Environmental Protection Agency September 12, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On June 14, 2005, EPA issued a notice of data availability concerning a proposed rule to add a diisononyl phthalate (DINP) category to the list of toxic chemicals subject to the reporting requirements of section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and section 6607 of the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA). The notice of data availability made available for public comment a revised hazard assessment for DINP. The purpose of this action is to inform interested parties that, in response to a request for an extension, EPA is extending the comment period by 30 days until October 12, 2005. The comment period for the notice of data availability was previously scheduled to close on September 12, 2005.

EPA issued a notice in the Federal Register of July 13, 2005, concerning the availability of EPA's human health risk assessment and related documents for the fumigant dazomet. This document is extending the comment period for 30 days, from September 12, 2005, to October 12, 2005.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today designates LA- 3 as a permanent ocean dredged material disposal site (ODMDS) located offshore of Newport Beach, California, managed at a maximum annual dredged material disposal quantity of 2,500,000 cubic yards (yd\3\) (1,911,000 cubic meters [m\3\]), and adjusts the management of the permanently-designated LA-2 ODMDS at an increased maximum annual dredged material disposal quantity of 1,000,000 yd\3\ (765,000 m\3\) for the ocean disposal of clean dredged material from the Los Angeles County and Orange County regions. The availability of suitable ocean disposal sites to support ongoing maintenance and capital improvement projects is essential for the continued use and economic growth of the vital commercial and recreational areas in the region. Dredged material will not be allowed to be disposed of in the ocean unless the material meets strict environmental criteria established by the EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The action would shift the center of the permanently-designated LA- 3 site approximately 1.3 nautical miles (nmi) (2.4 kilometers [km]) to the southeast of the interim LA-3 site, and encompass a region that is already disturbed by dredged material. The permanent site also would be located on a flat, depositional plain, and away from the submarine canyons, that will be more amenable to surveillance and monitoring activities. The LA-2 site is a permanently designated ODMDS that has been historically managed at an average annual disposal quantity of 200,000 yd\3\ (153,000 m\3\) for the disposal of material dredged primarily from the Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor complex. The action will allow an increased volume of dredged material to be disposed annually at this site. The annual disposal quantity has occasionally exceeded the historical annual average due to capital projects from both the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Thus, the new maximum volume designation would accommodate the projected average annual volume requirements as well as provide for substantial annual volume fluctuations.

EPA proposes and invites public comment on a rulemaking to ban intentional dosing human testing for pesticides when the subjects are pregnant women or children, to formalize and further strengthen existing protections for subjects in human research conducted or supported by EPA, and to extend new protections to adult subjects in intentional dosing human studies for pesticides conducted by others who intend to submit the research to EPA. This proposal, the first of several possible Agency actions, focuses on third-party intentional dosing human studies for pesticides, but invites public comment on alternative approaches with broader scope.