Procedures for Considering Environmental Impacts

• Published date: 23 December 2020
• Citation: 85 FR 83881
• Record Number: 2020-28467
• Section: Proposed rules
• Court: The Secretary Of Transportation Office

83881

Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 23, 2020 / Proposed Rules

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

You may be potentially affected by

this action if you are an agricultural

producer, food manufacturer, or

pesticide manufacturer. The following

list of North American Industrial

Classification System (NAICS) codes is

not intended to be exhaustive, but rather

provides a guide to help readers

determine whether this document

applies to them. Potentially affected

entities may include:

•Crop production (NAICS code 111).

•Animal production (NAICS code

112).

•Food manufacturing (NAICS code

311).

•Pesticide manufacturing (NAICS

code 32532).

B. What should I consider as I prepare

my comments for EPA?

1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this

information to EPA through

regulations.gov or email. Clearly mark

the part or all of the information that

you claim to be CBI. For CBI

information in a disk or CD–ROM that

you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the

disk or CD–ROM as CBI and then

identify electronically within the disk or

CD–ROM the specific information that

is claimed as CBI. In addition to one

complete version of the comment that

includes information claimed as CBI, a

copy of the comment that does not

contain the information claimed as CBI

must be submitted for inclusion in the

public docket. Information so marked

will not be disclosed except in

accordance with procedures set forth in

40 CFR part 2.

2. Tips for preparing your comments.

When preparing and submitting your

comments, see the commenting tips at

http://www.epa.gov/dockets/

comments.html.

3. Environmental justice. EPA seeks to

achieve environmental justice, the fair

treatment and meaningful involvement

of any group, including minority and/or

low-income populations, in the

development, implementation, and

enforcement of environmental laws,

regulations, and policies. To help

address potential environmental justice

issues, the Agency seeks information on

any groups or segments of the

population who, as a result of their

location, cultural practices, or other

factors, may have atypical or

disproportionately high and adverse

human health impacts or environmental

effects from exposure to the pesticides

discussed in this document, compared

to the general population.

II. What action is the Agency taking?

EPA is announcing its receipt of

several pesticide petitions filed under

section 408 of the Federal Food, Drug,

and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), 21 U.S.C.

346a, requesting the establishment or

modification of regulations in 40 CFR

part 174 and/or part 180 for residues of

pesticide chemicals in or on various

food commodities. The Agency is taking

public comment on the requests before

responding to the petitioners. EPA is not

proposing any particular action at this

time. EPA has determined that the

pesticide petitions described in this

document contain data or information

prescribed in FFDCA section 408(d)(2),

21 U.S.C. 346a(d)(2); however, EPA has

not fully evaluated the sufficiency of the

submitted data at this time or whether

the data support granting of the

pesticide petitions. After considering

the public comments, EPA intends to

evaluate whether and what action may

be warranted. Additional data may be

needed before EPA can make a final

determination on these pesticide

petitions.

Pursuant to 40 CFR 180.7(f), a

summary of each of the petitions that

are the subject of this document,

prepared by the petitioner, is included

in a docket EPA has created for each

rulemaking. The docket for each of the

petitions is available at http://

www.regulations.gov. As specified in

FFDCA section 408(d)(3), 21 U.S.C.

346a(d)(3), EPA is publishing notice of

the petitions so that the public has an

opportunity to comment on these

requests for the establishment or

modification of regulations for residues

of pesticides in or on food commodities.

Further information on the petitions

may be obtained through the petition

summaries referenced in this unit.

New Tolerance Exemptions for Non-

Inerts (Except PIPS)

1. PP 9F8781. EPA–HQ–OPP–2019–

0515. Valent BioSciences LLC, 870

Technology Way, Libertyville, IL 60048,

requests to establish an exemption from

the requirement of a tolerance in 40 CFR

part 180 for residues of the plant

regulator 1-

Aminocyclopropanecarboxylic acid

(ACC) in or on apple and stone fruit.

The analytical methods Ultra High-

Performance Liquid Chromatography-

Tandem Mass Spectrometry is available

to EPA for the detection and

measurement of the pesticide residues.

2. PP 9F8802. (EPA–HQ–OPP–2020–

0328). Certis USA LLC, 9145 Guilford

Rd., Suite 175, Columbia, MD 21046,

requests to establish an exemption from

the requirement of a tolerance in 40 CFR

part 180 for residues of the insecticide

Spodoptera frugiperdamultiplenucleopo

lyhedrovirusisolate NPV003 in or on all

food commodities. The petitioner

believes no analytical method is needed

because it is requesting an exemption

from the requirement of a tolerance.

New Tolerance Exemptions for PIPS

PP 0F8839. (EPA–HQ–OPP–2020–

0546). Bayer CropScience LP, 800 N.

Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63167,

requests to establish an exemption from

the requirement of a tolerance in 40 CFR

part 174 for residues of the plant-

incorporated protectants (PIPs)

Cry1B.868 and Cry1DA_7 proteins

derived from Bacillus thuringienisis in

or on the food and feed commodities of

corn, field; corn, sweet; and corn, pop.

The petitioner believes no analytical

method is needed because this petition

is for a permanent exemption from the

requirement of a tolerance without

numerical limitation.

Authority: 21 U.S.C. 346a.

Dated: November 24, 2020.

Delores Barber,

Director, Information Technology and

Resources Management Division, Office of

Pesticide Programs.

[FR Doc. 2020–28123 Filed 12–22–20; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary of

Transportation

49 CFR Part 13

[Docket No. DOT–OST–2020–0229]

RIN 2105–AE97

Procedures for Considering

Environmental Impacts

AGENCY

: Office of the Secretary (OST),

U.S. Department of Transportation

(DOT).

ACTION

: Notification of denial of request

for extension of comment period.

SUMMARY

: This document denies the

request to extend the comment period

on the U.S. Department of

Transportation (DOT) notice of

proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on

Procedures for Considering

Environmental Impacts. This NPRM

contains the Department’s procedures

implementing the National

Environmental Policy Act and outlines

the Department’s internal policies and

procedures for environmental reviews of

DOT’s actions. The NPRM was

published in the Federal Register on

November 23, 2020.

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83882

Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 23, 2020 / Proposed Rules

DATES

: The closing date for comments

on the notice of proposed rulemaking

published on November 23, 2020 (85 FR

74640), remains December 23, 2020.

ADDRESSES

: You may review the

petitions to extend the public comment

period and other comments under

Docket Number DOT–OST–2020–0229

through the Federal Regulations website

at www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

:

April Marchese, Director, Infrastructure

Permitting Improvement Center, 202–

366–2074, april.marchese@dot.gov, or

Krystyna Bednarczyk, Office of the

General Counsel, 202–366–5283,

krystyna.bednarczyk@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

: On

November 23, 2020, the U.S.

Department of Transportation (DOT or

Department) issued a notice of proposed

rulemaking (NPRM) (85 FR 7460) to

codify the Department’s procedures

implementing the National

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This

NPRM would codify internal policies

applicable to the Department’s

performance of environmental reviews.

The NPRM would direct the

Department’s Operating

Administrations to update their

procedures consistent with regulations

issued by the Council on Environmental

Quality (CEQ), 40 CFR parts 1500–1508,

and the Department’s own

implementing procedures, when

finalized. The Department’s existing

procedures, which are contained in an

internal order, have not been updated

since 1985 and are inconsistent with

current practice, and thus,

modifications and changes are needed

to make DOT’s regulations consistent

with intervening statutory and policy

changes. This NPRM would codify

existing processes and policies and

ensure consistency with CEQ

regulations published in July 2020 and

effective as of September 14, 2020 (85

FR 43304 (July 16, 2020)).

To date, DOT has received four

petitions to extend the comment period,

each asking for different lengths of an

extension. Petitioners note that the

comment period for the NPRM

coincides with the holiday season. In

addition, petitioners cite the

coronavirus disease (COVID–19) public

health emergency as an unprecedented

circumstance necessitating the

extension of the comment period.

While DOT appreciates the concerns

raised by the petitioners, we decline to

extend the comment period for this

rulemaking. The changes proposed by

the NPRM would incorporate best

practices, codify internal processes,

provide conforming updates based on

CEQ regulations, and provide

consistency across the Department. The

NPRM does not propose major

discretionary changes to the way the

Department analyzes the effects of

proposed actions or ranges of

alternatives; nor would the NPRM

modify any analyses done in the Section

4(f) analysis.

DOT believes there is a strong interest

in the timely issuance of these

procedures to allow for the DOT

Operating Administrations to issue their

own procedural updates in accordance

with the CEQ regulations. CEQ

regulations at 40 CFR 1507.3(b) require

Federal agencies to develop or revise, as

necessary, procedures to implement the

CEQ regulations, including eliminating

any inconsistencies with the CEQ

regulations by September 14, 2021.

Before that date, DOT must review

comments received on this pending

NPRM and, based on the comments

received, develop a final rule that would

set the minimum standard for all of the

Department’s procedures to follow.

Once this NPRM is finalized, DOT

Operating Administrations can begin to

update their own procedures, many of

which will also require notice and an

opportunity for public comment before

they can also be finalized. Individuals

will have the opportunity to comment

further on these implementing

procedures, which will be more detailed

than this NPRM and specifically

tailored to the unique environmental

programs overseen by each DOT

Operating Administration.

The Department further acknowledges

that DOT administrative policy provides

that ‘‘Generally, absent special

considerations, the comment period for

. . . significant DOT rules should be at

least 45 days’’ (emphasis added) (49

CFR 5.13(i)(3)). For the reasons cited

above, DOT found special

considerations exist that necessitate a

comment period less than 45 days for

this NPRM, which was designated

significant by the Office of Management

and Budget. DOT therefore denies the

petitions to extend the comment period.

Issued in Washington, DC, on December

18, 2020, under authority delegated in 49

CFR 1.23.

Steven G. Bradbury,

General Counsel (and performing the

functions and duties of Deputy Secretary).

[FR Doc. 2020–28467 Filed 12–22–20; 8:45 am]

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