82 FR 14324 - Further Delay of Effective Dates for Five Final Regulations Published by the Environmental Protection Agency Between December 12, 2016 and January 17, 2017

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 52 (March 20, 2017)

In accordance with the Presidential directive as expressed in the memorandum of January 20, 2017, from the Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, entitled ``Regulatory Freeze Pending Review,'' and the Federal Register document published by EPA on January 26, 2017, EPA is further delaying the effective dates for the five regulations listed in the table below.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 52 (Monday, March 20, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 14324-14325]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-05462]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 22, 51, 124, 171, 300, and 770

[FRL-9960-28-OP]


Further Delay of Effective Dates for Five Final Regulations 
Published by the Environmental Protection Agency Between December 12, 
2016 and January 17, 2017

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule; further delay of effective dates.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Presidential directive as expressed in 
the memorandum of January 20, 2017, from the Assistant to the President 
and Chief of Staff, entitled ``Regulatory Freeze Pending Review,'' and 
the Federal Register document published by EPA on January 26, 2017, EPA 
is further delaying the effective dates for the five regulations listed 
in the table below.

DATES: This regulation is effective March 21, 2017. The effective date 
of each regulation listed in the table below is delayed to a new 
effective date of May 22, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah Rees, Director, Office of 
Regulatory Policy and Management, Office of Policy, Mail code 1804, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; (202) 564-1986; [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 26, 2017, EPA published a 
document in the Federal Register entitled ``Delay of Effective Date for 
30 Final Regulations Published by the Environmental Protection Agency 
Between October 28, 2016 and January 17, 2017'' (82 FR 8499) (January 
26 Document). In that document, EPA delayed the effective dates of the 
five regulations listed in the table below to March 21, 2017, as 
requested in the memorandum of January 20, 2017, from the Assistant to 
the President and Chief of Staff, entitled ``Regulatory Freeze Pending 
Review'' (January 20 Memo). That memo directed the heads of Executive 
Departments and Agencies to temporarily postpone for 60 days from the 
date of the January 20 Memo the effective dates of all regulations that 
had been published in the Federal Register but had not yet taken 
effect.
    The January 20 Memo also directs that where appropriate and as 
permitted by applicable law, agencies should consider a rule to delay 
the effective date for regulations beyond that 60-day period. In this 
document, EPA is taking action to further delay the effective dates for 
five regulations listed in the table below until May 22, 2017. EPA is 
taking this action to give recently arrived Agency officials the 
opportunity to learn more about these regulations and to decide whether 
they would like to conduct a substantive review of any of those 
regulations. If Agency officials decide to conduct a substantive review

[[Page 14325]]

of any of those regulations, EPA will take appropriate actions to 
conduct such a review, including, but not limited to, issuing a 
document in the Federal Register addressing any further delay of the 
effective date of such regulation. If Agency officials decide not to 
conduct a substantive review of a regulation listed in the table below, 
it will become effective on May 22, 2017.
    The Agency's implementation of this action without opportunity for 
public comment is based on the good cause exception in 5 U.S.C. 
553(b)(B). (The good cause exception is also referenced in section 
307(d) of the Clean Air Act (CAA).) The Agency has determined that 
seeking public comment is impracticable, unnecessary and contrary to 
the public interest. The further temporary delay in effective date 
until May 22, 2017, is necessary to give Agency officials the 
opportunity to decide whether they would like to conduct a substantive 
review of the five regulations, consistent with the January 20 Memo. 
The intent of the January 20 Memo was to delay the effective dates of 
rules that had recently been promulgated to give the new Administration 
time to review them. When that delay was implemented through the 
January 26 Document, the EPA believed 60 days would be sufficient time 
for incoming Agency officials to review rules recently promulgated by 
the EPA. However, given the length of the confirmation process for the 
EPA Administrator and the fact that the Agency lacks Senate-confirmed 
officials elsewhere, the new Administration has not had the time 
contemplated by the January 20 Memo for this review. Thus, the EPA is 
deferring the effective date for the five regulations listed in the 
table below for another 62 days to allow Agency officials to conduct 
this review. Given the imminence of the effective date, seeking prior 
public comment on this further temporary delay would be impractical, as 
well as contrary to the public interest in the orderly promulgation and 
implementation of regulations. Specifically, the Agency has been faced 
with circumstances beyond its control; as was the case on January 26, 
it is difficult to predict when the appropriate officials might assume 
their responsibilities. Indeed, as noted above, even today the EPA has 
only one Senate-confirmed official in place. Furthermore, allowing 
these regulations to go into effect without first deciding whether to 
undertake a substantive review may create public confusion. In 
addition, to the extent this extension is a procedural rule, it is 
exempt from notice and comment under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A), which is also 
referenced in CAA section 307(d).

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                                                                    Publication      Original      New effective
     Federal Register citation                  Title                  date       effective date       date
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
82 FR 2760.........................  Addition of a Subsurface             1/9/17        2/8/2017       5/22/2017
                                      Intrusion Component to the
                                      Hazard Ranking System.
81 FR 89674........................  Formaldehyde Emission              12/12/16       2/10/2017       5/22/2017
                                      Standards for Composite
                                      Wood Products.
82 FR 5182.........................  Revisions to the Guideline          1/17/17       2/16/2017       5/22/2017
                                      on Air Quality Models:
                                      Enhancements to the AERMOD
                                      Dispersion Modeling System
                                      and Incorporation of
                                      Approaches to Address
                                      Ozone and Fine Particulate
                                      Matter.
82 FR 952..........................  Pesticides; Certification            1/4/17        3/6/2017       5/22/2017
                                      of Pesticide Applicators.
82 FR 2230.........................  Consolidated Rules of                1/9/17       3/10/2017       5/22/2017
                                      Practice Governing the
                                      Administrative Assessment
                                      of Civil Penalties,
                                      Issuance of Compliance or
                                      Corrective Action Orders,
                                      and the Revocation/
                                      Termination or Suspension
                                      of Permits; Procedures for
                                      Decisionmaking.
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    For the foregoing reasons, the EPA relies on the good cause 
exceptions in 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) and 553(d)(3) to make today's action 
effective on March 21, 2017.

    Dated: March 14, 2017.
E. Scott Pruitt,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2017-05462 Filed 3-17-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P