Guidance Document Procedures Rescission

• Published date: 13 April 2021
• Citation: 86 FR 19149
• Record Number: 2021-07398
• Section: Rules and Regulations
• Court: Council On Environmental Quality

19149

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 69 / Tuesday, April 13, 2021 / Rules and Regulations

intermediate, grain at 0.2 ppm;

Wheatgrass, intermediate, hay at 50

ppm; and Wheatgrass, intermediate,

straw at 50 ppm.

VI. Statutory and Executive Order

Reviews

This action establishes tolerances

under FFDCA section 408(d) in

response to a petition submitted to the

Agency. The Office of Management and

Budget (OMB) has exempted these types

of actions from review under Executive

Order 12866, entitled ‘‘Regulatory

Planning and Review’’ (58 FR 51735,

October 4, 1993). Because this action

has been exempted from review under

Executive Order 12866, this action is

not subject to Executive Order 13211,

entitled ‘‘Actions Concerning

Regulations That Significantly Affect

Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use’’ (66

FR 28355, May 22, 2001) or Executive

Order 13045, entitled ‘‘Protection of

Children from Environmental Health

Risks and Safety Risks’’ (62 FR 19885,

April 23, 1997). This action does not

contain any information collections

subject to OMB approval under the

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), nor does it require

any special considerations under

Executive Order 12898, entitled

‘‘Federal Actions to Address

Environmental Justice in Minority

Populations and Low-Income

Populations’’ (59 FR 7629, February 16,

1994).

Since tolerances and exemptions that

are established on the basis of a petition

under FFDCA section 408(d), such as

the tolerances in this final rule, do not

require the issuance of a proposed rule,

the requirements of the Regulatory

Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601 et

seq.), do not apply.

This action directly regulates growers,

food processors, food handlers, and food

retailers, not States or tribes, nor does

this action alter the relationships or

distribution of power and

responsibilities established by Congress

in the preemption provisions of FFDCA

section 408(n)(4). As such, the Agency

has determined that this action will not

have a substantial direct effect on States

or Tribal Governments, on the

relationship between the National

Government and the States or Tribal

Governments, or on the distribution of

power and responsibilities among the

various levels of government or between

the Federal Government and Indian

Tribes. Thus, the Agency has

determined that Executive Order 13132,

entitled ‘‘Federalism’’ (64 FR 43255,

August 10, 1999) and Executive Order

13175, entitled ‘‘Consultation and

Coordination with Indian Tribal

Governments’’ (65 FR 67249, November

9, 2000) do not apply to this action. In

addition, this action does not impose

any enforceable duty or contain any

unfunded mandate as described under

Title II of the Unfunded Mandates

Reform Act (UMRA) (2 U.S.C. 1501 et

seq.).

This action does not involve any

technical standards that would require

Agency consideration of voluntary

consensus standards pursuant to section

12(d) of the National Technology

Transfer and Advancement Act

(NTTAA) (15 U.S.C. 272 note).

VII. Congressional Review Act

Pursuant to the Congressional Review

Act (5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), EPA will

submit a report containing this rule and

other required information to the U.S.

Senate, the U.S. House of

Representatives, and the Comptroller

General of the United States prior to

publication of the rule in the Federal

Register. This action is not a ‘‘major

rule’’ as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 180

Environmental protection,

Administrative practice and procedure,

Agricultural commodities, Pesticides

and pests, Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

Dated: April 7, 2021.

Marietta Echeverria,

Acting Director, Registration Division, Office

of Pesticide Programs.

Therefore, for the reasons stated in the

preamble, EPA is amending 40 CFR

chapter I as follows:

PART 180—TOLERANCES AND

EXEMPTIONS FOR PESTICIDE

CHEMICAL RESIDUES IN FOOD

■1. The authority citation for part 180

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 21 U.S.C. 321(q), 346a and 371.

■2. In § 180.339, amend paragraph

(a)(1) by designating the table as Table

1 to paragraph (a)(1) and adding in

alphabetical order to newly designated

Table 1 to paragraph (a)(1) entries for

‘‘Tea, dried’’; ‘‘Wheatgrass,

intermediate, forage’’; ‘‘Wheatgrass,

intermediate, grain’’; ‘‘Wheatgrass,

intermediate, hay’’ and ‘‘Wheatgrass,

intermediate, straw’’ to read as follows:

§ 180.339 MCPA; tolerances for residues.

(a) * * *

(1) * * *

T

ABLE

1

TO

P

ARAGRAPH

(a)(1)

Commodity Parts per

million

*****

Tea, dried ..................................... 0.3

*****

Wheatgrass, intermediate, forage 50

Wheatgrass, intermediate, grain ... 0.2

Wheatgrass, intermediate, hay ..... 50

Wheatgrass, intermediate, straw .. 50

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 2021–07517 Filed 4–12–21; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL

QUALITY

40 CFR Part 1519

RIN 0331–AA04

Guidance Document Procedures

Rescission

AGENCY

: Council on Environmental

Quality.

ACTION

: Final rule.

SUMMARY

: On January 8, 2021, the

Council on Environmental Quality

(CEQ) issued a final rule to implement

Executive Order (E.O.) 13891,

‘‘Promoting the Rule of Law Through

Improved Agency Guidance

Documents.’’ In accordance with E.O.

13992, ‘‘Revocation of Certain Executive

Orders Concerning Federal Regulation,’’

this final rule rescinds CEQ’s rule on

guidance document procedures.

DATES

: This final rule is effective April

13, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

:

Amy B. Coyle, Deputy General Counsel,

Council on Environmental Quality, 730

Jackson Place NW, Washington, DC

20503, (202) 395–5750, amy.b.coyle@

ceq.eop.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

: E.O.

13891, ‘‘Promoting the Rule of Law

Through Improved Agency Guidance

Documents,’’ addressed the

development, use, and public

availability of agency guidance

documents and required agencies to

promulgate or update existing

regulations setting forth their

procedures for issuing guidance

documents. 84 FR 55235 (Oct. 15, 2019).

On January 8, 2021, CEQ issued a final

rule, ‘‘Guidance Document Procedures’’

to implement E.O. 13891. 86 FR 1279.

The final rule established 40 CFR part

1519 to establish guidance document

procedures, procedures for the public to

request withdrawal or modification of a

VerDate Sep<11>2014 15:58 Apr 12, 2021 Jkt 253001 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 E:\FR\FM\13APR1.SGM 13APR1

jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with RULES

19150

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 69 / Tuesday, April 13, 2021 / Rules and Regulations

1

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/

whitehouse.gov/files/omb/memoranda/2009/m09-

13.pdf.

2

https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/

uploads/2019/10/M-20-02-Guidance-Memo.pdf.

guidance document, and procedures for

significant guidance documents.

On January 20, 2021, President Biden

issued E.O. 13992, ‘‘Revocation of

Certain Executive Orders Concerning

Federal Regulation,’’ to revoke a number

of Executive orders, including E.O.

13891, with harmful policies and

directives that threaten to frustrate the

Federal Government’s ability to confront

the urgent challenges facing the Nation,

including the coronavirus disease 2019

(COVID–19) pandemic, economic

recovery, racial justice, and climate

change and to empower agencies to use

appropriate regulatory tools to address

these issues. 86 FR 7049 (Jan. 25, 2021).

E.O. 13992 provides that ‘‘[t]o tackle

these challenges effectively, [agencies]

must be equipped with the flexibility to

use robust regulatory action to address

national priorities.’’ Section 3 of E.O.

13992 directs agencies to take steps to

rescind any orders, rules, regulations,

guidelines or policies, or portions

thereof, implementing or enforcing the

revoked Executive orders.

After review and consideration, CEQ

has concluded that its rule on guidance

documents deprives CEQ of necessary

flexibility in determining when and

how best to issue guidance based on

particular facts and circumstances

consistent with the policy directive in

E.O. 13992. Therefore, CEQ is issuing

this final rule to rescind its regulations

at 40 CFR part 1519. As has been CEQ’s

practice predating the part 1519

regulations, CEQ will continue to make

guidance available to the public on its

websites, including www.nepa.gov and

www.sustainability.gov. Additionally, in

accordance with M–09–13, ‘‘Guidance

for Regulatory Review,’’

1

the Office of

Management and Budget will continue

to review all CEQ actions and

documents subject to the Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs

review under E.O. 12866. These reviews

include policy and guidance documents

that OMB determines are significant.

Rulemaking Analyses and Notices

A. Regulatory Procedures

Under the Administrative Procedure

Act, an agency may waive notice and

comment procedures if an action is an

interpretative rule, a general statement

of policy, or a rule of agency

organization, procedure, or practice. See

5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A). CEQ has determined

this rule is a rule of ‘‘agency

organization, procedure, or practice’’

and, therefore, CEQ is not required to

engage in a notice and comment

rulemaking process. Furthermore,

because the rule is a procedural rule,

rather than a substantive rule, it may be

made effective immediately upon

publication. See 5 U.S.C. 553(d).

B. Regulatory Planning and Review

(E.O. 12866 and E.O. 13563)

E.O. 12866 provides that OIRA will

review all significant rules. E.O. 13563

reaffirms the principles of E.O. 12866,

calling for improvements in the Federal

Government’s regulatory system to

promote predictability, to reduce

uncertainty, and to use the best, most

innovative, and least burdensome tools

for achieving regulatory objectives.

OMB determined that this final rule

does not meet the requirements for a

significant regulatory action under E.O.

12866, as supplemented by E.O. 13563,

and therefore it was not subject to

review.

C. National Environmental Policy Act

The National Environmental Policy

Act of 1969, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.,

(NEPA) requires Federal agencies in

their decision-making processes to

consider the environmental effects of

their proposed actions, disclose those

impacts, and involve the public. The

Council on Environmental Quality

(CEQ) oversees the implementation of

NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4342, and issued NEPA

implementing regulations at 40 CFR

parts 1500 through 1508, which set forth

the procedures for agencies to comply

with NEPA.

The CEQ regulations provide for three

levels of NEPA review. For actions that

are likely to have significant

environmental effects, agencies must

prepare an environmental impact

statement (EIS). See 40 CFR part 1502.

Agencies also can identify in their

agency NEPA procedures categories of

actions that normally do not have

significant environmental effects, and

then apply these categorical exclusions

(CEs) to individual actions after

considering whether there are

extraordinary circumstances present

that preclude the application of the CE.

See 40 CFR 1501.4. Finally, for those

actions that are not likely to have

significant environmental effects and

where the agency does not have an

established CE, or for actions where the

significance of the effects is unknown,

agencies prepare an environmental

assessment (EA) to comply with NEPA.

See 40 CFR 1501.5. Because CEQ has

not established CEs for its actions, it has

prepared this EA to comply with NEPA

for this rulemaking.

Purpose and Need

As set forth in the supplemental

information section of this final rule, the

purpose and need is to take action to

comply with E.O. 13992, which revoked

E.O. 13891 and directed agencies to take

steps to rescind any regulations

implementing the E.O.

Proposed Action and Alternatives

The proposed action is to revoke 40

CFR part 1519, which CEQ promulgated

to implement E.O. 13891. The no action

alternative is to retain part 1519, which

sets forth CEQ’s procedures for the

development and issuance of guidance

documents consistent with the direction

in E.O. 13891 and the Office of

Management and Budget memorandum

M–20–02, ‘‘Guidance Implementing

Executive Order 13891, Titled

‘Promoting the Rule of Law Through

Improved Agency Guidance

Documents.’ ’’

2

These procedures define

‘‘guidance document’’ and required

elements, including a title, document

identification number, and date. Part

1519 also requires that all guidance

documents contain a legal disclaimer,

identification of any guidance document

it revises or replaces, a summary of the

guidance subject matter, identification

of the activities to which and the

persons to whom the guidance applies,

and citations to relevant statutory and

regulatory provisions. The procedures

also require review by CEQ’s Office of

the General Counsel and posting of

documents on CEQ’s website. Finally,

the regulations provide a procedure for

the public to request withdrawal or

modification of a guidance document.

Environmental Effects

Both the proposed action and the no

action alterative likely would result in

minimal environmental effects. CEQ

issues guidance electronically by

posting the documents online and

emailing it to Federal agency contacts;

therefore, to the extent this rulemaking

would have any environmental effects,

they would be on energy use by CEQ’s

IT systems. However, this rulemaking

neither increases or decreases the

volume of CEQ’s guidance, but rather

specifies the content and format of

certain guidance documents. The

proposed action gives CEQ increased

flexibility in determining when and

how best to issue guidance based on

particular facts and circumstances

consistent with the policy directive in

E.O. 13992. Further, as noted in the

final rule, CEQ will continue to make

VerDate Sep<11>2014 15:58 Apr 12, 2021 Jkt 253001 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 E:\FR\FM\13APR1.SGM 13APR1

jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with RULES

19151

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 69 / Tuesday, April 13, 2021 / Rules and Regulations

guidance available to Federal agencies

and the public through its websites.

CEQ does not anticipate the proposed

action or no action alternative would

have any impact on threatened or

endangered species, land or water use,

climate change, environmental justice

communities, cultural resources,

including historic properties, or any

other resource category.

List of Agencies and Persons Consulted

CEQ consulted with its internal

experts, but did not consult with other

agencies or persons.

Conclusion and Finding

Based on this environmental

assessment, CEQ finds that the proposed

action will not have a significant effect

on the environment.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 1519

Administrative practice and

procedure, Guidance.

Matthew Lee-Ashley,

Chief of Staff.

PART 1519—[REMOVED AND

RESERVED]

■For the reasons stated in the preamble

and under the authority of 42 U.S.C.

4321–4347; 42 U.S.C. 4371–4375; E.O.

13992, the Council on Environmental

Quality amends subchapter B of chapter

V in title 40 of the Code of Federal

Regulations by removing and reserving

part 1519.

[FR Doc. 2021–07398 Filed 4–12–21; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3225–F1–P

VerDate Sep<11>2014 15:58 Apr 12, 2021 Jkt 253001 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 9990 E:\FR\FM\13APR1.SGM 13APR1

jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with RULES