Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 186 / Friday, September 25, 2015 / Notices 57809 

Dated: September 18, 2015. 

Donald J. Brady, 

Director, Environmental Fate and Effects 

Division, Office of Pesticide Programs. 

[FR Doc. 2015–24550 Filed 9–24–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OPPT–2013–0579; FRL–9930–38] 

Recommendations for Specifications, 

Environmental Performance 

Standards, and Ecolabels for Federal 

Procurement 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This document describes 

EPA’s approach for providing 

recommendations to federal agencies on 

specifications, environmental 

performance standards, and ecolabels 

for purchasing environmentally 

preferable products and services. The 

federal government is one of the world’s 

largest purchasers. This action will help 

federal agencies purchase 

environmentally preferable products 

and services in accordance with 

Executive Order 13693 and reduce 

public health and environmental 

impacts associated with the federal 

government’s extensive supply chain. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

technical information contact: Holly 

Elwood, Chemistry, Economics, and 

Sustainable Strategies Division, Office 

of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, 

Environmental Protection Agency, MC 

7406M, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., 

Washington, DC 20460–0001; telephone 

number: 202–564–8854; email address: 

elwood.holly@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information 

A. Does this action apply to me? 

You may be potentially affected by 

this action if you are a federal purchaser 

or a vendor interested in selling to the 

federal government. The following list 

of North American Industrial 

Classification System (NAICS) codes is 

not intended to be exhaustive, but rather 

provides a guide to help readers 

determine whether this document 

applies to them. Potentially affected 

entities may include: 

D Food providers (NAICS code 

722310), e.g., Cafeteria Food Services 

Contractors, Food Concession 

Contractors, etc. 

D Renovators (NAICS code 33333), 

e.g., General Building Contractors/

Operative Builders, Renovation Firms, 

Individual Contractors, and Special 

Trade Contractors like Carpenters, 

Painters, Drywall Workers and Lathers, 

‘‘Home Improvement’’ Contractors, etc. 

D Commercial and Institutional 

Building Construction (NAICS code 

236220), e.g., Office Building 

Construction, Warehouse Construction, 

etc. 

D Drywall and Insulation Contractors 

(NAICS code 238310), e.g., Acoustical 

ceiling tile and panel installation, etc. 

D Flooring Contractors (NAICS code 

238330), e.g., Carpet Installation, 

Resilient Floor Tile or Sheet 

Installation, etc. 

D Janitorial Services (NAICS code 

541620), e.g., Office Cleaning Services, 

Rest Room Cleaning Services, 

Washroom Sanitation Services, etc. 

D Electronic Computer Manufacturing 

(NAICS code 334111), e.g., 

manufacturing machinery or equipment 

that incorporates electronic computers 

for operation or control purposes and 

embedded control applications, etc. 

D Computer Systems Design Services 

(NAICS code 541512), e.g., selling 

computer hardware or software 

products and systems from retail-like 

locations, and providing supporting 

services, such as customized assembly 

of personal computers, etc. 

D Consumer Electronics Repair and 

Maintenance (NAICS code 811211), e.g., 

Repairing computers and peripheral 

equipment, etc. 

D Office Supplies and Stationary 

Stores (NAICS code 453210), e.g., 

retailing stationery, school supplies, and 

office supplies via electronic shopping, 

mail-order, or direct sale, printing 

business forms, retailing new office 

furniture, etc. 

D Packing and Crating (NAICS code 

488991), e.g., packing and preparing 

goods for shipping, etc. 

B. How can I get copies of this document 

and other related information? 

The docket for this action, identified 

by docket identification (ID) number 

EPA–HQ–OPPT–20[XX]–[insert Docket 

ID no.], is available at http://

www.regulations.gov or at the Office of 

Pollution Prevention and Toxics Docket 

(OPPT Docket), Environmental 

Protection Agency Docket Center (EPA/ 

DC), West William Jefferson Clinton 

Bldg., Rm. 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. 

NW., Washington, DC 20001. The Public 

Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 

4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

excluding federal holidays. The 

telephone number for the Public 

Reading Room is (202) 566–1744, and 

the telephone number for the OPPT 

Docket is (202) 566–0280. Please review 

the visitor instructions and additional 

information about the docket available 

at http://www2.epa.gov/dockets. 

II. What is EPA’s authority? 

On March 19, 2015, the President 

issued Executive Order 13693, entitled 

‘‘Planning for Federal Sustainability in 

the Next Decade’’ (80 FR 15871) (Ref. 1). 

Executive Order 13693 maintains 

federal leadership in sustainability and 

greenhouse gas emission reductions. 

Section 3(i) directs federal agencies to 

promote sustainable acquisition and 

procurement by ensuring that certain 

environmental performance and 

sustainability factors are included to the 

maximum extent practicable in the 

planning, award, and execution phases 

of agency acquisitions. Pursuant to 

Section 3(i)(iii)(A) of the Executive 

Order, one of the factors directs agencies 

to purchase environmentally preferable 

products or services that meet EPA 

recommendations for specifications, 

standards, and ecolabels for use in 

federal procurement. On June 10, 2015, 

the Office of Federal Sustainability in 

the White House Council on 

Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued 

Implementing Instructions for Executive 

Order 13693 (Ref. 2). The Implementing 

Instructions for Executive Order 13693 

call on EPA, in consultation with the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) and CEQ, to provide guidance on 

recommendations for specifications, 

standards, and ecolabels for use in 

federal procurement within 90 days of 

the issuance of the Implementing 

Instructions. 

In addition, the Pollution Prevention 

Act (PPA) (42 U.S.C.A. 13103(b)(11)) 

requires EPA to ‘‘Identify opportunities 

to use federal procurement to encourage 

source reduction’’ and section 12(d) of 

the National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act (NTTAA) (15 U.S.C. 

272) requires federal agencies to ‘‘use 

technical standards that are developed 

or adopted by voluntary consensus 

standards bodies, using such technical 

standards as a means to carry out policy 

objectives or activities.’’ 

III. What action is the Agency taking? 

This document describes EPA’s 

approach for providing 

recommendations to federal purchasers 

on specifications, environmental 

performance standards, and ecolabels 

for environmentally preferable products 

and services. The federal government is 

one of the world’s largest purchasers. 

This action will help federal agencies 

purchase environmentally preferable 

products and services and reduce public 

health and environmental impacts 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

57810 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 186 / Friday, September 25, 2015 / Notices 

associated with the federal 

government’s extensive supply chain. 

Executive Order 13693 directs federal 

agencies to promote sustainable 

acquisition and procurement by 

ensuring that, to the maximum extent 

practicable, agencies purchase 

environmentally sustainable products 

and services by meeting statutory 

requirements that require a procurement 

preference for: 

1. Recycled content products 

designated by the EPA; 

2. Energy and water efficient products 

and services, such as ENERGY STAR®

certified and Federal Energy 

Management Program (FEMP) 

designated products, identified by EPA 

and the Department of Energy (DOE); 

and 

3. BioPreferred® and biobased 

products designated by the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture (USDA). 

The Executive Order further instructs 

agencies to purchase sustainable 

products and services identified by EPA 

programs including: 

1. Significant New Alternative Policy 

(SNAP) chemicals or other alternatives 

to ozone-depleting substances and high 

global warming potential 

hydrofluorocarbons, where feasible, as 

identified by SNAP; 

2. WaterSense certified products and 

services (water efficient products); 

3. Safer Choice certified products 

(chemically intensive products that 

contain safer ingredients); and 

4. SmartWay Transport partners and 

SmartWay products (fuel efficient 

products and services). 

Federal purchasers can also purchase 

environmentally preferable products or 

services that: 

1. Meet or exceed specifications, 

standards, or labels recommended by 

EPA; or 

2. Meet environmental performance 

criteria developed or adopted by 

voluntary consensus standards bodies 

consistent with the NTTAA section 

12(d) and OMB Circular A–119. 

In 2013, EPA sought comment on 

Draft Guidelines for Environmental 

Performance Standards and Ecolabels 

for Voluntary Use in Federal 

Procurement (Ref. 3). 

On March 19, 2015, EPA announced 

the availability of revised Draft EPA 

Guidelines and the launch of a pilot to 

test the Draft EPA Guidelines in three 

building product categories: Furniture; 

flooring; and paints, coatings and paint 

removers (Ref. 4). It is expected that the 

pilot will inform refinements to the 

Draft EPA Guidelines, and help develop 

a process by which these Guidelines can 

be finalized and used to assess 

standards and ecolabels for use in 

federal procurement in a wide array of 

product and service categories. 

The Implementing Instructions for the 

Executive Order direct EPA to prioritize 

application of the finalized Guidelines 

to product and service categories which 

‘‘represent the largest share of 

procurement spending across Agencies 

and potential environmental impact’’ 

(Ref. 2, page 56). 

Until the Draft EPA Guidelines are 

finalized and applied to key product 

and service categories, EPA is providing 

interim recommendations. Federal 

purchasers should utilize EPA’s Interim 

Recommendations to select 

environmentally preferable products 

and services. EPA’s Interim 

Recommendations are based on 

specifications, environmental 

performance standards, and ecolabels 

evaluated and currently utilized by 

federal agencies to assist in their 

procurement of environmentally 

preferable products and services. EPA 

will be initially using specifications, 

standards and labels information 

developed by other federal agencies to 

identify products that have verified 

sustainability attributes, are readily 

available in the market, and meet cost 

and performance needs. EPA’s 

recommendations and further 

information about the evaluation 

processes used by these federal agencies 

will be available at http://www.epa.gov/ 

greenerproducts and in the General 

Service Administration’s Green 

Procurement Compilation at https://

sftool.gov/greenprocurement (Ref. 5). 

EPA will review its recommendations 

periodically and update them after 

considering other federal agency 

assessments of standards and ecolabels 

when they become available. EPA’s 

Interim Recommendations will also be 

updated to integrate any EPA 

recommendations developed following 

finalization and application of the Draft 

EPA Guidelines to specific product and 

service categories. 

The Implementing Instructions state 

that ‘‘where there is no specification, 

standard, or label recommended by 

EPA, an agency may elect to use other 

open and voluntary standards . . .’’ to 

identify and procure environmentally 

preferable products and/or services, 

provided that they have conducted an 

assessment to ensure that the standard 

or ecolabel meets the requirements 

stipulated in the NTTAA, OMB Circular 

A–119 (Ref. 6), and Section II of the EPA 

Draft Guidelines or any subsequent 

revisions to those Guidelines (Ref. 2, 

page 56). The NTTAA requires that all 

agencies use standards developed by 

voluntary consensus standards bodies 

instead of government-unique standards 

unless inconsistent with applicable law 

or otherwise impractical. OMB Circular 

A–119 provides guidance on federal use 

of voluntary consensus standards and 

on conformity assessment. Because the 

NTTAA and OMB Circular A–119 do 

not address environmental performance, 

the Implementing Instructions point 

procurement officials to Section II of the 

EPA Draft Guidelines on Environmental 

Effectiveness and any subsequent 

revisions to those Guidelines (Ref. 2, 

pages 56–57). The Implementing 

Instructions direct agencies to consult 

with and share these assessments with 

EPA, and direct EPA to make these 

assessments available on its Web site. 

Section 3(l)(i) of Executive Order 

13693 includes requirements regarding 

procurement of environmentally 

sustainable electronic products. To meet 

the requirements of sections 3(i)(iii) and 

3(l)(i) of the Executive Order, the 

Implementing Instructions state that 

agencies must acquire products that 

meet or exceed the specifications, 

standards, or labels recommended by 

EPA as posted on its Web site. As 

indicated in the Implementing 

Instructions, federal purchasers may 

continue to use the Electronic Product 

Environmental Assessment Tool 

(EPEAT)® product registry, or other 

methods to identify products that have 

been third-party verified as having met 

environmental performance criteria 

developed or adopted by voluntary 

consensus standards bodies consistent 

with section 12(d) of the NTTAA and 

OMB Circular A–119. However, the 

Implementing Instructions note that at 

this time CEQ is not aware of any 

product registries other than EPEAT for 

environmentally sustainable electronic 

products. It is possible that in the future 

other options may be developed that 

align with EPA Guidelines and support 

the electronic stewardship mandates of 

section 3(l) of Executive Order 13693. 

Any future tools will have to meet or 

exceed current levels of sustainable and 

environmental performance. 

Once the EPA Draft Guidelines for 

Environmental Performance Standards 

and Ecolabels for Voluntary Use in 

Federal Procurement are finalized, EPA 

will apply the Guidelines to product 

and service categories which ‘‘represent 

the largest share of procurement 

spending across agencies and potential 

environmental impact,’’ per the 

Implementing Instructions. It is 

expected that electronics may be in the 

next group of additional product 

categories to which the Guidelines 

could be applied. When the Guidelines 

are applied to the electronics category, 

stakeholders will be asked to volunteer 

other specifications, standards and 

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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 186 / Friday, September 25, 2015 / Notices 57811 

ecolabels to be reviewed against the 

Guidelines. EPA will review additional 

specifications, standards and/or 

ecolabels to determine if they meet or 

exceed the current sustainability 

mandate for electronics and conform to 

the EPA Guidelines. 

IV. References 

The following is a listing of the 

documents that are referenced in this 

document. The docket includes these 

documents and other information 

considered by EPA, even if the 

referenced document is not physically 

located in the docket. For assistance in 

locating these other documents, please 

consult the technical person listed 

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. 

1. The President. Executive Order 13693 of 

March 19, 2015; Planning for Federal 

Sustainability in the Next Decade. 

Federal Register (80 FR 15869, March 

25, 2015). Available at http://

www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-03-25/

pdf/2015-07016.pdf. 

2. The White House Council on 

Environmental Quality, Office of Federal 

Sustainability. Implementing 

Instructions for Executive Order 13693 

Planning for Federal Sustainability in the 

Next Decade. June 10, 2015. Available at 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/

default/files/docs/eo_13693_

implementing_instructions_june_10_

2015.pdf. 

3. EPA. Draft Guidelines for Environmental 

Performance Standards and Ecolabels for 

Voluntary Use in Federal Procurement; 

Notice of Availability and Request for 

Comments. Federal Register (78 FR 

70938, November 27, 2013; FRL–9394– 

7). Available in EPA–HQ–OPPT–2013– 

0579 at http://www.regulations.gov. 

4. EPA. Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Proposed Collection and 

Comment Request; Assessment of 

Environmental Performance Standards 

and Ecolabels for Federal Procurement; 

Notice. Federal Register (80 FR 14372, 

March 19, 2015; FRL–9923–58). 

Available at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/

pkg/FR-2015-03-19/pdf/2015-06275.pdf. 

5. General Services Administration (GSA) 

Federal Acquisition Service, Green 

Procurement Compilation (GPC). 

Available at https://sftool.gov/

greenprocurement. 

6. Office of Management and Budget (OMB). 

OMB Circular A–119 (Revised). Federal 

Participation in the Development and 

Use of Voluntary Consensus Standards 

and in Conformity Assessment 

Activities. February 10, 1998. Available 

at https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/

circulars_a119/. 

Authority: 42 U.S.C.A. 13103(b)(11), 15 

U.S.C. 272 note, and Executive Order 13693 

of March 19, 2015. 

Dated: September 17, 2015. 

James J. Jones, 

Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical 

Safety and Pollution Prevention. 

[FR Doc. 2015–24456 Filed 9–24–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OPPT–2003–0010; FRL–9934–12] 

Receipt of Test Data under the Toxic 

Substances Control Act 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: EPA is announcing its receipt 

of test data submitted pursuant to an 

enforceable consent agreement (ECA)/

Order issued by EPA under the Toxic 

Substances Control Act (TSCA). As 

required by TSCA, this document 

identifies each chemical substance and/ 

or mixture for which test data have been 

received; the uses or intended uses of 

such chemical substance and/or 

mixture; and describes the nature of the 

test data received. Each chemical 

substance and/or mixture related to this 

announcement is identified in Unit I. 

under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

technical information contact: Kathy 

Calvo, Chemical Control Division 

(7405M), Office of Pollution Prevention 

and Toxics, Environmental Protection 

Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., 

Washington, DC 20460–0001; telephone 

number: (202) 564–8089; email address: 

calvo.kathy@epa.gov. 

For general information contact: The 

TSCA-Hotline, ABVI-Goodwill, 422 

South Clinton Ave., Rochester, NY 

14620; telephone number: (202) 554– 

1404; email address: TSCA-Hotline@

epa.gov. 

I. Chemical Substances and/or Mixtures 

Information about the following 

chemical substances and/or mixtures is 

provided in Unit IV.: 1,2-Ethylene 

Dichloride, (a/k/a Ethylene Dichloride) 

(CAS RN 107–06–2). 

II. Federal Register Publication 

Requirement 

Section 4(d) of TSCA (15 U.S.C. 

2603(d)) requires EPA to publish a 

notice in the Federal Register reporting 

the receipt of test data submitted 

pursuant to ECAs/Orders promulgated 

under TSCA section 4 (15 U.S.C. 2603). 

III. Docket Information 

A docket, identified by the docket 

identification (ID) number EPA–HQ– 

OPPT–2003–0010, has been established 

for this Federal Register document that 

announces the receipt of data. Upon 

EPA’s completion of its quality 

assurance review, the test data received 

will be added to the docket for the ECA/ 

Order that required the test data. Use 

the docket ID number provided in Unit 

IV. to access the test data in the docket 

for the related ECA/Order. 

The docket for this Federal Register 

document and the docket for each 

related ECA/Order is available 

electronically at http://

www.regulations.gov or in person at the 

Office of Pollution Prevention and 

Toxics Docket (OPPT Docket), 

Environmental Protection Agency 

Docket Center (EPA/DC), West William 

Jefferson Clinton Bldg., Rm. 3334, 1301 

Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, 

DC. The Public Reading Room is open 

from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, excluding legal 

holidays. The telephone number for the 

Public Reading Room is (202) 566–1744, 

and the telephone number for the OPPT 

Docket is (202) 566–0280. Please review 

the visitor instructions and additional 

information about the docket available 

at http://www.epa.gov/dockets. 

IV. Test Data Received 

This unit contains the information 

required by TSCA section 4(d) for the 

test data received by EPA. 

1,2-Ethylene Dichloride, (a/k/a Ethylene 

Dichloride) (CAS RN 107–06–2) 

1. Chemical Use(s): Chemical 

intermediate principally in the 

production of vinyl chloride, but also 

vinylidene chloride, 1,1,1- 

trichloroethane, trichloroethylene, 

tetrachloroethylene, aziridines, and 

ethylene diamines. It is also used as a 

solvent. 

2. Applicable ECA/Order: 1,2- 

Ethylene Dichloride (EDC). 

3. Test Data Received: The following 

listing describes the nature of the test 

data received. The test data will be 

added to the docket for the applicable 

ECA/Order and can be found by 

referencing the docket ID number 

provided. EPA reviews of test data will 

be added to the same docket upon 

completion. 

a. Reproductive Toxicity (oral)/

Neurotoxicity Study. The docket ID 

number assigned to this data is EPA– 

HQ–OPPT–2003–0010. 

b. Physiologically-Based 

Pharmacokinetics (PBPK) Modeling of 

Reproductive Toxicity (oral)/

Neurotoxicity Study. The docket ID 

number assigned to this data is EPA– 

HQ–OPPT–2003–0010. 

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq. 

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