[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 177 (Wednesday, September 11, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47931-47932]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-23220]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-5607-9]
Extension of Comment Period for the Notice of Availability and
Request for Comments on the Permit Improvement Team's Concept Paper on
Environmental Permitting and Task Force Recommendations
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments; extension of
comment period.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) is
extending the comment period for the Permit Improvement Team's Concept
Paper on Environmental Permitting and Task Force Recommendations, which
appeared in the Federal Register on July 19, 1996 (see 61 FR 37744).
The public comment period was to end on September 3, 1996. The purpose
of this notice is to extend the comment period an additional 30 days
beyond that, to end on October 3, 1996. This extension of the comment
period is provided to allow commenters an opportunity to comment
further on the concept paper.
DATES: EPA will accept public comments on the concept paper and
recommendations until October 3, 1996. Comments postmarked after the
close of the comment period will be stamped ``late.''
ADDRESSES: The public must send an original and two copies to Docket
Number F-96-PT2A-FFFFF, located at the RCRA Docket. The official
address is: RCRA Information Center, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (5035W), 401 M Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20460. Although
the mailing address for the RCRA Information Center has not changed,
the office was physically moved in November 1995. Therefore, hand-
delivered comments should be taken to the new address: 1235 Jefferson
Davis Highway, First Floor, Arlington, Virginia. (Also see the section
under ``Supplementary Information'' regarding the paperless office
effort for submitting public comments.) The RCRA Information Center is
open for public inspection and copying of supporting information from
9:00 am to 4:00 pm Monday through Friday, except for Federal holidays.
The public must make an appointment to review docket materials by
calling (703) 603-9230. The public may copy a maximum of 100 pages from
any regulatory document at no cost. Additional copies cost $0.15 per
page.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lance Miller, PIT Executive Director
at Permits Improvement Team, Mail Stop 100, 2890 Woodbridge Ave.,
Edison, NJ 08837, phone: (908) 321-6782.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Availability of Document
The PIT Concept Paper on Environmental Permitting and Task Force
Recommendations can be obtained via the Internet at `gopher://
gopher.epa.gov' or `http://www.epa.gov'. After reaching either of these
Internet sites, locate the search function and type `Permit Improvement
Team' to locate the Concept Paper on Environmental Permitting and Task
Force Recommendations.
Background Information
The PIT was established in July 1994 and is composed of
representatives from EPA Headquarters and Regional offices and state,
tribal and local permitting agencies. The PIT held numerous stakeholder
meetings to solicit input on the most critical permitting issues as
well as to obtain feedback on the PIT's initial recommendations.
Although significant input on the PIT's recommendations has been
received through the stakeholder meetings, a final opportunity to
review and comment on the recommendations is being provided to ensure
that all stakeholders have an opportunity to participate in the
development of significant change in direction for permitting programs
that is being contemplated. The Agency intends to use the concept paper
on environmental permitting as an overall guide for reforms to permit
programs, where appropriate. The individual recommendations contained
in the document will be considered by program and regional offices as
they develop specific plans in response to the concepts discussed in
the PIT recommendations. These plans will include providing assistance
to states
[[Page 47932]]
and tribes that choose and implement appropriate permit reform. As
specific program changes are developed, opportunities for stakeholder
input will be provided. It is anticipated that stakeholders will use
the final concept paper, as well as other relevant documents and
authorities such as applicable statutes, in their review of specific
permit program changes. This will help to provide all stakeholders with
a common context when commenting on these specific changes. For some
permitting programs, minor changes may be needed to implement many of
the concepts specified in the document; while other programs may
require more significant modifications. Some of these modifications may
also require changes to statutes and regulations and could necessitate
technical research and analysis prior to revising permit programs to
conform with the recommendations. Therefore, the time-frame to
implement the recommendations could range from several months to many
years. The Agency notes that the current permitting systems were
developed over the last three decades, and that changes need to be made
within the existing systems while they evolve to the approach
envisioned in the concept paper. Furthermore, as implementation
proceeds, it is likely that some of the concepts will require revision
based on new information.
Paperless Office Effort
EPA is asking prospective commenters to voluntarily submit one
additional copy of their comments on labeled personal computer
diskettes in ASCII (TEXT) format or a word processing format that can
be converted to ACSII (TEXT). It is essential to specify on the disk
label the word processing software and version/edition as well as the
commenter's name. This will allow EPA to convert the comments into one
of the word processing formats utilized by the Agency. Please use
mailing envelopes designed to physically protect the submitted
diskettes. EPA emphasizes that submission of comments on diskettes is
not mandatory, nor will it result in any advantage or disadvantage to
any commenter. Rather, EPA is experimenting with this procedure as an
attempt to expedite our internal review and response to comments. This
expedited procedure is in conjunction with the Agency ``Paperless
Office'' campaign.
James Mathews,
Acting Assistant Administrator for the Office of Solid Waste and
Emergency Response.
[FR Doc. 96-23220 Filed 9-10-96; 8:45 am]
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