Environmental Protection Agency – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

EPA is proposing significant new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 11 chemical substances which are the subject of premanufacture notices (PMNs). This action would require persons to notify EPA at least 90 days before commencing manufacture (defined by statute to include import) or processing of any of these 11 chemical substances for an activity that is designated as a significant new use by this proposed rule. If this proposed rule is made final, persons may not commence manufacture or processing for the significant new use until they have submitted a Significant New Use Notice, and EPA has conducted a review of the notice, made an appropriate determination on the notice, and has taken any actions as are required as a result of that determination.

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Office of Pesticide Programs is announcing a public meeting of the Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee (PPDC) on Wednesday, May 8, 2019 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Thursday, May 9, 2019 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. This meeting provides advice and recommendations to the EPA Administrator on issues associated with pesticide regulatory development and reform initiatives, evolving public policy and program implementation issues, and science issues associated with evaluating and reducing risks from use of pesticides. Agenda: A draft agenda will be posted on approximately, May 1, 2019. Accommodations requests: To request accommodation of a disability, please contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATON CONTACT, preferably at least 10 days prior to the meeting, to give EPA as much time as possible to process your request.

On July 20, 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Notice of Availability of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group (Louisiana TIG) Final Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment #2: Provide and Enhance Recreational Opportunities (Final RP/EA #2). The Louisiana TIG is considering modifications to the original Lake Charles Science Center and Educational Complex (Lake Charles SCEC) project described in the Final RP/EA #2. The modifications being considered include collocating the Lake Charles SCEC with the Lake Charles Children's Museum (LCCM) as part of the shared Port Wonder facility on the north shore of Lake Charles. In accordance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the federal and state natural resource trustee agencies for the Louisiana TIG prepared a Draft Supplemental Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for the Lake Charles SCEC Project Modification (Draft Supplemental RP/EA). The Draft Supplemental RP/EA evaluates modifications to the Lake Charles SCEC project and alternatives considered by the Louisiana TIG under criteria set forth in the OPA Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) regulations and evaluates their environmental effects in accordance with the NEPA. The modifications under consideration to the Lake Charles SCEC project are consistent with the restoration alternatives selected in the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Final Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan/Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PDARP/PEIS). The purpose of this notice is to inform the public of the availability of the Draft Supplemental RP/EA and to seek public comment on the document.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an information collection request (ICR), NESHAP for Chemical Manufacturing Area Sources (EPA ICR Number 2323.07, OMB Control Number 2060-0621), 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 April 30, 2019. Public comments were previously requested, via the Federal Register, on May 30, 2018 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 (EPA) is disapproving an August 15, 2016 request from Wisconsin to redesignate the Wisconsin portion of the Chicago-Naperville, Illinois-Indiana-Wisconsin (IL-IN- WI) ozone nonattainment area (Chicago nonattainment area) to attainment of the 2008 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS or standard), because the area is violating the standard with 2015-2017 monitoring data. EPA is also disapproving Wisconsin's maintenance plan and Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets (MVEBs), submitted with the State's redesignation request, since approval of these State Implementation Plan (SIP) components is contingent on attainment of the ozone standard. The Chicago area includes Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will Counties, Aux Sable and Goose Lake Townships in Grundy County, and Oswego Township in Kendall County in Illinois; Lake and Porter Counties in Indiana; and the area east of and including the corridor of Interstate 94 in Kenosha County, Wisconsin.

EPA is announcing the availability of updated systematic review supplemental files with data evaluation scoring sheets, as supporting documents for the draft risk evaluation for Colour Index (C. I.) Pigment Violet 29 (PV29) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). EPA has already made 24 full study reports on PV29 available to the public, in some instances with information withheld as confidential business information (CBI) pursuant to EPA regulations. EPA is seeking public comment on the draft risk evaluation for PV29 in light of the additional materials already made or being made publicly available. These materials have been considered in the risk evaluation process of PV29, and EPA has also submitted these materials to the TSCA Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC). Comments submitted will be considered by the agency and also provided to the TSCA SACC peer review panel, which will have the opportunity to consider the comments during its discussions.

The Environmental Protection Agency has submitted an information collection request (ICR), NSPS for Synthetic Fiber Production Facilities (EPA ICR Number 1156.14, OMB Control Number 2060- 0059), 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 April 30, 2019. Public comments were previously requested, via the Federal Register, on May 30, 2018 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 State of West Virginia has submitted revisions to its authorized National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) review. These revisions consist of amendments to the West Virginia Water Pollution Control Act and to West Virginia's Code of State Regulations. The EPA reviewed and responded to the comments received during the public comments request published in the Federal Register dated on September 17, 2018. For the reasons set forth in the administrative record, EPA announces the approval of these revisions because West Virginia's NPDES program addressed by the revisions remains consistent with the applicable requirements in the Clean Water Act.

Under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, EPA gives notice of a teleconference meeting of the National Environmental Education Advisory Council (NEEAC). The NEEAC was created by Congress to advise, consult with, and make recommendations to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on matters related to activities, functions and policies of EPA under the National Environmental Education Act (the Act). The purpose of this meeting is to discuss specific topics of relevance for consideration by the council to provide advice and insights to the Agency on environmental education.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to submit a new information collection request (ICR) for Guidance for Applicants Requesting to Treat/Dispose of PCBs Using Incineration or an Alternative Method (EPA ICR No. 2596.01, OMB Control No. 2050-NEW) 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 request of a new collection. 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.

Following requests for clarification of its June 2016 final action, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published proposed amendments to several provisions of the 2016 New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and Emission Guidelines (EG) for Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incineration (CISWI). This action finalizes the proposed amendments, which provide clarity and address implementation issues in the final CISWI NSPS and EG, as well as correcting inconsistencies and errors in these provisions.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), ``Treatment of Indian Tribes in a Similar Manner as States for Purposes of Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR No. 2553.03 OMB Control No. 2040-0290), 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.). 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 December 31, 2019. 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 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 approving the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency's (Ohio) request to redesignate the Cleveland area to attainment of the 2012 annual national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS or standards) for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving, under the Clean Air Act (CAA), revisions to Ohio's State Implementation Plan (SIP) as requested by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) on May 22, 2018. The revisions to Ohio's SIP exempt sources that emit less than 10 tons per year (tpy) of each criteria pollutant from the need to employ Best Available Technology (BAT).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a request submitted by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) on February 5, 2018, to revise the Ohio State Implementation Plan (SIP) under the Clean Air Act (CAA). Ohio EPA requested to remove from the SIP the remaining provisions of the Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) concerning the State's 7.8 pounds per square inch (psi) Reid vapor pressure (RVP) fuel requirements for the Cincinnati and Dayton areas. EPA proposed to approve this request in a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) dated December 26, 2018. In a previous action, EPA approved the removal of the 7.8 psi RVP fuel applicability requirements in the Cincinnati and Dayton areas as a component of the Ohio SIP, including the approval of a demonstration under section 110(l) of the CAA that addressed emissions impacts associated with the removal of the program.

This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of polyvinyl acetatepolyvinyl alcohol copolymer; when used as an inert ingredient in a pesticide chemical formulation. Keller and Heckman LLP. on behalf of Synthomer USA LLC submitted a petition to EPA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), requesting an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. This regulation eliminates the need to establish a maximum permissible level for residues of polyvinyl acetatepolyvinyl alcohol copolymer on food or feed commodities.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing amendments to the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Stationary Combustion Turbines to address the results of the residual risk and technology review (RTR) the EPA is required to conduct in accordance with the Clean Air Act (CAA). The EPA is proposing to find that the risks from this source category due to emissions of air toxics are acceptable and that the existing NESHAP provides an ample margin of safety to protect public health. The EPA identified no new cost-effective controls under the technology review that would achieve further emissions reductions from the source category. The EPA is also proposing to amend provisions addressing periods of startup, shutdown, and malfunction (SSM) and to require electronic reporting. In addition, the EPA is proposing to remove the stay of the effectiveness of the standards for new lean premix and diffusion flame gas-fired turbines that was promulgated in 2004.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve Hawaii's Regional Haze Progress Report (``Progress Report'' or ``Report'') submitted by the State of Hawaii on October 20, 2017, as a revision to its state implementation plan (SIP). Hawaii submitted its Progress Report and a negative declaration stating that further revision of the existing regional haze plan is not needed at this time. The Progress Report addresses the federal Regional Haze Rule (RHR) requirements under the Clean Air Act (CAA) to submit a report describing progress in achieving reasonable progress goals (RPGs) established for regional haze and a determination of the adequacy of the State's existing plan addressing regional haze. Hawaii's Progress Report notes that Hawaii has implemented the measures in the regional haze plan due to be in place by the date of the Progress Report and that visibility in Class I areas affected by emissions from Hawaii is improving. The EPA is proposing to approve Hawaii's determination that the State's regional haze plan is adequate to meet RPGs in Class I areas affected by emissions from Hawaii for the first implementation period, which extended through 2018, and requires no substantive revision at this time.

On March 29, 2019, the Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the transfer of authority for the North Dakota Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NDPDES) from the North Dakota Department of Health (NDDOH) program to their newly established North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality (NDDEQ). With this action, the EPA has retained the authority to issue NPDES permits for facilities located on tribal lands and/or discharging to tribal waters.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to approve Florida's October 3, 2017, State Implementation Plan (SIP) submission pertaining to the ``good neighbor'' provision of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) for the 2008 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The good neighbor provision requires each state's implementation plan to address the interstate transport of air pollution in amounts that contribute significantly to nonattainment or interfere with maintenance of a NAAQS in any other state. In this action, EPA is making a determination that Florida's SIP contains adequate provisions to prohibit emissions within the state from contributing significantly to nonattainment or interfering with maintenance of the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS in any other state.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), ``EPA's ENERGY STAR Product Labeling'' (EPA ICR No. 2078.07, OMB Control No. 2060-0528), 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.). 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 September 30, 2019. 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.