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Forum on Public Access to Federal Rulemaking Through the Internet; Announcement of Public Meetings and Request for Comment
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: July 16, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 136)]
[Notices]
[Page 42727-42729]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16jy04-84]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[Docket No. OEI-2004-0002; FRL-7789-1]
Forum on Public Access to Federal Rulemaking Through the
Internet; Announcement of Public Meetings and Request for Comment
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The eRulemaking Initiative, a federal government-wide effort,
will hold a series of public meetings and an online dialogue to obtain
public input on its major projects.
The Initiative will use information technology to expand public
understanding and involvement in the rulemaking process by providing an
easy and consistent way for the public to search, view, and comment on
proposed federal regulations online. It is
[[Page 42728]]
comprised of three major parts. In January 2003, an inter-agency team
launched http://www.regulations.gov, 
the first component
of the Initiative. This Web site allows the public to search, view, and
download all rulemaking documents published in the Federal Register. It
also allows the public to submit comments on proposed regulations
currently open for comment.
The second part of the Initiative is the development of a full-
featured electronic docket management system that will provide the
public with online access to the broad set of documents routinely
included in regulatory and non-regulatory dockets (e.g., Federal
Register notices; technical, scientific, and legal analyses; and public
comments). It will continue to provide the public with the same
capabilities as Regulations.gov and will ultimately replace existing
electronic and paper-based docket systems. The federal docket system
will include additional features, such as full-text and Boolean search
capabilities, e-mail notification, data export, and reporting and
tracking functions.
The last part of the eRulemaking Initiative is the development of
an online workspace containing a variety of tools and templates to
assist in the development, review, and publication of federal
regulations and the analysis of public comments. Such tools will be
available to federal regulation writers and the public and may include
databases, collaboration applications, and content categorization
software.
The Environmental Protection Agency, as managing partner of the
eRulemaking Initiative, will convene a series of public meetings to
solicit feedback on the usability and features of the Regulations.gov
Web site, the planned government-wide electronic federal docket
management system, and the online rulewriter toolbox. Comments received
will be considered during the development and/or enhancements of these
systems. In addition to these public meetings, Harvard University's
John F. Kennedy School of Government, in partnership with the
eRulemaking Program Office, will host an online national dialogue to
solicit additional public input.
Individuals planning to attend the public meetings or participate
in the online dialogue should contact the individual listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT for the location of the meeting. Please
register no later than one week before the event.
DATES: Public meetings are scheduled to be held on the following dates:
1. August 2, 2004; 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., San Francisco, CA.
2. August 3, 2004; 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Chicago, IL.
3. August 9, 2004; 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 pm., Cambridge, MA.
4. August 9, 2004; 12:00 p.m. to 6 p.m., Online Dialogue.
5. August 12, 2004; 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Washington, DC.
Should a meeting be rescheduled, registrants will be notified via
e-mail.
Comments must be received on or before August 16, 2004.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. OEI-2004-
0002, by one of the following methods:
? Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
? Agency Web site: http://www.epa.gov/edocket. EDOCKET,
EPA's electronic public docket and comment system, is EPA's preferred
method for receiving comments. Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
? Mail: OEI Docket, Environmental Protection Agency,
Mailcode: 2822T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460.
? Hand Delivery: OEI Docket, EPA/DC, EPA West, Room B102,
1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. Such deliveries are only
accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation (8:30 a.m. to
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays), and
special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. OEI-2004-0002.
EPA's policy is that all comments received during the open comment
period will be included in the public docket without change and may be
made available online at: http://www.epa.gov/edocket, including any
personal information provided, unless the comment includes information
claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit
information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through
EDOCKET or Regulations.gov.
The EPA EDOCKET and the federal Regulations.gov Web sites are
``anonymous access'' systems, which means EPA will not know your
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of
your comment. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that
you include your name and other contact information in the body of your
comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your
comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic
files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the EDOCKET index
at: http://www.epa.gov/edocket. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted. Certain other material, such as
copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet and will be
publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket
materials are available either electronically in EDOCKET or in hard
copy at the OEI Docket, EPA/DC, EPA West, Room B102, 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 OEI Docket is (202) 566-1752.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristin Tensuan, eRulemaking Program
Branch, Collection Strategies Division (Mail Code 2822V), Office of
Environmental Information (OEI), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202)
632-0338; fax number: (202) 632-0349; e-mail address:
tensuan.kristin@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Background
The eRulemaking Initiative is an E-Government Initiative authorized
by Section 206 of the E-Government Act of 2002. The Initiative's goals
include:
? Expand public understanding of the rulemaking process by
providing an easy and consistent way for public to search, view, and
comment on federal rules.
? Improve the quality of federal rulemaking decisions and
transparency of the rulemaking process.
? Increase the amount, breadth, and ease of citizen and
intergovernmental access and participation by using the Internet to
enhance public access to information on federal rulemaking.
The eRulemaking Initiative consists of three modules:
Module 1--Regulations.gov. Launched in January 2003, this Web site
provides one-stop, online access to every open rule published by more
than 160 different federal agencies. The Web site allows the public to
view and download Federal Register notices of every federal rule
currently open for
[[Page 42729]]
comment as well as allow the public to submit comments to the
appropriate federal agency.
Module 2--Federal Docket Management System. This system, currently
under development, will build upon Regulations.gov to establish a full-
featured docket management system. It will serve as a central
repository for federal rulemaking dockets, which are comprised of
Federal Register notices, supporting materials, and public comments.
The docket management system also will be designed to include non-
rulemaking documents, such as Information Collection Requests that
agencies can post online for public comment.
Module 3--Online Rulewriter Toolbox. The Initiative also will
explore deploying information technology tools to assist in the
development, review, and publication of federal regulations and the
analysis of public comments. Tools will be available to federal
regulation writers and the public. Such tools may include templates,
collaboration applications, databases and content categorization software.
The Environmental Protection Agency leads an inter-agency team that
manages the Initiative. Other participating federal agencies include:
Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of
Defense, Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services,
Department of Homeland Security, Department of Housing and Urban
Development, Department of Interior, Department of Justice, Department
of Labor, Department of Transportation, Department of Treasury, Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission, Federal Communications Commission,
National Archives and Records Administration, General Services
Administration, the Government Printing Office, and the Small Business
Administration.
B. Topics of Discussion
The eRulemaking Program Office is seeking public feedback on the
usability and features of the Regulations.gov Web site, the planned
government-wide electronic federal docket management system, and the
rulewriter's toolbox. The following topics will be discussed at the
meetings:
? Web site designs that maximize ease-of-use and public utilization,
? Features that users consider most important and would
frequently use,
? Additional capabilities that users can apply, and
? Other considerations regarding the eRulemaking Initiative.
We welcome comments from stakeholders interested in electronic
rulemaking including, but not limited to, advocacy groups, trade
associations, labor unions, regulated industries, small businesses,
state and local governments, and the academic community.
II. Additional Information
Additional information about the eRulemaking Initiative is
available online at: http://www.regulations.gov. You may also
contact the person listed under the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section of this notice. Help in understanding the Federal rulemaking
process and terminology is available from the Federal Register at:
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html.
Dated: July 13, 2004.
Mark A. Luttner,
Director of Information Collection, Office of Environmental
Information.
[FR Doc. 04-16328 Filed 7-15-04; 8:45 am]
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