Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 133 / Wednesday, July 13, 2022 / Notices 41749 

1FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration 

Launches Plan to Combat PFAS Pollution | The 

White House. 

2FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration 

Combatting PFAS Pollution to Safeguard Clean 

Drinking Water for All Americans | The White 

House. 

3https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/cir1490. 

4https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/ 

2021-10/pfas-roadmap_final-508.pdf. 

Representative: Jennaca D. Upperman; 

Comments Due: July 15, 2022. 

This Notice will be published in the 

Federal Register. 

Erica A. Barker, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2022–14933 Filed 7–12–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7710–FW–P 

OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND 

TECHNOLOGY POLICY 

Request for Information; Identifying 

Critical Data Gaps and Needs To 

Inform Federal Strategic Plan for PFAS 

Research and Development 

AGENCY: Office of Science and 

Technology Policy (OSTP). 

ACTION: Notice of Request for 

Information (RFI). 

SUMMARY: The Office of Science and 

Technology Policy (OSTP) requests 

input from all interested parties to 

identify data gaps in research and 

development regarding several aspects 

of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances 

(PFAS). This information will be used to 

inform a strategic plan for Federal 

coordination of PFAS research and 

development and, in compliance with 

Section 332 of the William M. (Mac) 

Thornberry National Defense 

Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 

(FY21 NDAA), the interagency strategy 

team on PFAS will also develop an 

implementation plan for Federal 

agencies. 

DATES: Interested persons and 

organizations are invited to submit 

comments on or before 5:00 p.m. ET, 

August 29, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Interested individuals and 

organizations should submit comments 

electronically to JEEP@ostp.eop.gov and 

include ‘‘RFI Response: PFAS Strategic 

Plan’’ in the subject line of the email. 

Email submissions should be machinereadable [PDF, Word] and should not be 

copy-protected. Submissions received 

after the deadline may not be taken into 

consideration. 

Instructions: Response to this RFI is 

voluntary. Each individual or 

organization is requested to submit only 

one response. Commenters can respond 

to one or many questions. However, 

responses must not exceed a total of five 

(5) pages in 12 point or larger font, with 

a page number provided on each page. 

Submissions should clearly indicate 

which questions are being addressed. A 

bibliography does not count towards the 

page limit. Responses should include 

the name of the person(s) or 

organization(s) filing the response. 

Responses containing references, 

studies, research, and other empirical 

data that are not widely published 

should include copies of or electronic 

links to the referenced materials. 

Responses containing profanity, 

vulgarity, threats, or other inappropriate 

language or content will not be 

considered. 

Comments submitted in response to 

this notice are subject to the Freedom of 

Information Act (FOIA). No business 

proprietary information, copyrighted 

information, or personally identifiable 

information should be submitted in 

response to this RFI. Please be aware 

that comments submitted in response to 

this RFI, including the submitter’s 

identification (as noted above), may be 

posted, without change, on OSTP’s or 

another Federal website or otherwise 

released publicly. 

In accordance with FAR 15–202(3), 

responses to this notice are not offers 

and cannot be accepted by the U.S. 

Government to form a binding contract. 

Additionally, the U.S. Government will 

not pay for response preparation or for 

the use of any information contained in 

the response. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

additional information, please direct 

questions to Melanie Buser at JEEP@

ostp.eop.gov or 202–456–4444. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background: The Biden-Harris 

Administration is committed to 

combatting PFAS pollution and to 

ensuring access to clean drinking water 

for all Americans.1 2 OSTP has been 

tasked under Section 332 of the William 

M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense 

Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 

(FY21 NDAA) (Pub. L. 116–283) with 

developing a strategic plan for PFAS 

research and development. This 

strategic plan should identify ‘‘scientific 

and technological challenges that must 

be addressed to understand and to 

significantly reduce the environmental 

and human health impacts of PFAS and 

to identify cost-effective— 

(i) alternatives to PFAS that are 

designed to be safer and more 

environmentally friendly; 

(ii) methods for removal of PFAS from 

the environment; and 

(iii) methods to safely destroy or 

degrade PFAS;’’ and subsequently to 

establish ‘‘goals, priorities, and metrics 

for federally funded PFAS research and 

development that takes into account the 

current state of research and 

development.’’ 

This strategic plan will be the 

precursor to an R&D implementation 

plan for Federal agencies. Two agencies 

currently have existing agency plans 

that speak to PFAS R&D: the USGS 

Strategic Science Vision 3 and the EPA 

PFAS Strategic Roadmap.4 Other 

Federal agencies may develop their own 

PFAS R&D plans and may use answers 

from this RFI to inform future 

directions. 

For purposes of this RFI, the term perand polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS 

has the definition provided in Section 

332(g)(1) of the FY21 NDAA: ‘‘(A) manmade chemicals of which all of the 

carbon atoms are fully fluorinated 

carbon atoms; and (B) man-made 

chemicals containing a mix of fully 

fluorinated carbon atoms, partially 

fluorinated carbon atoms, and 

nonfluorinated carbon atoms’’. PFAS 

have been widely used in industry and 

consumer products since the 1940s 

because of their useful properties. 

Examples of products that use PFAS 

include food contact materials (e.g., 

packaging, cookware), stain and waterrepellant fabrics and carpets, and 

firefighting foams. PFAS may be present 

in water, soil, air, food, and other 

materials. Research has shown that 

PFAS are highly stable chemicals that 

accumulate in people, animals, and the 

environment over time, and in several 

cases, have been shown to cause adverse 

health effects. 

Scope: OSTP invites input from 

States; Tribes; territories; individuals, 

including those belonging to groups that 

have been historically underserved, 

marginalized, or subject to 

discrimination or systemic 

disadvantage; local governments; 

appropriate industries; academic 

institutions; nongovernmental 

organizations; and international 

organizations with expertise in PFAS 

research and development, treatment, 

management, and alternative 

development. 

Information Requested: Respondents 

may provide information for one or as 

many topics below as they choose. 

Submissions should clearly indicate 

which questions are being addressed. 

For the purpose of this RFI, ‘‘PFAS 

research and development’’ includes 

any research or project meeting one or 

more of the following goals: 

(A) The removal of PFAS from the 

environment, in part or in total; 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
41750 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 133 / Wednesday, July 13, 2022 / Notices 

5https://www.congress.gov/116/plaws/publ283/ 

PLAW-116publ283.pdf. 

1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). 

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

(B) The safe destruction or 

degradation of PFAS; 

(C) The development and deployment 

of safer and more environmentallyfriendly alternative substances that are 

functionally similar to those made with 

PFAS; 

(D) The understanding of sources of 

environmental PFAS contamination and 

pathways to exposure for the public; 

and/or, 

(E) The understanding of the toxicity 

of PFAS to humans and animals.5

Given PFAS are a large, diverse class 

of substances, making it difficult to 

comprehensively evaluate the 

environmental and human impacts, 

OSTP is interested in responses to the 

following questions: 

1. Should the USG consider 

identifying priority PFAS when 

developing a strategic plan for PFAS 

research and development? If so, what 

criteria should be used to identify 

priority PFAS for research and 

development (e.g., tonnage used per 

year; releases to the environment per 

year; toxicology or other human or 

environmental health concerns; national 

security or critical infrastructure uses)? 

2. Are there criteria which could be 

applied across the five research goals 

identified above, or should specific 

criteria be developed for each 

individual research goal? 

3. Based on the definition of PFAS in 

this RFI, what are the scientific, 

technological, and human challenges 

that must be addressed to understand 

and to significantly reduce the 

environmental and human impacts of 

PFAS and to identify cost-effective: 

a. Alternatives to PFAS that are 

designed to be safer and more 

environmentally friendly; 

b. Methods for removal of PFAS from 

the environment; and 

c. Methods to safely destroy or 

degrade PFAS? 

4. Are there specific chemistries and/ 

or intended uses that PFAS provide for 

which there are no known alternatives 

at this time? 

5. What are alternatives to the 

definition of PFAS provided in this RFI? 

What are the implications of these 

alternative definitions on possible 

remediation strategies? 

6. What should be the research and 

development priorities for accelerating 

progress, improving efficiency, and 

reducing the cost of: analytical methods, 

detection limits, non-targeted detection? 

7. What studies would yield the most 

useful information and address the 

current gaps in understanding PFAS 

health effects in humans (e.g., in vitro, 

animal toxicological, and 

epidemiological studies)? Which health 

effects should be prioritized? What 

additional impacts beyond health 

should be prioritized? Social scientific 

approaches are welcome in addressing 

this question and any others, as 

appropriate. 

8. One challenge across all research 

goals is PFAS mixtures and 

formulations. Currently, more 

information is needed to understand the 

identity, composition, occurrence, 

source, or effects on human health and 

the environment for mixtures of PFAS 

found in environmental media. 

Additionally, more information is 

needed to understand the best way to 

remediate or destroy media 

contaminated with multiple PFAS. 

What should be the research and 

development priorities for accelerating 

progress in these areas? 

9. What goals, priorities, and 

performance metrics would be valuable 

in measuring the success of National, 

federally funded PFAS research and 

development initiatives relating to: 

a. The removal of PFAS from the 

environment; 

b. Safely destroying or degrading 

PFAS; and 

c. Developing safer and more 

environmentally-friendly alternatives to 

PFAS? 

d. Mitigating negative human effects 

of PFAS, whether related to health or 

additional domains? 

Dated: July 7, 2022. 

Stacy Murphy, 

Operations Manager. 

[FR Doc. 2022–14862 Filed 7–12–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3270–F2–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–95210; File No. SR– 

PEARL–2022–26 

Self-Regulatory Organizations: Notice 

of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness 

of a Proposed Rule Change by MIAX 

PEARL, LLC To Amend the MIAX Pearl 

Equities Fee Schedule 

July 7, 2022. 

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 

19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act 

of 1934 (‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule 19b–4 

thereunder,2 notice is hereby given that 

on July 5, 2022, MIAX PEARL, LLC 

(‘‘MIAX Pearl’’ or ‘‘Exchange’’) filed 

with the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (‘‘Commission’’) a 

proposed rule change as described in 

Items I, II, and III below, which Items 

have been prepared by the Exchange. 

The Commission is publishing this 

notice to solicit comments on the 

proposed rule change from interested 

persons. 

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Terms of Substance of 

the Proposed Rule Change 

The Exchange is filing a proposal to 

amend the fee schedule (the ‘‘Fee 

Schedule’’) applicable to MIAX Pearl 

Equities, an equities trading facility of 

the Exchange. 

The text of the proposed rule change 

is available on the Exchange’s website at 

http://www.miaxoptions.com/rulefilings/pearl at MIAX Pearl’s principal 

office, and at the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room. 

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

In its filing with the Commission, the 

Exchange included statements 

concerning the purpose of and basis for 

the proposed rule change and discussed 

any comments it received on the 

proposed rule change. The text of these 

statements may be examined at the 

places specified in Item IV below. The 

Exchange has prepared summaries, set 

forth in sections A, B, and C below, of 

the most significant aspects of such 

statements. 

A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

The purpose of the proposed rule 

change is to amend the Exchange’s Fee 

Schedule to adopt new liquidity 

indicator codes and associated fees and 

rebates to the Liquidity Indicator Codes 

and Associated Fees table. The 

Exchange originally filed this proposal 

on June 23, 2022, (SR–PEARL–2022– 

24). On July 5, 2022, the Exchange 

withdrew SR–PEARL–2022–24 and 

resubmitted this proposal. 

The Exchange first notes that it 

operates in a highly competitive market 

in which market participants can 

readily direct order flow to competing 

venues if they deem fee levels at a 

particular venue to be excessive or 

incentives to be insufficient. More 

specifically, the Exchange is only one of 

16 registered equities exchanges, as well 

as a number of alternative trading 

systems and other off-exchange venues, 


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