[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 52 (Monday, March 20, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 14324-14325]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-05462]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 22, 51, 124, 171, 300, and 770
[FRL-9960-28-OP]
Further Delay of Effective Dates for Five Final Regulations
Published by the Environmental Protection Agency Between December 12,
2016 and January 17, 2017
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule; further delay of effective dates.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Presidential directive as expressed in
the memorandum of January 20, 2017, from the Assistant to the President
and Chief of Staff, entitled ``Regulatory Freeze Pending Review,'' and
the Federal Register document published by EPA on January 26, 2017, EPA
is further delaying the effective dates for the five regulations listed
in the table below.
DATES: This regulation is effective March 21, 2017. The effective date
of each regulation listed in the table below is delayed to a new
effective date of May 22, 2017.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah Rees, Director, Office of
Regulatory Policy and Management, Office of Policy, Mail code 1804,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave NW.,
Washington, DC 20460; (202) 564-1986; [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 26, 2017, EPA published a
document in the Federal Register entitled ``Delay of Effective Date for
30 Final Regulations Published by the Environmental Protection Agency
Between October 28, 2016 and January 17, 2017'' (82 FR 8499) (January
26 Document). In that document, EPA delayed the effective dates of the
five regulations listed in the table below to March 21, 2017, as
requested in the memorandum of January 20, 2017, from the Assistant to
the President and Chief of Staff, entitled ``Regulatory Freeze Pending
Review'' (January 20 Memo). That memo directed the heads of Executive
Departments and Agencies to temporarily postpone for 60 days from the
date of the January 20 Memo the effective dates of all regulations that
had been published in the Federal Register but had not yet taken
effect.
The January 20 Memo also directs that where appropriate and as
permitted by applicable law, agencies should consider a rule to delay
the effective date for regulations beyond that 60-day period. In this
document, EPA is taking action to further delay the effective dates for
five regulations listed in the table below until May 22, 2017. EPA is
taking this action to give recently arrived Agency officials the
opportunity to learn more about these regulations and to decide whether
they would like to conduct a substantive review of any of those
regulations. If Agency officials decide to conduct a substantive review
[[Page 14325]]
of any of those regulations, EPA will take appropriate actions to
conduct such a review, including, but not limited to, issuing a
document in the Federal Register addressing any further delay of the
effective date of such regulation. If Agency officials decide not to
conduct a substantive review of a regulation listed in the table below,
it will become effective on May 22, 2017.
The Agency's implementation of this action without opportunity for
public comment is based on the good cause exception in 5 U.S.C.
553(b)(B). (The good cause exception is also referenced in section
307(d) of the Clean Air Act (CAA).) The Agency has determined that
seeking public comment is impracticable, unnecessary and contrary to
the public interest. The further temporary delay in effective date
until May 22, 2017, is necessary to give Agency officials the
opportunity to decide whether they would like to conduct a substantive
review of the five regulations, consistent with the January 20 Memo.
The intent of the January 20 Memo was to delay the effective dates of
rules that had recently been promulgated to give the new Administration
time to review them. When that delay was implemented through the
January 26 Document, the EPA believed 60 days would be sufficient time
for incoming Agency officials to review rules recently promulgated by
the EPA. However, given the length of the confirmation process for the
EPA Administrator and the fact that the Agency lacks Senate-confirmed
officials elsewhere, the new Administration has not had the time
contemplated by the January 20 Memo for this review. Thus, the EPA is
deferring the effective date for the five regulations listed in the
table below for another 62 days to allow Agency officials to conduct
this review. Given the imminence of the effective date, seeking prior
public comment on this further temporary delay would be impractical, as
well as contrary to the public interest in the orderly promulgation and
implementation of regulations. Specifically, the Agency has been faced
with circumstances beyond its control; as was the case on January 26,
it is difficult to predict when the appropriate officials might assume
their responsibilities. Indeed, as noted above, even today the EPA has
only one Senate-confirmed official in place. Furthermore, allowing
these regulations to go into effect without first deciding whether to
undertake a substantive review may create public confusion. In
addition, to the extent this extension is a procedural rule, it is
exempt from notice and comment under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A), which is also
referenced in CAA section 307(d).
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Publication Original New effective
Federal Register citation Title date effective date date
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82 FR 2760......................... Addition of a Subsurface 1/9/17 2/8/2017 5/22/2017
Intrusion Component to the
Hazard Ranking System.
81 FR 89674........................ Formaldehyde Emission 12/12/16 2/10/2017 5/22/2017
Standards for Composite
Wood Products.
82 FR 5182......................... Revisions to the Guideline 1/17/17 2/16/2017 5/22/2017
on Air Quality Models:
Enhancements to the AERMOD
Dispersion Modeling System
and Incorporation of
Approaches to Address
Ozone and Fine Particulate
Matter.
82 FR 952.......................... Pesticides; Certification 1/4/17 3/6/2017 5/22/2017
of Pesticide Applicators.
82 FR 2230......................... Consolidated Rules of 1/9/17 3/10/2017 5/22/2017
Practice Governing the
Administrative Assessment
of Civil Penalties,
Issuance of Compliance or
Corrective Action Orders,
and the Revocation/
Termination or Suspension
of Permits; Procedures for
Decisionmaking.
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For the foregoing reasons, the EPA relies on the good cause
exceptions in 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) and 553(d)(3) to make today's action
effective on March 21, 2017.
Dated: March 14, 2017.
E. Scott Pruitt,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2017-05462 Filed 3-17-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P