[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 27 (Thursday, February 9, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7742-7743]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-3297]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 761

[OPPTS-66019A; FRL-4935-5]
RIN 2070-AB20


Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs); Manufacturing, Processing, and 
Distribution in Commerce Exemptions; Notice of Informal Hearing

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of Informal Hearing.

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SUMMARY: On December 6, 1994, EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and 
Toxics published a proposed rule with respect to 19 petitions for 
exceptions to the general prohibitions on the manufacture, import, 
processing, and distribution in commerce of PCBs under the Toxic 
Substances Control Act (TSCA). EPA has received a request for a hearing 
on four of the petitions that seek an exemption to allow the 
importation of PCBs from Canada for disposal in the United States. EPA 
will hold a half-day informal public hearing in the Washington, DC area 
on the four petitions. This notice announces the time and location of 
that hearing.
DATES: The hearing will take place on Monday, March 6, 1995, from 9:00 
a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Written requests to participate in the hearing must 
be received on or before February 24, 1995. If reply comments are 
submitted, they must be received on or before March 20, 1995.

ADDRESSES: The hearing will be held at EPA Headquarters, 401 M St., 
SW., Washington, DC, in the Washington Information Center (WIC), 
conference room number 17 from 9 am to 1 pm. Three copies of the 
request to participate in the informal hearing, identified with the 
docket number OPPTS-66019A must be submitted to: OPPT Document Control 
Officer, Attn: TSCA Docket Receipts (7407), Office of Pollution 
Prevention and Toxics, Rm. G-99, Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M 
St., SW., Washington, DC 20460. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for the 
type of information that must be included in the request and who may 
participate. Requests for a waiver to participate in the informal 
hearing by those [[Page 7743]] organizations that did not file main 
comments must be sent to EPA Headquarters Hearing Clerk, Mail Code 
1900, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan B. Hazen, Director, 
Environmental Assistance Division (7408), Office of Pollution 
Prevention and Toxics, Rm. E-543B, Environmental Protection Agency, 401 
M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460, Telephone: (202) 554-1404, TDD: (202) 
554-0551, FAX: (202) 554-5603 (document requests only).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: TSCA section 3(c)(3) prohibits the 
manufacture, import, processing, and distribution in commerce of PCBs 
in most situations unless EPA grants an exemption from the prohibition 
by rulemaking. 15 U.S.C. 2605(e)(3). On December 6, 1994, EPA published 
a proposed rule addressing 19 petitions for exemptions from the TSCA 
section 6(e)(3) prohibition (59 FR 62875). EPA also announced that it 
would conduct an informal hearing upon request. EPA received a request 
for a hearing from S.D. Myers on EPA's proposed decision on their four 
petitions which seek an exemption from the prohibition on importing 
PCBs from Canada for disposal in the United States. EPA will hold an 
informal hearing on its proposed decision to deny these four petitions 
on March 6, 1995. In general, the procedures that govern rulemaking, 
including informal hearings, with respect to petitions for exemptions 
from the TSCA section 6(e)(3) prohibitions are specified in 40 CFR part 
750, subparts A through C. Subpart B specifies the procedures that 
govern rulemaking for petitions seeking exemptions to manufacture and 
import PCBs. The procedures in that subpart govern the March 6 informal 
hearing and subsequent rulemaking activities involving the Myers' 
petitions. The following notice summarizes those procedures. 
Participants and commenters are advised to consult 40 CFR part 750, 
subpart B for greater detail.
    Each person or organization desiring to participate in the informal 
hearing shall file a written request to participate with the OPPT 
Document Control Officer (see ADDRESSES above). The request shall be 
received on or before February 24, 1995 (40 CFR 750.18(a)).
    The request shall include: (1) A brief statement of the interest of 
the person or organization in the proceeding; (2) a brief outline of 
the points to be addressed; (3) an estimate of the time required (not 
to exceed 15 minutes); and (4) if the request comes from an 
organization, a nonbinding list of the persons to take part in the 
presentation. An organization that has not filed main comments on the 
rulemaking will not be allowed to participate in the hearing, unless a 
waiver of this requirement is granted by the Record and Hearing Clerk 
(see ADDRESSES above) or the organization is appearing at the request 
of EPA or under subpoena (40 CFR 750.18(b)). A panel of EPA employees 
shall preside at the hearing, and one panel member will chair the 
proceedings. The panel may question any individual or group 
participating in the hearing on any subject relating to the rulemaking. 
Cross-examination will normally not be permitted at this stage. 
However, persons in the hearing audience may submit questions in 
writing for the hearing panel to ask the participants, and the hearing 
panel may, at their discretion, ask these questions (40 CFR 750.19). 
See 40 CFR 750.19 and 750.7(c) for the rule governing the submission of 
additional material by the hearing participants.
    After the close of the hearing, any participant in the hearing may 
submit a written request for cross-examination. The request shall be 
received by EPA no later than 1 week after a full transcript of the 
hearing becomes available (to determine when the transcript is 
available, interested persons may contact the Environmental Assistance 
Division (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT above)). See 40 CFR 
750.20 and 750.8 for a description of the information that shall be 
included in such a request.
    Interested persons may file reply comments. Reply comments shall be 
received on or before March 20, 1995, and shall be restricted to 
comments on: (1) other comments; (2) material in the hearing record; 
and (3) material which was not and could not possibly have been 
available to the commenting party a sufficient time before main 
comments were due on February 6, 1995. (40 CFR 750.15). Extensions of 
time for filing reply comments may be granted pursuant to 40 CFR 
750.4(c).
    Reply comments and a transcript of the hearing will be placed in 
the Nonconfidential Information Center as part of the rulemaking record 
for the proposed rule (docket number OPPTS-66019A). A full list of 
these materials is available for inspection and copying in the TSCA 
Nonconfidential Information Center from 12 noon to 4 p.m. However, any 
information claimed as Confidential Business Information (CBI) that is 
part of the record for this rulemaking is not available for public 
review. A public version of the record, from which information claimed 
as CBI has been excluded, is available for inspection. The address for 
the TSCA Docket Receipts appears under the ADDRESSES section of this 
notice.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 761

    Environmental protection, Hazardous substances, Labeling, 
Polychlorinated biphenyls, Reporting and Recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: February 2, 1995.
Joseph S. Carra,

Acting Director, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics.
[FR Doc. 95-3297 Filed 2-8-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-F