to be used by PCR 

Technical Committees. EPA will issue a 

Dataset Quality Assessment 

methodology in the coming weeks. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 32 / Thursday, February 15, 2024 / Notices 11831 

• Development of PCR criteria to be 

utilized under the label program to help 

ensure that any Environmental Product 

Declarations (EPDs) used to develop 

GWP thresholds for the label program or 

identify lower embodied carbon 

materials qualifying for the label are 

sufficiently robust. EPA will be 

releasing the draft PCR criteria for 

public comment in the coming weeks. 

To inform development of these 

documents and build upon input 

already received via the 2022 RFI, EPA 

welcomes additional input on ways to 

improve background data, enhance 

publicly available datasets in the LCA 

Data Commons, and facilitate PCR 

improvements. 

2. Material threshold setting. EPA is 

considering several options for 

addressing regional differences specific 

to the sourcing of materials and 

products in the Global Warming 

Potential (GWP) threshold setting 

process as part of Phase II of the Draft 

Label Program Approach. EPA 

welcomes specific input on what 

methods would be effective, feasible, 

and time- and cost-effective for 

specifying regions where necessary (e.g., 

AASHTO Climate Zones, groupings of 

states, market share or geological 

breakdowns). 

EPA is interested in ensuring that 

GWP thresholds are based on 

sufficiently representative data, 

recognizing that what constitutes 

‘‘representative’’ will vary by material. 

EPA plans to conduct proper statistical 

analysis on EPD availability, however, 

EPA is aware of the time constraints in 

doing so. EPA welcomes specific input 

on how to effectively define 

‘‘representative’’ data for a specific 

material type when setting thresholds 

(e.g., at least 30–50 EPDs for each 

material type in each region, or X% of 

all EPDs for a material type in each 

region). 

3. Certifying and labeling materials 

and products. EPA recognizes the need 

for credible conformity assessment to 

ensure stakeholder confidence in the 

Draft Label Program Approach. EPA 

welcomes specific input on what 

qualifications/accreditations should be 

considered (or required) of EPD verifiers 

to demonstrate sufficient knowledge 

and experience. EPA is interested in 

stakeholder feedback on whether the 

conformity criteria and processes used 

by EPA programs (e.g., ENERGY STAR, 

WaterSense), recommended in the EPA 

Framework for the Assessment of 

Environmental Performance Standards 

and Ecolabels for Federal Purchasing, 

and/or those used for EPDs in the 

market today should be applied to this 

Draft Label Program Approach available 

at https://www.epa.gov/greener

products/framework-assessmentenvironmental-performance-standardsand-ecolabels-federal. 

Additionally, EPA is interested in 

hearing from EPD verifiers and 

Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs) 

that would like to provide conformity 

assessment/verification services for this 

Draft Label Program Approach. 

4. Overall approach. EPA recognizes 

the importance of transparency and 

stakeholder input as we continue to 

develop this program. Other feedback is 

welcome in the form of questions, 

comments or additional information for 

consideration as we move forward. 

B. What is the request for information? 

EPA encourages all potentially 

interested parties, including 

individuals, governmental and nongovernmental organizations, non-profit 

organizations, community-based 

organizations, labor organizations, 

academic institutions, research 

institutions, community health centers 

and clinics, public health 

administration and environmental 

health administration programs, and 

private sector entities to comment on 

the Draft Label Program Approach. To 

the extent possible, the Agency asks 

commenters to please cite any public 

data related to or that supports 

responses, and to the extent permissible, 

describe any supporting data that is not 

publicly available. 

Authority: 26 U.S.C. 55 et seq. 

Dated: February 8, 2024. 

Jennie Romer, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of 

Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. 

[FR Doc. 2024–03083 Filed 2–14–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–11742–01–R6] 

Clean Air Act Operating Permit 

Program; Petition for Objection to 

State Operating Permit for 

Commonwealth LNG, LLC, Cameron 

Parish, Louisiana 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of final order on petition. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) Administrator signed an 

Order dated January 30, 2024, denying 

a Petition dated May 24, 2023 (the 

Petition), from Healthy Gulf and Sierra 

Club (the Petitioners). The petition 

requested that the EPA object to a Clean 

Air Act (CAA) title V operating permit 

issued by the Louisiana Department of 

Environmental Quality (LDEQ) to 

Commonwealth LNG, LLC, for its 

natural gas liquefaction and export 

facility located in Cameron Parish, 

Louisiana. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jonathan Ehrhart, EPA Region 6 Office, 

Air Permits Section, (214) 665–2295, 

ehrhart.jonathan@epa.gov. The final 

order and petition are available 

electronically at: https://www.epa.gov/ 

title-v-operating-permits/title-v-petitiondatabase. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EPA 

received a Petition from Healthy Gulf 

and Sierra Club dated May 24, 2023, 

requesting that the EPA object to the 

issuance of operating permit no. 0560– 

00997–V0, issued by LDEQ to 

Commonwealth LNG in Cameron 

Parish, Louisiana. On January 30, 2024, 

the EPA Administrator issued an Order 

denying the petition. The order itself 

explains the basis for the EPA’s 

decision. 

Sections 307(b) and 505(b)(2) of the 

CAA provide that a petitioner may 

request judicial review of those portions 

of an order that deny issues in a 

petition. Any petition for review shall 

be filed in the United States Court of 

Appeals for the appropriate circuit no 

later than April 15, 2024. 

Dated: February 9, 2024. 

David Garcia, 

Director, Air and Radiation Division, Region 

6. 

[FR Doc. 2024–03199 Filed 2–14–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OAR–2023–0642; FRL: 11720–01– 

OAR] 

Notice of Opportunity To Comment on 

Proposed Update of PM2.5 Data From 

T640/T640X PM Mass Monitors 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is requesting comment on 

its plan to retroactively apply the 

approved modification of the Federal 

Equivalent Method (FEM) designation 

for the Teledyne Advanced Pollution 

Instrumentation Model T640 particulate 

matter (PM) mass monitor including the 

640X option (hereafter T640 and T640X) 

to all of the PM with a diameter 2.5 

micrometers or smaller (PM2.5) 

concentration data from the T640 and 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES