62360 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 234 / Wednesday, December 6, 1995 / Proposed Rules

authorizing statute. Therefore, the

FHWA is proposing to eliminate part

667 as opposed to amending it to

account for the changes brought about

by the ISTEA amendments. Elimination

of these regulations would provide more

flexibility in administration of the PLH

discretionary program. In addition,

elimination of part 667 would have the

effect of further streamlining FHWA

regulations in accordance with the

objectives of the President’s Regulatory

Reinvention Initiative.

Rulemaking Analyses and Notices

All comments received before the

close of business on the comment

closing date indicated above will be

considered and will be available for

examination in the docket at the above

address. Comments received after the

comment closing date will be filed in

the docket and will be considered to the

extent practicable, but the FHWA may

issue a final rule at any time after the

close of the comment period. In

addition to late comments, the FHWA

will also continue to file in the docket

relevant information that becomes

available after the comment closing

date, and interested persons should

continue to examine the docket for new

material.

Executive Order 12866 (Regulatory

Planning and Review and DOT

Regulatory Policies and Procedures)

The FHWA has considered the impact

of this document and has determined

that it is neither a significant

rulemaking action within the meaning

of Executive Order 12866 nor a

significant rulemaking under the

regulatory policies and procedures of

the Department of Transportation. This

rulemaking would result in the

elimination of FHWA regulations

regarding administration of the PLH

discretionary program. These

regulations have become outdated and

are unnecessary in light of the fact that

the statutory provisions authorizing

allocation of these funds adequately

delineate the procedures to be used and

the factors to be considered in selecting

the States that will receive funding. This

rulemaking eliminating these obsolete

regulations would not cause any

significant changes to the amount of

funding available under the PLH

Discretionary Program or to the process

by which applicants are selected to

receive funding. Thus, it is anticipated

that the economic impact of this

rulemaking will be minimal. In

addition, it will not create a serious

inconsistency with any other agency’s

action or materially alter the budgetary

impact of any entitlements, grants, user

fees, or loan programs; nor will

elimination of these regulations raise

any novel legal or policy issues.

Therefore, a full regulatory evaluation is

not required.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

In compliance with the Regulatory

Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601–612), the

FHWA has evaluated the effects of this

rule on small entities and has

determined that elimination of the

FHWA regulations regarding

administration of PLH discretionary

funds will not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities. Elimination of

these regulations will not affect the

amount of funding available to the

States through the PLH Discretionary

Program or the procedures used to select

the States eligible to receive these funds.

Furthermore, States are not included in

the definition of ‘‘small entity’’ set forth

in 5 U.S.C. 601. Therefore, the FHWA

hereby certifies that this action will not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities.

Executive Order 12612 (Federalism

Assessment)

This action has been analyzed in

accordance with the principles and

criteria contained in Executive Order

12612, and it has been determined that

this action does not raise sufficient

federalism implications to warrant the

preparation of a federalism assessment.

Elimination of these obsolete FHWA

regulations concerning the PLH

Discretionary Program would not

preempt any State law or State

regulation. No additional costs or

burdens would be imposed on the States

as a result of this action, and the States’

ability to discharge traditional State

governmental functions would not be

affected by this rulemaking.

Executive Order 12372

Catalog of Domestic Assistance

Program Number 20.205, Highway

Planning and Construction. The

regulations implementing Executive

Order 12372 regarding

intergovernmental consultation on

Federal programs and activities apply to

this program.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This action does not create a

collection of information requirement

for the purposes of the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1980, 44 U.S.C. 3501–

3520.

National Environmental Policy Act

The FHWA has analyzed this

rulemaking for the purposes of the

National Environmental Policy Act of

1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321–4347) and has

determined that this action would not

have any effect on the quality of the

environment. Therefore an

environmental impact statement is not

required.

Regulatory Identification Number

A regulation identification number

(RIN) is assigned to each regulatory

action listed in the Unified Agenda of

Federal Regulations. The Regulatory

Information Service Center publishes

the Unified Agenda in April and

October of each year. The RIN contained

in the heading of this document can be

used to cross reference this action with

the Unified Agenda.

List of Subjects in 23 CFR Part 667

Highways and roads, Public lands

highway funds.

Issued on: November 27, 1995.

Rodney E. Slater,

Federal Highway Administrator.

In consideration of the foregoing and

under the authority of 23 U.S.C. 202,

204, and 315, the FHWA proposes to

remove and reserve part 667 of title 23,

Code of Federal Regulations, as set forth

below.

PART 667—PUBLIC LANDS

HIGHWAYS FUNDS [REMOVED AND

RESERVED]

1. Part 667 is removed and reserved.

[FR Doc. 95–29647 Filed 12–5–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health

Administration

29 CFR Parts 1910, 1915 and 1926

[Docket No. H–071B]

Occupational Exposure to Methylene

Chloride

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health

Administration (OSHA), Department of

Labor.

ACTION: Proposed rule; Limited

reopening of the rulemaking record.

SUMMARY: On October 24, 1995, the

Occupational Safety and Health

Administration (OSHA) reopened the

record (60 FR 54462) for the proposed

revision of the regulation of methylene

chloride (MC) (56 FR 57036, November

7, 1991) to incorporate recently

concluded research on MC

carcinogenicity.
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 234 / Wednesday, December 6, 1995 / Proposed Rules 62361

The studies incorporated in the

October 24 notice address the

mechanism by which MC metabolites

induce lung and liver cancer in mice

and draw conclusions regarding the

relevance of the mouse data to the

assessment of human cancer risk. OSHA

determined that those studies are

relevant to full consideration of

concerns raised by the MC rulemaking

and reopened the record until

November 24, 1995, to allow the public

an opportunity to comment.

The October 24 notice generated

substantially more interest than OSHA

anticipated and the Agency is

concerned that the initial 30 days was

insufficient to allow full participation

by interested parties. Accordingly,

OSHA is reopening the comment period

until December 29, 1995.

DATES: Written comments on the

materials incorporated through the

October 24, 1995 notice of reopening

must be postmarked by December 29,

1995.

ADDRESSES: Comments are to be

submitted in quadruplicate to the

Docket Office, Docket No. H–071B, U.S.

Department of Labor, room N–2634, 200

Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington,

DC 20210. Telephone (202) 219–7894.

Written comments limited to 10 pages

or less in length also may be transmitted

by facsimile to (202) 219–5046,

provided that the original and 3 copies

are sent to the Docket Office thereafter.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Anne C. Cyr, Office of Information and

Consumer Affairs, Occupational Safety

and Health Administration, U.S.

Department of Labor, room N–3647, 200

Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington,

DC 20210. Telephone (202) 219–8148.

For electronic copies of this Federal

Register notice, contact the Labor News

Bulletin Board (202) 219–4784; or

OSHA’s WebPage on Internet at http://

www.osha.gov/. For news releases, fact

sheets, and other short documents,

contact OSHA FAX at (900) 555–3400 at

$1.50 per minute.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

On November 7, 1991, OSHA issued

a notice of proposed rulemaking (56 FR

57036) to address the significant risks of

MC-induced health effects. The

proposed rule required employers to

reduce occupational exposure to MC

and to institute ancillary measures, such

as employee training and medical

surveillance, for further protection of

MC-exposed workers.

OSHA convened public hearings (57

FR 24438, June 9, 1992) in Washington,

DC on September 16–24, 1992 and in

San Francisco, CA on October 14–16,

1992. The post-hearing period for the

submission of additional briefs,

arguments and summations ended on

March 15, 1993.

On March 11, 1994, OSHA reopened

the rulemaking record for 45 days (59

FR 11567) to obtain public input on

three documents incorporated into the

rulemaking record, one of which

examined the relationship between MC

exposure and human carcinogenesis.

The limited reopening, which ended on

April 25, 1994, generated 37 comments.

The Halogenated Solvents Industry

Alliance (HSIA) subsequently submitted

several recently completed studies

which address the mechanism for MCinduced cancer in mice and which

assert that species differences in the

metabolism of MC preclude the use of

mouse data to characterize human

cancer risk. The utility of the mouse

data in assessing human risk is a critical

issue in this rulemaking. Therefore,

OSHA concluded that it was

appropriate, even at this late stage of the

rulemaking process, to consider the

HSIA-submitted studies in the drafting

of the final rule. Accordingly, on

October 24, 1995, the Agency reopened

the rulemaking record to incorporate

those studies and to provide the public

with an opportunity to comment.

OSHA has been considering the

impact of species differences on the MC

risk assessment throughout this

rulemaking, and has generated an

extensive record over the nearly four

years since the proposal was published.

While the Agency has agreed with the

HSIA that the new materials should be

taken into account, the Agency still

believes that every effort should be

made to conclude this rulemaking

expeditiously. To that end, OSHA

reopened the record for 30 days to

receive any additional comments and

information regarding this issue. While

the record was open, OSHA received

many requests for the studies. Due to

the substantial interest generated by the

October 24 notice, the Agency has

decided to allow interested parties

additional time in which to submit their

comments. Therefore, OSHA is

extending the comment period until

December 29, 1995.

OSHA will provide interested parties

with copies of the materials

incorporated into the methylene

chloride record through the October 24,

1995 reopening notice, upon request, to

facilitate full and timely public

participation. Requests for copies of the

studies should be addressed to the

Christine Whittaker, Room N–3718,

Health Standards Programs, OSHA, U.S.

Department of Labor,200 Constitution

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210.

Telephone: (202) 219–7174. Fax: (202)

219–7125.

II. Public Participation

Comments

Written comments regarding the

materials incorporated into the

methylene chloride record through the

October 24, 1995 reopening notice must

be postmarked by December 29, 1995.

Four copies of these comments must be

submitted to the Docket Office, Docket

No. H–071B, U.S. Department of Labor,

room N–2625, 200 Constitution Avenue,

NW., Washington, DC 20210. (202) 219–

7894. All materials submitted will be

available for inspection and copying at

the above address. Materials previously

submitted to the Docket for this

rulemaking need not be resubmitted.

III. Authority

This document was prepared under

the direction of Joseph A. Dear,

Assistant Secretary of Labor for

Occupational Safety and Health, U.S.

Department of Labor, 200 Constitution

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210.

It is issued under section 6(b) of the

Occupational Safety and Health Act (29

U.S.C. 655), and 29 CFR part 1911.

Signed at Washington, DC, this 1st day of

December 1995.

Joseph A. Dear,

Assistant Secretary of Labor.

[FR Doc. 95–29719 Filed 12–5–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4510–26–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 180

[OPP–300405; FRL–4987–4]

RIN 2070–AC18

Maleic Hydrazide, Oryzalin,

Hexazinone, Streptomycin; Tolerance

Actions

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: For each of the pesticides

subject to the actions listed in this

proposed rule, EPA has completed the

reregistration process and issued a

Reregistration Eligibility Decision

(RED). In the reregistration process, all

information to support a pesticide’s

continued registration is reviewed for

adequacy and, when needed,

supplemented with new scientific

studies. Based on the RED tolerance

assessments for the pesticide chemicals