Environmental Protection Agency December 15, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice announces receipt of applications to register pesticide products containing new active ingredients not included in any previously registered products pursuant to the provisions of section 3(c)(4) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as amended.

In accordance with section 113(g) of the Clean Air Act, as amended (``Act''), 42 U.S.C. 7413(g), notice is hereby given of a proposed settlement, which would be entered as a consent order, to address a lawsuit filed by South Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance (``SJEJA''), New Jersey Public Interest Research Group, South Camden Citizens in Action, and New Jersey Environmental Federation (collectively the ``plaintiffs''): SJEJA v. Johnson, 05-6891 (RJH) (S.D.N.Y.). On or about August 2, 2005, the plaintiffs filed a complaint alleging that they had submitted a petition to EPA seeking an objection to a Clean Air Act Title V permit issued by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to Camden County Energy Recovery Associates for its facility in Camden, New Jersey, and that the Administrator had failed to perform his nondiscretionary duty to respond to the petition within sixty days of the date it was filed. Under the terms of the proposed settlement and consent order, EPA has agreed to respond to the petition by January 20, 2006, and the plaintiffs have agreed to dismiss their suit with prejudice shortly thereafter. In addition, EPA has agreed to pay the plaintiffs a specified amount in settlement of the plaintiffs' claims for attorneys' fees in this matter.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, this document announces that an Information Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This is a request to renew an existing approved collection. This ICR is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2005. Under OMB regulations, the Agency may continue to conduct or sponsor the collection of information while this submission is pending at OMB. This ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated burden and cost.

On November 2, 2005, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a notice of prospective determination of the Indian country status of approximately 160 acres of land located in the southeast portion of Section 8, Township 16N, Range 16W, in the State of New Mexico (70 FR 66402). That notice requests public input regarding whether the Section 8 land is part of a dependent Indian community under 18 U.S.C. 1151(b) and, thus, considered to be ``Indian country.'' This determination is necessary in order to establish whether EPA or the New Mexico Environment Department is the appropriate agency to issue a particular underground injection control permit under the Safe Drinking Water Act. EPA sought responses to the notice by January 3, 2006. In response to requests from the public seeking additional time to fully analyze the issues, gather requested information, and prepare comments, we are extending the period for submitting comments and information, as provided in the notice, to January 31, 2006.

EPA is proposing to take action on certain modifications to the reformulated and conventional gasoline regulations. Based on experience gained since the promulgation of these regulations, EPA proposed these modifications along with various others in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) published on July 11, 1997. In final rules published on December 31, 1997 and December 28, 2001, EPA took final action on several of the modifications proposed in the July 11, 1997 NPRM. Today's action proposes to take action on many of the remaining modifications in the 1997 NPRM. The modifications in today's proposed rule would correct technical errors, clarify certain provisions, and codify guidance previously issued by the Agency. This rule also would make several minor technical corrections to the RFG rule which were not included in the July 11, 1997 proposal, and make two minor technical corrections to the Tier 2 gasoline sulfur rule. The emissions benefits achieved from the RFG and conventional gasoline programs would not be reduced as a result of this proposed rule.