Department of Agriculture January 28, 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a revision to the State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the State of Missouri on June 2, 2014. This proposed SIP revision will incorporate a consent judgment to address violations of the 24-hour particulate matter (PM10) NAAQS near the Americold Logistics, LLC, Carthage Crushed Limestone (CCL) facility near Carthage, Missouri. CCL is a limestone quarry operations. The consent judgment between the State of Missouri and CCL includes measures that will control PM10 emissions from the facility. This proposed approval will make the consent judgment Federally-enforceable.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a revision to the Minnesota sulfur dioxide (SO2) State Implementation Plan (SIP) for Northern States Power Company's Xcel Energy-Inver Hills Generating Plant (Inver Hills), located in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota. The revision, submitted by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) on May 1, 2015, incorporates a more stringent limit for the sulfur content of the fuel used at the facility, and modifies the fuel analysis requirements to meet the more stringent limit. These revisions will not result in an increase in SO2 emissions at the facility.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing disapproval of revisions to the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). This action was proposed in the Federal Register on November 24, 2015 and concerns rules regulating Vehicle Scrapping, Employee Trip Reduction, and procedures for the hearing board concerning variances and subpoenas. The submitted SCAQMD rules are discretionary and this disapproval does not reveal a deficiency in the SIP.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to approve the state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, through the Kentucky Division of Air Quality (DAQ) on November 18, 2015, to address the emissions statements requirement for the Commonwealth's portion of the Cincinnati, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana (Cincinnati, OH-KY- IN) 2008 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) nonattainment area (hereafter referred to as the ``Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Area'' or ``Area''). Annual emissions reporting (i.e., emissions statements) is required for all ozone nonattainment areas. The Area is comprised of Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Hamilton and Warren Counties in Ohio; portions of Boone, Campbell, and Kenton Counties in Kentucky; and a portion of Dearborn County in Indiana. Any actions that EPA takes regarding the emissions statements requirements for the Ohio and Indiana portions of this Area will be addressed in separate rulemakings.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the availability of a final document titled, ``Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of NitrogenHealth Criteria'' (EPA/600/R-15/ 068). The document was prepared by the National Center for Environmental Assessment National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within the EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) as part of the review of the primary (health-based) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for nitrogen dioxide (NO2). The Integrated Science Assessment (ISA), in conjunction with additional technical and policy assessments, provides the scientific basis for decisions by the EPA on the adequacy of the current NAAQS and the appropriateness of possible alternative standards. The EPA is developing a separate ISA and conducting a separate review for the secondary (welfare-based) NAAQS for NO2, in conjunction with a review of the secondary NAAQS for sulfur dioxide.