Proposed Rule2026-08518
National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Ethylene Oxide Emissions Standards for Sterilization Facilities Residual Risk and Technology Review Reconsideration; Extension of Comment Period
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
May 1, 2026
Effective
March 17, 2026
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
On March 17, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a rule titled "National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Ethylene Oxide Emissions Standards for Sterilization Facilities Residual Risk and Technology Review Reconsideration." The EPA is extending the comment period on this proposed rule, which is scheduled to close on May 1, 2026. The comment period will now end on May 15, 2026, to allow additional time for stakeholders to review and comment on the proposal.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 84 (Friday, May 1, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 84 (Friday, May 1, 2026)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 23382-23383]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-08518]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 63
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2019-0178; FRL-7055.1-03-OAR]
RIN 2060-AW79
National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants:
Ethylene Oxide Emissions Standards for Sterilization Facilities
Residual Risk and Technology Review Reconsideration; Extension of
Comment Period
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of public comment period.
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SUMMARY: On March 17, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) proposed a rule titled ``National Emission Standards for
Hazardous Air Pollutants: Ethylene Oxide Emissions Standards for
Sterilization Facilities Residual Risk and Technology Review
Reconsideration.'' The EPA is extending the comment period on this
proposed rule, which is scheduled to close on May 1, 2026. The comment
period will now end on May 15, 2026, to allow additional time for
stakeholders to review and comment on the proposal.
DATES: The EPA is extending the comment period for the proposed rule
that published in the Federal Register (FR) on March 17, 2026, at 91 FR
12700. The EPA must receive written comments on or before May 15, 2026.
ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2019-0178, by any of the following methods:
<bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>
(our preferred method). Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
<bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#95f4b8f4fbf1b8e7b8f1faf6fef0e1d5f0e5f4bbf2fae3"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ddbcf0bcb3b9f0aff0b9b2beb6b8a99db8adbcf3bab2ab">[email protected]</span></a>. Include Docket ID No. EPA-
HQ-OAR-2019-0178 in the subject line of the message.
<bullet> Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket
Center, Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2019-0178, Mail Code 28221T, 1200
Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460.
<bullet> Fax: (202) 566-9744. Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2019-0178.
<bullet> Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 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. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday (except Federal holidays).
Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID
No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2019-0178 for this rulemaking. Comments received may be
posted without change on <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, including any
personal information provided. For detailed instructions on sending
comments and additional information on the rulemaking process, see the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about this comment
period extension, contact U.S. EPA, Attn: Brian Langloss, Mail Drop:
D243-04, 109 T.W. Alexander Drive, P.O. Box 12055, Research Triangle
Park, North Carolina 27711; telephone number: (919) 541-0675; and email
address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6b070a050c07041818450919020a052b0e1b0a450c041d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="81ede0efe6edeef2f2afe3f3e8e0efc1e4f1e0afe6eef7">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Rationale. On March 17, 2026, the EPA proposed a rule titled
``National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Ethylene
Oxide Emissions Standards for Sterilization Facilities Residual Risk
and Technology Review Reconsideration.'' \1\ The comment period on this
proposed rule was originally scheduled to close on May 1, 2026. The EPA
received multiple requests for additional time to review and comment on
this proposed rule, and the EPA has decided to extend the comment
period until May 15, 2026. The public comment period will now end on
May 15, 2026.
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\1\ 91 FR 12700, March 17, 2026.
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Docket. The EPA established a docket for this rulemaking under
Docket ID No.
[[Page 23383]]
EPA-HQ-OAR-2019-0178. All documents in the docket are listed at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. Although listed, some information is not publicly
available, e.g., Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. The EPA does not
place certain other material, such as copyrighted material, on the
internet; this material is publicly available only as portable document
format (PDF) versions accessible only on EPA computers in the docket
office reading room. The public cannot download certain databases and
physical items from the docket but may request these items by
contacting the docket office at 202-566-1744. The docket office has 10
business days to respond to such requests. With the exception of such
material, publicly available docket materials are available
electronically at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>.
Written Comments. Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2019-0178. 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 <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, including any personal
information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed
to be CBI or other information for which a statute restricts
disclosure. Do not submit electronically to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>
any information that you consider to be CBI or other information for
which a statute restricts disclosure. You should submit this type of
information as discussed below.
The EPA may publish any comment received to its public docket. A
written comment must accompany multimedia submissions (audio, video,
etc.). The EPA considers the written comment to be the official
comment, and it should include discussion of all points the commenter
wishes 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 <a href="https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets">https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets</a>.
The <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> 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
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, 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
<a href="https://www.epa.gov/dockets">https://www.epa.gov/dockets</a>.
Submitting CBI. Do not submit information containing CBI to the EPA
through <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. 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, note the docket ID,
mark the outside of the digital storage media as CBI, and 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 Written Comments section of this document. 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 and
note the docket ID. The public docket and the EPA's electronic public
docket will include information not marked as CBI without prior notice.
The EPA will not disclose information marked as CBI except in
accordance with procedures set forth in 40 Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR) part 2.
Our preferred method to receive CBI is electronic transmittal,
using email attachments, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), or other online
file sharing services (e.g., Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive). You must
send electronic submissions directly to the Office of Clean Air
Programs (OCAP) CBI Office at the email address <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#503f312120230f333239103520317e373f26"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4629273736351925242f0623362768212930">[email protected]</span></a>, and,
as described above, you should include clear CBI markings and note the
docket ID. If you need assistance with submitting large electronic
files that exceed the file size limit for email attachments, and if you
do not have your own file sharing service, please email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#96f9f7e7e6e5c9f5f4ffd6f3e6f7b8f1f9e0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="234c425253507c40414a634653420d444c55">[email protected]</span></a> to request a file transfer link. If sending CBI
information through the U.S. Postal Service, please send it to the
following address: U.S. EPA, Attn: OCAP Document Control Officer, Mail
Drop: C404-02, 109 T.W. Alexander Drive, P.O. Box 12055, Research
Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2025-0078. You should double-wrap and clearly mark the mailed CBI
material. Any CBI markings should not show through the outer envelope.
Panagiotis Tsirigotis,
Director, Office of Clean Air Programs.
[FR Doc. 2026-08518 Filed 4-30-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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