Environmental Protection Agency 2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to submit an information collection request, ``U.S. Environmental Protection Agency POTW Influent PFAS Study Data Collection'' (EPA ICR No. 2799.01, OMB Control No. 2040-NEW) to the Office of Management and Budget for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). Before doing so, the EPA is soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described below. This is a request for approval of a new collection. This notice allows for 60 days for public comments.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing approval of a revision to the Tehama County Air Pollution Control District's (TCAPCD or ``District'') portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision governs the District's issuance of permits for stationary sources and focuses on the preconstruction review and permitting of major sources and major modifications under part D of title I of the Clean Air Act (CAA or ``the Act''). We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a final action.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an information collection request (ICR) Registration of Fuels and Fuel AdditivesRequirements for Manufacturers (EPA ICR Number 0309.17, OMB Control Number 2060-0150) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). This is a proposed revision of the ICR, which is currently approved through March 31, 2024. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on July 5, 2023, during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.

Pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, notice is hereby given that the next meeting of the Children's Health Protection Advisory Committee (CHPAC) will be held virtually and in-person on May 15-16, 2024 at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Headquarters located at 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460. The CHPAC advises the EPA on science, regulations and other issues relating to children's environmental health.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve the regional haze state implementation plan (SIP) submitted by the State of New York through the Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC or New York) on May 12, 2020, as satisfying applicable requirements under the Clean Air Act (CAA) and the EPA's Regional Haze Rule for the program's second implementation period. New York's SIP submission addresses the requirement that states must periodically revise their long-term strategies for making reasonable progress towards the national goal of preventing any future, and remedying any existing, anthropogenic impairment of visibility in mandatory Class I Federal areas, including regional haze. The SIP submission also addresses other applicable requirements for the second implementation period of the regional haze program. The EPA is taking this action pursuant to sections 110 and 169A of the Clean Air Act.

This document announces the Agency's receipt of an initial filing of a pesticide petition requesting the establishment or modification of regulations for residues of pesticide chemicals in or on various commodities.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is adopting two categorical exclusions (CEs) from the Department of Energy (DOE) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for drop-off, collection, and transfer facilities for recyclable materials and for installation or relocation of machinery and equipment, to use in EPA's programs and in funding opportunities administered by EPA. This notice describes the categories of proposed actions for which EPA intends to use DOE's CEs and describes the consultation between the agencies.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 9 is publishing this notice of availability of its final general NPDES permit (Permit No. NNG990001) for water discharges from facilities classified as low threat located in the Navajo Nation. Use of a general NPDES permit in the location described above allows EPA and dischargers to allocate resources in a more efficient manner, obtain timely permit coverage, and avoid issuing resource intensive individual permits to each facility, while simultaneously providing greater certainty and efficiency to the regulated community while ensuring consistent permit conditions for comparable facilities.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) proposes to revise regulations that allow for the open burning and detonation (OB/OD) of waste explosives. This allowance or ``variance'' to the prohibition on the open burning of hazardous waste was established at a time when there were no alternatives for the safe treatment of waste explosives. However, recent findings from the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) and the EPA have identified safe alternatives which are potentially applicable to treat some energetic/explosive waste streams. Because there may be safe alternatives available and in use today that capture and treat emissions prior to release, regulations would be revised to describe specified procedures for the existing requirements to evaluate and implement alternative treatment technologies. These proposed revisions would reduce OB/OD of waste explosives and increase control of air emissions through improved implementation of existing requirements that facilities must evaluate and use safe and available alternative technologies in lieu of OB/OD.

On February 23, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a draft document titled, ``Technical Documentation for the Framework for Evaluating Damages and Impacts (FrEDI)'' (EPA 430-R- 24-001). The EPA is extending the comment period.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve, under the Clean Air Act (CAA), the limited maintenance plan (LMP) submitted on April 8, 2022, by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) for the Milwaukee-Racine maintenance area including Milwaukee, Waukesha, and Racine counties. The plan addresses the second 10-year maintenance period for particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to a nominal 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5). EPA is proposing to approve Wisconsin's LMP submission for Milwaukee-Racine because it provides for the maintenance of the 2006 PM2.5 national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) through the end of the second 10-year portion of the maintenance period. In addition, EPA is initiating the process to find the Milwaukee-Racine PM2.5 LMP adequate for transportation conformity purposes.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), ``Data Reporting Requirements for State and Local Vehicle Emission Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) Programs'' (EPA ICR No.1613.08, OMB Control No. 2060- 0252) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. Before doing so, EPA is soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described below. This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through October 31, 2024. An Agency may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

On May 4, 2023 and November 6, 2023, EPA issued final cancellation orders terminating food uses for three products, which were voluntarily requested by Adama and accepted by the Agency, pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). The Agency is issuing this notice to amend the existing stocks provisions in the May 4, and November 6, 2023 orders, for the products listed in this document.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or ``Agency'') is announcing the availability of and soliciting public comment on the 2024 draft risk evaluation for formaldehyde prepared under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The draft risk evaluation is available for public review and comment. It will also be submitted to the SACC for peer review. EPA is also announcing that there will be two virtual public meetings of the SACC. The SACC will consider and review the draft risk evaluation at a 4-day virtual peer review public meeting that will be held on May 20-23, 2024. In addition, a virtual preparatory public meeting will be held on May 7, 2024, for the SACC to consider the scope and clarity of the draft charge questions for the peer review.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is extending the comment period for a proposed rule published February 22, 2024.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is extending the comment period for the proposed rulemaking entitled ``Air Plan Approval; OR; Regional Haze Plan for the Second Implementation Period'' that published in the Federal Register on February 23, 2024. The comment period is scheduled to close on March 25, 2024. However, in response to requests for additional time to develop and submit comments on the proposed rulemaking, the EPA is extending the comment period for an additional 30 days through April 24, 2024.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to approve state implementation plan (SIP) revisions to the Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District (YSAQMD) portion of the California SIP. These revisions concern emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOX) from biomass boilers, and address reasonably available control technology (RACT) requirements for major sources of NOX in the portion of the Sacramento Metro, CA, nonattainment area that is subject to YSAQMD jurisdiction.

Notice is given of a proposed settlement agreement to address a petition for writ of mandamus filed by the Ecology Center, the Center for Environmental Health, United Parents Against Lead & Other Environmental Hazards, and the Sierra Club (collectively, ``Petitioners'') in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit: Ecology Center, et al. v. U.S. EPA, No. 23-70158 (9th Cir.). Petitioners filed a petition for writ of mandamus on August 22, 2023, requesting that the Ninth Circuit direct the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ``conclude a rulemaking under [TSCA] regulating lead wheel weights within six months.'' The mandamus petition alleges that EPA's 14-year delay violated the APA's requirement that a Federal agency ``conclude a matter presented to it . . . within a reasonable time,'' and that the court has the authority to ``compel agency action unlawfully withheld or unreasonably delayed.'' EPA is providing notice of this proposed settlement agreement, which would resolve all claims in the case by establishing deadlines for EPA to take final action.

EPA is proposing to amend the Standards and Practices for All Appropriate Inquiries to reference a standard practice recently made available by ASTM International, a widely recognized standards development organization. Specifically, EPA is proposing to amend the All Appropriate Inquiries Rule to reference ASTM International's E2247- 23 ``Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process for Forestland or Rural Property'' and allow for its use to satisfy the requirements for conducting all appropriate inquiries under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. EPA is additionally proposing to remove after one year, from the All Appropriate Inquiries Rule, recognition of the previous version of that standard, ASTM E2247-16, as compliant with the All Appropriate Inquiries Rule.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invites the public to nominate experts to be considered for a three-year appointment to the Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System Advisory Board (the ``Board''). Pursuant to the Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest Establishment Act (the ``e-Manifest Act'' or the ``Act''), EPA has established the Board to provide practical and independent advice, consultation, and recommendations to the EPA Administrator on the activities, functions, policies, and regulations associated with the Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest (e-Manifest) System. In accordance with the e-Manifest Act, the EPA Administrator or designee will serve as Chair of the Board. This notice solicits nominations for possible consideration of candidates to potentially fill a vacancy on the Board to serve as an information technology (IT) expert for a three-year appointment. EPA may also consider nominations received through this solicitation to fill any unanticipated future vacancies on the Board for the following positions including an industry representative member with experience in using or representing users of the manifest system; and a state representative member responsible for processing manifests.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), ``Clean Watersheds Needs Survey (CWNS) (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR No. 0318.14, OMB Control No. 2040-0050) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). Before doing so, the EPA is soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described below. This is a renewal of the ICR. An Agency may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

The Charter for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Environmental Financial Advisory Board (EFAB) will be renewed for an additional two-year period, as a necessary committee which is in the public interest, in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). The purpose of the EFAB is to provide advice and recommendations to the EPA Administrator on issues associated with environmental financing. It is determined that the EFAB is in the public interest in connection with the performance of duties imposed on the agency by law.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing multiple actions to reduce air pollution emissions from the Crude Oil and Natural Gas source category. First, the EPA is finalizing revisions to the new source performance standards (NSPS) regulating greenhouse gases (GHGs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emissions for the Crude Oil and Natural Gas source category pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA). Second, the EPA is finalizing emission guidelines (EG) under the CAA for states to follow in developing, submitting, and implementing state plans to establish performance standards to limit GHG emissions from existing sources (designated facilities) in the Crude Oil and Natural Gas source category. Third, the EPA is finalizing several related actions stemming from the joint resolution of Congress, adopted on June 30, 2021, under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), disapproving the EPA's final rule titled, ``Oil and Natural Gas Sector: Emission Standards for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources Review,'' September 14, 2020 (``2020 Policy Rule''). Fourth, the EPA is finalizing a protocol under the general provisions for optical gas imaging (OGI).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), General Performance Reporting for Assistance Programs (EPA ICR Number 2802.01, OMB Control Number 2090-NEW) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). Before doing so, EPA is soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described below. This is a request for approval of a new collection. This document allows 60 days for public comments.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a revision to the Jefferson County portion of the Kentucky State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the Commonwealth of Kentucky through the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet (Cabinet) on June 13, 2022. The changes were submitted by the Cabinet on behalf of the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District (District, also referred to herein as Jefferson County). EPA is approving changes to the District's rules on the construction or modification of major stationary sources that are located within nonattainment areas or that have emissions impacting nonattainment areas. EPA also is approving the certification submitted by Kentucky on behalf of the District that the new version of the Nonattainment New Source Review (NNSR) permitting regulations for incorporation into the Jefferson County portion of the Kentucky SIP meets the NNSR nonattainment planning requirements for the 2015 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The certification covers the Jefferson County portion of the Louisville, Kentucky-Indiana multi-state nonattainment area for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS. This action is pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) and its implementing regulations.