Environmental Protection Agency December 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.

On October 31, 2005, the Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of the Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions for the Environmental Protection Agency was published in the Federal Register (70 FR 65206). The regulatory agenda entry for sequence number 3378, ``Oil and Gas Phase II Storm Water Permit Requirements,'' contains erroneous information. This notice corrects the information that was published in the Federal Register (70 FR at 65345) under the headings of Legal Authority, CFR Citation, Abstract, and Timetable.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is amending certain provisions of the regulations establishing effluent limitations guidelines, pretreatment standards and new source performance standards for the Iron and Steel Manufacturing Point Source Category. In 2002, EPA also promulgated amendments to these regulations. The earlier regulations authorized for direct discharges of pollutants the establishment of limitations applicable to the total mass of a pollutant discharged from more than one outfalla ``water bubble.'' The effect of such a water bubble was to allow a greater or lesser quantity of a particular pollutant to be discharged from any single outfall so long as the total quantity discharged from the combined outfalls did not exceed the allowed mass limitation. Among the changes adopted in the 2002 amendments was a provision that prohibited establishment of a water bubble for oil and grease effluent limitations. Based on consideration of new information and analysis, EPA is reinstating the provision authorizing alternative oil and grease limitations with certain restrictions. Today's final rule also corrects errors in the effective date of new source performance standards for direct and indirect discharges of pollutants.

The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) has submitted updated regulations for receiving delegation of EPA authority for implementation and enforcement of National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs) for all sources. These regulations apply to certain NESHAPs promulgated by EPA, as amended through September 1, 2004. The delegation of authority under this notice applies only to sources located in Oklahoma, and does not extend to sources located in Indian country. EPA is providing notice that it is taking direct final action to approve the delegation of certain NESHAPs to ODEQ.

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.

On November 25, 2005, EPA incorrectly published a Federal Register Notice titled Northeast Chemical Superfund Site. The notice was published in Volume 70 on page 71142 of the Federal Register. This notice is to revise and change the title to the Solitron Devices, Inc. Superfund Site. This notice also extends the comment period until January 2, 2006. The notice states that under section 122(h) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Environmental Protection Agency has entered into a Cost Recovery Settlement with Solitron Devices, Inc. to settle liability at the following Superfund Sites: Solitron Devices Superfund Site located in Riviera Beach, Florida; Solitron Microwave Superfund Site located in Port Salerno, Florida; Petroleum Products Corporation Superfund Site located in Pembroke Park, Florida; City Industries, Inc., Superfund Site located in Orlando, Florida; and the Casmalia Resources Superfund Site located in Santa Barbara County, California.

EPA does not object to the proposed project; however, EPA did request clarification of future environmental monitoring activities. Rating LO. EIS No. 20050382, EDP No. D-BIA-F60008-WI, Menominee Casino-Hotel 223-Acre Fee-to-Trust Transfer and Casino Project, Implementation, Federal Trust, Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin (Tribe), in City of Kenosha and County of Kenosha, WI. Summary: EPA expressed environmental concerns about general conformity, energy and water conservation, and cumulative impacts analysis. Rating EC2. EIS No. 20050406, EDP No. D-FHW-L40228-WA, South Park Bridge Project, Proposes to Rehabilitate or Replace the Historic South Park Ridge over the Duwamish Waterway at 14th/16 Avenue S, U.S. Coast Guard Permit and U.S. Army COE Section 10 and 404 Permits, King County, WA. Summary: EPA expressed environmental concerns about water quality, hazardous waste, and environmental justice impacts related to the project, and requested additional information in the final EIS. Rating EC1. EIS No. 20050421, EDP No. D-HUD-C85046-NY, Ashburton Avenue Master Plan and Urban Renewal Plan/Mulford Hope VI Revitalization Plan, Development, Implementation, Yonkers City, Westchester County, NY. Summary: EPA expressed environmental concerns about air quality impacts and the need for a General Conformity Determination. Rating EC2. EIS No. 20050445, EDP No. D-NPS-J61108-SD, Badlands National Park/ North Unit General Management Plan, Implementation, Jackson, Pennington and Shannon Counties, SD. Summary: EPA expressed environmental concerns about potential air quality, riparian and other water resources, and wildlife habitat impacts, and recommended further evaluation of these impacts, including a discussion of potential mitigation measures, be included in the Final EIS. Rating EC2.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is submitting the draft Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) for the Alternative Asbestos Control Method (AACM) Demonstration Project for independent external peer review. Prior to the meeting of the external peer review panel, there will be a 30-day public comment period. All comments received during this comment period will be shared with the external peer review panel for their consideration. The public release of this draft document is solely for the purpose of seeking public comment. This draft QAPP does not represent and should not be construed to represent any EPA policy, viewpoint, or determination. Members of the public may obtain the draft QAPP from https://www.regulations.gov; or from Dr. Neil Stiber via the contact information below. The U.S. EPA plans to perform a controlled demonstration to evaluate the AACM alongside the current National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) method. A remote, secure location at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, has been selected as the site for this demonstration demolition. To facilitate side-by-side comparison, the site has several similar structures with asbestos-containing materials. Additional information about this research project, including a description of the AACM and the project schedule, is available at https://epa.gov/region6/ 6xa/asbestos.htm.

The Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board (ABCAQCB) has submitted updated regulations for receiving delegation of EPA authority for implementation and enforcement of New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs) for all sources. These regulations apply to certain NSPS promulgated by EPA, as amended through July 1, 2004, and certain NESHAPs promulgated by EPA, as amended through July 1, 2004. The delegation of authority under this notice applies only to sources located in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, and does not extend to sources located in Indian country. EPA is providing notice that it has approved delegation of certain NSPS to ABCAQCB, and taking direct final action to approve the delegation of certain NESHAPs to ABCAQCB.

EPA is proposing to approve a September 30, 2005 request from the designee of the Governor of South Dakota to redesignate the ``Rapid City Area'' under section 107 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) from unclassifiable to attainment for PM-10. EPA is proposing to approve the redesignation request because the State has adequately demonstrated that the ``Rapid City Area'' is in attainment of the PM-10 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and has committed to the continuation of fugitive dust controls that should help ensure that the area continues to attain the PM-10 NAAQS. The requirements that will apply in the ``Rapid City Area'' will not change as a result of this action because, for the purposes of the requirements of the CAA, unclassifiable and attainment areas are treated the same. This action is being taken under section 107 of the Clean Air Act.

Section 5 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requires any person who intends to manufacture (defined by statute to include import) a new chemical (i.e., a chemical not on the TSCA Inventory) to notify EPA and comply with the statutory provisions pertaining to the manufacture of new chemicals. Under sections 5(d)(2) and 5(d)(3) of TSCA, EPA is required to publish a notice of receipt of a premanufacture notice (PMN) or an application for a test marketing exemption (TME), and to publish periodic status reports on the chemicals under review and the receipt of notices of commencement to manufacture those chemicals. This status report, which covers the period from October 17, 2005 to October 28, 2005, consists of the PMNs pending or expired, and the notices of commencement to manufacture a new chemical that the Agency has received under TSCA section 5 during this time period.

This notice announces the initial filing of a pesticide petition proposing the establishment of regulations for residues of the herbicide diquat dibromide in or on peas and beans, dried shelled (except soybeans).

This notice announces the initial filing of a pesticide petition proposing the establishment of an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for the residues of the microbial pesticide Beauveria bassiana HF 23 in or on all food and feed commodities.

This notice announces the availability of EPA's environmental fate and effects risk assessment, grower impact assessments, and related documents for the organophosphate pesticide azinphos-methyl, and opens a 60-day public comment period on these documents. EPA is in the process of reevaluating the remaining uses for azinphos-methyl, consistent with the Interim Reregistration Eligibility Decision (IRED) issued in 2001 and the May 2002 Memorandum of Agreement between EPA and the technical registrants for azinphos-methyl.

The EPA is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the Texas State Implementation Plan (SIP) which the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) submitted to EPA on February 5, 2004. The adopted amendments revise minimum distance limitation permit requirements for operation of new and modified sources to allow storage of an inoperative concrete crusher within 440 yards of a residence, school, or place of worship; define how distance measurements should be taken and when they would be applicable to concrete crushers and other facilities; and allow concrete crushers to recycle broken concrete at temporary demolition sites within 440 yards of nearby buildings, unless the facility is located in a county with a population of 2.4 million or more, or in a county adjacent to such a county. The TCEQ also revised the existing distance limitation for hazardous waste management facilities to cross-reference duplicative language elsewhere in its regulations. This action is being taken under section 110 of the Federal Clean Air Act (the Act, or CAA).

EPA is proposing to approve those revisions adopted by Colorado on April 16, 2004 to Regulation No. 3 (Stationary Source Permitting and Air Pollutant Emission Notice Requirements) that incorporate EPA's December 31, 2002 NSR Reforms. Colorado submitted the request for approval of these rule revisions into the State Implementation Plan (SIP) on July 11, 2005 and supplemented its request on October 25, 2005. At this time, EPA is proposing to approve only the portions of Colorado's revisions to Regulation Number 3 that relate to the prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) and non-attainment new source review (NSR) construction permit programs of the State of Colorado. Other revisions, renumberings, additions, or deletions to Regulation No. 3 made by Colorado as part of the April 16, 2004 final rulemaking will be acted on by EPA in a separate action. Colorado has a Federally approved New Source Review (NSR) program for new and modified sources impacting attainment and non-attainment areas in the State. On December 31, 2002, EPA published revisions to the federal Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and non-attainment NSR regulations. These revisions are commonly referred to as ``NSR Reform'' regulations and became effective nationally in areas not covered by a SIP on March 3, 2003. These regulatory revisions include provisions for baseline emissions determinations, actual-to-future actual methodology, plantwide applicability limits (PALs), clean units, and pollution control projects (PCPs). On November 7, 2003, EPA published a reconsideration of the NSR Reform regulations that clarified two provisions in the regulations. On June 24, 2005, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued its ruling on challenges to the December 2002 NSR Reform revisions. Although the Court upheld most of EPA's rules, it vacated both the Clean Unit and the Pollution Control Project provisions and remanded back to EPA the ``reasonable possibility'' standard for when a source must keep certain project related records. Colorado is seeking approval, at this time, for its regulations to implement the NSR Reform provisions that have not been vacated or remanded by the June 24, 2005, court decision.

When EPA approved the Colorado State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision that requested redesignation of the Lamar area from nonattainment to attainment for particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to a nominal 10 micrometers (PM10) EPA provided response to comments and in one of the response to comments, misstated our response to the comment. In this action we are making a correction to the preamble by clarifying our response to the comment raised to correct our misstatement.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a public comment period for the draft document titled, ``Air Quality Criteria for Lead; First External Review Draft'' (EPA/600/R-05/144). The document was prepared by the National Center for Environmental Assessment within EPA's Office of Research and Development. EPA is releasing this draft document solely for the purpose of seeking public comment. It does not represent and should not be construed to represent any Agency policy, viewpoint, or determination. EPA will consider any public comments submitted in accordance with this notice when revising the document.

On May 12, 2005, EPA published in the Federal Register the final ``Rule to Reduce Interstate Transport of Fine Particulate Matter and Ozone'' (Clean Air Interstate Rule or CAIR). The CAIR requires certain upwind States to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOX) and/or sulfur dioxide (SO2) that significantly contribute to nonattainment of, or interfere with maintenance by, downwind States with respect to the fine particle and/or 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). Subsequently, EPA received 11 petitions for reconsideration of the final rule. In this notice, EPA is announcing its decision to reconsider four specific issues in the CAIR and is requesting comment on those issues. The EPA is seeking comment only on the aspects of the CAIR specifically identified in this notice. We will not respond to comments addressing other provisions of the CAIR or any related rulemakings.