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

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) is today proposing to amend the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plan requirements to reduce the regulatory burden for certain facilities by: Providing an option that would allow owners/ operators of facilities that store less than 10,000 gallons of oil and meet other qualifying criteria to self-certify their SPCC Plans, in lieu of review and certification by a Professional Engineer; providing an alternative to the secondary containment requirement, without requiring a determination of impracticability, for facilities that have certain types of oil-filled equipment; defining and providing an exemption for motive power containers; and exempting airport mobile refuelers from the specifically sized secondary containment requirements for bulk storage containers. In addition, the Agency also proposes to remove and reserve certain SPCC requirements for animal fats and vegetable oils and proposes a separate extension of the compliance dates for farms. In proposing these changes, EPA is significantly reducing the burden imposed on the regulated community in complying with the SPCC requirements, while maintaining protection of human health and the environment. Further, the Agency requests comments on the potential scope of future rulemaking. In a separate document in today's Federal Register, the Agency is proposing to extend the compliance dates for all facilities.

EPA is taking direct final action to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) on August 15, 2002. This SIP revision approves the adoption by reference of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the TCEQ and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). The MOU is adopted into the Texas rule at 30 TAC, Chapter 7, Section 119 (Section 7.119). This MOU concerns the coordination of environmental reviews associated with transportation projects. The adoption by reference of this MOU will streamline coordination between the TCEQ and TxDOT by consolidating separate MOUs currently in the air and water regulations. This action is important to satisfy the need of the Commission and TxDOT to coordinate regulatory programs and to ensure that overlapping areas of responsibility are clarified. This approval will make the MOU revised regulations Federally enforceable.