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Federal Register: EPA extends comment period on Low-Activity RadWaste Disposal
This appeared in today's Federal Register.
----------------------
[Federal Register: March 12, 2004 (Volume 69, Number
49)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 11826-11828]
>From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12mr04-19]
=======================================================-------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Chapter 1
[FRL-7635-7]
RIN 2060-AL71
Approaches to an Integrated Framework for Management
and Disposal of Low-Activity Radioactive Waste:
Request for Comment; Extension of Comment Period
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR);
extension of comment period.
-------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency is
extending the comment period for the Advance Notice of
[[Page 11827]]
Proposed Rulemaking titled ``Approaches to an
Integrated Framework for Management and Disposal of
Low-Activity Radioactive Waste: Request for Comment,''
which appeared in the Federal Register on November 18,
2003 (68 FR 65120). The public comment period for this
ANPR was to end on March 17, 2004. The purpose of this
notice is to extend the comment period.
DATES: EPA will accept public comments on this ANPR
until May 17, 2004. Comments received after that date
will be marked ``late'' and accepted at our
discretion.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by mail to Air
and Radiation Docket, Environmental Protection Agency,
EPA West Room B108, Mailcode: 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania
Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460, Attention Docket ID
No. OAR-2003-0095. Comments may also be submitted
electronically or through hand delivery/courier.
Follow the detailed instructions as provided in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan Schultheisz,
Radiation Protection Division, Office of Radiation and
Indoor Air, Mailcode: 6608J, United States
Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC,
20460-0001; telephone (202) 343-9300; e-mail
schultheisz.daniel@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The ANPR that is the
subject of this notice, and which was published in the
Federal Register on November 18, 2003 (68 FR 65120),
requested public comment on a variety of technical and
policy issues related to the management and disposal
of ``low-activity'' radioactive waste. The ANPR
outlined approaches that EPA believes could help
improve the current regulatory system and provide
more consistency in the management of these wastes.
Most prominent is the potential use of hazardous waste
landfills permitted under Subtitle C of the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) for wastes
containing low concentrations of radionuclides. Waste
streams discussed in the ANPR include wastes currently
regulated at the Federal level (such as mixed
hazardous and radioactive wastes) and wastes primarily
regulated by States (such as wastes containing natural
radioactivity).
The comment period for the ANPR was scheduled to
end on March 17, 2004. However, the Agency has
received both formal and informal requests to extend
the comment period. The Utilities Solid Waste
Activities Group has formally requested that EPA
extend the comment period, noting that it is
submitting comments on several other EPA rulemaking
actions with comment periods ending close to that
date. The National Mining Association and Wyoming
Mining Association have made similar requests. EPA
believes these requests are reasonable. EPA also
notes that this action is not subject to any statutory
or judicial deadlines. We are therefore extending the
comment period for this ANPR until May 17, 2004.
EPA also notes that several public interest
groups, particularly the Nuclear Information and
Resource Service (NIRS) and Public Citizen, have
requested extensions of six and eight months,
respectively. The reason given for these requests is
to ensure that those communities in the vicinity of
disposal facilities potentially affected by an EPA
action are fully informed of the issues raised in the
ANPR. An extension of such length, particularly at the
ANPR stage, would be highly unusual. Periods of 30 or
45 days are more typical. Further, should EPA decide
that a rulemaking is appropriate, there will be
additional opportunity for public comment on any
proposed rule that contains specific regulatory
language. EPA believes that a 60-day extension until
May 17, 2004, making the entire comment period six
months, is sufficient. However, EPA appreciates this
concern and is considering a number of methods to
ensure that local communities are involved in all
stages of the process.
How and To Whom Do I Submit Comments?
You may submit comments electronically, by mail,
by facsimile, or through hand delivery/courier. To
ensure proper receipt by EPA, identify the appropriate
docket identification number in the subject line on
the first page of your comment. Please ensure that
your comments are submitted within the specified
comment period. Comments received after the close of
the comment period will be marked ``late.'' EPA is not
required to consider these late comments, but will do
so at its discretion.
Electronically
If you submit an electronic comment as prescribed
below, EPA recommends that you include your name,
mailing address, and an e-mail address or other
contact information in the body of your comment. Also
include this contact information on the outside of any
disk or CD-ROM you submit, and in any cover letter
accompanying the disk or CD-ROM. This ensures that you
can be identified as the submitter of the comment and
allows EPA to contact you in case EPA cannot read your
comment due to technical difficulties or needs further
information on the substance of your comment. EPA's
policy is that EPA will not edit your comment, and any
identifying or contact information provided in the
body of a comment will be included as part of the
comment that is placed in the official public docket,
and made available in EPA's electronic public docket.
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.
Your use of EPA's electronic public docket to
submit comments to EPA electronically is EPA's
preferred method for receiving comments. Go directly
to EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/edocket, and
follow the online instructions for submitting
comments. To access EPA's electronic
public docket from the EPA Internet Home Page, select
``Information Sources,'' ``Dockets,'' and ``EPA
Dockets.'' Once in the system, select ``search,'' and
then key in Docket ID No. OAR-2003-0095. The system is
an ``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will
not know your identity, e-mail address, or other
contact information unless you provide it in the body
of your comment.
Comments may be sent by electronic mail (e-mail)
to a-and-r-Docket@epa.gov, Attention Docket ID No.
OAR-2003-0095. 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.
You may submit comments on a disk or CD-ROM that
you mail to the mailing address identified in the
following paragraph. These electronic submissions will
be accepted in WordPerfect or ASCII file format. Avoid
the use of special characters and any form of
encryption.
By Mail
Send your comments to: Air and Radiation Docket,
Environmental Protection Agency, EPA West Room B108,
Mailcode: 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460, Attention Docket ID No.
OAR-2003-0095.
[[Page 11828]]
By Hand Delivery or Courier
Deliver your comments to: Air and Radiation Docket
in the EPA Docket Center, EPA West Room B108, 1301
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC, 20004,
Attention Docket ID No. OAR-2003-0095. 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).
By Facsimile
Fax your comments to (202) 566-1741, Attention
Docket ID. No. OAR-2003-0095.
Dated: March 4, 2004.
Robert Brenner,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 04-5642 Filed 3-11-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
=====
+++++++++++++++++++
""A fanatic is one who cannot change his mind and won't change the subject." Winston Churchill
-- John
John Jacobus, MS
Certified Health Physicist
e-mail: crispy_bird@yahoo.com
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