[Federal Register: October 10, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 195)]
[Notices]
[Page 57572-57573]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10oc07-62]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-RCRA-2006-0796; FRL-8480-2]
RIN 2050-AE81
Notice of Data Availability on the Disposal of Coal Combustion
Wastes in Landfills and Surface Impoundments; Extension of Comment
Period
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of Data Availability; Extension of Comment Period.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is extending the
comment period for the Notice of Data Availability (NODA) entitled
``Notice of Data Availability on the Disposal of Coal Combustion Wastes
in Landfills and Surface Impoundments.'' This notice announces the
availability of new information and data concerning the management of
coal combustion wastes (CCW) in landfills and surface impoundments and
will be used by the Agency in determining how, if at all, this
additional information should affect the Agency's decisions as it
continues to follow-up on its Regulatory Determination for CCW disposed
of in landfills and surface impoundments. This NODA was published on
August 29, 2007 (72 FR 49714), and the comment period was scheduled to
end on November 27, 2007. However, a number of environmental groups
have requested additional time to respond to the issues raised in the
NODA and its accompanying documents. Therefore, we are extending the
comment period an additional 60 days, which would extend the comment
period to January 28, 2008.
DATES: The comment period is extended from the original closing date of
November 27, 2007 to January 28, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
RCRA-2006-0796, by one of the following methods:
http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line
instructions for submitting comments.
E-mail: Comments may be sent by electronic mail (e-mail)
to: rcra-docket@epa.gov, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-2006-0796.
In contrast to EPA's electronic public docket, EPA's e-mail system is
not an ``anonymous access'' system. If you send an e-mail comment
directly to the docket without going through EPA's electronic public
docket, EPA's e-mail system automatically captures your e-mail address.
E-mail addresses that are automatically captured by EPA's e-mail system
are included as part of the comment that is placed in the official
public docket, and made available in EPA's electronic public docket.
Fax: Comments may be faxed to 202-566-0272. Attention
Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-2006-0796.
Mail: Send two copies of your comments to Notice of Data
Availability on the Disposal of Coal Combustion Wastes in Landfills and
Surface Impoundments, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 5305T,
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. Attention Docket ID
No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-2006-0796.
Hand Delivery: Deliver two copies of your comments to the
Notice of Data
[[Page 57573]]
Availability on the Disposal of Coal Combustion Wastes in Landfills and
Surface Impoundments Docket, EPA/DC, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. Attention Docket ID No.
EPA-HQ-RCRA-2006-0796. Such deliveries are only accepted during the
docket's normal hours of operation (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday
through Friday, excluding legal holidays), and special arrangements
should be made for deliveries of boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-
2006-0796. 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 website 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.
We also request that interested parties who would like
information they previously submitted to EPA to be considered as part
of this action, identify the relevant information by docket entry
numbers and page numbers. For additional instructions on submitting
comments, go to the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alexander Livnat, Office of Solid
Waste (5306P), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Ariel Rios
Building, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460-0002,
telephone (703) 308-7251, e-mail address livnat.alexander@epa.gov. For
more information on this rulemaking, please visit http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/other/fossil/index.htm/
.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NODA that is the subject of this notice,
and which was published in the Federal Register on August 29, 2007 (72
FR 49714), announces the availability of new information and data
contained in three documents that the Agency is requesting public
comments on, concerning the management of CCW in landfills and surface
impoundments. The three documents that the Agency is requesting
comments on are: A joint U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and EPA report
entitled, Coal Combustion Waste Management at Landfills and Surface
Impoundments, 1994-2004; a draft risk assessment conducted by EPA on
the management of CCW in landfills and surface impoundments; and EPA's
damage case assessment. The Agency is soliciting comments on the extent
to which the damage case information, the results of the risk
assessment, and the new liner and ground water monitoring information
from the DOE/EPA report should affect the Agency's decisions. EPA is
also requesting direct comment on the draft risk assessment document to
help inform a planned peer review. In addition, the Agency has included
in the docket to the NODA a rulemaking petition submitted by a number
of citizens' groups. Furthermore, the Agency has included in the docket
to the NODA two approaches regarding the management of CCW, one
prepared by the electric utility industry and the other prepared by a
number of citizens' groups. The Agency will consider all the
information provided through the NODA, the comments and new information
submitted on the NODA, as well as the results of a subsequent peer
review of the risk assessment, as it continues to follow-up on its
Regulatory Determination for CCW disposed of in landfills and surface
impoundments.
The comment period for the NODA was scheduled to end on November
27, 2007. However, a number of environmental groups (Earthjustice,
Environmental Integrity Project, Clean Air Task Force, Kentucky
Resources Council, Army for a Clean Environment, and Delaware
Riverkeeper Network) have requested that EPA extend the comment period
by 75 days, noting that additional time is needed in order to comment
meaningfully on the information contained in the NODA and to perform
extensive analysis on several documents, some of which are highly
technical. The commenters also noted that, due to the length and
complexity of the draft risk assessment (``Human and Ecological Risk
Assessment of Coal Combustion Wastes''), it will be necessary to engage
expert review that will consequently increase the time necessary to
prepare their comments.
EPA believed that the 90-day public comment period originally
established was reasonable. However, since the Agency will be
considering all the information provided through the comments and new
information submitted on the NODA, as well as the results of a
subsequent peer review of the risk assessment, we believe it is
important that commenters have adequate time to analyze the data
noticed in the NODA so that they may provide informed and meaningful
comments to the Agency. Therefore, we have decided to extend the
comment period by 60 days, thereby extending the comment period to 150
days. We believe an additional 60 days is adequate for commenters to
analyze the data noticed in the NODA and available in the docket to the
NODA. Because the 60-day extension ends on January 26, 2008, which is a
Saturday, the comment period will actually be extended until the
following Monday, January 28, 2008.
Dated: September 28, 2007.
Matthew Hale,
Director, Office of Solid Waste.
[FR Doc. E7-19935 Filed 10-9-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P