Document ID: EPA-HQ-OEI-2002-0006-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Toxic Chemical Release Reporting; Community Right-To-Know;  Notice of On-Line Dialogue
Posted Date: 2002-10-15T04:00Z

63656
Federal
Register
/
Vol.
67,
No.
199
/
Tuesday,
October
15,
2002
/
Notices
385.2007,
in
which
case
the
permit
shall
remain
in
effect
through
the
first
business
day
following
that
day.
New
applications
involving
this
project
site,
to
the
extent
provided
for
under
18
CFR
part
4,
may
be
filed
on
the
next
business
day.

Linwood
A.
Watson,
Jr.,
Deputy
Secretary.
[FR
Doc.
02–
26084
Filed
10–
11–
02;
8:
45
am]

BILLING
CODE
6717–
01–
P
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION
AGENCY
[OEI–
2002–
0006;
FRL–
6724–
6]

Toxic
Chemical
Release
Reporting;
Community
Right­
To­
Know;
Notice
of
On­
Line
Dialogue
AGENCY:
Environmental
Protection
Agency
(EPA).

ACTION:
Notice
of
Availability.

SUMMARY:
EPA
will
hold
an
on­
line
public
dialogue
for
60­
days
from
October
16,
2002
to
December
17,
2002
as
part
of
a
national
Stakeholder
Dialogue
on
the
Toxics
Release
Inventory
(TRI)
Program
that
the
Environmental
Protection
Agency
(EPA)
is
launching.
EPA
is
seeking
suggestions
and
ideas
on
the
Agency's
methods
for
reporting,
collecting,
processing,
and
releasing
the
TRI
data.
Instructions
for
participating
in
the
on­
line
dialogue
are
posted
at
EPA's
TRI
Web
site,
see
http:/
/www.
epa.
gov/
tri/
programs/
stakeholders/
outreach.
htm.
EPA
is
announcing
the
availability
of
three
issue
papers
which
are
intended
to
provide
background
to
help
focus
the
on­
line
dialogue.

DATES:
The
Stakeholder
Dialogue
online
comment
process
will
be
held
from
October
16,
2002
to
December
17,
2002.

ADDRESSES:
The
On­
line
Dialogue
will
be
accessible
via
the
Internet
at
http://
www.
epa.
gov/
tri/
programs/
stakeholders/
outreach.
htm.
Please
follow
the
instructions
provided
in
Section
I
of
the
SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION
section
of
this
notice.

FOR
FURTHER
INFORMATION
CONTACT:
For
information
on
this
stakeholder
process,
contact:
Annette
Marion,
Environmental
Protection
Agency,
Office
of
Environmental
Information,
Office
of
Information
Analysis
and
Access,
Toxics
Release
Inventory
Program
Division:
telephone:
(202)
566–
0731;
Fax
number:
(202)
566–
0715;
e­
mail:
marion.
annette@
epa.
gov.
For
general
information
on
the
Toxics
Release
Inventory
contact
the
Emergency
Planning
and
Community
Right­
to
Know
Hotline
at
(800)
424–
9346,
or
(703)
412–
9810,
TDD
(800)
553–
7672,
http://
www.
epa.
gov/
epaoswer/
hotline.

SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION:

I.
General
Information
A.
Does
This
Notice
Apply
to
Me?

You
may
be
interested
in
this
notice
if
you
use
data
collected
under
the
Emergency
Planning
and
Community
Right­
to­
know
Act
(EPCRA)
section
313,
or
if
you
manufacture,
process,
or
otherwise
use
any
of
the
EPCRA
section
313
chemicals
and
you
are
required
to
report
annually
to
EPA
their
environmental
releases
and
other
waste
management
quantities.
Potentially
affected
entities
may
include,
but
are
not
limited
to:

Category
Examples
of
potentially
interested
entities
Public
............
Environmental
groups,
community
groups,
researchers
Industry
.........
SIC
major
group
codes
Except
1011,
1081,
and
1094),
12
(except
1231),
or
20
through
39;
industry
codes
4911
(limited
to
facilities
that
combusts
coal
and/
or
oil
for
the
purpose
of
generating
power
for
distribution
in
commerce);
or
4939
(limited
to
facilities
that
combusts
coal
and/
or
oil
for
the
purpose
of
generating
power
for
distribution
in
commerce);
or
4953
(limited
to
facilities
regulated
under
the
Resource
Conservation
and
Recovery
Act,
subtitle
C,
42
U.
S.
C.
section
6921
et
seq.),
or
5169,
or
5171,
or
7389
(limited
to
facilities
primarily
engaged
in
solvent
recovery
services
on
a
contract
or
fee
basis).
Federal
Government
Federal
facilities
in
any
SIC
code.

This
table
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
the
table
could
also
be
affected.
If
you
have
questions
regarding
the
applicability
of
this
action
to
a
particular
entity,
consult
the
person
listed
in
the
preceding
FOR
FURTHER
INFORMATION
CONTACT
section.

B.
How
Can
I
Get
Copies
of
Information
Associated
With
This
Stakeholder
Dialogue
Process?

1.
Electronic
Access.
Electronic
copies
of
the
issue
papers
are
available
from
EPA's
TRI
Web
site
at
http://
www.
epa.
gov/
tri/
programs/
stakeholders/
outreach.
htm.
You
may
access
this
Federal
Register
document
electronically
through
the
EPA
Internet
under
the
``
Federal
Register''
listings
at
http://
www.
epa.
gov/
fedrgstr/.
An
electronic
version
of
the
public
docket
is
available
through
EPA's
electronic
public
docket,
EPA
Dockets
(http://
www.
epa.
gov/
edocket/).
To
view
the
contents
of
the
docket,
go
to
the
EPA
Dockets
web
site.
Once
in
the
system,
select
``
search,
''
then
key
in
the
appropriate
docket
identification
number,
OEI–
2002–
0006.
2.
Docket.
EPA
has
established
an
official
public
docket
for
this
action
under
Docket
ID
No.
OEI–
2002–
0006.
The
official
public
docket
consists
of
the
documents
specifically
referenced
in
this
action
and
other
information
related
to
this
action.
The
official
public
dockets
are
the
collection
of
materials
available
for
public
viewing
at
the
EPA
Docket
Center
Public
Reading
Room
located
in
the
basement
of
EPA
West,
1301
Constitution
Avenue,
NW.,
Washington,
DC
20460.
This
Docket
Facility
is
open
from
8:
30
am
to
4:
30
pm,
Monday
through
Friday,
excluding
legal
holidays.
The
Docket
telephone
number
is
(202)–
566–
1752.

C.
How
Do
I
Participate
in
the
On­
line
Dialogue?
You
may
submit
your
ideas
and
suggestions
electronically
through
the
TRI
Stakeholder
Outreach
Web
site
at:
http://
www.
epa.
gov/
tri/
programs/
stakeholders/
outreach.
htm
during
the
time
period
specified
in
this
notice.

D.
How
Should
I
Handle
Confidential
Business
Information
(CBI)
That
I
Want
To
Submit
to
the
Agency?
Do
not
submit
any
information
that
you
consider
to
be
confidential
business
information
(CBI)
under
this
notice.

II.
Background
EPA
is
undertaking
a
stakeholder
dialogue
for
the
Toxics
Release
Inventory
(TRI)
program.
While
the
TRI
program
has
been
very
successful,
EPA
is
continuing
to
seek
ways
to
improve
the
program.
Given
the
community
focus
of
the
TRI
program
and
the
broad
and
varied
uses
of
the
TRI
data,
it
is
important
that
EPA
receive
input
from
all
stakeholders—
the
states,
the
reporting
community
and
other
businesses,
community
and
environmental
groups,
researchers,
and
the
public.
The
stakeholder
dialogue
process
will
have
two
phases.
Phase
1
will
focus
on
the
reporting,
collecting,
processing,
and
annual
release
of
the
TRI
data.
Specifically,
EPA
is
seeking
comment
on
ways
to:
(1)
Improve
the
compliance
VerDate
0ct<
02>
2002
20:
35
Oct
11,
2002
Jkt
200001
PO
00000
Frm
00053
Fmt
4703
Sfmt
4703
E:\
FR\
FM\
15OCN1.
SGM
15OCN1
63657
Federal
Register
/
Vol.
67,
No.
199
/
Tuesday,
October
15,
2002
/
Notices
assistance
provided
by
the
TRI
program,
both
at
Headquarters
and
in
the
Regions,
to
aid
the
reporting
community;
(2)
streamline
the
collection
and
processing
of
the
more
than
90,000
TRI
forms
that
EPA
receives
annually;
and
(3)
improve
the
materials,
including
the
context,
documents
and
tools,
that
EPA
develops
for
its
annual
public
release
of
the
TRI
data
to
support
their
use
and
analysis
of
the
data.
The
on­
line
dialogue
will
be
the
first
opportunity
for
stakeholder
input
in
Phase
1.
Once
the
dialogue
has
been
analyzed,
additional
opportunities
may
be
extended
in
the
form
of
public
meetings,
more
formal
comment
periods,
or
other
methods
which
will
be
described
in
future
notices.
Phase
2
of
the
stakeholder
dialogue
will
focus
on
future
directions
for
the
program,
including
what
data
are
collected
in
the
TRI,
how
these
data
are
characterized,
and
whether
additional
data
should
be
collected.
One
key
element
will
be
clarifying
the
data
elements
on
recycling
and
other
waste
management
activities
required
by
the
Pollution
Prevention
Act.
A
future
Federal
Register
notice
will
announce
Phase
2.

III.
Availability
of
Documents
EPA
is
making
available
three
papers
which
describe
aspects
of
the
TRI
Program
and
raise
issues
for
stakeholder
discussion.
The
scope
of
each
paper
corresponds
to
a
phase
of
the
annual
TRI
reporting
cycle.
TRI
data
for
a
calendar
year
must
be
reported
to
EPA
by
July
1st
after
the
end
of
that
calendar
year.
Therefore,
reporting
years
are
the
same
as
calendar
years.
The
``
reporting
cycle''
begins
with
EPA's
compliance
assistance
activities,
including
the
development
of
reporting
forms
and
instructions
that
are
generally
mailed
to
facilities
in
March
each
year.
Once
EPA
receives
the
forms,
it
enters
the
data
from
the
forms
(over
91,000
in
2000)
in
the
TRI
database.
After
entry
into
the
database,
EPA
runs
a
series
of
data
quality
checks
on
both
the
facility
identification
information
and
on
the
chemical­
specific
data.
After
the
data
entry
and
data
quality
steps
are
completed,
the
TRI
database
is
``
frozen''
for
analysis
and
development
of
data
products
for
release
to
the
public.
Generally,
EPA
announces
the
annual
release
of
the
TRI
data
by
holding
a
press
event
or
issuing
a
press
release,
and
simultaneously
notifying
a
wide
range
of
stakeholders.
The
first
background
paper
for
this
stakeholder
dialogue
is
entitled
TRI
Data
Collection,
Processing
and
Management,
and
addresses
the
TRI
data
process
beginning
with
submission
of
the
forms
and
ending
at
the
data
``
freeze.
''
The
second
paper,
TRI
Data
Release
Issue
Paper
discusses
TRI
data
products,
the
process
for
analyzing
and
releasing
the
TRI
data,
uses
of
the
data,
and
issues
and
considerations
associated
with
these
aspects
of
the
TRI
program.
The
third
paper
is
TRI
Compliance
Assistance
Activities.
TRI
compliance
assistance
activities
are
carried
out
throughout
the
year
with
certain
of
the
activities
being
closely
aligned
with
the
reporting
cycle.

Dated:
October
4,
2002.
Elaine
G.
Stanley,
Director,
Office
of
Information
Analysis
and
Access.
[FR
Doc.
02–
26175
Filed
10–
11–
02;
8:
45
am]

BILLING
CODE
6561–
07–
P
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION
AGENCY
[OEI–
2002–
0008;
FRL6724–
5]

Guidelines
for
Ensuring
and
Maximizing
the
Quality,
Objectivity,
Utility,
and
Integrity
of
Information
Disseminated
by
the
Environmental
Protection
Agency
AGENCY:
Environmental
Protection
Agency,
EPA.

ACTION:
Notice
of
availability.

SUMMARY:
The
U.
S.
Environmental
Protection
Agency
(EPA)
has
developed
final
Guidelines
for
Ensuring
and
Maximizing
the
Quality,
Objectivity,
Utility,
and
Integrity
of
Information
Disseminated
by
the
Environmental
Protection
Agency
(herein
after
referred
to
as
Information
Quality
Guidelines),
in
response
to
final
Office
of
Management
and
Budget
(OMB)
information
quality
guidelines
directing
all
federal
agencies
to
develop
and
implement
their
own
guidelines
by
October
1,
2002
(67
FR
8451,
February
22,
2002).
The
EPA
Information
Quality
Guidelines
build
upon
on­
going
efforts
to
improve
the
quality
of
the
data
and
analyses
that
support
Agency
policy
and
regulatory
decisions
and
programs.
EPA
is
announcing
the
availability
of
the
Agency's
final
Information
Quality
Guidelines
at
the
EPA
Web
site,
www.
epa.
gov/
oei/
qualityguidelines.
As
described
in
the
new
Information
Quality
Guidelines,
EPA
is
also
introducing
a
Request
for
Correction
process
to
allow
affected
persons
to
seek
and
obtain
correction
of
information
that
EPA
disseminates
that
they
believe
does
not
meet
the
EPA
Information
Quality
Guidelines
or
the
OMB
information
quality
guidelines
(67
FR
8451,
February
22,
2002).
Please
read
the
Information
Quality
Guidelines
to
learn
more
about
this
new
Request
for
Correction
process
including
where
and
how
to
submit
a
request
for
correction.

DATES:
The
EPA
final
Information
Quality
Guidelines
were
made
available
on
October
2,
2002.

ADDRESSES:
The
Information
Quality
Guidelines
can
be
found
at
the
EPA
Web
site
at
http://
www.
epa.
gov/
oei/
qualityguidelines.
To
obtain
a
written
copy
of
the
Information
Quality
Guidelines,
you
may
contact:
Ms.
Evangeline
Tsibris
Cummings,
U.
S.
Environmental
Protection
Agency,
Office
of
Environmental
Information,
Mail
Code
2842T,
1200
Pennsylvania
Avenue
NW.,
Washington,
DC
20460;
Telephone:
202–
566–
0621;
or
e­
mail:
cummings.
evangeline@
epa.
gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION:
In
accordance
with
the
OMB
information
quality
guidelines,
EPA
published
a
notice
in
the
Federal
Register
on
April
30,
2002
(67
FR
21234)
announcing
the
availability
of
EPA's
draft
Information
Quality
Guidelines
and
soliciting
public
comment
by
May
31,
2002.
EPA
extended
the
comment
period
to
June
21,
2002
(67
FR
42254).
After
considering
the
extensive
public
comment,
EPA
revised
its
Information
Quality
Guidelines
and
submitted
the
revised
draft
to
OMB
in
accordance
with
OMB's
guidelines
so
OMB
could
review
the
draft
Information
Quality
Guidelines
for
consistency
with
OMB's
information
quality
guidelines.
OMB
completed
its
review
and
approved
of
the
final
EPA
Information
Quality
Guidelines.
EPA's
general
discussion
of
and
responses
to
the
public
comments
appears
in
Appendix
A
of
EPA's
Information
Quality
Guidelines.

FOR
FURTHER
INFORMATION
CONTACT:
Ms.
Evangeline
Tsibris
Cummings,
Environmental
Protection
Agency,
Office
of
Environmental
Information,
Mail
Code
2842T,
1200
Pennsylvania
Avenue
NW.,
Washington,
DC
20460.
Telephone:
202–
566–
0621;
e­
mail:
cummings.
evangeline@
epa.
gov.

Elaine
Stanley,

Director,
Office
of
Information
Analysis
and
Access,
Office
of
Environmental
Information,
EPA.
[FR
Doc.
02–
26176
Filed
10–
11–
02;
8:
45
am]

BILLING
CODE
6560–
50–
P
VerDate
0ct<
02>
2002
20:
35
Oct
11,
2002
Jkt
200001
PO
00000
Frm
00054
Fmt
4703
Sfmt
4703
E:\
FR\
FM\
15OCN1.
SGM
15OCN1