Environmental Protection Agency – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is withdrawing a direct final rule published on September 20, 2019 because relevant adverse comments were received. The rule pertained to EPA approval of a revision to the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). EPA will take a final action on the proposed action in a separate subsequent final rulemaking.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a meeting of the National Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWAC or Council) as authorized under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The purpose of the meeting is to allow the EPA to present an overview of the Agency's Safe Drinking Water Act programs for the fiscal year 2020 and to consult with the NDWAC on a National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for perchlorate and on revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing amendments to the Standards of Performance for Stationary Compression Ignition Internal Combustion Engines. This final action revises the emission standards for particulate matter (PM) for new stationary compression ignition (CI) engines located in remote areas of Alaska.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes regulatory revisions to the National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for lead and copper under the authority of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). This proposed rule provides more effective protection of public health by reducing exposure to lead and copper in drinking water. This proposed rule also strengthens procedures and requirements related to health protection and the implementation of the existing Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) in the following areas: Lead tap sampling; corrosion control treatment; lead service line replacement; consumer awareness; and public education. This proposal does not include revisions to the copper requirements of the existing LCR. In addition, this proposal includes new requirements for community water systems to conduct lead in drinking water testing and public education in schools and child care facilities.

This notice announces the availability of EPA's proposed interim registration review decisions and opens a 60-day public comment period on the proposed interim decisions for the following pesticides: cyphenothrin, flumethrin, imiprothrin, momfluorothrin, and tetramethrin. The Agency is also announcing the availability of the Pyrethroids and Pyrethrins Ecological Risk Mitigation Proposal for 23 Chemicals, which summarizes proposed labeling intended to address ecological risks for all the pyrethroids.

This regulation establishes a time-limited tolerance for residues of propyzamide in or on cranberry. This action is in response to EPA's granting of an emergency exemption under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) authorizing use of the pesticide on cranberry. This regulation establishes a maximum permissible level for residues of propyzamide in or on this commodity. The time-limited tolerance expires on December 31, 2022.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve revisions to the State Implementation Plans (SIP) for Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska and is also proposing to approve revisions to the Operating Permit Programs for Iowa and Nebraska. The SIP revisions incorporate changes to the definition of chemical process plants under the States' Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) regulations and change the same definition in the approved State operating permit programs. Consistent with an EPA regulation completed in 2007, this action approves several States' rules that modify the definition of chemical process plant to exclude ethanol manufacturing facilities that produce ethanol by natural fermentation processes. This will clarify that the PSD major source applicability threshold in the SIPs for these ethanol plants is 250 tons per year (tpy) (rather than 100 tpy) and removes the requirement to include fugitive emissions when determining if the source is major for PSD. In addition, this action approves changes to Iowa's and Nebraska's Title V operating permit programs that remove the requirement to include fugitive emissions when determining if a source is major for Title V. The EPA concludes that the changes to the State rules described herein are approvable because they are consistent with EPA regulations governing State PSD and Title V programs and will not interfere with any applicable requirement concerning attainment and reasonable further progress (as defined in section 171 of the Clean Air Act (CAA)), or any other applicable requirement of the CAA.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to determine that the Phoenix-Mesa ozone nonattainment area (``Phoenix NAA''), which is classified as ``Moderate'' for the 2008 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS or ``standards''), attained the NAAQS by the Moderate area attainment date of July 20, 2018. This determination is based on complete, quality-assured, and certified data for 2015-2017. This final action is necessary to fulfill the EPA's statutory obligation to determine whether ozone nonattainment areas attained the NAAQS by the applicable attainment date.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is inviting nominations for membership on the Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Advisory Committee (FRRCC). The purpose of the FRRCC is to provide policy advice, information, and recommendations to the EPA Administrator on a range of environmental issues and policies that are of importance to agriculture and rural communities.

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (``CERCLA'' or ``the Act''), as amended, requires that the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (``NCP'') include a list of national priorities among the known releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants throughout the United States. The National Priorities List (``NPL'') constitutes this list. The NPL is intended primarily to guide the Environmental Protection Agency (``the EPA'' or ``the agency'') in determining which sites warrant further investigation. These further investigations will allow the EPA to assess the nature and extent of public health and environmental risks associated with the site and to determine what CERCLA-financed remedial action(s), if any, may be appropriate. This rule adds two sites to the General Superfund section of the NPL.

EPA is announcing the availability of and soliciting public comment on the draft Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) risk evaluation of N-Methylpyrrolidone (NMP). The purpose of the risk evaluation process under TSCA is to determine, upon issuance of a final risk evaluation, 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. EPA is also submitting the same document to the TSCA Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC) for peer review and is announcing that there will be an in-person public meeting of the TSCA SACC to consider and review the draft risk evaluation. Preceding the in-person meeting, there will be a preparatory virtual public meeting for the panel to consider the scope and clarity of the draft charge questions for the peer review.

This notice announces that pesticide related information submitted to EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) 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 Cherokee Nation System Solutions LLC in accordance with the CBI regulations. Cherokee Nation System Solutions LLC has been awarded a contract to perform work for OPP, and access to this information will enable Cherokee Nation System Solutions LLC to fufill the obligations of the contract.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes to cancel the final designation of an ocean dredged material disposal site (ODMDS) pursuant to the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act, as amended (MPRSA). The ODMDS is in the Atlantic Ocean offshore Wilmington, North Carolina. This proposed action is being taken because this site has been replaced by another permanent site. In addition, the EPA proposes to rename the permanent site that exists for the Wilmington, North Carolina area.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that address the interstate transport of air pollution requirements of the Clean Air Act for the 1997 and 2008 ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) (i.e., ozone transport SIPs). The intended effect of this action is to approve the two transport SIPs as revisions to the Massachusetts SIP. This action is being taken in accordance with the Clean Air Act.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to submit an Information Collection Request (ICR) for on-highway motorcycle emissions certification and compliance'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. Before submitting the ICR to OMB for review and approval, EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described below. The current ICR, under which on-highway motorcycles are included, is scheduled to expire on March 31, 2020. 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) is proposing to approve under the Clean Air Act (CAA) a request from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) to revise the Ohio State Implementation Plan (SIP) to incorporate revisions to Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) Chapter 3745-14 regarding the Nitrogen Oxides (NOX) SIP Call. This SIP revision would approve alternative monitoring requirements for certain covered sources.

EPA is proposing significant new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 26 chemical substances which were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMNs). Five of these chemical substances are subject to Orders issued by EPA pursuant to TSCA, and the remaining 21 of these chemical substances received a ``not likely to present an unreasonable risk'' determination pursuant to TSCA. This action would require persons who intend to manufacture (defined by statute to include import) or process any of these 26 chemical substances for an activity that is proposed as a significant new use to notify EPA at least 90 days before commencing that activity. The required notification initiates EPA's evaluation of the use, under the conditions of use for that chemical substance, within the applicable review period. Persons may not commence manufacture or processing for the significant new use until EPA has conducted a review of the notice, made an appropriate determination on the notice, and has taken such actions as are required by that determination.

On or about October 31, 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will make available the document, Policy Assessment for the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards, External Review Draft (draft PA). This draft document was prepared as part of the current review of the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for photochemical oxidants including ozone (O3). The PA, when final, serves to ``bridge the gap'' between the currently available scientific and technical information and the judgments required of the Administrator in determining whether to retain or revise the existing O3 NAAQS. The primary and secondary O3 NAAQS are set to protect the public health and the public welfare from O3 and other photochemical oxidants in ambient air.

EPA is proposing changes to the Agricultural Worker Protection Standard (WPS) to simplify the application exclusion zone (AEZ) requirements. The proposed changes described in this document are the only changes EPA is currently planning to make to the WPS provisions that are now in effect.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve two state implementation plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the State of California to meet Clean Air Act (CAA or ``Act'') requirements for the 2008 ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) in the Imperial County nonattainment area, as follows. The EPA proposes to approve the ``Imperial County 2017 State Implementation Plan for the 2008 8-Hour Ozone Standard'' (``Imperial Ozone Plan'' or ``Plan'') and the portions of the ``2018 Updates to the California State Implementation Plan'' (``2018 SIP Update'') that address the requirement for a reasonable further progress (RFP) demonstration for the Imperial County for the 2008 ozone standards. In addition, the EPA is proposing to determine, based on a separate demonstration submitted by the State of California, that the Imperial County nonattainment area would have attained the 2008 ozone NAAQS by the ``Moderate'' area attainment date of July 20, 2018, but for emissions emanating from outside of the United States, and therefore would no longer be subject to the CAA requirements pertaining to reclassification upon failure to attain. If we finalize these proposed actions, the Imperial County nonattainment area would remain classified as a Moderate nonattainment area for the 2008 ozone NAAQS.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing amendments to address the results of the residual risk and technology reviews (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 the Surface Coating of Automobiles and Light-Duty Trucks (ALDT), the NESHAP for the Surface Coating of Miscellaneous Metal Parts and Products (MMPP), and the NESHAP for the Surface Coating of Plastic Parts and Products (PPP). The EPA is proposing to find the risks due to emissions of air toxics from these source categories under the current standards are acceptable and the standards provide an ample margin of safety to protect public health. We are proposing no revisions to the numerical emission limits based on these analyses. The EPA is proposing to amend provisions addressing emissions during periods of startup, shutdown, and malfunction (SSM); to amend provisions regarding electronic reporting of performance test results; to amend provisions regarding monitoring requirements; and to make miscellaneous clarifying and technical corrections. This notice also proposes technical corrections to the NESHAP for Surface Coating of Large Appliances; NESHAP for Printing, Coating, and Dyeing of Fabrics and Other Textiles; and NESHAP for Surface Coating of Metal Furniture.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an information collection request (ICR), Certification and Compliance Requirements for Nonroad Spark-Ignition Engines (EPA ICR Number 1695.13, OMB Control Number 2060-0338) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. This notice is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through October 31, 2019. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on July 2, 2019 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 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to amend the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Chemical Recovery Combustion Sources at Kraft, Soda, Sulfite, and Stand-alone Semichemical Pulp Mills and the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for Kraft Pulp Mills constructed, reconstructed, or modified after May 23, 2013. This proposed rule clarifies how operating limits are required to be established for smelt dissolving tank scrubbers and corrects cross-reference errors in both rules.