Document ID: EPA-HQ-OW-2016-0694-0206
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2021-03-19T04:00Z

Memorandum
                                       
   Summary of the EPA's Responses Documenting Executive Order 12866 Review
 "Final Rule: Federal Aluminum Aquatic Life Criteria Applicable to Oregon"
                        [RIN 2040-AF70]

      Under Executive Order 12866, if an action underwent review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), then the Agency must identify and docket the following items: (1) the draft action and any other documents sent to OIRA for review described in the Executive Order, (2) substantive changes between the draft action sent to OIRA for review and the action subsequently made available to the public and, (3) the changes made at the suggestion or recommendation of OIRA. To comply with this Executive Order, the EPA prepared this memorandum.
      
      The EPA provided OIRA with an initial review package transmitting the draft final rule and economic analysis for Executive Order 12866 review on October 6, 2020. OIRA concluded its review on December 3, 2020. The EPA describes here OIRA's comments from the review of EPA's draft final rule and economic analysis, and the resulting changes to the final rule based on those suggestions and recommendations.

      OIRA provided a number of non-substantive edits to the draft final rule document. These included suggestions to improve the clarity of the draft preamble. The EPA accepted these suggestions.
      
      OIRA requested additional clarifying technical language be included in the draft preamble regarding emerging analytical methods for aluminum (referred to as the bioavailable analytical method) for characterizing ambient waters where regulations do not specify required analytical methods for use. The EPA accepted these requests and provided additional clarifying language.
      
      Following OIRA review, the EPA edited language in the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) section of the draft preamble to better align with the language OIRA suggested for the RFA section of the EPA's April 2019 proposed rule preceding this final rule.
      OIRA requested that costs in the economic analysis section of the draft preamble be presented in annualized terms at both 3 and 7 percent discounted rates. OIRA made no comments on the EPA's draft final economic analysis.