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AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; extension of public comment period.

SUMMARY:

On September 8, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) solicited information and requested comments to assist in the potential development of regulations for pyrolysis and gasification units that are used to convert solid or semi-solid feedstocks to useful products such as energy, fuels, and chemical commodities. The deadline to respond to our request was November 8, 2021. The EPA is extending the period to respond to our request for information and comment to December 23, 2021.

DATES:

The public comment period for the request for information published in the Federal Register on September 8, 2021 (86 FR 50296), originally ending November 8, 2021, is being extended. Written comments must be received on or before December 23, 2021.

ADDRESSES:

 

Comments. You may send comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0382, by any of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov/​ (our preferred method). Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.

• Email: a-and-r-docket@epa.gov. Include Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0382 in the subject line of the message.

• Fax: (202) 566-9744. Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0382.

• Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket Center, Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0382, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460.

• Hand Delivery or Courier (by scheduled appointment only): EPA Docket Center, WJC West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004. The Docket Center's hours of operation are 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday (except Federal holidays).

Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR- 2021-0382. The EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the public docket without change and may be made available online at https://www.regulations.gov/​, including any personal information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be CBI or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit electronically any information that you consider to be CBI or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. This type of information should be submitted by mail as discussed below.

Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc. ) must be accompanied by a written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA will generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of the primary submission ( i.e., on the web, cloud, or other file sharing system). For additional submission methods, the full EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please visit https://www.epa.gov/​dockets/​commenting-epa-dockets.

The https://www.regulations.gov/​ website allows you to submit your comment anonymously, which means the EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an email comment directly to the EPA without going through https://www.regulations.gov/​, your email address will be automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the internet. If you submit an electronic comment, the EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any digital storage media you submit. If the EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, the EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should not include special characters or any form of encryption and should be free of any defects or viruses. For additional information about the EPA's public docket, visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at https://www.epa.gov/​dockets.

Out of an abundance of caution for members of the public and EPA staff, the EPA Docket Center and Reading Room are closed to the public, with limited exceptions, to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19. The EPA's Docket Center staff will continue to provide remote customer service via email, phone, and webform. The Agency encourages the public to submit comments via https://www.regulations.gov/​ or email, as there may be a delay in processing mail and faxes. Hand deliveries and couriers may be received by scheduled appointment only. For further information on EPA Docket Center services, please visit us online at https://www.epa.gov/​dockets. The EPA continues to carefully and continuously monitor information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, local area health departments, and our Federal partners so that the Agency can respond rapidly as conditions change regarding COVID-19.

Submitting CBI. Do not submit information containing CBI to the EPA through https://www.regulations.gov/​ or email. Clearly mark the part or all of the information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information on any digital storage media that you mail to the EPA, mark the outside of the digital storage media as CBI and then identify electronically within the digital storage media the specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one complete version of the comments that includes information claimed as CBI, you must submit a copy of the comments that does not contain the information claimed as CBI directly to the public docket through the procedures outlined in Instructions above. If you submit any digital storage media that does not contain CBI, mark the outside of the digital storage media clearly that it does not contain CBI. Information not marked as CBI will be included in the public docket and the EPA's electronic public docket without prior notice. Information marked as CBI will not be disclosed except in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 2. Send or deliver information identified as CBI only to the following address: OAQPS Document Control Officer (C404-02), OAQPS, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0382. Note that written comments containing CBI and submitted by mail may be delayed and no hand deliveries will be accepted.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For questions about this action, contact Nabanita Modak Fischer, Fuels and Incineration Group, Sector Policies and Programs Division (E143-05), Environmental Protection Agency, Start Printed Page 61103 Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711; telephone number: (919) 541-5572; fax number: (919) 541-3470; email address: modak.nabanita@epa.gov.

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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

On September 8, 2021, the EPA published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) soliciting information and requesting comments to assist in the potential development of regulations for pyrolysis and gasification units that are used to convert solid or semi-solid feedstocks to useful products such as energy, fuels, and chemical commodities (86 FR 50296). In accordance with that Notice, the comment period to respond to the ANPRM currently closes on November 8, 2021. The EPA has received a request to extend the comment period. After considering the request to extend the public comment period, the EPA has decided to extend the public comment period until December 23, 2021. This extension will provide the additional time requested by the public to review the request and gather information to respond.

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