[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 101 (Thursday, May 24, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24104-24106]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-11195]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPPT-2018-0174; FRL-9978-21]


Advance Notice of Public Meeting; Technical Issues--Formaldehyde 
Emission Standards for Composite Wood Products

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces EPA's plan for a public meeting 
regarding technical issues in the Formaldehyde Emission Standards for 
Composite Wood Products Final Rule published on December 12, 2016. The 
meeting will inform EPA's potential development of a proposed rule to 
address these technical issues and to further align the rule 
requirements with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) Airborne 
Toxic Control Measures (ATCM) Phase II program. The primary audience 
for this public meeting is Third Party Certifiers (TPCs) and panel 
producers who contract with TPCs to certify composite wood products 
under the December 12, 2016 final rule; however, this meeting is open 
to the public.

DATES: The meeting will be held on June 28, 2018 from 1:00 p.m. EDT to 
4:00 p.m. EDT. EPA will accept questions from the public in advance of 
the meeting, and will address these questions during the meeting as 
time allows, if such questions are received by June 22, 2018.
    Members of the public who register to speak at the meeting may make 
comments and may ask additional questions. Online requests to 
participate in the meeting must be received on or before June 8, 2018. 
On-site registration will be permitted, but seating and speaking 
priority will be given to those who pre-register by the deadline. See 
Unit III.B. for information on public participation in the meeting.

[[Page 24105]]

    To request accommodation of a disability, please contact the 
meeting logistics or registration person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT, preferably at least 10 days prior to the meeting, 
to give EPA as much time as possible to process your request.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the U.S. EPA William Jefferson 
Clinton East Building, Room 4225, 1201 Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20004.
    To participate in the Technical Issues Meeting; Formaldehyde 
Emission Standards for Composite Wood Products on June 28, 2018 
(identified by docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2018-0174) you may register 
online (preferred) or in person at the meeting. To register online, go 
to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/us-epa-technical-issues-formaldehyde-emission-standards-for-composite-wood-products-public-tickets-44550791617. Written comments, identified by the docket ID number EPA-
HQ-OPPT-2018-0174 can be submitted by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments. Do not submit electronically any information you consider to 
be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute.
     Mail: Document Control Office (7407M), Office of 
Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), Environmental Protection 
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460-0001.
     Hand Delivery: To make special arrangements for 
hand delivery or delivery of boxed information, please follow the 
instructions at http://www.epa.gov/dockets/contacts.html.
    The comment period for this public meeting will open on May 24, 
2018 and close July 28, 2018. The docket will remain open to receive 
comments and materials until this date. When submitting comments to the 
docket, please be as specific as possible, and please include any 
supporting data or other information.
    Additional instructions on commenting or visiting the docket, along 
with more information about dockets in general is available at http://www.epa.gov/dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    For technical information about the Technical Issues Meeting; 
Formaldehyde Emission Standards for Composite Wood Products meeting 
contact: Todd Coleman, National Programs Chemical Division (7404T), 
Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental Protection 
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone 
number: (202) 564-1208; email address: [email protected].
    For meeting logistics or registration contact: Eva Cappuccilli, 
National Program Chemicals Division (7404T), Office of Pollution 
Prevention and Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: 
(202) 564-4688; email address: [email protected].
    For general information contact: The TSCA-Hotline, ABVI-Goodwill, 
422 South Clinton Ave., Rochester, NY 14620; telephone number: (202) 
554-1404; email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

    This public meeting is primarily directed to the TPCs and panel 
producers who contract with TPCs to certify composite wood products 
under the Formaldehyde Emission Standards for Composite Wood Products 
final rule. Many of the technical issues that the Agency is considering 
are directly related to the third-party certification testing 
requirements for regulated composite wood products. In general, 
fabricators, distributors and retailers who are affected by the 
Formaldehyde Emission Standards for Composite Wood Products final rule 
may also be interested in this meeting. Since stakeholders other than 
TPCs may also be interested, the Agency has not attempted to describe 
all the specific entities that may be interested in the issues to be 
discussed at the public meeting. Additionally, while the Agency seeks 
to focus the public meeting on technical issues already raised to the 
Agency, we are aware there may be other technical issues of interest to 
stakeholders and have provided an opportunity under III. Meeting for 
comments to be provided to the Agency in advance of the public meeting, 
during oral comment at the meeting if time permits, or during the 
public comment period after the meeting.

B. How can I get copies of this document and other related information?

    The docket for this notice, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2018-0174, is available at http://www.regulations.gov or at the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics 
Docket (OPPT Docket), Environmental Protection Agency Docket Center 
(EPA/DC), West William Jefferson Clinton Bldg., Rm. 3334, 1301 
Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC. The Public Reading Room is open 
from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal 
holidays. The telephone number for the Public Reading Room is (202) 
566-1744, and the telephone number for the OPPT Docket is (202) 566-
0280. Please review the visitor instructions and additional information 
about the docket available at http://www.epa.gov/dockets.

II. Background

    The Formaldehyde Emission Standards for Composite Wood Products 
final rule published on December 12, 2016 (81 FR 89674) and became 
effective March 21, 2017 (82 FR 14324). Since publication of the final 
rule, EPA received letters and other feedback from industry 
stakeholders, including the Composite Panel Association, Hardwood 
Plywood Veneer Association, Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association, 
and various TPCs requesting that EPA provide clarification and possibly 
amend certain provisions of the December 12, 2016 final rule to further 
align this rule with the CARB ATCM Phase II program. The Agency has 
already taken other actions to amend the rule to address other issues, 
including allowing early labeling of compliant composite wood products 
(see 82 FR 31922), extending the compliance dates in the December 12, 
2016 final rule (see 82 FR 44533), and updating several voluntary 
consensus standard versions as well as the equivalence provisions 
between the ASTM E-1333 and ASTM D-6007 chamber (see 82 FR 5340). Based 
on the discussion at the public meeting and other input sent to the 
Agency during the public comment period, the Agency may consider 
proposing additional technical amendments to clarify the rule 
requirements or further align EPA's regulation with the CARB ATCM Phase 
II program.
    The general nature of the issues raised by stakeholders, which are 
reflected on the meeting agenda included in the docket for this 
meeting, surround the testing and certification of composite wood 
products under the final rule, including correlation of test methods, 
equivalence of test methods, treatment of test data, and sampling 
requirements under EPA's final rule. The Agency is also aware there is 
interest from stakeholders in obtaining further guidance on how one can 
petition the Agency for additional exemptions for laminated products 
from the definition of ``hardwood plywood'' as allowed under Sec.  
770.4(b) of the December 12,

[[Page 24106]]

2016 final rule. The Agency intends to address this issue separately, 
potentially in a future public workshop.
    The public meeting on the technical issues is meant to enable the 
Agency to receive broad input from all TPCs and other interested 
stakeholders, request further public comment, data, or related 
information on these and any related rule provisions that can help 
improve consistency with CARB's regulation, improve clarity in the rule 
where needed, and help improve overall implementation of the rule.

III. Meeting

A. Remote Access

    The meeting will be accessible remotely for registered 
participants. Registered participants will receive information on how 
to connect to the meeting prior to its start.

B. Public Participation at the Meeting

    Attendees and participants may register to attend the Technical 
Issues; Formaldehyde Emission Standards for Composite Wood Products 
meeting and provide oral comments and ask questions on the day of the 
meeting, using one of the registration methods described under 
ADDRESSES. Participants who want to provide oral comments or to ask 
questions during the meeting must be registered as a speaker. The 
Agency is most interested in receiving comments or questions on the 
specific technical issues outlined on the meeting agenda, which would 
include timing and ways to implement any changes should the agency 
decide to propose additional technical amendments; however, comments or 
questions can also be provided on other technical rule provisions that 
can help improve consistency with CARB's regulation, improve clarity in 
the rule, and help improve overall implementation of the rule. The 
meeting agenda and stakeholder letters referenced in Unit II are 
available in the docket and on EPA's website in advance of the meeting. 
A registered speaker is encouraged to focus on issues directly relevant 
to the meeting's subject matter, initially discussed under II. 
Background of this notice. Each speaker will be allowed a reasonable 
amount of time to provide relevant oral comments and ask questions. The 
Agency requests that speakers limit their comments and questions to 
five minutes in order to allow other participants a chance to speak as 
well. If time allows, the Agency will offer more time at the conclusion 
of the meeting for speakers to make additional comments or present 
relevant material that they may not have been able to provide in their 
initial five-minute segment. To accommodate as many registered speakers 
as possible, speakers may present oral comments and questions only, 
without visual aids or written material. Persons must register to speak 
using the registration methods described under ADDRESSES. Persons 
registered to speak (as well as others) may submit written materials to 
the dockets as described under ADDRESSES. An agenda for the meeting and 
supporting materials are available in the docket for this notice and on 
EPA's website at www.epa.gov/formaldehyde. Additionally, EPA will 
accept questions from the public in advance of the meeting, and address 
these questions during the meeting as time allows, if such questions 
are received by June 22, 2018. Questions should be submitted to the 
technical contact for this meeting listed in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice.

IV. How can I request to participate in this meeting?

A. Registration

    To attend the meeting in person or to receive remote access, you 
must register online no later than June 22, 2018, using one of the 
methods described under ADDRESSES. While on-site registration will be 
available, seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis, with 
priority given to early registrants, until room capacity is reached. 
For registrants not able to attend in person, the meeting will also 
provide remote access capabilities; registered participants will be 
provided information on how to connect to the meeting prior to its 
start, using the email address that participants use to register for 
this meeting.

B. Required Registration Information

    Attendees and participants may register to attend as observers or 
to speak if planning to offer oral comments. To register for the 
meeting online, you must provide your full name, organization or 
affiliation, and contact information.

    Authority:  Section 601 of TSCA, 15 U.S.C. 2697.

    Dated: May 18, 2018.
Louise P. Wise,
Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2018-11195 Filed 5-23-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


