[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 215 (Thursday, November 6, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 65910-65912]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-26318]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 22

[EPA-HQ-OECA-2014-0551; FRL-9914-33-OECA]
RIN 2020-AA50


Consolidated Rules of Practice Governing the Administrative 
Assessment of Civil Penalties, Issuance of Compliance or Corrective 
Action Orders, and the Revocation, Termination or Suspension of Permits

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: This proposed rule revises the scope of the Environmental 
Protection Agency's (EPA) Consolidated Rules of Practice governing the 
administrative assessment of civil penalties to encompass the 
assessment of civil penalties under the air pollution control 
provisions of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships. The EPA has not 
previously established adjudicatory procedures for the assessment of 
civil penalties under that statute. Establishment of such procedures 
will provide for the efficient and effective adjudication, including 
administrative appeals, of such proceedings consistent with statutory 
requirements. This proposed rule also revises the address for the 
Environmental Appeals Board to reflect its relocation to the William 
Jefferson Clinton East Building.
    In the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of this Federal Register, 
we are making this same amendment as a direct final rule. If we receive 
no adverse comment, the direct final rule will go into effect and we 
will not take further action on this proposed rule.

DATES: Written comments must be received by December 8, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OECA-2014-0551, by one of the following methods:
    1. www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    2. Email: [<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#fc98939f979988d293999f9dbc998c9dd29b938a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="294d464a424c5d07464c4a48694c5948074e465f">[email protected]</span></a>.]
    3. Fax: (202) 566-9744.
    4. Mail: Environmental Protection Agency, OECA Docket, Mail-Code 
28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460.
    5. Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room 3334, 
1301 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20004. Attention Docket No. 
EPA-HQ-OECA-2014-0551. Such deliveries are only accepted during the 
Docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be 
made for deliveries of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OECA-
2014-0551. The EPA's policy is that all comments received will be 
included in the public docket without change and may be made available 
online at www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov 
or email. The www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' 
system, which means the EPA will not know your identity or contact 
information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you 
send an email comment directly to the EPA without going through 
www.regulations.gov your email address will be automatically captured 
and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket 
and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic 
comment, the EPA recommends that you include your name and other 
contact information in the body of your comment and with any disk or 
CD-ROM you submit. If the EPA cannot read your comment due to technical 
difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, the EPA may not 
be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use 
of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any 
defects or viruses. For additional information about the EPA's public 
docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm. For additional instructions on submitting 
comments, go to the SUPPLMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in www.regulations.gov or at the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, 
Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20004. The 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 OECA 
Docket is (202) 566-1752.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Meetu Kaul, Office of Enforcement and 
Compliance Assurance, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, William 
Jefferson Clinton Building South, Room 1117B, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. 
NW., Mail Code 2242A, Washington, DC 20460, phone number (202) 564-5472 
or by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#761d17031a581b131302033613061758111900"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="315a50445d1f5c54544544715441501f565e47">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Why is the EPA issuing this proposed rule?

    The EPA is proposing to revise the scope of the EPA's Consolidated 
Rules of Practice governing the administrative assessment of civil 
penalties to encompass the assessment of civil penalties under the air 
pollution control provisions of the Act to Prevent Pollution from 
Ships. Establishment of such procedures will provide for the

[[Page 65911]]

efficient and effective adjudication, including administrative appeals, 
of such proceedings consistent with statutory requirements.
    We are publishing a direct final rule in the ``Rules and 
Regulations'' section of this Federal Register because we view this as 
a noncontroversial action and anticipate no adverse comment. We explain 
our reasons for this action in the preamble to the direct final rule. 
The regulatory text for the proposal is identical to that for the 
direct final rule published in the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of 
this Federal Register.
    If we receive no adverse comment, we will not take further action 
on this proposed rule. If we receive adverse comment, we will publish 
timely notice in the Federal Register to withdraw the direct final 
rule. We will address all public comments in any subsequent final rule 
based on this proposed rule. We do not intend to provide a second 
comment period on this action. Any parties interested in commenting 
must do so at this time. For further information about commenting on 
this rule see the ADDRESSES section of this document.

II. Does this action apply to me?

    This action may affect parties involved in EPA administrative 
adjudicatory proceedings for the assessment of civil penalties under 
section 1908(b) of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (33 U.S.C. 
1908(b)). You may direct questions regarding the applicability of this 
action as noted in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

III. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?

    A. Submitting CBI Do not submit this information to the EPA through 
www.regulations.gov or email. Clearly mark the part or all of the 
information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk or 
CD-ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD-ROM as 
CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the 
specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one 
complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as 
CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information 
claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket. 
Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with 
procedures set forth in 40 CFR Part 2.
    B. Tips for Preparing Your Comments
    When submitting comments, remember to:
    <bullet> Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other 
identifying information (subject heading, Federal Register date and 
page number).
    <bullet> Follow directions--The agency may ask you to respond to 
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
    <bullet> Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives 
and substitute language for your requested changes.
    <bullet> Describe any assumptions and provide any technical 
information and/or data that you used.
    <bullet> If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how 
you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced.
    <bullet> Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and 
suggest alternatives.
    <bullet> Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the 
use of profanity or personal threats.
    <bullet> Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period 
deadline identified.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. Executive Orders 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review and 13563: 
Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review

    This action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under the 
terms of Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and is 
therefore not subject to review under Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 
(76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011).

B. Paperwork Reduction Act

    This action does not impose an information collection burden under 
the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. 
Burden is defined at 5 CFR 1320.3(b). This action will apply the Rules 
of Practice to adjudicatory proceedings for the assessment of civil 
penalties by the EPA under its Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships 
authority, and will revise the mailing and hand delivery address for 
the EAB to reflect the Board's relocation.

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) generally requires an agency 
to prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis of any rule subject to 
notice and comment rulemaking requirements under the Administrative 
Procedure Act or any other statute unless the agency certifies that the 
rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities. Small entities include small businesses, 
small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions. For purposes 
of assessing the impacts of this rule on small entities, small entity 
is defined as: (1) A small business as defined by the Small Business 
Administration's (SBA) regulations at 13 CFR 121.201; (2) a small 
governmental jurisdiction that is a government of a city, county, town, 
school district or special district with a population of less than 
50,000; and (3) a small organization that is any not-for-profit 
enterprise which is independently owned and operated and is not 
dominant in its field.
    After considering the economic impacts of this rule on small 
entities, I certify that this rule will not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities. This rule will not 
impose any additional requirements on small entities. This rule will 
apply the Rules of Practice to adjudicatory proceedings for the 
assessment of civil penalties by the EPA under its Act to Prevent 
Pollution from Ships authority, and will revise the mailing and hand 
delivery address for the EAB to reflect the Board's relocation.

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    This action contains no Federal mandates under the provisions of 
Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), 2 U.S.C. 
1531-1538 for State, local, or tribal governments or the private 
sector. The action imposes no enforceable duty on any State, local or 
tribal governments or the private sector. Therefore, this action is not 
subject to the requirements of sections 202 or 205 of the UMRA.
    This action is also not subject to the requirements of section 203 
of UMRA because it contains no regulatory requirements that might 
significantly or uniquely affect small governments. The purpose of this 
action is to apply the Rules of Practice to adjudicatory proceedings 
for the assessment of civil penalties by the EPA under its Act to 
Prevent Pollution from Ships authority, and to revise the mailing and 
hand delivery address for the EAB to reflect the Board's relocation.

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism

    This action does not have federalism implications. It will not have 
substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship between 
the national government and the States, or on the distribution of power 
and responsibilities among the various levels of government, as 
specified in Executive Order 13132. This action will

[[Page 65912]]

apply the Rules of Practice to adjudicatory proceedings for the 
assessment of civil penalties by the EPA under its Act to Prevent 
Pollution from Ships authority, and will revise the mailing and hand 
delivery address for the EAB to reflect the Board's relocation. Thus, 
Executive Order 13132 does not apply to this action.

F. Executive Order 13175 Consultation and Coordination With Indian 
Tribal Governments

    This action does not have tribal implications, as specified in 
Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000). This action will 
apply the Rules of Practice to adjudicatory proceedings for the 
assessment of civil penalties by the EPA under its Act to Prevent 
Pollution from Ships authority, and will revise the mailing and hand 
delivery address for the EAB to reflect the Board's relocation. Thus, 
Executive Order 13175 does not apply to this action.

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental 
Health and Safety Risks

    The EPA interprets EO 13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997) as 
applying only to those regulatory actions that concern health or safety 
risks, such that the analysis required under section 5-501 of the EO 
has the potential to influence the regulation. This action is not 
subject to EO 13045 because it does not establish an environmental 
standard intended to mitigate health or safety risks.

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That Significantly Affect Energy 
Supply, Distribution, or Use

    This action is not subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355 
(May 22, 2001)), because it is not a significant regulatory action 
under Executive Order 12866.

I. National Technology Transfer Advancement Act

    Section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement 
Act of 1995 (``NTTAA''), Public Law 104-113, 12(d) (15 U.S.C. 272 note) 
directs the EPA to use voluntary consensus standards in its regulatory 
activities unless to do so would be inconsistent with applicable law or 
otherwise impractical. Voluntary consensus standards are technical 
standards (e.g., materials specifications, test methods, sampling 
procedures, and business practices) that are developed or adopted by 
voluntary consensus standards bodies. NTTAA directs the EPA to provide 
Congress, through OMB, explanations when the Agency decides not to use 
available and applicable voluntary consensus standards.
    This action does not involve technical standards. Therefore, the 
EPA did not consider the use of any voluntary consensus standards.

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions To Address Environmental 
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations

    Executive Order (EO) 12898 (59 FR 7629 (Feb. 16, 1994)) establishes 
federal executive policy on environmental justice. Its main provision 
directs Federal agencies, to the greatest extent practicable and 
permitted by law, to make environmental justice part of their mission 
by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately high 
and adverse human health or environmental effects of their programs, 
policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income 
populations in the United States.
    The EPA has determined that this rule will not have 
disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental 
effects on minority or low-income populations because it does not 
affect the level of protection provided to human health or the 
environment. This action will apply the Rules of Practice to 
adjudicatory proceedings for the assessment of civil penalties by the 
EPA under its Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships authority, and will 
revise the mailing and hand delivery address for the EAB to reflect the 
Board's relocation.

V. Statutory Authority

    Statutory authority for this proposed action comes from sections 
1903 and 1908 of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) (33 
U.S.C. 1901 et seq.).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 22

    Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedures, 
Air pollution control, Hazardous substances, Hazardous waste, 
Penalties, Pesticides and pests, Poison prevention, Water pollution 
control.

    Dated: October 23, 2014.
Gina McCarthy,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2014-26318 Filed 11-5-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


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