New Chemicals Program Implementation Under the Amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA); Notice of Public Meeting, 64063-64064 [2019-25171]

Agencies

• ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 224 (Wednesday, November 20, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64063-64064]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-25171]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPPT-2019-0637; FRL-10002-09]


New Chemicals Program Implementation Under the Amended Toxic 
Substances Control Act (TSCA); Notice of Public Meeting

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: On December 10, 2019, EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and 
Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) will hold a public meeting to engage with 
interested stakeholders on the implementation of EPA's TSCA New 
Chemicals program, including: (1) An overview of EPA's updated 
``Working Approach'' document that builds upon EPA's November 2017 
``New Chemicals Decision-Making Framework: Working Approach to Making 
Determinations under section 5 of TSCA''; (2) a demonstration of how 
EPA uses key concepts in the Working Approach to reach certain 
conclusions and/or make determinations under TSCA section 5(a)(3) using 
specific case examples; (3) an update on confidential business 
information (CBI) process improvements and clarifications; and (4) a 
discussion of EPA's ongoing efforts and progress to increase 
transparency. Interested stakeholders will have the opportunity at the 
meeting to provide their views on these topics, in addition to 
providing written feedback in the docket. Later in December 2019, EPA 
expects to announce the availability of the updated ``Working 
Approach'' document and provide opportunity for written public comment 
on the document. Feedback from the public meeting and comments received 
will help inform the Agency's ongoing efforts to improve policy and 
processes relating to the review of new chemicals under TSCA.

DATES: Meeting: The New Chemicals Program meeting will be held on 
December 10, 2019, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. In addition to EPA 
presentations on the topics described above, EPA is setting aside one 
hour (from 1:40 p.m. to 2:40 p.m.) for members of the public to share 
their views. See registration instructions below. Online requests to 
speak at the meeting must be received on or before December 6, 2019. 
On-site registration for both attendance and speaking will be 
permitted, but seating and speaking priority will be given to those who 
pre-register by the deadline.
    Requests for Accommodation: To request accommodation of a 
disability, please contact the meeting logistics person listed under 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, preferably at least 10 days prior to 
the meeting, to give EPA as much time as possible to process your 
request.
    Comments: EPA will accept written feedback on these topics in the 
docket until January 24, 2020. When submitting comments to the docket, 
please be as specific as possible, and please include any supporting 
data or other information.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at EPA's William Jefferson Clinton 
East Building, room 1153 (``the Map Room''), 1201 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20460. The meeting will also be available by remote 
access for registered participants. For further information, see Unit 
III. under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
    Registration: To participate in the New Chemicals Program 
Implementation meeting on December 10, 2019 (identified by docket 
identification (ID) number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2019-0637), you may register 
online (preferred) or in person at the meeting. To register online, go 
to https://epa-ncrp.eventbrite.com.
    Comments: Written feedback, identified by the docket ID number EPA-
HQ-OPPT-2019-0637, can be submitted by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting written feedback. Do not 
submit electronically any information you consider to be Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute.
     Mail: Document Control Office (7407M), Office of Pollution 
Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460-0001.
     Hand Delivery: To make special arrangements for hand 
delivery or delivery of boxed information, please follow the 
instructions at https://www.epa.gov/dockets/contacts.html.
    Additional instructions on commenting or visiting the docket, along 
with more information about dockets in general is available at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical information about the 
New Chemicals Program Implementation meeting contact: Ryan Schmit, 
Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (7101M), Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460-
0001; telephone number: (202) 564-0610; email address: 
[email protected].
    For meeting logistics or registration contact: Emily Connor, Abt 
Associates; telephone number: (301) 347-5197; email address: 
[email protected].
    For general information contact: The TSCA-Hotline, ABVI-Goodwill, 
422 South Clinton Ave., Rochester, NY 14620; telephone number: (202) 
554-1404; email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

    This action is directed to the public in general and may be of 
interest to a wide range of stakeholders including chemical 
manufacturers, processors and users, consumer product companies, non-
profit organizations in the environmental, public health and animal 
welfare sectors, state and local government agencies, and members of 
the public interested in the environmental and human health assessment 
and regulation of new chemical substances. Since others also may be 
interested, the Agency has not attempted to describe all the specific 
entities that may be affected by this action.

B. How can I get copies of this document and other related information?

    The docket for the New Chemicals Program Implementation meeting 
(EPA-HQ-OPPT-2019-0637) is available at https://www.regulations.gov or 
at the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics Docket (OPPT Docket), 
Environmental Protection Agency Docket Center (EPA/DC), West William 
Jefferson Clinton Bldg., Rm. 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. 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 OPPT Docket is (202) 566-0280. Please review the visitor 
instructions and additional

[[Page 64064]]

information about the docket available at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.

II. Background

    The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, 
amending the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976, was signed into law 
on June 22, 2016. The amendments have enhanced EPA's authority to 
evaluate chemical substances.
    Since the 2016 amendments to TSCA, EPA has been working to make the 
policy and process changes necessary to align the New Chemicals program 
with the requirements of the new law, as well as to streamline and 
improve the review process. In November 2017, EPA released the ``New 
Chemicals Decision-Making Framework: Working Approach to Making 
Determinations under section 5 of TSCA'' (the ``Working Approach'') for 
public comment, and subsequently held a public meeting on implementing 
the New Chemicals program under amended TSCA on December 14, 2017.
    After consideration of comments received on the 2017 version and 
based on additional implementation experience, EPA is updating the 
Working Approach. Later in December 2019, EPA will announce the 
availability of the updated document after the public meeting and will 
accept comments on the updated document. EPA expects the updated 
document will provide further clarity and detail on EPA's approach and 
practices, including: (1) EPA's general guiding principles and concepts 
for making determinations on new chemical notices submitted to EPA 
under section 5 of TSCA; (2) the decision-making logic and the key 
questions that EPA must address; and (3) a discussion of how EPA might 
apply the working approach to reach one of the five new chemical 
determinations allowable under the statute.
    Additional information on the TSCA amendments can be found at 
https://www.epa.gov/assessing-and-managing-chemicals-under-tsca/frank-r-lautenberg-chemical-safety-21st-century-act.

III. Meeting

A. Remote Access

    The meeting will be accessible remotely for registered 
participants. Registered participants will receive information on how 
to connect to the meeting prior to its start.

B. Public Participation at the Meeting

    Members of the public may register to attend the meeting as 
observers and may also register to speak at the meeting, using one of 
the registration methods described under ADDRESSES. A registered 
speaker is encouraged to focus on issues directly relevant to the 
meeting's subject matter. Each speaker will be allowed approximately 
three minutes to provide oral feedback, subject to the number of 
confirmed registered speakers. A speaker must be registered in order to 
speak during the meeting. To accommodate as many registered speakers as 
possible, speakers may not use visual aids or written material. Persons 
registered to speak (as well as others) may submit written materials to 
the dockets as described under ADDRESSES. The meeting agenda and 
supporting materials will be made available in the docket and on EPA's 
website in advance of the meeting.

IV. How can I request to participate in these meeting?

A. Registration

    To attend the meeting in person or to receive remote access, you 
must register online no later than December 6, 2019, using one of the 
methods described under ADDRESSES. While on-site registration will be 
available, seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis, with 
priority given to early registrants, until room capacity is reached. 
For registrants not able to attend in person, the meeting will also 
provide remote access capabilities; registered participants will be 
provided information on how to connect to the meeting prior to its 
start.

B. Required Registration Information

    Members of the public may register to attend as observers or to 
speak during the scheduled public speaking period at the meeting. To 
register for the meeting online, you must provide your full name, 
organization or affiliation, and contact information.

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.

    Dated: November 15, 2019.
Tala Henry,
Deputy Director, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics.
[FR Doc. 2019-25171 Filed 11-19-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P