14836 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 41 / Thursday, February 29, 2024 / Notices 

information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. 

Submit written comments and 

recommendations to OMB for the 

proposed information collection within 

30 days of publication of this notice to 

www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. 

Find this particular information 

collection by selecting ‘‘Currently under 

30-day Review—Open for Public 

Comments’’ or by using the search 

function. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Aaron Letterly, Office of Transportation 

and Air Quality, Environmental 

Protection Agency, 2000 Traverwood 

Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48105; telephone 

number 734–214–4340, email address: 

letterly.aaron@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

proposed extension of the ICR, which is 

currently approved through February 

29, 2024. An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor and a person is not required to 

respond to a collection of information 

unless it displays a currently valid OMB 

control number. 

Public comments were previously 

requested via the Federal Register on 

August 8, 2023 during a 60-day 

comment period (88 FR 53483). This 

notice allows for an additional 30 days 

for public comments. Supporting 

documents which explain in detail the 

information that the EPA will be 

collecting are available in the public 

docket for this ICR. The docket can be 

viewed online at www.regulations.gov 

or in person at the EPA Docket Center, 

WJC West, Room 3334, 1301 

Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC. 

The telephone number for the Docket 

Center is 202–566–1744. For additional 

information about EPA’s public docket, 

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

Abstract: Transportation conformity is 

required under Clean Air Act section 

176(c) (42 U.S.C. 7506(c)) to ensure that 

federally supported transportation 

activities are consistent with (‘‘conform 

to’’) the purpose of the State Air Quality 

Implementation Plan (SIP). 

Transportation activities include 

transportation plans, transportation 

improvement programs (TIPs), and 

federally funded or approved highway 

or transit projects. Conformity to the 

purpose of the SIP means that 

transportation activities will not cause 

or contribute to new air quality 

violations, worsen existing violations, or 

delay timely attainment of the relevant 

National Ambient Air Quality Standards 

(NAAQS)) or interim milestones. 

Transportation conformity applies 

under EPA’s conformity regulations at 

40 CFR part 93, subpart A, to areas that 

are designated nonattainment and 

maintenance areas for the following 

transportation-related criteria 

pollutants: ozone, particulate matter 

(PM2.5 and PM10), carbon monoxide 

(CO), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). EPA 

published the original transportation 

conformity rule on November 24, 1993 

(58 FR 62188), and has subsequently 

published several revisions. EPA 

develops the conformity regulations in 

coordination with the Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA) and Federal 

Transit Administration (FTA). The 

federal government needs information 

collected under these regulations to 

ensure that metropolitan planning 

organization (MPO) and federal 

transportation actions are consistent 

with state air quality goals. 

Form numbers: None. 

Respondents/affected entities: MPOs, 

local transit agencies, state departments 

of transportation, and state and local air 

quality agencies. 

Respondent’s obligation to respond: 

Mandatory pursuant to Clean Air Act 

section 176(c) (42 U.S.C. 7506(c)) and 40 

CFR part 93. 

Estimated number of respondents: 

145 (total). 

Frequency of response: Typically, 

once every four years for transportation 

plans and TIPs, and for the largest 

MPOs with three or more NAAQS, once 

every three years for transportation 

plans and TIPs. As needed for projects. 

Total estimated burden: 42,481 hours 

(per year). Burden is defined at 5 CFR 

1320.03(b). 

Total estimated cost: $2,946,914 (per 

year), which includes $0 annualized 

capital or operation & maintenance 

costs. 

Changes in the estimates: There is a 

decrease of 6,190 hours in the total 

estimated respondent burden compared 

with the ICR currently approved by 

OMB. This decrease in burden was 

projected due to the requirement for 

transportation conformity ending in 

PM10, NO2, and CO maintenance areas 

that have reached the end of the 20-year 

maintenance period. 

Courtney Kerwin, 

Director, Information Engagement Division. 

[FR Doc. 2024–04153 Filed 2–28–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OPPT–2024–0073; FRL–11760– 

01–OCSPP] 

Di-isodecyl Phthalate (DIDP) and Diisononyl Phthalate (DINP); Draft Risk 

Evaluations; Science Advisory 

Committee on Chemicals (SACC) Peer 

Review; Request for Nominations of ad 

hoc Expert Reviewers 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is seeking public 

nominations of scientific and technical 

experts that EPA can consider for 

service as ad hoc reviewers assisting the 

Science Advisory Committee on 

Chemicals (SACC) with the peer review 

of the Agency’s evaluation of the risks 

from di-isodecyl phthalate (DIDP) and 

di-isononyl phthalate (DINP) being 

conducted to inform risk management 

decisions under the Toxic Substances 

Control Act (TSCA). To facilitate 

nominations, this document provides 

information about the SACC, the 

intended topic for the planned peer 

review, the expertise sought for this 

peer review, instructions for submitting 

nominations to EPA, and the Agency’s 

plan for selecting the ad hoc reviewers 

for this peer review. EPA is planning to 

convene a virtual public meeting of the 

SACC in the summer of 2024 to review 

the draft risk evaluations. 

DATES: Submit your nominations on or 

before April 1, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your nominations to 

the SACC at SACC@epa.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The 

Designated Federal Official (DFO) for 

the SACC is Dr. Alaa Kamel, Mission 

Support Division (7602M), Office of 

Program Support, Office of Chemical 

Safety and Pollution Prevention, 

Environmental Protection Agency; 

telephone number: (202) 564–5336 or 

call the SACC main office at (202) 564– 

8450; email address: kamel.alaa@

epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information 

A. What action is the Agency taking? 

The Agency is seeking public 

nominations of scientific and technical 

experts that EPA can consider for 

service as ad hoc reviewers assisting the 

SACC with the peer review of the 

Agency’s evaluation of the risks from 

DIDP and DINP being conducted to 

inform risk management decisions 

under TSCA. EPA is planning a virtual 

public meeting to be held in the summer 

of 2024 for the SACC to consider and 

review the draft risk evaluations. At that 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 41 / Thursday, February 29, 2024 / Notices 14837 

time, EPA will be soliciting comments 

from the SACC on the novel approaches 

used, the unique exposure analyses and 

other calculations, and selection of key 

hazard endpoints. 

To facilitate nominations, this 

document provides information about 

the SACC, the intended topic for the 

planned peer review, the expertise 

sought for this peer review, instructions 

for submitting nominations to EPA, and 

the Agency’s plan for selecting the ad 

hoc reviewers for this peer review. 

B. What is the Agency’s authority for

taking this action?

The SACC was established by EPA in 

2016 in accordance with TSCA section 

26(o), 15 U.S.C. 2625(o), to provide 

independent advice and expert 

consultation with respect to the 

scientific and technical aspects of issues 

relating to the implementation of TSCA. 

The SACC operates in accordance with 

the Federal Advisory Committee Act 

(FACA), 5 U.S.C. 10, and supports 

activities under TSCA, 15 U.S.C. 2601 et 

seq., the Pollution Prevention Act 

(PPA), 42 U.S.C. 13101 et seq., and other 

applicable statutes. 

C. Does this action apply to me?

This action is directed to the public

in general. This action may, however, be 

of particular interest to those involved 

in the manufacture, processing, 

distribution, and disposal of chemical 

substances and mixtures, and/or those 

interested in the assessment of risks 

involving chemical substances and 

mixtures regulated under TSCA. 

Members of at-risk communities, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) 

(particularly those with an interest in 

protecting health for at-risk 

communities), and Federal, State and 

local officials may also be interested. 

Since other entities may also be 

interested, the Agency has not 

attempted to describe all the specific 

entities to which this action may apply. 

D. What should I consider as I submit

my nominations to EPA?

Do not submit confidential business 

information (CBI) or other sensitive 

information to EPA through email. If 

your nomination contains any 

information that you consider to be CBI 

or otherwise protected, please contact 

the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT to obtain special 

instructions before submitting that 

information. 

E. How can I stay informed about SACC

activities?

You may subscribe to the following 

listserv for alerts regarding this and 

other SACC-related activities: https://

public.govdelivery.com/accounts/

USAEPAOPPT/subscriber/new?topic_

id=USAEPAOPPT_101. 

II. Background

A. What is the purpose of the SACC?

The SACC provides independent

advice and recommendations to the EPA 

on the scientific and technical aspects of 

risk assessments, methodologies, and 

pollution prevention measures and 

approaches for chemicals regulated 

under TSCA. The SACC is comprised of 

experts in toxicology; environmental 

risk assessment; exposure assessment; 

and related sciences (e.g., synthetic 

biology, pharmacology, biotechnology, 

nanotechnology, biochemistry, 

biostatistics, physiologically based 

pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling, 

computational toxicology, 

epidemiology, environmental fate, 

environmental engineering and 

sustainability). The SACC currently 

consists of 18 members. When needed, 

the committee will be assisted by ad hoc 

reviewers with specific expertise in the 

topics under consideration. 

B. Why is EPA conducting these risk

evaluations?

TSCA requires EPA to conduct risk 

evaluations on prioritized chemical 

substances and identifies the minimum 

components EPA must include in all 

chemical substance risk evaluations. 

The purpose of conducting risk 

evaluations is to determine whether a 

chemical substance presents an 

unreasonable risk to human health or 

the environment under the Conditions 

of Use (COUs). These evaluations 

include assessing unreasonable risks to 

relevant potentially exposed or 

susceptible subpopulations. As part of 

this process EPA: (1) Integrates hazard 

and exposure assessments using the best 

available science that is reasonably 

available to assure decisions are based 

on the weight of the scientific evidence, 

and (2) Conducts peer review for risk 

evaluation approaches that have not 

been previously peer reviewed. For 

more information about the three stages 

of EPA’s process for ensuring the safety 

of existing chemicals (i.e., prioritization, 

risk evaluation, and risk management), 

go to https://www.epa.gov/assessingand-managing-chemicals-under-tsca/ 

how-epa-evaluates-safety-existingchemicals. 

C. Why is EPA evaluating the risks from

DIDP and DINP?

On May 24, 2019, EPA received 

requests to conduct risk evaluations for 

DIDP and DINP from ExxonMobil 

Chemical Company, Evonik 

Corporation, and Teknor Apex, through 

the American Chemistry Council’s High 

Phthalates Panel (ACC HPP). In 

December 2019, EPA notified ACC HPP 

that the Agency had granted their 

manufacturer requested risk 

evaluations. 

DIDP is a common chemical name for 

the category of chemical substances that 

includes the following substances: 1,2- 

benzenedicarboxylic acid, 1,2- 

diisodecyl ester (CASRN 26761–40–0) 

and 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, diC9-11-branched alkyl esters, C10-rich 

(CASRN 68515–49–1). Both CASRNs 

contain mainly C10 dialkyl phthalate 

esters. 

DINP is a common chemical name for 

the category of chemical substances that 

includes the following substances: 1,2- 

benzenedicarboxylic acid, 1,2-isononyl 

ester (CASRN 28553–12–0) and 1,2- 

benzenedicarboxylic acid, di-C9-11- 

branched alkyl esters, C9-rich (CASRN 

68515–48–0). Both CASRNs contain 

mainly C9 dialkyl phthalate esters. Both 

DIDP and DINP are primarily used as a 

plasticizer in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) 

in consumer, commercial, and 

industrial applications. 

DIDP and DINP are both structurally 

phthalates, and therefore many aspects 

of physical-chemical (p-chem) 

properties and exposure (to humans and 

ecological species) are similar. Because 

of the similar exposure and physical 

chemical properties of DIDP and DINP, 

EPA is developing these individual risk 

evaluations in parallel, and similarly the 

SACC peer review of the draft risk 

evaluations will occur concurrently. 

Both have extremely low water 

solubility and will be preferentially 

sorbed into sediments, soils, and 

suspended solids in surface water and 

wastewater. Both are expected to be 

persistent in anaerobic environments. 

Therefore, ecological risk will be 

assessed primarily considering exposure 

via sediment and soil pathways. Under 

indoor settings, DIDP and DINP are 

expected to partition to airborne 

particles and are expected to have 

extended lifetime compared to outdoor 

settings. 

For both DIDP and DINP, liver and 

developmental toxicity are indicated as 

the most sensitive and robust noncancer hazards. However, these two 

phthalates differ in several important 

respects regarding their human health 

hazard profiles. For DIDP, the 

developmental toxicity is not 

characterized by androgen insufficiency, 

and data are insufficient to determine 

the carcinogenicity. For DINP, 

developmental toxicity results in 

androgen insufficiency (phthalate 


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14838 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 41 / Thursday, February 29, 2024 / Notices 

syndrome), and the effects on the liver 

include cancer. 

D. What is the topic of the planned 

SACC peer review? 

EPA is planning this SACC peer 

review of the Agency’s risk evaluations 

for DIDP and DINP. EPA expects to ask 

the SACC to consider and review the 

novel approaches, unique exposure 

analyses and other calculations, and 

selection of key hazard endpoints for 

the risk evaluations of DIDP and DINP. 

Feedback from this review will be 

considered in the development of the 

final risk evaluations of the two 

phthalates under TSCA. 

EPA continues to work on risk 

evaluations of additional high-priority 

substance phthalates, in addition to the 

cumulative risk assessment (CRA) for 

the phthalates. The subsequent five 

individual risk evaluations and the CRA 

are not part of this peer review but will 

be brought to the SACC at a future date. 

EPA intends to publish a separate 

document in the Federal Register to 

announce the availability of and solicit 

public comment on the draft risk 

evaluations that are submitted to the 

SACC for peer review, at which time 

EPA will provide instructions for 

submitting written comments and 

registering to provide oral comments at 

the peer review meeting planned for the 

summer of 2024. 

III. Nominations for ad hoc Reviewers 

A. Why is EPA seeking nominations for 

ad hoc reviewers? 

As part of a broader process for 

developing a pool of candidates for 

SACC peer reviews, EPA is asking the 

public and stakeholders for nominations 

of scientific and technical experts that 

EPA can consider as prospective 

candidates for service as ad hoc 

reviewers assisting the SACC with the 

peer reviews. Any interested person or 

organization may nominate qualified 

individuals for consideration as 

prospective candidates for this review 

by following the instructions provided 

in this document. Individuals may also 

self-nominate. 

Those who are selected from the pool 

of prospective candidates will be 

invited to attend the public meeting and 

to participate in the discussion of key 

issues and assumptions at the meeting. 

In addition, they will be asked to review 

and to help finalize the meeting 

minutes. 

B. What expertise is sought for this peer 

review? 

Individuals nominated for this SACC 

peer review should have expertise in 

one or more of the following areas: Risk 

assessment; ecological risk assessment, 

including terrestrial hazard/wildlife 

toxicology for feedback on Toxicity 

Reference Value (TRV) approach, 

bioaccumulation and fate/physical 

chemistry (p-chem) for trophic transfer, 

and analogue selection; General 

exposure, particularly, consumer 

products and indoor air; Ingestion 

exposure for mouthing/ingestion route 

and chemical migration to saliva, 

surface water concentrations, water 

solubility, and acute aquatic hazard 

(fate/P-chem and aquatic toxicology), 

and use of European Union (EU) 

percentages to assign production 

volumes for the Conditions of Use 

(engineering); Human health, including 

liver toxicity and developmental 

toxicology for DIDP (toxicology), cancer 

and peroxisome proliferator-activated 

receptor alpha (PPARa mode of action), 

and dose response assessment. 

Nominees should be scientists who 

have sufficient professional 

qualifications, including training and 

experience, to be capable of providing 

expert comments on the scientific issues 

for this review. 

C. How do I make a nomination? 

Submit your nomination as directed 

under ADDRESSES by the deadline 

indicated under DATES. Each 

nomination should include the 

following information: Contact 

information for the person making the 

nomination; Name, affiliation, and 

contact information for the nominee; 

and, The disciplinary and specific areas 

of expertise of the nominee. 

D. Will ad hoc reviewers be subjected to 

an ethics review? 

SACC members and ad hoc reviewers 

are subject to the provisions of the 

Standards of Ethical Conduct for 

Employees of the Executive Branch at 5 

CFR part 2635, conflict of interest 

statutes in Title 18 of the United States 

Code and related regulations. In 

anticipation of this requirement, 

prospective candidates for service on 

the SACC will be asked to submit 

confidential financial information 

which shall fully disclose, among other 

financial interests, the candidate’s 

employment, stocks, and bonds, and 

where applicable, sources of research 

support. EPA will evaluate the 

candidates’ financial disclosure forms to 

assess whether there are financial 

conflicts of interest, appearance of a loss 

of impartiality, or any prior involvement 

with the development of the documents 

under consideration (including previous 

scientific peer review) before the 

candidate is considered further for 

service on the SACC. 

E. How will EPA select the ad hoc 

reviewers? 

The selection of scientists to serve as 

ad hoc reviewers for the SACC is based 

on the function of the Committee and 

the expertise needed to address the 

Agency’s charge to the Committee. No 

interested scientists shall be ineligible 

to serve by reason of their membership 

on any other advisory committee to a 

federal department or agency or their 

employment by a federal department or 

agency, except EPA. Other factors 

considered during the selection process 

include availability of the prospective 

candidate to fully participate in the 

Committee’s reviews, ability to be hired 

as an EPA Special Government 

Employee (SGE), absence of any 

conflicts of interest or appearance of 

loss of impartiality, independence with 

respect to the matters under review, and 

lack of bias. Although financial conflicts 

of interest, the appearance of loss of 

impartiality, lack of independence, and 

bias may result in non-selection, the 

absence of such concerns does not 

assure that a candidate will be selected 

to serve on the SACC. 

Numerous qualified candidates are 

often identified for SACC reviews. 

Therefore, selection decisions involve 

carefully weighing several factors 

including the candidates’ areas of 

expertise and professional qualifications 

and achieving an overall balance of 

different scientific perspectives across 

reviewers. The Agency will consider all 

nominations of prospective candidates 

for service as ad hoc reviewers for the 

SACC that are received by the deadline 

listed under DATES. However, the final 

selection of ad hoc reviewers is a 

discretionary function of the Agency. 

EPA anticipates selecting 8–10 ad hoc 

reviewers to assist the SACC in their 

review of the designated topic. EPA 

plans to make a list of candidates under 

consideration as prospective ad hoc 

reviewers for this review available for 

public comment in April 2024. The list 

will be available in the docket at https:// 

www.regulations.gov (docket ID No. 

EPA–HQ–OPPT–2024–0073) and 

through the SACC website at https://

www.epa.gov/tsca-peer-review. 

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2625(o); 5 U.S.C. 

10. 

Dated: February 23, 2024. 

Michal Freedhoff, 

Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical 

Safety and Pollution Prevention. 

[FR Doc. 2024–04212 Filed 2–28–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 


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