Environmental Protection Agency February 25, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

EPA has environmental concerns about the proposed project's impacts to wetlands, water quality, air quality, stormwater management, noise, cumulative impacts, and leaking underground storage tanks. ERP No. D-FHW-J40168-UT Rating EC2, 11400 South Project, Proposed Improvement to the Transportation Network in the Southern Salt Lake Valley from 12300/12600 South to 10400/10600 South, and from Bangerter Highway to 700 East, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, UT. Summary: EPA has environmental concerns about the proposed project regarding indirect and cumulative impacts, which were not adequately analyzed in the document. ERP No. D-IBR-K30031-CA Rating 3, Central Valley Project, San Luis Unit Long-Term Water Service Contract Renewal, West San Joaquin Division, Cities of Avenal, Coalinga and Huron, Fresno, King and Merced Counties, CA. Summary: EPA commented that the Draft EIS did not analyze the proposed federal action of full delivery of contract quantities, the existing conditions and ongoing water quality degradation in the area, or the influence of drainage management on the proposed action. EPA recommended a Revised or Supplemental EIS be prepared that fully analyzes the proposed federal action and its potential environmental impacts. ERP No. D-NPS-K65275-AZ Rating EC2, Colorado River Management Plan, To Provide a Wilderness-Type River Experience for Visitors, General Management Plan, Grand Canyon National Park, Colorado River, Coconino County, AZ. Summary: EPA expressed concerns about the project's potential impacts to water quality and insufficient information regarding appropriate mitigation to minimize and avoid those impacts. EPA recommended that the National Park Service, Hualapai Tribe, and other partners obtain baseline and periodic water quality monitoring information in the lower gorge and adaptively manage activities over the life of this plan. ERP No. DR-CBP-K99031-AZ Rating EC2, Programmatic EISOffice of Border Patrol Operational Activities within the Border Areas of the Tucson and Yuma Sectors, Expansion of Operations of Technology-Based Systems, Completion and Maintenance of Approved Infrastructure, Cochise, Pima, Santa Cruz and Yuma Counties, AZ. Summary: EPA expressed environmental concerns about the project's impacts to air quality and wildlife habitat and requested additional information regarding the proposed action, mitigation, and the relationship to JTF-6 be included in the Final EIS.

EPA issued a final rule in the Federal Register of January 7, 2005 (70 FR 1357) (FRL-7694-5), establishing a tolerance exemption for peanuts, tree nuts, milk, soybeans, eggs, fish, crustacea, and wheat. This document is being issued to correct the inadvertent omission of the date by which objections and requests for hearings must be received.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes to approve the sections 111(d)/129 State Plan submitted by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on September 16, 2004. This State Plan is for carrying out and enforcing provisions that are at least as protective as the Emissions Guidelines (EG) applicable to certain existing Municipal Waste Combustors (MWCs) in accordance with sections 111 and 129 of the Clean Air Act. The Connecticut DEP submitted the Plan to satisfy certain Federal Clean Air Act requirements.

EPA is notifying the public that it has received negative declarations for Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incineration (CISWI) units from Forsyth County, Mecklenburg County, and Buncombe County, North Carolina, and Chattanooga-Hamilton County, Knox County, and Memphis-Shelby County, Tennessee. These negative declarations certify that CISWI units subject to the requirements of sections 111(d) and 129 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) do not exist in areas covered by the local air pollution control programs of Forsyth County, Mecklenburg County, and Buncombe County, North Carolina, and Chattanooga-Hamilton County, Knox County, and Memphis-Shelby County, Tennessee.

This notice announces the availability of EPA's Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) for the pesticide thiram. The Agency's risk assessments and other related documents also are available in the thiram docket. EPA has reviewed thiram through the public participation process that the Agency uses to involve the public in developing pesticide reregistration and tolerance reassessment decisions. Through these programs, EPA is ensuring that all pesticides meet current health and safety standards.

This notice announces the availability of EPA's risk assessments and related documents for the pesticide Dimethipin, and opens a public comment period on these documents. The public also is encouraged to suggest risk management ideas or proposals to address the risks identified. EPA is developing a Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED), for Dimethipin through a modified, 4-Phase public participation process that the Agency uses to involve the public in developing pesticide reregistration and tolerance reassessment decisions. Through these programs, EPA is ensuring that all pesticides meet current health and safety standards.

The EPA is convening four public workshops to provide training for affected parties responsible for reporting during the 2006 Inventory Update Rule (IUR) information collection. The workshops will focus on the instructions for reporting. These instructions were revised in response to amendments to 40 CFR part 710 promulgated on January 7, 2003 (68 FR 847) (FRL-6767-4). These workshops are open to the public.

EPA is revising the format for materials submitted by Pennsylvania that are incorporated by reference (IBR) into its State implementation plan (SIP). The regulations affected by this format change have all been previously submitted by Pennsylvania and approved by EPA. This format revision will primarily affect the ``Identification of plan'' section, as well as the format of the SIP materials that will be available for public inspection at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center located at EPA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., and the EPA Region III Office. EPA is also adding a table in the ``Identification of plan'' section which summarizes the approval actions that EPA has taken on the non-regulatory and quasi-regulatory portions of the Pennsylvania SIP.