Environmental Protection Agency October 21, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that EPA is planning to submit a continuing Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This is a request to renew an existing approved collection. This ICR is scheduled to expire on 12/31/2005. Before submitting the ICR to OMB for review and approval, EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described below.

EPA is announcing a 30-day public review and comment period on several Additional Proposed IndicatorsEPA ROE 2007. These proposed indicators are in addition to the proposed indicators that were the subject of a June 6, 2005, Federal Register notice (70 FR 32769) that announced both a public comment period and an independent peer-review workshop that was held on July 27-29, 2005. Several of these additional indicators were added in response to comments from the first peer- review regarding additional indicators needed. Others were evaluated during the first review but have changed substantially and therefore warrant re-review; and a few are indicators for which materials were not ready at the time of the initial review. In addition to the public comment period, this set of additional proposed indicators will also undergo independent expert peer-review. The peer-review for this smaller set will be conducted via letter review. ERG, an EPA contractor for external scientific peer-review, is conducting this independent, external, peer-review and will engage the same expert panel that reviewed the first set of proposed ROE 2007 indicators. This public comment period, however, provides an opportunity for all stakeholders to weigh in on the primary contents of the draft 2007 Report on the Environment (EPA ROE 2007) at an early stage. In preparing the EPA ROE 2007, EPA will consider ERG's report of the comments and recommendations from this expert peer-review and any public comments EPA receives in accordance with today's notice. EPA is releasing these proposed indicators for public comment and for the purpose of pre-dissemination peer-review under applicable information quality guidelines. These indicators have not been formally disseminated by EPA. They do not represent and should not be construed to represent any Agency policy or determination.

This document notifies the public that the Administrator of EPA has forwarded to the Secretary of Agriculture a draft final rule as required by section 25(a) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). As described in the Agency's semi-annual Regulatory Agenda, the draft final rule will make several improvements to the pesticide emergency exemption process under section 18 of FIFRA. EPA has established regulations under section 18 of FIFRA which allow a Federal or State agency to apply for an emergency exemption to allow an unregistered use of a pesticide for a limited time when such use is necessary to alleviate an emergency condition.

Due to adverse comment, EPA is withdrawing the direct final rule published September 22, 2005, (70 FR 55550) approving the redesignation of the Clarksville-Hopkinsville 8-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area to Attainment for Ozone. EPA stated in the direct final rule that if EPA received adverse comment by October 24, 2005, the rule would be withdrawn and not take effect. EPA subsequently received adverse comment. EPA will address the comment in a subsequent final action based upon the proposed action also published on September 22, 2005 (70 FR 55613). EPA will not institute a second comment period on this action.