[Federal Register: September 12, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 176)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 52008-52010]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12se07-14]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 40
[EPA-HQ-ORD-2007-0419; FRL-8466-9]
RIN 2080-AA12
Revising the Budget Period Limitation for Research Grants and
Cooperative Agreements
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action on Revising the Budget
Period Limitation for Research Grants and Cooperative Agreements. This
amendment will remove the budget period limitation for research and
demonstration grants and cooperative agreements. This change is
administrative in nature. The current rule sets forth a maximum budget
period of 24 months for all grants and cooperative agreements awarded
for research and demonstration projects, which can be extended on a
case-by-case basis. Extensions are often requested creating an
administrative burden for the EPA. All research and demonstration
grants will continue to adhere to the project period limitation of five
years. This change will not adversely affect any current or future
research or demonstration efforts.
DATES: This rule is effective on November 13, 2007 without further
notice, unless EPA receives adverse comments by October 12, 2007. If we
receive such comments, we will publish a timely withdrawal in the
Federal Register to notify the public that this direct final rule will
not take effect.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
ORD-2007-0419 by one of the following methods:
http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
E-mail: ord.docket@epa.gov.
Fax: 202-566-9744.
Mail: Office of Research and Development (ORD) Docket,
Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code: 2822T, 1200 Pennsylvania
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460.
Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), Room 3334, EPA
West Building, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460,
Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2007-0419. Deliveries are only
accepted from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding
legal holidays.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-
2007-0419. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the public docket without change and may be made available online 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 http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail.
The http://www.regulations.gov Web site 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 http://www.regulations.gov
your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part
of the comment that is placed in the public 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
http://www.regulations.gov index. 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 either electronically
in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the ORD Docket, EPA/DC, EPA
West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC. The
Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public
Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the ORD
Docket is (202) 566-1752.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John J. Nanartowicz III, Office of
Research and Development (ORD) Mail Code 8102R, 1200 Pennsylvania
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460. The telephone number is (202) 564-
4756; facsimile number is (202) 565-2904; and e-mail is
Nanartowicz.John@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Constituency Effected: All Office of
Research and Development award recipients for research grants and
cooperative agreements.
I. Background
Forty CFR part 40 establishes the applicable policies and
procedures governing the award of research and demonstration grants by
the EPA. The provisions found in part 40 are the principal mechanisms
that ORD uses to provide grant assistance. This direct final rule will
address an issue that has become an administrative burden for the EPA.
The current regulation at Sec. 40.125-1(a) restricts the budget period
for research and demonstration projects to 24 months. This restriction
is in conflict with 40 CFR Part 30 (Subpart A, Section 30.2(z)), which
stipulates that the project period for grants is established through
the award document, during which Federal sponsorship begins and ends.
This section allows for the creation of project periods of up to 5
years through the award document (grant or cooperative agreement).
Project period definitions are historically based on grantee
applications. The budget period limitation specified at Sec. 40.125-
1(a) has become a burden for EPA in both programmatic and
administrative terms. This self imposed restriction has impacted active
assistance agreements by requiring that grantees apply for budget
period extensions for their project grants. Accordingly, the Agency is
compelled to respond to these requests. Due to the unpredictability of
research, many projects fail to adhere to the two-year time limitation
set forth in part 40. These deviation requests have become a routine
occurrence for many research grants. A recent procedures and policy
review by the Grants Administration Division (GAD) identified this
issue to the Agency and highlighted the administrative burden that has
accompanied the processing of these rule deviations.
EPA's amendment of the rule is the final solution for the
restrictive budget period limitation. This change will substantially
reduce the administrative burden for the Agency and grantees by
minimizing the number of administrative actions (i.e., deviations) that
will be processed during the life of a grant or cooperative agreement.
This change will not adversely affect any current or future research
efforts.
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II. Additional Supplementary Information
This action announces EPA's amendment of 40 CFR 40.125.
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
A. Executive Order 12866
This action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under the
terms of Executive Order (EO) 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and
is therefore not subject to review under the EO.
B. Paperwork Reduction Act
This action does not impose an information collection burden under
the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.,
since the proposed change addresses an administrative requirement,
which is internal to the Agency. No information will be collected from
either current or future grantees by way of this proposed change.
Burden means the total time, effort, or financial resources
expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or
provide information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time
needed to review instructions; develop, acquire, install, and utilize
technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, and
verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and
disclosing and providing information; adjust the existing ways to
comply with any previously applicable instructions and requirements;
train personnel to be able to respond to a collection of information;
search data sources; complete and review the collection of information;
and transmit or otherwise disclose the information.
An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required
to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a
currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA's
regulations in 40 CFR are listed in 40 CFR part 9.
C. Regulatory Flexibility Act
This direct final rule is not subject to the Regulatory Flexibility
Act (RFA), which generally requires an agency to prepare a regulatory
flexibility analysis for any rule that will have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities. The RFA applies only
to rules subject to notice and comment rulemaking requirements under
the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) or any other statute. This
direct final rule is not subject to notice and comment requirements
under the APA or any other statute because this rule pertains to grant
award and administration matters which the APA expressly exempts from
notice and comment rulemaking requirements (5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2)).
D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), Public
Law 104-4, establishes requirements for Federal agencies to assess the
effects of their regulatory actions on State, local, and tribal
governments and the private sector. Under section 202 of the UMRA, EPA
generally must prepare a written statement, including a cost-benefit
analysis, for proposed and final rules with ``Federal mandates'' that
may result in expenditures to State, local, and tribal governments, in
the aggregate, or to the private sector, of $100 million or more in any
one year. Before promulgating an EPA rule for which a written statement
is needed, section 205 of the UMRA generally requires that EPA identify
and consider a reasonable number of regulatory alternatives and adopt
the least costly, most cost-effective or least burdensome alternative
that achieves the objectives of the rule. The provisions of section 205
do not apply when they are inconsistent with applicable law. Moreover,
section 205 allows EPA to adopt an alternative other than the least
costly, most cost-effective or least burdensome alternative if the
Administrator publishes with the final rule an explanation why that
alternative was not adopted. Before EPA establishes any regulatory
requirements that may significantly or uniquely affect small
governments, including tribal governments, it must have developed under
section 203 of the UMRA a small government agency plan. The plan must
provide for notifying potentially affected small governments, enabling
officials of affected small governments to have meaningful and timely
input in the development of EPA regulatory proposals with significant
Federal intergovernmental mandates, and informing, educating, and
advising small governments on compliance with the regulatory
requirements. The EPA has determined that this rule change contains no
Federal mandates (under the regulatory provisions of Title II of the
UMRA) for State, local, or tribal governments or the private sector.
Additionally, the rule change does not contain any regulatory
requirements that might significantly or uniquely affect small
governments. UMRA does not apply to rules that govern the award and
administration of grants. Thus, today's direct final rule is not
subject to the requirements of sections 202 and 205 of the UMRA.
E. Executive Order 13132--Federalism
Executive Order 13132, entitled ``Federalism'' (64 FR 43255, August
10, 1999), requires EPA to develop an accountable process to ensure
``meaningful and timely input by State and local officials in the
development of regulatory policies that have federalism implications.''
``Policies that have federalism implications'' is defined in the
Executive Order to include regulations that have ``substantial direct
effects on the States, on the relationship between the national
government and the States, or on the distribution of power and
responsibilities among the various levels of government.''
Under section 6 of Executive Order 13132, EPA may not issue a
regulation that has federalism implications, that imposes substantial
direct compliance costs, and that is not required by statute, unless
the federal government provides the funds necessary to pay the direct
compliance costs incurred by state and local governments, or EPA
consults with state and local officials early in the process of
developing the proposed regulation. EPA also may not issue a regulation
that has federalism implications and that preempts state law, unless
the Agency consults with state and local officials early in the process
of developing the proposed regulation.
This proposed direct final rule does not have federalism
implications. It will not have substantial direct effects on the
States, on the relationship between the national government and the
States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the
various levels of government, as specified in Executive Order 13132.
Thus, the requirements of section 6 of the Executive Order do not apply
to this rule. Further, because this rule regulates the use of federal
financial assistance, it will not impose substantial direct compliance
costs to the states.
F. Executive Order 13175 (Consultation And Coordination With Indian
Tribal Governments)
Executive Order 13175, entitled ``Consultation and Coordination
with Indian Tribal Governments'' (65 FR 67249, November 6, 2000),
requires EPA to develop an accountable process to ensure ``meaningful
and timely input by Tribal officials in the development of regulatory
policies that have Tribal implications.'' ``Policies that have Tribal
implications'' is defined in the Executive Order to include regulations
that have ``substantial direct effects on one or more Indian tribes, on
the relationship between the Federal
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government and the Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power and
responsibilities between the Federal government and Indian tribes.''
This proposed direct final rule does not have Tribal implications.
It will not have substantial direct effects on Tribal governments, on
the relationship between the Federal government and Indian tribes, or
on the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal
government and Indian tribes, as specified in Executive Order 13175.
This rule applies to the terms that define the availability of use for
federal financial assistance for research and demonstration grants.
Thus, Executive Order 13175 does not apply to this rule.
G. Executive Order 13045--Protection of Children From Environmental
Health Risks and Safety Risks
Executive Order 13045 applies to any rule that is determined to be:
(1) ``economically significant'' as defined under Executive Order
12866, and (2) concerns an environmental health or safety risk that EPA
has reason to believe may have a disproportionate effect on children.
If the regulatory action meets both criteria, EPA must evaluate the
environmental health or safety effects of the planned rule on children;
and explain why the planned regulation is preferable to other
potentially effective and reasonably feasible alternatives considered
by the Agency.
EPA interprets Executive Order 13045 as applying only to those
regulatory actions that are based on health or safety risks, such that
the analysis required under section 5-501 of the Order has the
potential to influence the regulation. This proposed direct final rule
is not subject to Executive Order 13045 because it does not establish
an environmental standard intended to mitigate health or safety risks.
H. Executive Order 13211 (Actions Concerning Regulations That
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use)
This rule is not subject to Executive Order 13211, ``Actions
Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply,
Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355 (May 22, 2001)) because it is not a
significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866.
I. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act
Under section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and
Advancement Act (NTTAA), EPA is required to use voluntary consensus
standards in its regulatory activities unless to do so would be
inconsistent with applicable law or otherwise impractical. Voluntary
consensus standards are technical standards (e.g., materials
specifications, test methods, sampling procedures, business practices,
etc.) that are developed or adopted by voluntary consensus standards
bodies. The NTTAA requires EPA to provide Congress, through the Office
of Management and Budget, an explanation of the reasons for not using
such standards.
This proposed direct final rule does not involve any technical
standards. Therefore, EPA did not consider the use of any voluntary
consensus standards.
J. Federal Actions To Address Environmental Justice in Minority
Populations and Low-Income Populations
Executive Order (EO) 12898 (59 FR 7629, Feb. 16, 1994) establishes
federal executive policy on environmental justice. Its main provision
directs federal agencies, to the greatest extent practicable and
permitted by law, to make environmental justice part of their mission
by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately high
and adverse human health or environmental effects of their programs,
policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income
populations in the United States.
EPA has determined that this proposed direct final rule will not
have disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental
effects on minority or low-income populations, because it does not
affect the level of protection provided to human health or the
environment. This rule change pertains to grant award and
administration matters.
K. Congressional Review Act
The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule,
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the
United States. EPA will submit a report containing this rule and other
required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A Major rule cannot
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal
Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C.
804(2). This rule will be effective November 13, 2007.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 40
Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure,
Research and demonstration grants, Grant programs--environmental
protection, Grant limitations, and Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
Dated: September 6, 2007.
Stephen L. Johnson,
Administrator.
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For the reasons set out in the preamble, 40 CFR part 40 is amended as
follows:
PART 40--[AMENDED]
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1. The authority citation for part 40 is revised to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 1857 et seq.
Sec. 40.125-1 [Amended]
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2. Section 40.125-1 is amended by removing and reserving paragraph (a).
[FR Doc. E7-18000 Filed 9-11-07; 8:45 am]
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