Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 135 /Wednesday, July 15, 1998 / Proposed Rules 38139

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Internal Revenue Service

26 CFR Part 1

[REG–106031–98]

RIN 1545–AW13

Trading Safe Harbors; Correction

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS),

Treasury.

ACTION: Correction to notice of proposed

rulemaking and notice of public

hearing.

SUMMARY: This document contains

corrections to REG–106031–98, which

was published in the Federal Register

on Friday, June 12, 1998 (63 FR 32164),

relating to the treatment of foreign

taxpayers trading in derivative financial

instruments for their own account.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Milton Cahn, (202) 622–3870 (not a tollfree number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The notice of proposed rulemaking

that is the subject of this correction is

under section 864(b) of the Internal

Revenue Code.

Need for Correction

As published, REG–106031–98

contains errors which may prove to be

misleading and are in need of

clarification.

Correction of Publication

Accordingly, the publication of the

notice of proposed rulemaking (REG–

106031–98), which is the subject of FR

Doc. 98–15452, is corrected as follows:

1. On page 32164, column 3, in the

preamble under the paragraph heading

‘‘Background’’, the second paragraph,

line 3, the language ‘‘promulgated in

1972. Since the’’ is corrected to read

‘‘promulgated in 1968. Since the’’.

2. On page 32165, column 2, in the

preamble under the paragraph heading

‘‘2. Eligible Nondealer’’, the third

paragraph, line 9, the language

‘‘securities in 475(c)(1)(B), including’’ is

corrected to read ‘‘securities in section

475(c)(1)(B), including’’.

§ 1.864(b)–1 [Corrected]

3. On page 32166, columns 2 and 3,

§ 1.864(b)–1(b)(1) introductory text, the

last line in column 2 and the first line

in column 3, the language ‘‘nondealer is

a person that is not a resident of the

United States and is not,’’ is corrected

to read ‘‘nondealer is a foreign

corporation or a person that is not a

resident of the United States, and either

of which is not,’’.

Cynthia E. Grigsby,

Chief, Regulations Unit, Assistant Chief

Counsel (Corporate).

[FR Doc. 98–18749 Filed 7–14–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4830–01–U

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[CO–001–0024b; FRL–6124–5]

Approval and Promulgation of Air

Quality Implementation Plans;

Colorado; 1993 Periodic Carbon

Monoxide Emission Inventories for

Colorado

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve

a State Implementation Plan (SIP)

revision submitted by the Governor of

the State of Colorado on September 16,

1997. The revision contains the 1993

periodic carbon monoxide (CO)

emission inventories for Colorado

Springs, Denver, Fort Collins, and

Longmont that were submitted to satisfy

the requirements of section 187(a)(5) of

the Clean Air Act (CAA), as amended in

1990. In the Final Rules Section of this

Federal Register, EPA is approving the

State’s SIP revision as a direct final rule

without prior proposal because the

Agency views this as a noncontroversial

SIP revision and anticipates no adverse

comments. A detailed rationale for the

approval is set forth in the direct final

rule. If no adverse comments are

received in response to this proposed

rule, no further activity is contemplated

in relation to this rule. If EPA receives

adverse comments, the direct final rule

will be withdrawn and all public

comments received will be addressed in

a subsequent final rule based on this

proposed rule. EPA will not institute a

second comment period on this action.

Any parties interested in commenting

on this action should do so at this time.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before August 14, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be

mailed to Richard R. Long, Director, Air

Program, Mailcode 8P2–A,

Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA), Region VIII, 999 18th Street,

Suite 500, Denver, Colorado 80202.

Copies of the documents relevant to this

action are available for public

inspection during normal business

hours at the Air Program,

Environmental Protection Agency,

Region VIII, 999 18th Street, Suite 500,

Denver, Colorado 80202. Copies of the

State documents relevant to this action

are available for public inspection at the

Colorado Department of Public Health

and Environment, Air Pollution Control

Division, 4300 Cherry Creek Drive

South, Denver, Colorado 80246–1530.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Cindy Rosenberg, EPA, Region VIII,

(303) 312–6436.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: See the

information provided in the Direct Final

action of the same title which is located

in the Rules and Regulations Section of

this Federal Register.

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

Dated: July 6, 1998.

Patricia D. Hull,

Acting Regional Administrator, Region VIII.

[FR Doc. 98–18863 Filed 7–14–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–M

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 261

[FRL–6124–2]

RIN 2050–AD88

Hazardous Waste Management

System; Identification and Listing of

Hazardous Waste; Petroleum Refining

Process Wastes; and Land Disposal

Restrictions for Newly Hazardous

Wastes; Notice of Data Availability

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency.

ACTION: Notice of Data Availability and

Request for Comment.

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) is making available for

public comment data and information

relating to its Notice published in the

Federal Register on November 20, 1995

(60 FR 57747). That Notice proposed to

amend EPA regulations under the

Resource Conservation and Recovery

Act (RCRA) by designating as hazardous

wastes certain petroleum refining waste

streams, and to apply universal

treatment standards under the Land

Disposal Restrictions program to the

wastes proposed for listing. That Notice

also proposed to broaden existing RCRA

exclusions for the recycling of oilbearing residuals in petroleum

refineries. In response to that proposal

(and related to a separate, recentlyfinalized rulemaking on fuels produced

from hazardous waste), EPA has

received specific information on a

technology (gasification) that can
38140 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 135 /Wednesday, July 15, 1998 / Proposed Rules

recycle oil-bearing residuals into fuels.

EPA is assessing whether or not, as a

result of this new information, the

proposed rule should also exclude oilbearing hazardous secondary materials

recycled in gasification units. Today’s

Notice seeks comment on the additional

information the Agency has received on

gasification, specifically in the context

of recycling oil-bearing hazardous

secondary materials.

DATES: The Agency is reopening the

comment period only for the limited

purpose of obtaining information and

views on the new data and information

described in this document. Comments

on the additional data will be accepted

through August 14, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Commenters must send an

original and two copies of their

comments referencing docket number

F–98–PR2A–FFFFF to: RCRA Docket

Information Center, Office of Solid

Waste (5305G), U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency Headquarters (EPA,

HQ), 401 M Street, SW, Washington,

D.C. 20460. Hand deliveries of

comments should be made to the

Arlington, VA, address listed below.

Comments may also be submitted

electronically by sending electronic

mail through the Internet to:

rcradocket@epamail.epa.gov. Comments

in electronic format should also be

identified by the docket number F–98–

PR2A–FFFFF. All electronic comments

must be submitted as an ASCII file

avoiding the use of special characters

and any form of encryption. If

comments are not submitted

electronically, EPA is asking

prospective commenters to voluntarily

submit one additional copy of their

comments on labeled personal computer

diskettes in ASCII (TEXT) format or a

word processing format that can be

converted to ASCII (TEXT). It is

essential to specify on the disk label the

word processing software and version/

edition as well as the commenter’s

name. This will allow EPA to convert

the comments into one of the word

processing formats utilized by the

Agency. Please use mailing envelopes

designed to physically protect the

submitted diskettes. EPA emphasizes

that submission of comments on

diskettes is not mandatory, nor will it

result in any advantage or disadvantage

to any commenter.

Commenters should not submit

electronically any confidential business

information (CBI). An original and two

copies of CBI must be submitted under

separate cover to: RCRA CBI Document

Control Officer, Office of Solid Waste

(5305W), U.S. EPA, 401 M Street, SW,

Washington, D.C. 20460.

Public comments and supporting

materials are available for viewing in

the RCRA Information Center (RIC),

located at Crystal Gateway I, First Floor,

1235 Jefferson Davis Highway,

Arlington, VA. The RIC is open from 9

a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday,

excluding federal holidays. To review

docket materials, it is recommended

that the public make an appointment by

calling (703) 603–9230. The public may

copy a maximum of 100 pages from any

regulatory docket at no charge.

Additional copies cost $0.15/page. For

information on accessing paper and/or

electronic copies of the document, see

the ‘‘Supplementary Information’’

section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

general information, contact the RCRA

Hotline at (800) 424–9346 or TDD (800)

553–7672 (hearing impaired). In the

Washington, D.C., metropolitan area,

call (703) 412–9810 or TDD (703) 412–

3323. For information on specific

aspects of this Notice, contact Maximo

Diaz, Jr. or Ross Elliott, Office of Solid

Waste (5304W), U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, 401 M Street, SW,

Washington, D.C. 20460. [E-mail

addresses and telephone numbers:

Diaz.max@epamail.epa.gov, (703) 308–

0439; elliott.ross@epamail.epa.gov,

(703) 308–8748].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The index

to the docket is available on the

Internet. Follow these instructions to

access the information electronically:

www: http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/

osw/hazwaste.htm#id

FTP: ftp.epa.gov

Login: anonymous

Password: your Internet address

Files are located in /pub/epaoswer

The official record for this action will

be kept in paper form, and will be

maintained at the address in ADDRESSES

at the beginning of this document. EPA

will transfer all comments received

electronically into paper form and place

them in the official record, which will

also include all comments submitted

directly in writing. The official record is

the paper record.

EPA responses to comments, whether

the comments are written or electronic,

will be in a notice in the Federal

Register or in a response to comments

document placed in the official record

for this rulemaking. EPA will not

immediately reply to commenters

electronically other than to seek

clarification of electronic comments that

may be garbled in transmission or

during conversion to paper form, as

discussed above.

Background

On April 19, 1996, EPA proposed to

exclude so-called ‘‘comparable fuels’’

from the regulatory definition of solid

waste. 62 FR at 17459. A comparable

fuel is a fuel produced from a hazardous

waste which meets a series of

specifications for hazardous

constituents and other properties based

on comparable levels in representative

fossil fuels. EPA included among these

proposed specifications one for

synthesis gas fuel (more usually referred

to as syngas) when produced from

hazardous wastes. Id. at 17465.

Commenters from the gasification

industry maintained that syngas fuels

were not contained gases and so were

not solid wastes and could not be

regulated under subtitle C under any

circumstance. EPA disagrees, due to the

plenary authority to regulate fuels

produced from hazardous wastes set out

in RCRA section 3004 (q)(1). See 62 FR

at 24253 (May 2, 1997). However, it

appears to the Agency that gasification

of petroleum industry secondary

materials might be an activity

warranting exclusion as a matter of

Agency discretion (rather than due to a

statutory mandate), since gasification of

such materials can potentially be

viewed as a means of recovering

otherwise un-utilizable hydrocarbons

from the secondary materials and thus

potentially be regarded as a final stage

of crude oil refining. These are issues at

the heart of the instant rulemaking

involving listing and exclusion

determinations for petroleum refining

wastes and secondary materials.

Consequently, as the Agency indicated

in the recently-finalized comparative

fuels rule, we have decided to consider

the possibility of a regulatory exclusion

for petroleum refining industry

secondary materials being gasified in

the present proceeding.

Specifically, EPA is assessing whether

oil-bearing hazardous secondary

materials generated within the

petroleum industry should be excluded

from the definition of solid waste when

inserted into gasification units, in a

manner similar to insertion into

petroleum cokers as proposed at 40 CFR

261.4(a)(12). 60 FR at 57796. EPA has

decided that this Notice of data

availability is a useful exercise and will

help to strengthen the record for the

Agency’s decisions, and provide a

useful opportunity for further public

comment.

The remainder of this Notice

addresses new data prompted by public

comments.
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 135 /Wednesday, July 15, 1998 / Proposed Rules 38141

1See example of letter to interested parties

requesting comment on the issue of residuals dated

October 1, 1997 from David Bussard to Kyle

Isakower, American Petroleum Institute; see also

comment in response from Amoco Petroleum

Products, Comment #PRA–L0011.

Description of Gasification Process

Gasification is a chemical conversion

process that converts hydrocarbon

feedstocks into a synthetic natural gas

product, often called ‘‘synthesis gas’’ or

‘‘syngas’’. This process occurs under

oxygen-starved (or reducing) conditions,

which distinguishes gasification from

combustion. Under high temperature

and pressure, the hydrocarbon

feedstocks are converted primarily into

carbon monoxide, hydrogen gas,

nitrogen gas, and hydrogen sulfide.

Solid residues from gasification include

a glass-like slag produced in the

gasification process, and sulfur from

clean-up of the synthesis gas.

Information the Agency has received

indicates the potential advantages of

gasification, including very efficient

conversion of hydrocarbons to synthesis

gas, the lack of air emissions (i.e., SOx

and NOx compounds) formed during

gasification, and a relatively clean

product fuel. Based upon the

information submitted to the Agency,

the gasification process in some ways

might compete with the petroleum

coker for the same types of oil-bearing

materials, but in a somewhat different

manner such that gasification does a

better job of recovery of energy values.

For example, the synthesis gas produced

from oil-bearing materials can be used

as a fuel (i.e., a substitute for natural

gas) in units such as a combustion

turbine for producing electricity and/or

steam. In addition, the syngas can be

used as a feedstock in producing other

chemicals, or processed further to

produce hydrogen.

Hydrocarbon Feedstocks for

Gasification

According to information supplied to

EPA suitable hydrocarbon feedstocks for

gasification include many of the oilbearing secondary materials generated at

petroleum refineries that are the subject

of the proposed exclusions in the

November 21, 1995 proposal, including

primary and secondary wastewater

treatment sludges, and API separator

sludges. 60 FR at 57747. Petroleum coke

itself (both on-spec and off-spec) can be

used as a gasification feedstock. The

continued extraction and recovery of

hydrocarbon values from these oilbearing hazardous secondary materials

within the petroleum industry is the

basis for these proposed exclusions. 60

FR at 57754. It is from this perspective

that the Agency is interested in

information that would help determine

whether or not to extend the exclusion

for oil-bearing hazardous secondary

materials that are inserted into

petroleum refineries, to the same

materials when they are inserted into

gasification units. The Agency would

consider the same conditions on the

exclusion as was proposed for materials

inserted into petroleum refineries, such

as the limitation on the source of the oilbearing materials, the condition barring

land placement or speculative

accumulation, and the regulation of

residuals generated during the

processing of oil-bearing hazardous

secondary materials (if the residuals are

to be disposed).1

Information in the Docket

Information placed in the docket for

this Notice was submitted to the Agency

primarily from members of the

Gasification Technologies Council, both

before and after the proposed

rulemaking on April 19, 1996 and

November 20, 1995. This information

includes descriptions of the gasification

process, suitable feedstocks for

gasification, a description of gasification

activities worldwide, and

environmental and economic benefits of

gasification. Also included are (1)

public comments submitted by the

gasification industry to EPA during the

related comparative fuels rulemaking

mentioned above; (2) EPA’s letter of

May 28, 1995 to Mr. William Spratlin of

EPA Region VII describing the present

regulatory status of a particular

gasification operation operated by

Texaco; (3) public comments of

Strategic Environmental Analysis, Inc.

in this proceeding, maintaining that the

gasification process is an

environmentally superior means of

recovering hydrocarbon values from

petroleum industry secondary materials.

EPA will evaluate any new comments

on whether this additional information

supports inclusion of gasification units,

along with petroleum refining units, as

places where certain oil-bearing

hazardous secondary materials can be

recycled and still be excluded under the

proposed rule.

Dated: June 4, 1998.

Elizabeth A. Cotsworth,

Acting Director, Office of Solid Waste.

[FR Doc. 98–18731 Filed 7–14–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

46 CFR Part 28

[CGD 88–079]

RIN 2115–AD12

Implementation of the Commercial

Fishing-Industry Vessel Regulations

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of termination of

proposed rule.

SUMMARY: This rulemaking project was

initiated to address all applicable

provisions of the Commercial Fishing

Industry Vessel Safety Act of 1988. The

Coast Guard addressed all these

provisions with the exception of two,

immersion suits and vessel stability.

Because these issues were controversial,

the Coast Guard delayed developing

regulations covering them so that other

provisions of the Act could proceed.

Since that time, new issues pertaining to

commercial fishing vessel safety have

been identified. The Coast Guard

believes it to be in the fishing industry’s

best interest to develop only one set of

regulations to include immersion suits,

vessel stability, and all newly identified

commercial fishing industry issues. The

Coast Guard intends to terminate this

docket [89–079], and create a new

docket to resolve the remaining issues.

DATES: This notice is effective July 15,

1998.

ADDRESSES: You may mail comments to

the Docket Management facility, [USCG

89–079], U.S. Department of

Transportation, room PL–401, 400

Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC

20590–0001, or deliver them to room

PL–401, located on the Plaza Level of

the Nassif Building at the same address,

between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday

through Friday, except Federal holidays.

The telephone number is 202–366–

9329.

The Docket Management Facility

maintains the public docket for this

request for information. Comments, and

documents as indicated in this

preamble, are part of this docket and

will be available for inspection or

copying at room PL–401, located on the

Plaza level of the Nassif Building at the

same address, between 10 a.m. and 5

p.m., Monday through Friday, except

Federal holidays. You may also access

this docket on the Internet at http://

dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For information on the public docket,

call Carol Kelley, Coast Guard Dockets