Document ID: EPA-HQ-OPPT-2007-0148-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Commodity-Grade Mercury: Notice of Stakeholder Panel Process, Notice of Public Meeting, and Solicitation of Public Comment
Posted Date: 2007-03-29T04:00Z

[Federal Register: March 29, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 60)]
[Notices]               
[Page 14805-14807]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29mr07-87]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPPT-2007-0148; FRL-8120-8]

 
Commodity-Grade Mercury: Notice of Stakeholder Panel Process, 
Notice of Public Meeting, and Solicitation of Public Comment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency, in conjunction with other 
Federal agencies and offices, is announcing a stakeholder panel process 
to provide approaches for management of non-Federal supplies of 
commodity-grade mercury. The need for management arises from concern 
that some mercury supplies may ultimately be released into the 
environment, resulting in human exposure with the potential to cause 
adverse health effects. A stakeholder panel will hold a series of 
meetings with the kickoff meeting in Washington, DC on May 8, 2007. EPA 
invites the public to submit written comments to the EPA on the issues 
the stakeholder panel will address. Stakeholder panel meetings will be 
open to the public and there will be opportunity for public comment at 
each meeting. Information on the public meetings will be available at 
http://www.epa.gov/mercury/roadmap.htm.

DATES: Meeting: The first meeting will be held on May 8, 2007, from 9 
a.m. to 5 p.m., in Washington, DC. Dates of future meetings will be 
announced on http://www.epa.gov/mercury/roadmap.htm.

    Participation: Requests to participate in the meeting must be 
received on or before April 12, 2007. See also Unit IV. of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
    Special Accommodations: To request accommodation of a disability, 
please contact the technical person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT, preferably at least 10 days prior to the meeting, 
to give EPA as much time as possible to process your request.
    Comments: Comments must be received on or before September 30, 
2007.

ADDRESSES: Meeting: The first meeting will be held at Marriott Learning 
Complex, Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW. (Federal Triangle), Washington, DC.
    Participation: Requests to participate in the meeting must be sent 
to the technical person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. 
See also Unit IV. of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
    Comments: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2007-0148, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 

Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Document Control Office (7407M), Office of Pollution 
Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.
     Hand Delivery: OPPT Document Control Office (DCO), EPA 
East Bldg., Rm. 6428, 1201 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. 
Attention: Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2007-0148. The DCO is open from 
8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The 
telephone number for the DCO is (202) 564-8930. Such deliveries are 
only accepted during the DCO's normal hours of operation, and special 
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPPT-
2007-0148. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the docket without change and may be made available on-line at 
http://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 regulations.gov or e-
mail. The regulations.gov website 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 regulations.gov, 
your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part 
of the comment that is

[[Page 14806]]

placed in the 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. For additional information about EPA's public docket, visit 
the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm
.

    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the docket index 
available in regulations.gov. To access the electronic docket, go to 
http://www.regulations.gov, select ``Advanced Search,'' then ``Docket 

Search.'' Insert the docket ID number where indicated and select the 
``Submit'' button. Follow the instructions on the regulations.gov 
website to view the docket index or access available documents. 
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 electronically at http://www.regulations.gov
, or, if only available in hard copy, at the OPPT 

Docket. The OPPT Docket is located in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC) at 
Rm. 3334, EPA West Bldg., 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. 
The EPA/DC Public Reading Room hours of operation are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 
p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays. The telephone 
number of the EPA/DC Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the 
telephone number for the OPPT Docket is (202) 566-0280. Docket visitors 
are required to show photographic identification, pass through a metal 
detector, and sign the EPA visitor log. All visitor bags are processed 
through an X-ray machine and subject to search. Visitors will be 
provided an EPA/DC badge that must be visible at all times in the 
building and returned upon departure.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information contact: Colby 
Lintner, Regulatory Coordinator, Environmental Assistance Division 
(7408M), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-
0001; telephone number: (202) 554-1404; e-mail address: 
TSCA-Hotline@epa.gov.

    For technical information contact: Joshua Novikoff, National 
Program Chemicals Division (7404T), Office of Pollution Prevention and 
Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (202) 566-0502; e-mail 
address: novikoff.joshua@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

I. General Information

A. Does this Action Apply to Me?

    You may be potentially affected by this action if your work 
involves commodity-grade mercury, mercury by-products, or mercury 
waste. Potentially affected entities may include, but are not limited 
to:
     Chlor-alkali manufacturers (NAICS code 325181), e.g. 
facilities that use mercury processes.
     Metals mining companies (NAICS code 2122), e.g. gold 
mines.
     Mercury recovery facilities (NAICS code 562920), i.e., 
facilities that recover elemental mercury from waste.
     Waste Treatment and Disposal (NAICS code 5622), e.g. 
treatment, storage, and disposal facilities that manage hazardous 
mercury waste.
     Public Administration (NAICS code 92), e.g. State and 
local agencies responsible for municipal waste.
    This listing is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides 
a guide for readers regarding entities likely to be affected by this 
action. Other types of entities not listed in this unit could also be 
affected. The North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) 
codes have been provided to assist you and others in determining 
whether this action might apply to certain entities. If you have any 
questions regarding the applicability of this action to a particular 
entity, consult the technical person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.

B. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through 
regulations.gov or e-mail. 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 
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.
    2. Tips for preparing your comments. When submitting comments, 
remember to:
    i. Identify the document by docket ID number and other identifying 
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
    ii. Follow directions. The Agency is asking you to respond to 
specific questions.
    iii. Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives and 
substitute language for your requested changes.
    iv. Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information 
and/or data that you used.
    v. If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you 
arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced.
    vi. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns and 
suggest alternatives.
    vii. Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the use of 
profanity or personal threats.
    viii. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period 
deadline identified.

II. Background

    In EPA's Roadmap for Mercury (July 2006), EPA committed to working 
with other Federal agencies to initiate a process with technical 
experts and interested parties to assess options for managing domestic 
elemental, commodity-grade mercury surpluses. In order to meet this 
commitment, a stakeholder process has been established to provide the 
Federal Government with input on a reasonable range of options and an 
assessment of these options. The options will apply to the commodity-
grade mercury in the United States not held by the Federal Government.
    The stakeholder panel process is supported by EPA and its Federal 
partners: Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Department of 
Energy, Department of the Interior, Department of State, and the 
Executive Office of the President (Office of Management and Budget, 
Council on Environmental Quality, Office of Science and Technology 
Policy, and Office of the U.S. Trade Representative). The stakeholder 
panel will consist of a balanced mix of representatives from academia, 
industry (e.g., chlor-alkali, mining, mercury brokers), non-
governmental organizations (NGOs), and States. Representatives from 
various

[[Page 14807]]

Federal agencies will serve as technical advisors, and will provide 
background information and technical support to the stakeholder panel 
as needed. Composition of the stakeholder panel may vary somewhat by 
meeting, depending on which topics will be discussed. This notice is 
not a solicitation for stakeholder panel participants.
    EPA anticipates that the stakeholder panel will meet on several 
occasions over a 6-month period. The meetings will be open to the 
public, with opportunities for the public to make oral comments to the 
stakeholder panel.
    EPA will ask the stakeholder panel to consider two questions:
    1. How should the various non-Federal stocks of commodity-grade 
mercury be managed both in the short term and the long term?
    2. How do current and future supply and demand affect this 
determination for each of the various stocks?
    For more information, see the EPA background paper, entitled 
Options for Managing U.S. Non-Federal Supplies of Commodity-Grade 
Mercury. To access the background paper, see ADDRESSES.

III. Issues for Public Comment

    EPA invites the public to send written comments on the same two 
questions addressed to the stakeholder panel:
    1. How should the various non-Federal stocks of commodity-grade 
mercury be managed both in the short term and the long term?
    2. How do current and future supply and demand affect this 
determination for each of the various stocks?
    EPA advises commenters to use the background paper as they prepare 
comments. The background paper is entitled Options for Managing U.S. 
Non-Federal Supplies of Commodity-Grade Mercury. To access the 
background paper, see ADDRESSES.

IV. How Can I Request to Participate in the Meeting?

    Persons interested in attending the public meeting are encouraged 
to pre-register and state whether they intend to make an oral comment. 
Pre-registration assists in planning adequate seating and in securing 
access to the building. Oral comments should address the two questions 
in the charge to the stakeholder panel which are found in Unit II. To 
pre-register, provide your name, organization, telephone number, and 
the docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2007-0148 to the technical person 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Pre-registration requests 
must be received on or before April 12, 2007. Do not submit any 
information in your pre-registration that is considered CBI.
    Oral comments will be scheduled in the order the requests are 
received by EPA. EPA may need to limit the length of oral comments to 
allow for participation by all parties.
    EPA requests that oral comments be included in the docket. Please 
follow the instructions under ADDRESSES.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Chemicals, Hazardous substances, Mercury.

    Dated: March 22, 2007.
Wendy C. Hamnett,
Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Prevention, Pesticides and 
Toxic Substances.
[FR Doc. E7-5813 Filed 3-28-07; 8:45 am]

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