Environmental Protection Agency December 23, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is today announcing the availability of its Environmental Economics Research Strategy, EPA/600/R-04/195. The Environmental Economics Research Strategy identifies and prioritizes environmental economics and decision science research that will be conducted over the next several years to improve the scientific foundation for EPA's decision-making and policy initiatives.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Center for Environmental Innovation (NCEI) is giving notice of the availability of its solicitation for proposals for the 2006 grant program to support innovation by state environmental regulatory agenciesthe ``State Innovation Grant Program.'' The solicitation is available at the Agency's State Innovation Grant Web site: https://www.epa.gov/innovation/stategrants/ solicitation2006.pdf, or may be requested from the Agency by e-mail, telephone, or by mail. Only the principal environmental regulatory agency within each State (generally, where delegated authorities for Federal environmental regulations exist) is eligible to receive these grants.

EPA has environmental concerns about air quality, environmental justice, and the disposal of excavated waste material, and also requests that additional information describing the quality of the habitat that is to be impacted should be provided in the FEIS. Rating EC2. EIS No. 20050442, ERP No. D-NOA-D81036-WV, Canaan Valley Institute Office Complex, Proposes to Construct: Offices, Classrooms, Laboratories, 250-Seat Auditorium, Parking Facilities, Outdoor Classrooms and Interpretive Areas, US Army COE Section 404 Permit, Southeast of the Towns of Davis and Thomas, Tucker County, WV Summary: EPA does not object to the proposed action. Rating LO. EIS No. 20050427, ERP No. DBFTA-L40210-WA, Central Link Light Rail Transit Project (Sound Transit) Construction and Operation of the North Link Light Rail Extension, from Downtown Seattle and Northgate, Updated Information on Refined Design Concepts, Funding, Right-of-Way and US Army COE Section 404 Permits, King County, WA Summary: EPA does not object to the proposed project. Rating LO.

EPA is proposing to revoke specific tolerances and tolerance exemptions for residues of the insecticides paraformaldehyde and tetradifon; fungicides captafol, hexaconazole, and sodium dimethyldithiocarbamate; and bee repellant benzaldehyde. EPA canceled food use registrations or deleted food uses from registrations following requests for voluntary cancellation or use deletion by the registrants, or non-payment of registration maintenance fees. Also, stakeholders have withdrawn their support for import tolerances for captafol and hexaconazole. EPA expects to determine whether any individuals or groups want to support these tolerances. The regulatory actions proposed in this document contribute toward the Agency's tolerance reassessment requirements under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) section 408(q), as amended by the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) of 1996. By law, EPA is required by August 2006 to reassess the tolerances that were in existence on August 2, 1996. The regulatory actions proposed in this document pertain to the proposed revocation of 39 tolerances and tolerance exemptions of which 38 would be counted as tolerance reassessments toward the August 2006 review deadline.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) today is granting a petition submitted by Saturn Corporation in Spring Hill, Tennessee (Saturn) to exclude (or ``delist'') a certain hazardous waste from the lists of hazardous wastes. Saturn generates the petitioned waste, the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) sludge, by treating wastewater from Saturn's chemical conversion coating of aluminum. The waste so generated is a wastewater treatment sludge that meets the definition of F019. Saturn petitioned EPA to grant a ``generator- specific'' delisting because Saturn believes that its F019 waste does not meet the criteria for which this type of waste was listed. EPA reviewed all of the waste-specific information provided by Saturn, performed calculations, and determined that the waste could be disposed in a landfill without harming human health and the environment. This action responds to Saturn's petition to delist this waste on a generator-specific basis from the hazardous waste lists, and to public comments on the proposed rule. EPA took into account the public comments on the proposed rule before setting the final delisting levels. Final delisting levels in the waste leachate are based on the EPA, Region 6's Delisting Risk Assessment Software. In accordance with the conditions specified in this final rule, Saturn's petitioned waste is excluded from the requirements of hazardous waste regulations under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).