[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 204 (Wednesday, October 22, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54847-54848]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-27976]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[OPPTS-400117; FRL-5750-6]
Public Meetings on the Toxics Release Inventory Reporting Form
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of public meetings.
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SUMMARY: EPA will hold approximately nine public meetings over the next
year to solicit comments relating to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI)
reporting form, Form R. The purpose of the meetings is to obtain
comments from stakeholders on ways to improve the type of right-to-know
information available to communities and to help streamline right-to-
know reporting to ease the paperwork burden for businesses affected by
the requirements. This notice announces three upcoming meetings.
Additional meeting dates will be announced in future Federal Register
notices.
DATES: The meetings will take place:
1. Thursday, November 13, 1997, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, East Tower, Rm. 542, 401 M St., SW.,
Washington, DC. Register to speak by 5 p.m., Friday, November 7, 1997.
2. Tuesday, November 18, 1997, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Marianas Conference Room, 75 Hawthorne
St., San Francisco, CA. Register to speak by 5 p.m., Thursday, November
13, 1997.
3. Thursday, November 20, 1997, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. 325 (3rd floor), 77 West Jackson
Boulevard, Chicago, IL. Register to speak by 5 p.m., Friday, November
14, 1997.
ADDRESSES: All comments should be sent in triplicate to: OPPT Document
Control Officer (7407), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics,
Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW., Room G-099, East
Tower, Washington, DC 20460. Each comment must bear the docket control
number ``OPPTS-400117.''
Comments and data may also be submitted electronically to: oppt.
[email protected]. Follow the instructions under Unit II. of this
document. No Confidential Business Information (CBI) should be
submitted through e-mail.
All comments which contain information claimed as CBI must be
clearly marked as such. Three sanitized copies of any comments
containing information claimed as CBI must also be submitted and will
be placed in the public record. Persons submitting information on any
portion of which they believe is entitled to treatment as CBI by EPA
must assert a business confidentiality claim in accordance with 40 CFR
2.203(b) for each such portion. This claim must be made at the time
that the information is submitted to EPA. If a submitter does not
assert a confidentiality claim at the time of submission, EPA will
consider this as a waiver of any confidentiality claim and the
information may be made available to the public by EPA without further
notice to the submitter.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michelle Price, (Mail Stop 7408),
Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460;
Telephone: (202) 260-3372; Fax number: (202) 401-8142; e-mail:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
EPA will hold approximately nine public meetings over the next year
to solicit comments relating to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI)
reporting form, Form R. The purpose of the meetings is to obtain
comments from stakeholders on ways to improve the type of right-to-know
information available to communities and to help streamline right-to-
know reporting to ease the paperwork burden for businesses affected by
the requirements. Topics for comment include the following: format of
the Form R; nomenclature used in the Form R; opportunities for burden
reduction in both the Form R and the Form A; additional clarification
of the elements in the Form R; and EPA's presentation of the data in
public information documents.
The sections of the Form R that EPA would like specific comment on
are sections 5, 6 and 8. In section 5, there have been a number of
issues raised over the years with regard to the definition of
``release,'' particularly with respect to Class I underground injection
wells and RCRA Subtitle C landfills. Several commenters believe that
EPA's interpretation of the EPCRA definition of ``release'' will lead
to the misperception that a reported EPCRA section 313 ``release''
necessarily results in an actual exposure of people or the environment
to a toxic chemical. The Agency would like to hear suggestions on ways
to collect and disseminate the data that are consistent with the
Agency's interpretation of the EPCRA definition of ``release'' and
would address the concerns raised regarding public misperception.
There have also been a number of issues raised with regard to the
reporting of toxic chemicals in wastes in section 8 of the Form R.
Section 8 collects information on waste managed at the facility whether
or not the waste was generated at the reporting facility. Some
individuals are concerned about public misperception of the data in
section 8 because of the focus on the amount of waste managed at the
facility, not waste generated. EPA would like comments on ways to
change section 8 of the Form R which would continue to allow the user
to assess wastes managed by the facility but would minimize the
perception that the wastes reported in section 8 were generated by the
reporting facility.
On any of the above issues, EPA would like to receive specific
comments
[[Page 54848]]
from interested parties for changes, modifications, deletions, and/or
additions of data elements to the Form R and the Form A.
Individuals wishing to attend these meetings must sign-up in
advance in order to assure that all participants have an opportunity to
speak. Depending on the number of individuals registered, oral
presentations or statements will be limited to approximately 5 to 15
minutes. To register, contact Michelle Price at the number listed under
``FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.'' When registering, give your name,
organization, postal (and electronic, if any) mailing address,
telephone and fax numbers. If there is insufficient interest in any of
the meetings, that meeting may be canceled. Individuals registered will
be notified in the event a meeting is canceled. The Agency bears no
responsibility for attendees' decision to purchase nonrefundable
transportation tickets or accommodation reservations.
II. Public Record and Electronic Submissions
The official record for this action, as well as the public version,
has been established for this action under docket control number
``OPPTS-400117'' (including comments and data submitted electronically
as described below). A public version of this record, including
printed, paper versions of electronic comments, which does not include
any information claimed as CBI, is available for inspection from noon
to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The
official record is located in the TSCA Nonconfidential Information
Center, Rm. NE-B607, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC.
Electronic comments can be sent directly to EPA at:
[email protected]
Electronic comments must be submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the
use of special characters and any form of encryption. Comments and data
will also be accepted on disks in WordPerfect 5.1/6.1 or ASCII file
format. All comments and data in electronic form must be identified by
the docket control number ``OPPTS-400117.'' Electronic comments on this
action may be filed online at many Federal Depository Libraries.
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Community right-to-know.
Dated: October 17, 1997.
Susan B. Hazen,
Director, Environmental Assistance Division, Office of Pollution
Prevention and Toxics.
[FR Doc. 97-27976 Filed 10-21-97; 8:45 am]
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