Department of Agriculture July 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving the State of North Carolina's April 16, 2015, revision to its State Implementation Plan (SIP), submitted through the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Division of Air Quality (DAQ), in support of the State's request that EPA change the Federal Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) requirements for Gaston and Mecklenburg Counties. This RVP-related SIP revision evaluates whether changing the Federal RVP requirements in these counties would interfere with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act). North Carolina's April 16, 2015, RVP-related SIP revision also updates the State's maintenance plan and the associated motor vehicle emissions budgets (MVEBs) related to its redesignation request for the North Carolina portion of the Charlotte-Rock Hill 2008 8-hour ozone nonattainment area (Charlotte Area) to reflect the requested change in the Federal RVP requirements. EPA has determined that North Carolina's April 16, 2015, RVP-related SIP revision is consistent with the applicable provisions of the CAA.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a carbon monoxide Limited Maintenance Plan (LMP) for Grants Pass, submitted on April 22, 2015, by the State of Oregon as a revision to its State Implementation Plan (SIP). In accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA), the EPA is proposing to approve this SIP revision because it demonstrates that Grants Pass will continue to meet the carbon monoxide National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for a second 10-year period beyond re-designation, through 2025.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is opening the comment period for the Agency's draft recommended aquatic life water quality chronic criterion for selenium in freshwater. EPA released a previous draft entitled ``External Peer Review Draft Aquatic Life Ambient Water Quality Criterion for SeleniumFreshwater, 2014'' for public comment on May 14, 2014. EPA received scientific views from the public and stakeholders, and convened a contractor-led expert external peer review. EPA considered the results from the expert peer review and scientific views and comments from the public and stakeholders to develop the current draft document, which is now available for comment. Following closure of this public comment period, EPA will consider scientific views from the public on this draft document as well as any new data or information received. EPA will then publish Federal Register notice(s) announcing the availability of the final selenium criterion.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve the State of Alabama's March 27, 2015, State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision, submitted by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. This SIP revision provides Alabama's state- determined allowance allocations for existing electric generating units (EGUs) in the State for the 2016 control periods and replaces the allowance allocations for the 2016 control periods established by EPA under the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR). The CSAPR addresses the ``good neighbor'' provision of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) that requires states to reduce the transport of pollution that significantly affects downwind nonattainment and maintenance areas. EPA is proposing to approve Alabama's SIP revision, incorporate the state-determined allocations for the 2016 control periods into the SIP, and amend the regulatory text of the CSAPR Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) to reflect approval and inclusion of the state-determined allocations. EPA is proposing to approve Alabama's SIP revision because it meets the requirements of the CAA and the CSAPR requirements to replace EPA's allowance allocations for the 2016 control periods. This action is being taken pursuant to the CAA and its implementing regulations. In the Final Rules Section of this Federal Register, EPA is approving the State's implementation plan revision as a direct final rule without prior proposal because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial submittal and anticipates no adverse comments. A detailed rationale for the approval is set forth in the direct final rule.

This action finalizes amendments to the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for the Portland Cement Manufacturing Industry and Standards of Performance for Portland Cement Plants. On February 12, 2013, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized amendments to the NESHAP and the new source performance standards (NSPS) for the Portland cement industry. Subsequently, the EPA became aware of certain minor technical errors in those amendments, and thus issued a proposal to correct these errors on November 19, 2014 (79 FR 68821). The EPA received 3 comments on the proposal. In response to the comments received and to complete technical corrections, the EPA is now issuing final amendments. In addition, consistent with the U.S. Court of Appeals to the DC Circuit's vacatur of the affirmative defense provisions in the final rule, this action removes those provisions. These amendments do not affect the pollution reduction or costs associated with these standards.

EPA is hereby extending the comment periods for the following two notices: the notice that issued in the Federal Register of June 17, 2015, entitled ``Draft Test Guidelines; Series 810Product Performance Test Guidelines; Notice of Availability and Request for Comments'' (``Draft Test Guidelines'') and the notice that issued in the Federal Register of July 1, 2015, entitled ``Proposed Antimicrobial Pesticide Use Site Index; Notice of Availability and Request for Comment'' (``Proposed Use Site Index''). This document extends the comment periods for those two notices in response to requests from stakeholders for additional time to review and provide comments.

On May 13, 2015, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) submitted a request to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make a determination under the Clean Air Act (CAA) that the Belding, MI nonattainment area has attained the 2008 lead (Pb) national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS or standard). In this action, EPA is determining that the Belding, MI nonattainment area (hereafter also referred to as the ``Belding area'' or ``area'') has attained the 2008 Pb NAAQS. This clean data determination is based upon complete, quality-assured and certified ambient air monitoring data for the 2012- 2014 period showing that the area has monitored attainment of the 2008 Pb NAAQS. Additionally, as a result of this determination, EPA is suspending the requirements for the area to submit an attainment demonstration, together with reasonably available control measures (RACM), a reasonable further progress (RFP) plan, contingency measures for failure to meet the RFP plan, and the attainment deadline for as long as the area continues to attain the 2008 Pb NAAQS.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of New Mexico. The revision pertains primarily to electronic reporting and would require electronic reporting of documents submitted for compliance with Clean Air Act (CAA) requirements. The revision also includes other changes which are non-substantive and primarily address updates to New Mexico Environment Department's (NMED) document viewing locations.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve the March 6, 2012, State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision, submitted by the State of Georgia, through the Georgia Department of Natural Resources' Environmental Protection Division (EPD), demonstrating that the State meets the requirements of sections 110(a)(1) and (2) of the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act) for the 2008 lead national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). The CAA requires that each state adopt and submit a SIP for the implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of each NAAQS promulgated by EPA, which is commonly referred to as an ``infrastructure'' SIP. EPD certified that the Georgia SIP contains provisions that ensure the 2008 Lead NAAQS is implemented, enforced, and maintained in Georgia. With the exception of provisions pertaining to prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) permitting, EPA is proposing to determine that Georgia's infrastructure SIP submission, provided to EPA on March 6, 2012, addresses the required infrastructure elements for the 2008 Lead NAAQS.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve changes to the Georgia State Implementation Plan (SIP) that were submitted by the State of Georgia, through the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA EPD), on January 22, 2015, for the purpose of moving the Clean Fuel Fleet Program (CFFP) from the active portion of the Georgia SIP to the contingency measures portion of the maintenance plan for the Atlanta Area for the 1997 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). EPA has preliminarily determined that Georgia's January 22, 2015, SIP revision regarding the CFFP is approvable because it is consistent with the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to fully approve revisions to the State of Connecticut's State Implementation Plan (SIP) relating to regulation of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions within the context of EPA's Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) regulations. EPA is also approving clarifications to the applicability section of Connecticut's Nonattainment New Source Review (NNSR) regulations. These revisions will be part of Connecticut's major stationary source preconstruction permitting programs, and are intended to align Connecticut's regulations with the federal PSD and NNSR regulations. This action is being taken in accordance with the Clean Air Act (CAA).

The Environmental Protection has submitted an information collection request (ICR), ``NESHAP for Hazardous Waste Combustors (40 CFR part 63, subpart EEE) (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR No. 1773.11, OMB Control No. 2050-0171) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through July 31, 2015. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register (80 FR 20223) on April 15, 2015 during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. A fuller description of the ICR is given below, including its estimated burden and cost to the public. 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 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes to approve State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the District of Columbia, the State of Maryland, and the Commonwealth of Virginia (collectively, the States). The submittals are comprised of the 2011 base year carbon monoxide (CO) emissions inventories for the Washington, DC-MD-VA nonattainment area for the 2008 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). In the Rules and Regulations section of this Federal Register, EPA is approving the States' SIP submittals as a direct final rule without prior proposal because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial submittal and anticipates no adverse comments. A detailed rationale for the approval is set forth in the direct final rule and EPA's Technical Support Document (TSD) prepared in support of this rulemaking action. The TSD is available in the Docket for this rulemaking action. If no adverse comments are received in response to this action, no further activity is contemplated. If EPA receives adverse comments, the direct final rule will be withdrawn and all public comments received will be addressed in a subsequent final rule based on this proposed rule. EPA will not institute a second comment period. Any parties interested in commenting on this action should do so at this time.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Rhode Island. This revision includes a regulation adopted by Rhode Island that establishes and requires Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) for volatile organic compound (VOC) sources of emissions from miscellaneous adhesives and sealants. The intended effect of this action is to approve these requirements into the Rhode Island SIP. This action is being taken in accordance with the Clean Air Act.

EPA is announcing its receipt of test data submitted pursuant to a test rule issued by EPA under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). As required by TSCA, this document identifies each chemical substance and/or mixture for which test data have been received; the uses or intended uses of such chemical substance and/or mixture; and describes the nature of the test data received. Each chemical substance and/or mixture related to this announcement is identified in Unit I. under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

EPA issued a notice in the Federal Register of June 24, 2015, concerning the document ``Risk Management Approach to Identifying Options for Protecting the Monarch Butterfly.'' This notice extends the comment period for 30 days, from July 24, 2015 to August 24, 2015. Crop Life America, Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment, and the California Crops Council requested an extension of the comment period to allow sufficient time to analyze the subject document and assemble relevant information.

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of novaluron in or on multiple commodities and removes several existing tolerances which are identified and discussed later in this document. This regulation additionally revises existing tolerances in or on vegetable, cucurbit, group 9; and plum, prune, dried. Interregional Research Project Number 4 (IR-4) requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

EPA is proposing, in follow-up to canceled product registrations or uses, to revoke certain tolerances for acephate, aldicarb, azinphos-methyl, etridiazole, fenarimol, imazamethabenz- methyl, tepraloxydim, thiacloprid, thiazopyr, and tralkoxydim, and tolerance exemptions for certain pesticide active ingredients. Also, EPA is proposing to make minor revisions to the section heading and introductory text for Pythium oligandrum DV 74. In addition, in accordance with current Agency practice, EPA is proposing to make minor revisions to the tolerance expression for imazamethabenz-methyl, and remove expired tolerances and tolerance exemptions for certain pesticide active ingredients.

On April 4, 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) a letter acknowledging MDE has been delegated the authority to implement and enforce sections of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Air Regulations. To inform regulated facilities and the public of MDE's delegation of authority to implement and enforce OCS regulations, EPA is making available a copy of EPA's letter to MDE through this notice.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve portions of a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), to EPA on July 25, 2010. The SIP revision includes multiple changes to Mississippi's SIP to add definitions in accordance with federal regulations and to implement clarifying language. EPA is not proposing to take action on the aspects of the SIP revision related to the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) or hazardous air pollutants at this time.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve revisions to the Texas State Implementation Plan (SIP) related to Low Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) Fuel Regulations that were submitted by the State of Texas on January 5, 2015. The EPA evaluated the Texas SIP submittal and determined these revisions are consistent with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (Act or CAA). The EPA is approving this action under the federal CAA.

EPA has received applications to register pesticide products containing active ingredients not included in any currently registered pesticide products. Pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), EPA is hereby providing notice of receipt and opportunity to comment on these applications.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a revision to the State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the State of Florida through the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on July 31, 2009. The revision grants a variance to the Combs Oil Company, located in Naples, Florida. This source specific revision relieves the Combs Oil Company of the requirement to comply with the Florida rule governing installation and operation of vapor collection and control systems on loading racks at bulk gasoline plants. EPA is proposing approval of Florida's July 31, 2009, SIP revision.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to approve the State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of North Carolina, through the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources on August 13, 2012, pertaining to definition changes for the Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) and Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). EPA is approving this SIP revision because the State has demonstrated that it is consistent with the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).