Environmental Protection Agency February 9, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The World Trade Center Expert Technical Review Panel (or WTC Expert Panel) will hold its ninth meeting intended to provide for greater input on ongoing efforts to monitor the situation for New York residents and workers impacted by the collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC). The panel members will help guide the EPA's use of the available exposure and health surveillance databases and registries to characterize any remaining exposures and risks, identify unmet public health needs, and recommend any steps to further minimize the risks associated with the aftermath of the WTC attacks. Panel meetings will be open to the public, except where the public interest requires otherwise. Information on the panel meeting agendas, documents (except where the public interest requires otherwise), and public registration to attend the meetings will be available from an Internet Web site. EPA has established an official public docket for this action under Docket ID No. ORD-2004-0003.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) this notice announces that EPA is seeking public comment on the following Information Collection Request (ICR): Application for New and Amended Pesticide Registration (EPA ICR No. 0277.14, OMB Control No. 2070-0060). This is a request to renew an existing ICR that is currently approved and due to expire October 31, 2005. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection activity and its expected burden and costs. Before submitting this ICR to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval under the PRA, EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the collection.

EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) is soliciting proposals for financial assistance to support a continuing EPA national initiative to improve the training of health care providers in recognition, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of pesticide poisonings among those who work with pesticides. OPP will establish cooperative agreements with two different organizations whose work collectively will cover a range of activities needed to improve the recognition and management of pesticide-related health conditions. Funded projects will focus on creating significant institutional change in health care providers' educational and practice settings through education, professional training, and the development of new resources and tools on pesticide-related health conditions. The total funding available for award in FY 2005, which represents funding set aside in FY2004, is expected to be approximately $265,000, with two cooperative agreements being awarded at $132,500 each. At the conclusion of the first 1 year period of performance and, based on the availability of future funding, incremental funding of up to $132,500 per cooperative agreement may be made available for each year, allowing the project to continue for a total of five periods of performance (approximately 5 years) and with a total potential funding of up to $1,325,000 for the 5-year period, depending on the need and the Agency's budget in outlying years.

South Carolina has applied to EPA for Final authorization of the changes to its hazardous waste program under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). EPA has determined that these changes satisfy all requirements needed to qualify for Final authorization, and is authorizing the State's changes through this immediate final action. EPA is publishing this rule to authorize the changes without a prior proposal because we believe this action is not controversial and do not expect comments that oppose it. Unless we get written comments which oppose this authorization during the comment period, the decision to authorize South Carolina's changes to their hazardous waste program will take effect. If we get comments that oppose this action, we will publish a document in the Federal Register withdrawing this rule before it takes effect and a separate document in the proposed rules section of this Federal Register will serve as a proposal to authorize the changes.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Environmental Financial Advisory Board (EFAB) will hold an open meeting. EFAB is an EPA advisory committee chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) to provide advice and recommendations to EPA on creative approaches to funding environmental programs, projects, and activities. EFAB is chartered with providing analysis and advice to the EPA Administrator and program offices on environmental finance. The purpose of this meeting is to hear from informed speakers on environmental finance issues, proposed legislation and Agency priorities and to discuss progress with work products under EFAB's current strategic action agenda. Environmental financing topics expected to be discussed include: Joint Operations of the State Revolving Fund Programs, Innovations in Watershed Financing, Affordability of Water and Wastewater, Innovative Financing Tools, Preventing Future Non-Funded Abandoned Sites (Financial Assurance), and Useful Life Financing of Environmental Facilities. The meeting is open to the public; however, seating is limited. All members of the public who wish to attend the meeting must register in advance, no later than Tuesday, March 8, 2005.

On April 11, 2002, pursuant to section 112 of the Clean Air Act (CAA), the EPA issued national emission standards to control hazardous air pollutants emitted from catalytic cracking units, catalytic reforming units, and sulfur recovery units at petroleum refineries. This proposal would amend several sections of the existing standards. The proposed amendments would revise the affected source designations and add new compliance options for catalytic reforming units that use different types of emission control systems, new monitoring alternatives for catalytic cracking units and catalytic reforming units, and a new procedure for determining the metal or total chloride concentration on catalyst particles. The proposed amendments would also defer technical requirements for most continuous parameter monitoring systems, clarify testing and monitoring requirements, and make editorial corrections to improve implementation of the standards and to promote better understanding of their requirements.