Environmental Protection Agency December 19, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announces a partially closed consultation of the HSAC.

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 6901 to 6992k (RCRA), allows EPA to authorize State hazardous waste management programs if EPA finds that such programs are equivalent to and consistent with the Federal program and provide adequate enforcement of compliance. Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 272 is used by EPA to codify its decision to authorize individual State programs and incorporates by reference those provisions of the State statutes and regulations that are subject to EPA's inspection and enforcement authorities as authorized provisions of the State's program. This rule proposes to revise the codification of the Idaho authorized program at 40 CFR part 272, subpart N.

EPA is amending the list of hazardous air pollutants (HAP) contained in section 112 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) by removing the compound methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) (2-Butanone) (CAS No. 78-93-3). This action is being taken in response to a petition submitted by the Ketones Panel of the American Chemistry Council (formerly the Chemical Manufacturers Association) on behalf of MEK producers and consumers to delete MEK from the HAP list. Petitions to remove a substance from the HAP list are permitted under section 112 of the CAA. Based on the available information concerning the potential hazards of and projected exposures to MEK, EPA has made a determination pursuant to CAA section 112(b)(3)(C) that there are ``adequate data on the health and environmental effects [of MEK] to determine that emissions, ambient concentrations, bioaccumulation, or deposition of the substance may not reasonably be anticipated to cause adverse effects to human health or adverse environmental effects.''

EPA is taking direct final action on amendments to the national emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) for hazardous waste combustors which were issued October 12, 2005, under section 112 of the Clean Air Act. In that rule, we inadvertently included three new or revised bag leak detection system requirements for Phase I sourcesincinerators, cement kilns, and lightweight aggregate kilnsamong implementation requirements taking effect on December 12, 2005, rather than, as intended, after three years when the sources begin complying with the revised emission standards under the NESHAP for hazardous waste combustors. We intended to establish the compliance date for these provisions three years after promulgation October 14, 2008because the provisions establish more stringent requirements for Phase I sources, which cannot readily be complied with on short notice, and because these provisions are inextricably tied to the revised emissions standards. We are issuing the amendments as a direct final rule, without prior proposal, because we view the revisions as noncontroversial and anticipate no adverse comments.

The EPA is finalizing permanent exemptions from the title V operating permit program for five categories of nonmajor (area) sources that are subject to national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP). The EPA is making a finding for these categories, consistent with the Clean Air Act requirement for making such exemptions, that compliance with title V permitting requirements is impracticable, infeasible, or unnecessarily burdensome on the source categories. The five source categories are dry cleaners, halogenated solvent degreasers, chrome electroplaters, ethylene oxide (EO) sterilizers and secondary aluminum smelters. The EPA declines to make a finding for a sixth category, area sources subject to the NESHAP for secondary lead smelters. A previous deferral from permitting for this category expired on December 9, 2004, subjecting all such sources to the title V program.