Environmental Protection Agency January 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92- 463, the Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development (ORD), announces three meetings of the Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC) Ecological Research Subcommittee.

The Science Advisory Board (SAB) Radiation Advisory Committee (RAC) will receive briefings from the Agency and discuss its advisory agenda for FY 2005.

The Environmental Protection Agency is approving a New York State State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision to revise its existing low emission vehicle (LEV) program. The State's revision adopts California's second generation low emission vehicle program for light- duty vehicles (LEV II). New York has revised its LEV rule to include a non-methane hydrocarbon standard and various administrative and grammatical changes to make its existing LEV rule identical to California's LEV II program. The intended effect of this rulemaking is to approve a control strategy which will result in emissions reductions that will help achieve attainment of national ambient air quality standards for ozone.

The Local Government Advisory Committee will meet on February 9-11, 2005 in Half Moon Bay, CA. The Committee will be discussing environmental indicators, water infrastructure needs and small community issues. The Committee will hear comments from the public between 10 a.m.- 10:15 a.m. on Thursday, February 10th. Each individual or organization wishing to address the LGAC meeting will be allowed a maximum of five minutes to present their point of view. Please contact the Designated Federal Officer (DFO) at the number listed below to schedule agenda time. Time will be allotted on a first come, first serve basis, and the total period for comments may be extended, if the number of requests for appearances require it. This is an open meeting and all interested persons are invited to attend. LGAC meeting minutes and Subcommittee summary notes will be available after the meeting and can be obtained by written request from the DFO. Members of the public are requested to call the DFO at the number listed below if planning to attend so that arrangements can be made to comfortably accommodate attendees as much as possible. Seating will be on a first come, first serve basis.

Section 5 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requires any person who intends to manufacture (defined by statute to include import) a new chemical (i.e., a chemical not on the TSCA Inventory) to notify EPA and comply with the statutory provisions pertaining to the manufacture of new chemicals. Under sections 5(d)(2) and 5(d)(3) of TSCA, EPA is required to publish a notice of receipt of a premanufacture notice (PMN) or an application for a test marketing exemption (TME), and to publish periodic status reports on the chemicals under review and the receipt of notices of commencement to manufacture those chemicals. This status report, which covers the period from December 1, 2004 to December 14, 2004, consists of the PMNs pending or expired, and the notices of commencement to manufacture a new chemical that the Agency has received under TSCA section 5 during this time period.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a December 19, 2003 request from Michigan for a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision of the Southeast Michigan carbon monoxide (CO) maintenance plan. The CO maintenance plan revision establishes a new on-road emissions inventory for the years 1996 and 2010. The revision also establishes a new transportation conformity motor vehicle emissions budget (MVEB) for the year 2010. The emission inventory and MVEB updates are designed to maintain the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for CO as required by the CAA. In the final rules section of this Federal Register, EPA is approving the SIP revision as a direct final rule without prior proposal, because EPA views this as a noncontroversial revision and anticipates no adverse comments. A detailed rationale for the approval is set forth in the direct final rule. If we do not receive any adverse comments in response to these direct final and proposed rules, we do not contemplate taking any further action in relation to this proposed rule. If EPA receives adverse comments, we will withdraw the direct final rule and will respond to all public comments in a subsequent final rule based on this proposed rule. EPA will not institute a second comment period on this action. Any parties interested in commenting on this action should do so at this time.

In this notice, EPA is notifying the public that we have found that the motor vehicle emissions budget contained in the submitted Spokane Carbon Monoxide Maintenance Plan and Redesignation Request is adequate for transportation conformity purposes. On March 2, 1999, the D.C. Circuit Court ruled that submitted State Implementation Plans (SIPs) cannot be used for conformity determinations until EPA has found them adequate. This affects future transportation conformity determinations prepared, reviewed and approved by the Spokane Regional Transportation Council, Washington State Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that EPA is planning to submit a proposed Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This is a request for a new collection. 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.

On September 27, 2003, Ohio requested revisions to the State Implementation Plan (SIP) for sulfur dioxide (SO2) for several counties in Ohio, along with a request for redesignation of Cuyahoga County to attainment for SO2. On July 8, 2004, at 69 FR 41344, EPA proposed to approve the requested revisions and to redesignate Cuyahoga County as requested. EPA also published a corresponding direct final rule on the same date, at 69 FR 41336, but EPA withdrew this direct final rule because it received an adverse comment. A citizen from New Jersey expressed concern about air pollution coming east from Ohio and urged EPA to require Ohio power plants to upgrade their pollution controls. EPA is satisfied that the SO2 emission limits submitted by Ohio suffice to assure attainment of the SO2 air quality standard. EPA notes further that a separate action proposed on January 30, 2004, at 69 FR 4566, known as the Clean Air Interstate Rule, would require significant reduction in the emissions of SO2 and nitrogen oxides (NOX) of power plants in Ohio and elsewhere for purposes of reducing their long-range transported contributions to fine particulate matter and ozone exposures. EPA also received a comment from an affected company clarifying the operational status of boilers affected by the relevant rule. EPA affirms this clarification. Thus, as proposed, EPA is approving the SO2 rules Ohio submitted, removing the Federal Implementation Plan rules that these State rules supersede, and redesignating Cuyahoga County to attainment for SO2.

Georgia has applied to EPA for Final authorization of the changes to its hazardous waste program under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). EPA proposes to grant final authorization to Georgia. In the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of this Federal Register, EPA is authorizing the changes by an immediate final rule. EPA did not make a proposal prior to the immediate final rule because we believe this action is not controversial and do not expect comments that oppose it. We have explained the reasons for this authorization in the preamble to the immediate final rule. Unless we get written comments which oppose this authorization during the comment period, the immediate final rule will become effective on the date it establishes, and we will not take further action on this proposal. If we get comments that oppose this action, we will withdraw the immediate final rule and it will not take effect. We will then respond to public comments in a later final rule based on this proposal. You may not have another opportunity for comment. If you want to comment on this action, you must do so at this time.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that an Information Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This is a request to renew an existing approved collection. This ICR is scheduled to expire on February 28, 2005. Under OMB regulations, the Agency may continue to conduct or sponsor the collection of information while this submission is pending at OMB. This ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated burden and cost.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to enter into a de minimis settlement pursuant to section 122(g)(4) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended (``CERCLA''), 42 U.S.C. 9622(g)(4). This proposed settlement is intended to resolve the liability of Technitrol, Inc. (``Settling party'') under CERCLA for response costs incurred and to be incurred at the Malvern TCE Superfund Site, East Whiteland and Charlestown Townships, Chester County, Pennsylvania.

This regulation establishes a tolerance for residues of 4- bromo-2-(4-chlorophenyl)-1-(ethoxymethyl)-5-(trifluoromethyl) -1H- pyrrole-3-carbonitrile in or on all foods except fruiting vegetables. BASF Corporation requested this tolerance under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), as amended by the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA).

EPA is proposing amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) section 8(a) Inventory Update Reporting (IUR) regulations. The IUR currently requires certain manufacturers (including importers) of certain chemical substances on the TSCA Chemical Substances Inventory to report data on chemical manufacturing, processing, and use every 4 years. EPA is proposing to extend the reporting cycle, modify the timing of the submission period, further clarify the new partial exemption for specific chemicals of low current interest, amend the petroleum refinery process streams partial exemption, amend the list of consumer and commercial product categories, revise the manner in which production volume would be reported, restrict reporting of processing and use information to domestic processing and use activities only, edit the polymer exemption definition, and remove the requirement to determine confidentiality of production volume in ranges.

In this notice, EPA is informing the public that we have found the motor vehicle emissions budgets (MVEB) for volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides in the Missouri portion of the St. Louis area adequate for conformity purposes. The State of Missouri established MVEBs for 2007. The emission estimates for 2007 were included in the 1-hour ozone maintenance plan based on projected emission inventories for that year. This Notice formalizes the 2007 emissions estimates as budgets for future conformity determinations, including the conformity determination that is required by June 15, 2005, under the 8-hour ozone standard.

In accordance with section 6(f)(1) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as amended, EPA is issuing a notice of receipt of request for amendments by a registrant to delete certain uses in a pesticide registration. Section 6(f)(1) of FIFRA provides that a registrant of a pesticide product may at any time request that any of its pesticide registrations be amended to delete one or more uses. FIFRA further provides that, before acting on the request, EPA must publish a notice of receipt of any request in the Federal Register.

EPA proposes to extend the Project XL Final Rule for New York State Public Utilities; Hazardous Waste Management Systems (XL Rule). The XL Rule was published as a final rule in the Federal Register on Monday, July 12, 1999 and, by its terms, expires, on January 10, 2005. The details of the XL Rule can be found in 64 FR 37636 (July 12, 1999). No further changes are being made to the XL Rule other than the change in expiration date. Because the requirements outlined in the XL Rule do not become effective until New York State adopts equivalent requirements through a State rulemaking and receives EPA authorization for these equivalent State requirements, EPA proposes to extend the XL Rule for a period of 72 months from the effective date of the rule resulting from today's proposal. To date, the State has not adopted an equivalent rule and thus the XL Project for New York Public State Utilities has not been implemented. The XL Rule must be extended to facilitate completion of the New York State Public Utilities XL Project.

EPA is proposing to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Maine on February 25, 2004 and December 9, 2004 which includes the Maine Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) Program. The regulations adopted by Maine include the California LEV I light-duty motor vehicle emission standards beginning with model year 2001, California LEV II light-duty motor vehicle emission standards effective in model year 2004, the California LEV I medium-duty standards effective in model year 2003, and the smog index label specification effective model year 2002. The Maine LEV regulation submitted does not include any zero emission vehicle (ZEV) requirements. Maine has adopted these revisions to reduce emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA). In addition, they have worked to ensure that their program is identical to California's, as required by section 177 of the CAA. The intended effect of this action is to propose approval of the Maine LEV program. This action is being taken under section 110 of the Clean Air Act.

Dredging is essential for maintaining safe navigation in harbors and marinas in the Los Angeles County and Orange County region. Not all dredged materials are suitable for beneficial re-use (e.g., construction materials, wetlands restoration), and not all suitable materials can be deposited at the existing LA-2 ODMDS given costs and logistical constraints. The LA-3 ODMDS has been used for the disposal of dredged material by some Orange County projects in the past, but its ``interim'' status has expired. Therefore there is a need to designate LA-3 as a permanent ODMDS. No actual disposal operations are authorized by this action; and disposal can only take place after a Federal permit is secured. Before ocean disposal may take place, dredging projects must demonstrate a need for ocean disposal and the proposed dredged material must be suitable (non-toxic) according to USEPA ocean dumping criteria. Alternatives, including the option for beneficial re-use of dredged material, will be evaluated for each permit. Both LA-3 and LA-2 will be monitored periodically to ensure that each site operates as expected. This proposed site designation has been prepared pursuant to Section 102 of the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA). The evaluation is based on EPA's general and specific criteria. Field studies, modeling of sediment dispersion following dredged material disposal under various scenarios, incompatible use areas, and economic considerations are included in the evaluation. The preferred alternative location for a permanent LA-3 ODMDS is about 4.5 nautical miles offshore of Newport Bay and in water depths ranging from 1,500 to 1,675 feet. It is 2,400 meters southeast of the ``interim'' LA-3 site, and was determined to be the environmentally preferred location given its depth and stability. LA-3 will be managed regionally in conjunction with the existing LA-2 ODMDS. The preferred alternative in the draft EIS is to limit disposal of dredged material at the LA-3 ODMDS to a maximum of 2,500,000 cubic yards annually and to increase the maximum annual disposal limit at the LA-2 ODMDS to 1,000,000 cubic yards of dredged material. The draft EIS contains an evaluation of potential impacts associated with the preferred alternative, other combinations of managing LA-3 and LA-2 jointly, and the No-Action alternative. Comments were received during the scoping comment period and four public scoping meetings were held at Los Angeles and Orange County locations in July 2003. Revisions were made to the draft EIS to address these comments. Public Meetings: EPA is requesting written comments on this draft EIS from federal, state, and local governments, industry, non- governmental organizations, and the general public. Comments will be accepted for 45 days, beginning with the date of this Notice. Public meetings are scheduled at the following location and date:

This document announces the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) responses to Agency clearance requests, in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et. seq.). 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 OMB control numbers for EPA's regulations are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and 48 CFR chapter 15.

EPA is proposing to determine that the marginal one-hour ozone nonattainment area that includes all of Washoe County, Nevada has attained the 1-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard by the applicable attainment date (1993) and has continued to attain since that time. EPA is also proposing to determine that the moderate carbon monoxide nonattainment area that includes the Truckee Meadows area of Washoe County has attained the carbon monoxide National Ambient Air Quality Standard by the applicable attainment date (1995) and has continued to attain since that time. EPA is proposing this action to fulfill its obligations to make such determinations under sections 179(c), 181(b)(2), and 186(b)(2) of the Clean Air Act. The intended effect of this action will be to relieve the State of Nevada of the obligation to submit revisions to the State Implementation Plan to address additional requirements under the Clean Air Act for the next higher nonattainment classifications and to satisfy one of the five statutory criteria for redesignation of these areas from nonattainment to attainment.

On June 28, 2004, Ohio submitted an oxides of nitrogen (NOX) State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision request to EPA which included amended rules in Ohio Administrative Code (OAC). The purpose of the SIP revision is to exclude from the NOX trading program carbon monoxide boilers associated with fluidized catalytic cracking units (FCCU). The revision also allocates additional NOX allowances to the overall budget and to the trading budget to correct a typographical error made in the original rule. Removal of the FCCU boilers from the NOX trading program is an option Ohio has elected to incorporate in its NOX control program. The Ohio SIP revision addresses some minor corrections in the rules and also incorporates by reference specific elements of the NOX SIP Call. EPA agrees with Ohio's request because the changes conform to EPA policy. The collective emissions from these sources are small and the administrative burden, to the states and regulated entities, of controlling such sources is likely to be considerable. Inclusion of these small NOX sources in the NOX SIP Call trading program would not be cost effective. In the Final Rules Section of this Federal Register, EPA is approving the changes to the SIP for Ohio's NOX trading program as a direct final rule without prior proposal because we view this action as noncontroversial and anticipate no adverse comments. If no written adverse comments are received in response to the direct final rule, no further activity is contemplated in relation to this proposed rule. If EPA receives meaningful written 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. If no adverse written comments are received, the direct final rule will take effect on the date stated in that document and no further activity will be taken on this proposed rule. Any party interested in commenting on this action should do so within the timeframe noted below.

The State of Utah has revised its Public Water System Supervision (PWSS) Primacy Program by adopting regulations corresponding to the following six federal rules which revised 40 CFR part 141, the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWRs): Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (IESWTR), Lead and Copper Rule Minor Revisions (LCRMR), Disinfectants/Disinfection Byproducts Rule (DBPR), Public Notification Rule (PNR), Consumer Confidence Rule (CCR), and Radionuclides Rule. Having determined that the State's revisions meet all applicable requirements in the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), 42 U.S.C. 300f et seq., and EPA's implementing regulations at 40 CFR part 142, the EPA approves them, with the exception of the variance provisions. The State is not approved to grant variances under SDWA Section 1415(a)(1) (42 U.S.C. 300g(4)) and 40 CFR 142.10(d)(2) because the State has not adopted 40 CFR part 142, subpart G, which is a prerequisite. Utah's program revisions still meet minimum federal requirements because the authority to grant variances is optional for the State. Today's approval action does not extend to public water systems in Indian country as that term is defined in 18 U.S.C. 1151. Please see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, Item B.

This notice announces the availability of EPA's Tolerance Reassessment Decision (TRED) for the pesticide carbon dioxide, and opens a public comment period on this document, related risk assessments, and other support documents. EPA has reviewed the low risk pesticide carbon dioxide through a modified, streamlined version of the public participation process that the Agency uses to involve the public in developing pesticide tolerance reassessment and reregistration decisions. Through the tolerance reassessment program, EPA is ensuring that all pesticides meet current health and food safety standards.