### 19176 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 64 / Monday, April 4, 2016 / Notices

Center 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 OEI Docket is (202) 566–1752.

An electronic version of the public docket is available through www.regulations.gov. You may use www.regulations.gov to submit or view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the official public docket, and access those documents in the public docket that are available electronically. Once in the system, key in the appropriate docket identification number then select ‘‘search’’.

It is important to note that EPA’s policy is that public comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper, will be made available for public viewing online at www.regulations.gov without change, unless the comment contains copyrighted material, CBI, or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Information claimed as CBI and other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute is not included in the official public docket or in the electronic public docket. EPA’s policy is that copyrighted material, including copyrighted material contained in a public comment, will not be placed in EPA’s electronic public docket but will be available only in printed, paper form in the official public docket. Although not all docket materials may be available electronically, you may still access any of the publicly available docket materials through the EPA Docket Center.

B. How and to whom do I submit comments?

You may submit comments as provided in the **ADDRESSES** section. Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the specified comment period. Comments received after the close of the comment period will be marked ‘‘late.’’ EPA is not required to consider these late comments.

If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name, mailing address, and an email address or other contact information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD ROM you submit. This ensures that you can be identified as the submitter of the comment and allows EPA to contact you in case EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties or needs further information on the substance of your comment. Any identifying or contact information provided in the body of a comment will be included as part of the comment that is placed in the official public docket, and made available in EPA’s electronic public docket. 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.

Use of the www.regulations.gov Web site to submit comments to EPA electronically is EPA’s preferred method for receiving comments. The electronic public docket system is an ‘‘anonymous access’’ system, which means EPA will not know your identity, email address, or other contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. In contrast to EPA’s electronic public docket, EPA’s electronic mail (email) system is not an ‘‘anonymous access’’ system. If you send an email comment directly to the Docket without going through www.regulations.gov, your email address is automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the official public docket, and made available in EPA’s electronic public docket.

Dated: March 23, 2016. Lorie J. Schmidt,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2016–07491 Filed 4–1–16; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 6560–50–P**

**ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY** 

**[EPA–HQ–OW–2015–0753; FRL 9944-46– OW]** 

**Recommended Aquatic Life Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Cadmium—**  **2016**

**AGENCY :**  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

**ACTION :**  Notice of availability.

**SUMMARY :**  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the release of recommended aquatic life water quality criteria for cadmium. EPA has updated its national recommended ambient water quality criteria for cadmium in order to reflect the latest scientific information, and current EPA policies and methods. EPA’s water quality criteria for cadmium provides recommendations to states and tribes authorized to establish water quality standards under the Clean Water Act. In adopting water quality standards, states set exposure protections for aquatic life; acute exposure to cadmium results in lethality, while chronic exposure to cadmium negatively impacts growth, development, behavior, reproduction, and immune and endocrine systems in aquatic life. Cadmium enters the environment by natural and human processes, however, human sources, such as mining and urban processes, are responsible for contributing approximately 90 percent of the cadmium found in surface waters.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  Mike Elias, Health and Ecological Criteria Division, Office of Water (Mail Code 4304T), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 566–0120; email address: elias.mike@epa.gov.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :** 
I. General Information A. How can I get copies of this document and other related information?

1. Docket. EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OW–2015–0753. Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically through www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Water Docket in the EPA Docket Center, (EPA/DC) EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center 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 Water Docket is (202) 566–2426.

2. Electronic Access. You may access this Federal Register document electronically from the Government Printing Office under the ‘‘ Federal Register ’’ listings on FDSys ( http:// www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/ collection.action?collectionCode=FR).

II. What are EPA’s recommended water quality criteria?

EPA’s recommended water quality criteria are scientifically derived numeric values that protect aquatic life or human health from the deleterious effects of pollutants in ambient water. Section 304(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) directs EPA to develop and publish and, from time to time, revise criteria for protection of aquatic life and human health that accurately reflect the latest scientific knowledge. Water quality criteria developed under section 304(a) are based solely on data and the latest scientific knowledge on the relationship between pollutant concentrations and environmental and human health effects. Section 304(a) criteria do not reflect consideration of economic impacts or the technological


### 19177 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 64 / Monday, April 4, 2016 / Notices

feasibility of meeting pollutant concentrations in ambient water.

EPA’s recommended section 304(a) criteria provide technical information to states and authorized tribes in adopting water quality standards (WQS) that ultimately provide a basis for assessing water body health and controlling discharges or releases of pollutants. Under the CWA and its implementing regulations, states and authorized tribes are to adopt water quality criteria to protect designated uses ( e.g., public water supply, aquatic life, recreational use, or industrial use). EPA’s recommended water quality criteria do not substitute for the CWA or regulations, nor are they regulations themselves. EPA’s recommended criteria do not impose legally binding requirements. States and authorized tribes have the discretion to adopt, where appropriate, other scientifically defensible water quality criteria that differ from these recommendations. III. What is cadmium and why is EPA concerned about it?

Cadmium is a naturally occurring metal found in mineral deposits and distributed widely at low concentrations in the environment. Cadmium’s primary industrial uses are for the manufacturing of batteries, pigments, plastic stabilizers, metal coatings, alloys and electronics. Recently, cadmium has been used in manufacturing nanoparticles (quantum dots) for use in solar cells and color displays. Cadmium is a non-essential metal with no biological function in aquatic life. Acute exposure causes mortality. Chronic exposure leads to adverse effects on growth, reproduction, immune and endocrine systems, development and behavior in aquatic organisms. IV. Information on the Aquatic Life Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Cadmium

EPA prepared an update of the chronic aquatic life criteria document for cadmium based on the latest scientific information and current EPA policies and methods, including EPA’s Guidelines for Deriving Numerical National Water Quality Criteria for the Protection of Aquatic Organisms and Their Uses (1985) (EPA/R–85–100) and Guidelines for Ecological Risk Assessment (1998) (EPA/630/R–95/ 002F). The 2016 updated criteria include new data for 75 species and 49 genera not previously represented. The freshwater acute criterion was derived to be protective of aquatic species and further lowered to protect the commercially and recreationally important rainbow trout, consistent with procedures described in EPA’s current aquatic life criteria guidelines. The freshwater acute value is slightly lower ( i.e., more stringent) than the 2001 acute criterion for dissolved cadmium. The freshwater chronic criterion is slightly higher ( i.e., less stringent) compared to the 2001 criterion for dissolved cadmium; this modest increase is primarily due to the inclusion of four new genera, and the reanalysis of other data.

The estuarine/marine acute criterion for dissolved cadmium is slightly more stringent than the 2001 recommended criterion, which is primarily due to the addition of new sensitive genera. Changes in suggested values between 2001 and 2016 can be found in Table 1 below.



### TABLE 

### 1—S UMMARY OF 

### 2001 AND 

### 2016 A QUATIC 

### L IFE 

### AWQC FOR 

### C ADMIUM

2016 AWQC update 2001 AWQC

Acute (1-hour, dissolved Cd) c Chronic (4-day, dissolved Cd) Acute (1-day, dissolved Cd) Chronic (4-day, dissolved Cd)

Freshwater (Total Hardness = 100 mg/L as CaCO 3 ) a ....................... 1.8 μg/L b ........... 0.72 μg/L .......... 2.0 μg/L b ........... 0.25 μg/L. Estuarine/marine .................................................................................. 33 μg/L ............. 7.9 μg/L ............ 40 μg/L ............. 8.8 μg/L.

a Freshwater acute and chronic criteria are hardness-dependent and were normalized to a hardness of 100 mg/L as CaCO 3 to allow the presentation of representative criteria values.

b Lowered to protect the commercially and recreationally important species (rainbow trout), as per the 1985 Guidelines, Stephen et al. (1985).

c The duration of the 2016 acute criteria was changed to 1-hour to reflect the 1985 Guidelines-based recommended acute duration.

V. What is the relationship between the water quality criteria and state or tribal water quality standards?

As part of the WQS triennial review process defined in section 303(c)(1) of the CWA, the states and authorized tribes are responsible for maintaining and revising WQS. Standards consist of designated uses, water quality criteria to protect those uses, a policy for antidegradation, and may include general policies for application and implementation. Section 303(c)(1) requires states and authorized tribes to review and modify, if appropriate, their WQS at least once every three years.

States and authorized tribes must adopt water quality criteria that protect designated uses. Protective criteria are based on a sound scientific rationale and contain sufficient parameters or constituents to protect the designated uses. Criteria may be expressed in either narrative or numeric form. States and authorized tribes have four options when adopting water quality criteria for which EPA has published section 304(a) criteria. They may:

(1) Establish numerical values based on recommended section 304(a) criteria;

(2) Adopt section 304(a) criteria modified to reflect site-specific conditions;

(3) Adopt criteria derived using other scientifically defensible methods; or

(4) Establish narrative criteria where numeric criteria cannot be established or to supplement numerical criteria (40 CFR 131.11(b)).

EPA’s regulation at 40 CFR 131.20(a) provides that if a state does not adopt new or revised criteria parameters for which EPA has published new or updated recommendations, then the state shall provide an explanation when it submits the results of its triennial review to the Regional Administrator consistent with CWA section 303(c)(1). The updated cadmium criteria supersede EPA’s previous 304(a) criteria for cadmium. Consistent with 40 CFR 131.21, new or revised water quality criteria adopted into law or regulation by states and authorized tribes on or after May 30, 2000 are applicable water quality standards for CWA purposes only after EPA approval.

VI. Additional Information

EPA conducted a contractor-led and independent external peer review of the draft Aquatic Life Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Cadmium document in October 2015. This document was released for 60 day public comment in 2016 and has been updated accordingly. The document may be found at: http:// www.regulations.gov.


### 19178 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 64 / Monday, April 4, 2016 / Notices

Dated: March 28, 2016. Joel Beauvais, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Water.
[FR Doc. 2016–07647 Filed 4–1–16; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 6560–50–P**

**FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION** 

**[BAC 6735–01]**

**Sunshine Act Notice**

March 30, 2016.

**TIME AND DATE :**  10:00 a.m., Wednesday, April 20, 2016.

**PLACE :**  The Richard V. Backley Hearing Room, Room 511N, 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20004 (enter from F Street entrance).

**STATUS :**  Open.

**MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED :**  The Commission will hear oral argument in the matter Secretary of Labor v. The American Coal Company, Docket Nos. LAKE 2011–701, et al. (Issues include whether the Judge erred by not requiring that the Secretary prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the amounts of proposed penalties based on special assessments were appropriate.)

Any person attending this oral argument who requires special accessibility features and/or auxiliary aids, such as sign language interpreters, must inform the Commission in advance of those needs. Subject to 29 CFR 2706.150(a)(3) and 2706.160(d).

**CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFO :**  Emogene Johnson (202) 434–9935/(202) 708–9300 for TDD Relay/1–800–877– 8339 for toll free.

Sarah L. Stewart, Deputy General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2016–07690 Filed 3–31–16; 11:15 am]

**BILLING CODE 6735–01–P**

**FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION** 

**[BAC 6735–01]**

**Sunshine Act Notice**

March 30, 2016.

**TIME AND DATE :**  10:00 a.m., Thursday, April 21, 2016.

**PLACE :**  The Richard V. Backley Hearing Room, Room 511N, 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20004 (enter from F Street entrance).

**STATUS :**  Open.

**MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED :**  The Commission will consider and act upon the following in open session: Secretary of Labor v. The American Coal Company, Docket Nos. LAKE 2011–701, et al. (Issues include whether the Judge erred by not requiring that the Secretary prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the amounts of proposed penalties based on special assessments were appropriate.)

Any person attending this meeting who requires special accessibility features and/or auxiliary aids, such as sign language interpreters, must inform the Commission in advance of those needs. Subject to 29 CFR 2706.150(a)(3) and 2706.160(d).

**CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFO :**  Emogene Johnson (202) 434–9935/(202) 708–9300 for TDD Relay/1–800–877– 8339 for toll free.

Sarah L. Stewart, Deputy General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2016–07691 Filed 3–31–16; 11:15 am]

**BILLING CODE 6735–01–P**

**FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM**

**Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment**  **Request**

**AGENCY :**  Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

**SUMMARY :**  On June 15, 1984, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) delegated to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) its approval authority under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), to approve of and assign OMB numbers to collection of information requests and requirements conducted or sponsored by the Board. Board-approved collections of information are incorporated into the official OMB inventory of currently approved collections of information. Copies of the PRA Submission, supporting statements and approved collection of information instruments are placed into OMB’s public docket files. The Federal Reserve may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection that has been extended, revised, or implemented on or after October 1, 1995, unless it displays a currently valid OMB number.

**DATES :**  Comments must be submitted on or before June 3, 2016.

**ADDRESSES :**  You may submit comments, identified by FR 4022, by any of the following methods:

• Agency Web site: http:// www.federalreserve.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments at http://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/ foia/proposedregs.aspx

. • Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

• Email: regs.comments@ federalreserve.gov. Include OMB number in the subject line of the
message.

• FAX: (202) 452–3819 or (202) 452–
3102.

• Mail: Robert deV. Frierson, Secretary, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20551.

All public comments are available from the Board’s Web site at http:// www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/ proposedregs.aspx as submitted, unless modified for technical reasons. Accordingly, your comments will not be edited to remove any identifying or contact information. Public comments may also be viewed electronically or in paper form in Room 3515, 1801 K Street (between 18th and 19th Streets NW.) Washington, DC 20006 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays.

Additionally, commenters may send a copy of their comments to the OMB Desk Officer—Shagufta Ahmed—Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503 or by fax to (202) 395–6974.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  A copy of the PRA OMB submission, including the proposed reporting form and instructions, supporting statement, and other documentation will be placed into OMB’s public docket files, once approved. These documents will also be made available on the Federal Reserve Board’s public Web site at: http:// www.federalreserve.gov/apps/ reportforms/review.aspx or may be requested from the agency clearance officer, whose name appears below.

Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer—Nuha Elmaghrabi—Office of the Chief Data Officer, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551 (202) 452–3829. Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) users may contact (202) 263–4869, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :**  Request for Comment on Information Collection Proposal

The following information collection, which is being handled under this delegated authority, has received initial Board approval and is hereby published for comment. At the end of the comment period, the proposed information