Environmental Protection Agency August 29, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Agency's May 24, 1995, ``Guidance on Agreements with Prospective Purchasers of Contaminated Property,'' notice is hereby given of a proposed prospective purchaser agreement (``PPA'') with the United States Environmental Protection Agency; Suffolk County, New York; the State of New York; and an as-of-yet unnamed ``Auction Purchaser'' regarding a 0.9-acre parcel of real property (the ``Property'') included within the Circuitron Corporation Superfund Site, located at 82 Milbar Boulevard in East Farmingdale, Suffolk County, New York (the ``Site''). Under the PPA, Suffolk County would market the Property at auction, with a portion of the proceeds to be paid to EPA in reimbursement of response costs it incurred at the Site. Also under the PPA, the United States and the State would covenant not to sue or take administrative action against Suffolk County and its departments and agencies, and the Auction Purchaser, under Sections 106 or 107(a) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended (``CERCLA''). EPA also agrees to release the CERCLA Section 107(l) lien against the Property, and waive any lien or right to perfect any lien it may have on the Property now and in the future under Section 107(r) of CERCLA. By publication of this Notice, a thirty (30) day period has been established in which the Agency will accept written comments relating to the PPA agreement. The Agency will consider all comments received and may modify or withdraw its consent to the PPA if comments received disclose facts or considerations which indicate that the agreement is inappropriate, improper, or inadequate. The Agency's response to any comments received will be available for public inspection at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region II, Office of Regional Counsel, New York/Caribbean Superfund Branch, 290 Broadway, 17th Floor, New York, NY 10007-1866.

The Federal co-lead agencies, EPA, USACE, FHWA are canceling the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Comprehensive Port Improvement Plan (CPIP-EIS) for the PONYNJ. As originally planned, the CPIP and CPIP-EIS would define economically viable and environmentally sound Port facilities and associated transportation network improvement initiatives to the year 2060; consider separate, ongoing, and planned environmental enhancements to natural resources of the Port and associated transportation network; incorporate Green Port principles to the maximum extent practicable; and evaluate, avoid, minimize, and mitigate adverse environmental effects. EPA, on behalf of all three Federal co-lead agencies, published a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS for the CPIP in the Federal Register (68 FR 19207, April 18, 2003). The three federal co- lead agencies conducted several public scoping meetings in December 2003 and January 2004. The CPIP presents an array of conceptual long-term port improvement scenarios, some of which would involve future federal activities were they to be advanced to the status of a real project. Any future port- improvement projects involving federal actions, as defined under NEPA, would be required to undergo the applicable environmental review process. Given the considerable time period before the conceptual improvements identified in the CPIP Plan would become actual proposed projects with sponsors, a detailed environmental review and analysis, as conducted in an EIS, is not warranted at this time. As a result, the Federal co-lead agencies are canceling the EIS process. In the short- term, a programmatic analysis in the form of an Environmental Assessment will be prepared to identify what type of environmental review could be expected of any improvement projects that may be proposed. This programmatic Environmental Assessment will be available for public review in Fall 2005.

The EPA is finalizing the extension of the deferred effective date of air quality designations for 14 areas of the country that have entered into Early Action Compacts. Early Action Compact areas have agreed to reduce ground[hyphen]level ozone pollution earlier than the Clean Air Act (CAA) requires. On April 30, 2004, EPA published an action designating all areas of the country for the 8[hyphen]hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). In the designation rule, EPA deferred the effective date of the nonattainment designation for 14 areas that had entered into Early Action Compacts until September 30, 2005. The EPA is now extending the deferred effective date of the nonattainment designation for all 14 Early Action Compact areas until December 31, 2006.