Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 88 / Friday, May 8, 2009 / Proposed Rules 21565 

submit a comment online via http:// 

www.regulations.gov, it will be 

considered received by the Coast Guard 

when you successfully transmit the 

comment. If you fax, hand deliver, or 

mail your comment, it will be 

considered as having been received by 

the Coast Guard when it is received at 

the Docket Management Facility. 

Anyone can search the electronic 

form of comments received into any of 

our dockets by the name of the 

individual submitting the comment (or 

signing the comment, if submitted on 

behalf of an association, business, labor 

union, etc.). You may review a Privacy 

Act notice regarding our public dockets 

in the January 17, 2008, issue of the 

Federal Register (73 FR 3316). 

Dated: April 27, 2009. 

J.P. Currier, 

Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard Commander, 

Thirteenth Coast Guard District. 

[FR Doc. E9–10755 Filed 5–7–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

38 CFR Part 21 

RIN 2900–AN13 

Vocational Rehabilitation and 

Employment Program—Basic 

Entitlement; Effective Date of Induction 

Into a Rehabilitation Program; 

Cooperation in Initial Evaluation 

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: This document proposes to 

amend the vocational rehabilitation and 

employment regulations of the 

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). 

Specifically, it proposes to amend 

provisions concerning: individuals’ 

basic entitlement to vocational 

rehabilitation benefits and services; 

effective dates of induction into a 

rehabilitation program, including 

retroactive induction; and cooperation 

and lack of cooperation in the initial 

evaluation process. The proposed 

amendments are intended to update 

pertinent regulations to reflect changes 

in law, VA’s interpretation of applicable 

law, and VA’s determination of 

appropriate procedures, and to improve 

clarity. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before July 7, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be 

submitted through http:// 

www.Regulations.gov; by mail or handdelivery to the Director, Regulations 

Management (02REG), Department of 

Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Ave., 

NW., Room 1068, Washington, DC 

20420; or by fax to (202) 273–9026. 

Comments should indicate that they are 

submitted in response to ‘‘RIN 2900– 

AN13—Vocational Rehabilitation and 

Employment Program—Basic 

Entitlement, etc.’’ Copies of comments 

received will be available for public 

inspection in the Office of Regulation 

Policy and Management, Room 1063B, 

between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 

p.m., Monday through Friday (except 

holidays). Please call (202) 461–4902 for 

an appointment. In addition, during the 

comment period, comments may be 

viewed online through the Federal 

Docket Management System (FDMS) at 

http://www.Regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Alvin Bauman, Senior Policy Analyst, 

Vocational Rehabilitation and 

Employment Service (28), Veterans 

Benefits Administration, Department of 

Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Ave., 

NW., Washington, DC 20420, (202) 461– 

9613. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 38 CFR 

Part 21, Subpart A—Vocational 

Rehabilitation Under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 

31, we propose to revise VA’s 

regulations in 38 CFR 21.40 concerning 

basic entitlement to vocational 

rehabilitation benefits and services; in 

§ 21.282 concerning effective dates of 

induction into a rehabilitation program; 

and in § 21.50(d) concerning 

cooperation and lack of cooperation in 

the initial evaluation process. We note 

that VA previously addressed changes 

in the provision of services under 38 

U.S.C. chapter 31 that resulted from a 

court decision and the enactment of 

Public Law 104–275, the Veterans 

Benefits Improvement Act of 1996. This 

included VA’s issuance of Circular 28– 

97–1 in 1997 (last revised in October 

2004) to provide guidance regarding the 

implementation of these changes. The 

proposed rule would update 38 CFR 

part 21 consistent with current VA 

practice. In addition, the proposed rule 

would make other nonsubstantive 

changes. 

Basic Entitlement to Vocational 

Rehabilitation Benefits and Services 

We propose to revise § 21.40 to 

include criteria, effective October 1, 

1993, for vocational rehabilitation basic 

entitlement determinations resulting 

from the Veterans’ Benefits Act of 1992 

(Pub. L. 102–568), enacted October 29, 

1992. Public Law 102–568 amended 38 

U.S.C. 3102(2) to entitle veterans to 

vocational rehabilitation if they have a 

10 percent service-connected disability 

and are determined by the Secretary of 

Veterans Affairs to be in need of 

rehabilitation because of a serious 

employment handicap. 

The proposed changes to § 21.40 are 

also intended to reflect the provisions of 

section 602(c) of the Veterans Benefits 

Improvement Act of 1994 (Pub. L. 103– 

446), which amended section 404(b) of 

Public Law 102–568 with a technical 

correction, effective October 29, 1992. 

VA’s interpretation of the effect of these 

statutory changes is to give individuals 

basic entitlement to vocational 

rehabilitation if: 

• They have a 10 percent serviceconnected disability; 

• They originally applied for 

assistance under chapter 31 of title 38, 

United States Code, before November 1, 

1990; and 

• VA determines they need 

rehabilitation because of an 

employment handicap. 

In addition, the proposed changes to 

§ 21.40 are intended to make clarifying 

changes and to restructure and rewrite 

this section in reader-focused plain 

English. 

Due to changes that this document 

proposes in the structure of § 21.40, we 

are proposing to make a conforming 

change to refer elsewhere in Subpart A 

to § 21.40 rather than § 21.40(a). 

Effective Dates of Induction Into a 

Rehabilitation Program, Including 

Retroactive Induction 

In § 21.282, we propose to reflect a 

decision by the United States Court of 

Appeals for Veterans Claims (then the 

United States Court of Veterans 

Appeals) in Bernier v. Brown, 7 Vet. 

App. 434 (1995), which concerned 

effective dates for induction into a 

program of rehabilitation benefits and 

services. The Bernier decision set aside 

two provisions of current § 21.282 that 

limit retroactive induction into 

programs of rehabilitation benefits and 

services under 38 U.S.C. chapter 31. The 

first provision, in current 

§ 21.282(b)(2)(ii), prohibits retroactive 

induction for any period for which an 

individual received another VA 

education benefit. The other provision, 

in current § 21.282(c), limits retroactive 

induction to no more than one year 

prior to the date of application for 

chapter 31 benefits and services. We 

address each of these provisions in our 

proposed revision of § 21.282. 

Under proposed § 21.282, VA would 

be able to retroactively approve a period 

of training that occurred within an 

individual’s period of eligibility under 

38 CFR 21.41 through 21.46, beginning 

for a veteran on the effective date of the 

individual’s entitlement to disability 

compensation, provided that the 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with PROPOSALS
21566 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 88 / Friday, May 8, 2009 / Proposed Rules 

individual met the criteria for 

entitlement to chapter 31 benefits and 

services for that period. VA must also 

determine that the training and other 

rehabilitation services that the 

individual received during the period of 

retroactive induction were reasonably 

needed to achieve the planned goals and 

objectives identified for the individual. 

If the individual received other VAadministered education benefits during 

any portion of that period, VA must 

offset the previous education benefits 

received against the payment of chapter 

31 vocational rehabilitation benefits for 

the same period. 

We propose to add specific language 

in § 21.282(b) and (c) to clarify when an 

individual on active duty can qualify for 

retroactive induction and when the 

conditions for retroactive induction may 

apply to both veterans and 

servicemembers. For servicemembers, 

we propose, as one condition for 

retroactive induction, that the period of 

retroactive induction must be within a 

period under proposed § 21.40(c) during 

which a servicemember was awaiting 

discharge for disability. In § 21.282(b), 

we also propose to include clear 

statements, applicable in the case of an 

individual who is retroactively 

inducted, regarding authorization by VA 

of payment for tuition, fees, and other 

verifiable expenses that an individual 

paid or incurred consistent with an 

approved rehabilitation program, and 

authorization by VA of payments of 

subsistence allowance for the period of 

retroactive induction, not including any 

period for which the individual was on 

active duty, in order to provide more 

complete information for the benefit of 

the reader. In § 21.282(c), we propose to 

restructure current provisions to more 

objectively state the conditions that 

must be met before an individual may 

be inducted into a rehabilitation 

program on a retroactive basis in order 

to comply fully with pertinent statutory 

authorities. 

In response to the invalidation of 

language in current § 21.282(c) in 

Bernier, we propose to state in 

§ 21.282(d) that the effective date for 

retroactive induction is the date on 

which all the entitlement conditions set 

forth in proposed § 21.282(c) are met, 

and for a veteran (except as to a period 

prior to discharge from active duty) in 

no event before the effective date of a 

VA rating establishing a qualifying level 

of service-connected disability under 

§ 21.40. We believe this change will 

bring the effective-date provision in line 

with the court’s decision, and with 38 

U.S.C. 5113. 

We are also proposing nonsubstantive 

changes in § 21.282 for purposes of 

clarity and a conforming change in the 

center heading preceding § 21.282. 

Cooperation and Lack of Cooperation 

in the Initial Evaluation Process 

This document also proposes changes 

with regard to § 21.50, Initial 

evaluations. In the Federal Register of 

March 26, 2007, (72 FR 14041), VA 

published amendments to several 

sections in 38 CFR part 21, including 

§ 21.50. Here, we propose a further 

amendment, to revise § 21.50(d), Need 

for cooperation in evaluation. The 

changes are intended to reflect VA’s 

determination of appropriate procedures 

and to clarify the action VA will take if 

an individual fails to cooperate with the 

counseling psychologist (CP) or 

vocational rehabilitation counselor 

(VRC) in the initial evaluation process. 

In brief, this document’s proposed 

revision would provide that if after 

reasonable efforts are made to secure an 

individual’s cooperation the individual 

continues to be uncooperative, VA will 

‘‘suspend’’ that evaluation process. The 

changes proposed in this document 

would add references to § 21.362, 

Satisfactory conduct and cooperation, 

and § 21.364, Unsatisfactory conduct 

and cooperation. The changes would 

remove from that paragraph an 

unnecessary and potentially confusing 

statement that ‘‘[a] redetermination of 

entitlement as described in § 21.58 will 

be made in the case of an individual 

whose program has been discontinued 

due to failure to cooperate.’’ During the 

initial evaluation process, it would not 

be correct to consider the individual to 

have already been inducted into a 

program, and therefore it would not be 

correct to state that his or her ‘‘program’’ 

has been discontinued. In addition, we 

believe that § 21.50(d) does not need to 

refer to the provisions of § 21.58 

concerning redeterminations. 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

This document contains no provisions 

constituting a collection of information 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501–3521). 

Unfunded Mandates 

The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995 requires, at 2 U.S.C. 1532, that 

agencies prepare an assessment of 

anticipated costs and benefits before 

issuing any rule that may result in the 

expenditure by State, local, and tribal 

governments, in the aggregate, or by the 

private sector, of $100 million or more 

(adjusted annually for inflation) in any 

year. This proposed rule would have no 

such effect on State, local, and tribal 

governments, or on the private sector. 

Executive Order 12866 

Executive Order 12866 directs 

agencies to assess all costs and benefits 

of available regulatory alternatives and, 

when regulation is necessary, to select 

regulatory approaches that maximize 

net benefits (including potential 

economic, environmental, public health 

and safety, and other advantages; 

distributive impacts; and equity). The 

Executive Order classifies a regulatory 

action as a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action,’’ requiring review by the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) 

unless OMB waives such review, if it is 

a regulatory action that is likely to result 

in a rule that may: (1) Have an annual 

effect on the economy of $100 million 

or more or adversely affect in a material 

way the economy, a sector of the 

economy, productivity, competition, 

jobs, the environment, public health or 

safety, or State, local, or tribal 

governments or communities; (2) create 

a serious inconsistency or otherwise 

interfere with an action taken or 

planned by another agency; (3) 

materially alter the budgetary impact of 

entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan 

programs or the rights and obligations of 

recipients thereof; or (4) raise novel 

legal or policy issues arising out of legal 

mandates, the President’s priorities, or 

the principles set forth in the Executive 

Order. 

The economic, interagency, 

budgetary, legal, and policy 

implications of this proposed rule have 

been examined and it has been 

determined to be a significant regulatory 

action under the Executive Order 

because it is likely to result in a rule that 

may raise novel legal or policy issues 

arising out of legal mandates, the 

President’s priorities, or the principles 

set forth in the Executive Order. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Secretary hereby certifies that 

this proposed regulatory amendment 

would not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities as they are defined in the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601– 

612. This proposed amendment would 

not directly affect any small entities. 

Only individuals could be directly 

affected. Therefore, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 

605(b), this proposed amendment is 

exempt from the initial and final 

regulatory flexibility analysis 

requirements of sections 603 and 604. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

The program that this rule would 

affect has the following Catalog of 

Federal Domestic Assistance number 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 88 / Friday, May 8, 2009 / Proposed Rules 21567 

and title: 64.116, Vocational 

Rehabilitation for Disabled Veterans. 

List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 21 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Armed forces, Civil rights, 

Claims, Colleges and universities, 

Conflict of interests, Education, 

Employment, Grant programs— 

education, Grant programs—veterans, 

Health care, Loan programs—education, 

Loan programs—veterans, Manpower 

training programs, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Schools, 

Travel and transportation expenses, 

Veterans, Vocational education, 

Vocational rehabilitation. 

Approved: February 24, 2009. 

John R. Gingrich, 

Chief of Staff, Department of Veterans Affairs. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, VA proposes to amend 38 

CFR part 21 (subpart A) as follows: 

PART 21—VOCATIONAL 

REHABILITATION AND EDUCATION 

1. Revise the authority citation for 

part 21, subpart A to read as follows: 

Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501(a), chs. 18, 31, 

and as noted in specific sections. 

Subpart A—Vocational Rehabilitation 

and Employment Under 38 U.S.C. 

Chapter 31 

2. The subpart A heading is revised as 

set forth above. 

3. Revise the undesignated center 

heading immediately preceding § 21.40 

and that section to read as follows: 

Entitlement 

§ 21.40 Basic entitlement to vocational 

rehabilitation benefits and services. 

An individual meets the basic 

entitlement criteria for vocational 

rehabilitation benefits and services 

under this subpart if VA determines that 

he or she meets the requirements of 

paragraph (a), (b), (c), or (d) of this 

section. For other requirements affecting 

the provision of vocational 

rehabilitation benefits and services, see 

§§ 21.41 through 21.46 (period of 

eligibility), § 21.53 (reasonable 

feasibility of achieving a vocational 

goal), and §§ 21.70 through 21.79 

(months of entitlement). 

(a) Veterans with at least 20 percent 

disability. The individual is a veteran 

who meets all of the following criteria: 

(1) Has a service-connected disability 

or combination of disabilities rated 20 

percent or more under 38 U.S.C. chapter 

11. 

(2) Incurred or aggravated the 

disability or disabilities in active 

military, naval, or air service on or after 

September 16, 1940. 

(3) Is determined by VA to be in need 

of rehabilitation because of an 

employment handicap. 

(b) Veterans with 10 percent 

disability. The individual is a veteran 

who meets all of the following criteria: 

(1) Has a service-connected disability 

or combination of disabilities rated less 

than 20 percent under 38 U.S.C. chapter 

11. 

(2) Incurred or aggravated the 

disability or disabilities in active 

military, naval, or air service on or after 

September 16, 1940. 

(3) Is determined by VA to be in need 

of rehabilitation because of a serious 

employment handicap. 

(c) Servicemembers awaiting 

discharge. The individual is a 

servicemember who, while waiting for 

discharge from the active military, 

naval, or air service, is hospitalized, or 

receiving outpatient medical care, 

services, or treatment, for a disability 

that VA will likely determine to be 

service-connected. In addition, VA must 

have determined that: 

(1) The hospital or other medical 

facility providing the hospitalization, 

care, service, or treatment is doing so 

under contract or agreement with the 

Secretary concerned, or is under the 

jurisdiction of the Secretary of Veterans 

Affairs or the Secretary concerned; 

(2) The individual is in need of 

rehabilitation because of an 

employment handicap; and 

(3) The individual has a disability or 

combination or disabilities that will 

likely be: 

(i) At least 10 percent compensable 

under 38 U.S.C. chapter 11 and he or 

she originally applied for assistance 

under 38 U.S.C. chapter 31 after March 

31, 1981, and before November 1, 1990; 

or 

(ii) At least 20 percent compensable 

under 38 U.S.C. chapter 11 and he or 

she originally applied for assistance 

under 38 U.S.C. chapter 31 on or after 

November 1, 1990. 

(d) Exception for veterans who first 

applied after March 31, 1981, and 

before November 1, 1990. The 

individual is a veteran who: 

(1) Has a service-connected disability 

or combination of disabilities rated less 

than 20 percent under 38 U.S.C. chapter 

11; 

(2) Originally applied for assistance 

under 38 U.S.C. chapter 31 after March 

31, 1981, and before November 1, 1990; 

and 

(3) Is determined by VA to be in need 

of rehabilitation because of an 

employment handicap. 

Authority: 38 U.S.C. ch. 11, 3102, 3103, 

3106; sec. 8021(b), Public Law 101–508, 104 

Stat. 1388–347; sec. 404(b), Public Law 102– 

568, 106 Stat. 4338, as amended by sec. 602, 

Public Law 103–446, 108 Stat. 4671) 

§ 21.42 [Amended] 

4. In § 21.42, remove ‘‘§ 21.40(a)’’ each 

place that it appears in paragraph (a) 

and add, in its place, ‘‘§ 21.40’’. 

§ 21.47 [Amended] 

5. In § 21.47, remove ‘‘§ 21.40(a)’’ 

from paragraph (b)(3) and add, in its 

place, ‘‘§ 21.40’’. 

6. Revise § 21.50(d) to read as follows: 

§ 21.50 Initial evaluation. 

* * * * * 

(d) Need for cooperation in the initial 

evaluation process. The individual’s 

cooperation is essential in the initial 

evaluation process. If the individual 

does not cooperate, the CP or VRC will 

make reasonable efforts to secure the 

individual’s cooperation. If, despite 

those efforts, the individual fails to 

cooperate, VA will suspend the initial 

evaluation process (see § 21.362, 

regarding satisfactory conduct and 

cooperation, and § 21.364, regarding 

unsatisfactory conduct and 

cooperation). 

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3111) 

7. Revise the undesignated center 

heading immediately preceding § 21.282 

and that section to read as follows: 

Induction Into a Rehabilitation 

Program 

§ 21.282 Effective date of induction into a 

rehabilitation program; retroactive 

induction. 

(a) Entering a rehabilitation program. 

The effective date of induction into a 

rehabilitation program is governed by 

the provisions of §§ 21.320 through 

21.334, except as provided in this 

section. 

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3108, 5113) 

(b) Retroactive induction. Subject to 

paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section, an 

individual may be inducted into a 

rehabilitation program on a retroactive 

basis. If the individual is retroactively 

inducted, VA may authorize payment 

pursuant to § 21.262 or § 21.264 for 

tuition, fees, and other verifiable 

expenses that an individual paid or 

incurred consistent with the approved 

rehabilitation program. In addition, VA 

may authorize payment of subsistence 

allowance pursuant to §§ 21.260, 

21.266, and 21.270 for the period of 

retroactive induction, except for any 

period during which the individual was 

on active duty. 

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3108, 3113, 3681, 5113) 


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21568 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 88 / Friday, May 8, 2009 / Proposed Rules 

(c) Conditions for retroactive 

induction. Retroactive induction into a 

rehabilitation program may be 

authorized for a past period under a 

claim for vocational rehabilitation 

benefits when all of the following 

conditions are met: 

(1) The past period is within— 

(i) A period under § 21.40(c) during 

which a servicemember was awaiting 

discharge for disability; or 

(ii) A period of eligibility under 

§§ 21.41 through 21.44 or 38 U.S.C. 

3103. 

(2) The individual was entitled to 

disability compensation under 38 U.S.C. 

chapter 11 during the period or would 

likely have been entitled to that 

compensation but for active-duty 

service. 

(3) The individual met the criteria for 

entitlement to vocational rehabilitation 

benefits and services under 38 U.S.C. 

chapter 31 in effect during the period. 

(4) VA determines that the 

individual’s training and other 

rehabilitation services received during 

the period were reasonably needed to 

achieve the goals and objectives 

identified for the individual and may be 

included in the plan developed for the 

individual (see §§ 21.80 through 21.88, 

and §§ 21.92 through 21.98). 

(5) VA has recouped any benefits that 

it paid the individual for education or 

training pursued under any VA 

education program during any portion 

of the period. 

(6) An initial evaluation was 

completed under § 21.50. 

(7) A period of extended evaluation is 

not needed to be able to determine the 

reasonable feasibility of the 

achievement of a vocational goal. 

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3102, 3103, 3108, 5113) 

(d) Effective date for retroactive 

induction. The effective date for 

retroactive induction is the date when 

all the entitlement conditions set forth 

in paragraph (c) of this section are met, 

and for a veteran (except as to a period 

prior to discharge from active duty) in 

no event before the effective date of a 

VA rating under 38 U.S.C. chapter 11 

establishing a qualifying level under 

§ 21.40 of service-connected disability. 

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 5113) 

[FR Doc. E9–10806 Filed 5–7–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R01–OAR–2008–0117, FRL–8901–2] 

Disapproval of Air Quality 

Implementation Plans; Connecticut; 

Attainment Demonstration for the 

Connecticut Portion of the New YorkN. New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT 

8-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency is proposing action on the ozone 

attainment demonstration portion of a 

comprehensive State Implementation 

Plan (SIP) revision submitted by 

Connecticut to meet Clean Air Act (CAA 

or Act) requirements for attaining the 8- 

hour ozone national ambient air quality 

standard. EPA is proposing to 

disapprove Connecticut’s demonstration 

of attainment of the 1997 8-hour ozone 

standard for the Connecticut portion of 

the New York-N. New Jersey-Long 

Island, NY-NJ-CT 8-hour ozone 

nonattainment area (New York City 

ozone nonattainment area). 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before June 8, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R01– 

OAR–2008–0117, by one of the 

following methods: 

1. www.regulations.gov: Follow the 

on-line instructions for submitting 

comments. 

2. E-mail: arnold.anne@epa.gov. 

3. Fax: (617) 918–0047. 

4. Mail: ‘‘Docket Identification 

Number EPA–R01–OAR–2008–0117’’, 

Anne Arnold, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, EPA New England 

Regional Office, One Congress Street, 

Suite 1100 (mail code CAQ), Boston, 

MA 02114–2023. 

5. Hand Delivery or Courier. Deliver 

your comments to: Anne Arnold, 

Manager, Air Quality Planning Unit, 

Office of Ecosystem Protection, U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 

New England Regional Office, One 

Congress Street, 11th floor, (CAQ), 

Boston, MA 02114–2023. Such 

deliveries are only accepted during the 

Regional Office’s normal hours of 

operation. The Regional Office’s official 

hours of business are Monday through 

Friday, 8:30 to 4:30, excluding legal 

holidays. 

Instructions: Direct your comments to 

Docket ID No. EPA–R01–OAR–2008– 

0117. 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 through 

www.regulations.gov, or e-mail, 

information that you consider to be CBI 

or otherwise protected. The 

www.regulations.gov Web site is an 

‘‘anonymous access’’ system, which 

means EPA will not know your identity 

or contact information unless you 

provide it in the body of your comment. 

If you send an e-mail comment directly 

to EPA without going through 

www.regulations.gov, your e-mail 

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, 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 EPA 

cannot read your comment due to 

technical difficulties and cannot contact 

you for clarification, 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. 

Docket: All documents in the 

electronic docket are listed in the 

www.regulations.gov index. Although 

listed in the index, some information is 

not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other 

information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Certain other 

material, such as copyrighted material, 

is not placed on the Internet and will be 

publicly available only in hard copy 

form. Publicly available docket 

materials are available either 

electronically in www.regulations.gov or 

in hard copy at Office of Ecosystem 

Protection, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, EPA New England 

Regional Office, One Congress Street, 

Suite 1100, Boston, MA. EPA requests 

that if at all possible, you contact the 

person listed in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section to 

schedule your inspection. The Regional 

Office’s official hours of business are 

Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30, 

excluding legal holidays. 

In addition, copies of the state 

submittal are also available for public 

inspection during normal business 

hours, by appointment at the State Air 

Agency; the Bureau of Air Management, 

Department of Environmental 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with PROPOSALS