Environmental Protection Agency – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an information collection request (ICR), Brownfields Program Accomplishment Reporting (EPA ICR Number 2104.08, OMB Control Number 2050-0192) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through January 31, 2021. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on June 18, 2020 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.

EPA has received a number of petitions last year for a waiver of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) obligations that apply in 2019 and 2020. These petitions argue that recent events warrant EPA exercising its general waiver authority on the basis of severe economic harm. In late March, a group of small refineries requested a waiver of the 2019 and 2020 obligations of their individual small refineries. In April and May, the Governors of several states submitted three separate petitions for waivers of the nationwide volumes. The Clean Air Act grants EPA the discretion to waive the requirements of the RFS program in whole or in part if the Administrator determines, after notice and comment, that implementation of the applicable annual volume requirements would severely harm the economy or environment of a State, region, or the United States. EPA is inviting comment on the petitions we have received.

On October 8, 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent the Commonwealth of Virginia (Virginia) a letter acknowledging that Virginia's delegation of authority to implement and enforce the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs) and New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) had been updated, as provided for under previously approved delegation mechanisms. To inform regulated facilities and the public, EPA is making available a copy of EPA's letter to Virginia through this notice.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is requesting comment on guidance on petitions for a No Migration Variance (NMV) under the Land Disposal Restrictions (LDRs) pursuant to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Under existing regulations, persons may apply for an NMV to allow for the land placement (e.g., landfill, impoundment, waste pile) of hazardous waste that, if approved, would allow for the placement of hazardous waste in such a unit where the waste does not meet applicable LDR treatment standards. This guidance provides information to persons applying for an NMV for a waste pile temporarily located within a RCRA-permitted landfill cell.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a revision to the Feather River Air Quality Management District (FRAQMD or ``District'') portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision concerns emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from surface preparation and clean-up operations. We are proposing to approve a local rule to regulate these emission sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the ``Act''). We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a final action.

EPA currently requires fuel dispenser labels for gasoline- ethanol blends of greater than 10 volume percent (vol%) ethanol and up to 15 vol% ethanol (E15). The label was designed to alert consumers to the appropriate and lawful use of the fuel. EPA is co-proposing to either modify the E15 label or remove the label requirement entirely and seeking comment on whether state and local governments may be preempted from requiring different labels on fuel dispensers. To facilitate the proper storage of E15 in underground storage tank systems (USTs), EPA is proposing to modify the UST regulations to grant certain allowances for compatibility demonstration for storage of ethanol blends. EPA is also proposing compatibility requirements for future UST installations or component replacements that would ensure compatibility with higher blends of ethanol.

In accordance with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (``CERCLA''), notice is hereby given that a proposed administrative settlement agreement for recovery of response costs (``Proposed Agreement'') associated with the ``Delta Shipyard'' Superfund Site in Houma, Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana (``Site'') was executed by the Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA'') and is now subject to public comment, after which EPA may modify or withdraw its consent if comments received disclose facts or considerations that indicate that the Proposed Agreement is inappropriate, improper, or inadequate.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing amendments to address the results of the residual risk and technology review (RTR) that the EPA is required to conduct in accordance with the Clean Air Act (CAA) with regard to the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Refractory Products Manufacturing. The EPA is proposing to find the risks due to emissions of air toxics from this source category under the current standards to be acceptable and that the standards provide an ample margin of safety to protect public health. We are proposing no revisions to the existing numerical emission limits based on these analyses; however, we are proposing new provisions for certain hazardous air pollutants (HAP). The EPA is also proposing to amend provisions addressing emissions during periods of startup, shutdown, and malfunction (SSM) and provisions addressing emissions during periods of scheduled maintenance; to amend provisions regarding electronic reporting of performance test results; and to make miscellaneous clarifying and technical corrections.

This notice announces that pesticide related information submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), including information that may have been claimed as Confidential Business Information (CBI) by the submitter, will be transferred to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and parties to certain litigation. This transfer of data is in accordance with the CBI regulations governing the disclosure of potential CBI in litigation.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve, or conditionally approve, all or portions of a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of California to meet Clean Air Act (CAA or ``Act'') requirements for the 2008 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS or ``standards'') in the Nevada County (Western part), California ozone nonattainment area (``Western Nevada County''). The SIP revision is the ``Ozone Attainment Plan, Western Nevada County, State Implementation Plan for the 2008 Primary Federal 8-Hour Ozone Standard of .075 ppm'' (``2018 Western Nevada County Ozone Plan'' or ``Plan''). The 2018 Western Nevada County Ozone Plan addresses the Serious nonattainment area requirements for the 2008 ozone NAAQS, including the requirements for emissions inventories, attainment demonstration, reasonable further progress, reasonably available control measures, and contingency measures, among others; and establishes motor vehicle emissions budgets. The EPA is proposing to approve the 2018 Western Nevada County Ozone Plan as meeting all the applicable ozone nonattainment area requirements except for the contingency measures requirement, for which the EPA is proposing conditional approval. In addition, the EPA is beginning the adequacy process for the 2020 motor vehicle emissions budgets in the 2018 Western Nevada County Ozone Plan through this proposed rulemaking.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted the following information collection request (ICR), Pesticide Program Public Sector Collections (FIFRA Sections 18 & 24(c)) (EPA ICR Number 2311.04 and OMB Control Number 2070-0182), to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. This is a proposed extension of ICR, which is currently approved through February 28, 2021. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on August 17, 2020 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) has submitted an information collection request (ICR), NSPS for Asphalt Processing and Roofing Manufacture (EPA ICR Number 0661.13, OMB Control Number 2060- 0002), to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through February 28, 2021. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on May 12, 2020 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 neither conduct nor 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 has submitted an information collection request (ICR), NSPS for Small Industrial- Commercial-Institutional Steam Generating Units (EPA ICR Number 1564.11, OMB Control Number 2060-0202), to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through February 28, 2021. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on May 12, 2020 during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. A fuller description of the ICR, including its estimated burden and cost to the public, is given below. An agency may neither conduct nor 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) has submitted an information collection request (ICR), NESHAP for Solvent Extraction for Vegetable Oil Production (40 CFR part 63, subpart GGGG) (EPA ICR Number 1947.10, OMB Control Number 2060-0471), to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through February 28, 2021. Public comments were previously requested, via the Federal Register on May 12, 2020, 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 neither conduct nor sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

This notice announces the availability of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Effluent Guidelines Program Plan 14 (Plan 14). EPA prepared Plan 14 pursuant to Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 304(m) as described in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. Plan 14 provides updates on activities discussed in Preliminary Effluent Guidelines Program Plan 14 (Preliminary Plan 14) and discusses comments that were received during the public comment period.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing updates and adjustments to the 2018 fees rule established under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). TSCA requires EPA to review and, if necessary, adjust the fees every three years, after consultation with parties potentially subject to fees. This document describes the proposed modifications to the TSCA fees and fee categories for fiscal years 2022, 2023 and 2024, and explains the methodology by which these TSCA fees were determined. EPA is proposing to add three new fee categories: A Bona Fide Intent to Manufacture or Import Notice, a Notice of Commencement of Manufacture or Import, and an additional fee associated with test orders. In addition, EPA is proposing exemptions for entities subject to certain fee triggering activities; including: An exemption for research and development activities, an exemption for entities manufacturing less than 2,500 lbs. of a chemical subject to an EPA-initiated risk evaluation fee; an exemption for manufacturers of chemical substances produced as a non-isolated intermediate; and exemptions for manufacturers of a chemical substance subject to an EPA- initiated risk evaluation if the chemical substance is imported in an article, produced as a byproduct, or produced or imported as an impurity. EPA is updating its cost estimates for administering TSCA, relevant information management activities and individual fee calculation methodologies. EPA is proposing a volume-based fee allocation for EPA-initiated risk evaluation fees in any scenario where a consortium is not formed and is proposing to require export-only manufacturers to pay fees for EPA-initiated risk evaluations. EPA is also proposing various changes to the timing of certain activities required throughout the fee payment process.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing the results of the residual risk and technology review (RTR) of the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for mercury emissions from Mercury Cell Chlor-Alkali Plants, as required by the Clean Air Act (CAA). The EPA is proposing to find risks due to emissions of hazardous air pollutants (HAP) to be acceptable from the Mercury Cell Chlor-Alkali Plants source category, and to determine that the current NESHAP provides an ample margin of safety to protect public health and that no more stringent standards are necessary to prevent, taking into consideration costs, energy, safety, and other relevant factors, an adverse environmental effect. The EPA is proposing to amend the requirements for cell room fugitive mercury emissions to require work practice standards for the cell rooms and to require instrumental monitoring of cell room fugitive mercury emissions under the technology review. Furthermore, under our technology review and maximum achievable control technology (MACT) analysis, we are proposing to not require conversion to non-mercury production technology and invite comments and data and information regarding this proposed determination. In addition, the EPA is proposing standards for fugitive chlorine emissions from mercury cell chlor-alkali plants, which are not currently regulated under the NESHAP. The EPA is proposing to address applicability for thermal mercury recovery units when chlorine and caustic are no longer produced in mercury cells. The EPA is also proposing revisions related to emissions during periods of startup, shutdown, and malfunction (SSM); provisions for electronic submission of performance test results, performance evaluation reports, and Notification of Compliance Status (NOCS) reports; and correction of various compliance errors in the current rule.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the availability of the final Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) risk evaluation of 1, 4-dioxane. The purpose of conducting risk evaluations under TSCA is to determine whether a chemical substance presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment under the conditions of use, including an unreasonable risk to a relevant potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulation, without consideration of costs or other nonrisk factors. EPA has determined that specific conditions of use of 1, 4-dioxane present an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment. For those conditions of use for which EPA has found an unreasonable risk, EPA must take regulatory action to address that unreasonable risk through risk management measures enumerated in TSCA. EPA has also determined that specific conditions of use do not present an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment. For those conditions of use for which EPA has found no unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment, the Agency's determination is a final Agency action and is issued via order in the risk evaluation.

This notice announces the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approval of the State of Tennessee's request to revise/modify certain of its EPA-authorized programs to allow electronic reporting.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the availability of the MOtor Vehicle Emission Simulator model (MOVES3) for official purposes outside of California. MOVES3 is the latest state-of- the art upgrade to EPA's modeling tools for estimating emissions from cars, trucks, buses, and motorcycles based on the latest data and regulations. MOVES3 is available for use in state implementation plans (SIPs) and transportation conformity analyses outside of California. This notice starts a two-year grace period before MOVES3 will need to be used as the latest EPA emissions model in new regional emissions analyses and a two-year grace period before MOVES3 will need to be used in new hot-spot analyses for transportation conformity determinations outside of California.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing a partial approval, partial disapproval, and partial conditional approval of revisions to the Maricopa County Air Quality Department (MCAQD or County) portion of the Arizona State Implementation Plan (SIP). This action concerns the County's demonstration regarding reasonably available control technology (RACT) requirements and negative declarations for the 2008 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS or ``standards'') in the portion of the Phoenix-Mesa ozone nonattainment area under the jurisdiction of the MCAQD. The EPA is also finalizing a conditional approval of a MCAQD rule that regulates emissions from surface coating operations and was submitted with the RACT SIP demonstration.

Pursuant to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA or Act), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the State of Arkansas's Underground Storage Tank (UST) program submitted by the State. EPA has determined that these revisions satisfy all requirements needed for program approval. This action also codifies EPA's approval of Arkansas's State program and incorporates by reference those provisions of the State regulations that we have determined meet the requirements for approval. The provisions will be subject to EPA's inspection and enforcement authorities under Subtitle I of RCRA sections 9005 and 9006 and other applicable statutory and regulatory provisions.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing a rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to address its obligations under TSCA for hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD) (CASRN 87-68-3), which EPA has determined meets the requirements for expedited action under TSCA. This final rule prohibits all manufacturing (including import), processing, and distribution in commerce of HCBD and HCBD- containing products or articles, recognizing that there is unintentional production of HCBD as a byproduct during the production of chlorinated solvents, and that results in distribution in commerce of a very limited subset of that byproduct for burning as a waste fuel. These requirements will impact the amount of HCBD that will be manufactured, processed, distributed in commerce, used or disposed, thus reducing the exposures to humans and the environment from those activities prohibited under this final rule.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing a rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to address its obligations under TSCA for 2,4,6-tris(tert-butyl)phenol (2,4,6-TTBP) (CASRN 732-26-3), which EPA has determined meets the requirements for expedited action under TSCA. This final rule prohibits the distribution in commerce of 2,4,6-TTBP and products containing 2,4,6-TTBP at concentrations above 0.3% in any container with a volume of less than 35 gallons for any use, in order to effectively prevent the use of 2,4,6-TTBP as an antioxidant in fuel additives or fuel injector cleaners by consumers and small commercial operations (e.g., automotive repair shops, marinas). This final rule also prohibits the processing and distribution in commerce of 2,4,6-TTBP, and products containing 2,4,6-TTBP at concentrations above 0.3 percent by weight, for use as an oil or lubricant additive, regardless of container size. These requirements will reduce the exposure to humans and the environment, by reducing the potential for consumer exposures to 2,4,6-TTBP and potential occupational exposure in certain industries where workers are unprotected, as well as potential releases to the environment from consumer and small commercial operations use.