Environmental Protection Agency 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Under section 122(h)(1) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Environmental Protection Agency has offered a cost recovery settlement at the College Grove Battery Chip Superfund Site (Site) located in College Grove, Williamson/Rutherford Counties, Tennessee. EPA will consider public comments on the proposed settlement until November 28, 2005. EPA may withdraw from or modify the proposed settlement should such comments disclose facts or considerations which indicate the proposed settlement is inappropriate, improper, or inadequate. Copies of the proposed settlement are available from: Ms. Paula V. Batchelor, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, Superfund Enforcement & Information Management Branch, Waste Management Division, 61 Forsyth Street, South West, Atlanta, Georgia 30303, (404) 562-8887, E-mail: Batchelor.Paula@EPA.gov. Written or e-mail comments may be submitted to Paula V. Batchelor at the above address within 30 days of the date of publication.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), 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 for a new collection. This ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated burden and cost.

EPA proposes to approve revisions to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania State Implementation Plan (SIP). The revisions were submitted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) to establish and require reasonably available control technology (RACT) for two major sources of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) pursuant to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's (Pennsylvania or the Commonwealth) SIP-approved generic RACT regulations. EPA is proposing to approve these revisions in accordance with the Clean Air Act (CAA).

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), 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 October 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.

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 agreement, to address petitions for review filed by American Chemistry Council (``ACC''), Eastman Chemical Company, Clariant LSM (America), Inc., Rohm and Haas Company, General Electric Company, Lyondell Chemical Company and the Coke Oven Environmental Task Force (collectively ``petitioners''). ACC et al. v. EPA Nos. 04-1004 (and consolidated cases 04-1005, 04-1008, 04-1009, 04-1010, 04-1012, and 04-1013) (D.C. Cir.). In January 2003, petitioners filed petitions for review challenging the final EPA rule entitled ``National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Miscellaneous Organic Chemical Manufacturing; Final Rule'' (``MON''). 68 FR 63852 (November 10, 2003). Under the terms of the proposed settlement agreement, EPA has agreed that: On or before November 30, 2005, the EPA Administrator will sign a notice of proposed rulemaking to amend the MON as provided in Attachment A to the Settlement Agreement; As part of the proposed amendments to the MON, EPA will include language in the preamble as provided in Attachment B to the Settlement Agreement; Within 30 days of the date the comment period on the proposed amendments closes, EPA will take final action on the proposed 18 month compliance extension; and Within 150 days of the date the comment period on the proposed amendments closes, EPA will sign a notice of final rulemaking.

This notice announces the availability of EPA's Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) for the pesticide endothall. The Agency's risk assessments and other related documents also are available in the endothall Docket. Endothall is used as an aquatic herbicide to control submerged aquatic vegetation and algae in lakes, ponds, and irrigation canals and is used as a desiccant on cotton, hops, potatoes, and seed production for alfalfa and clover. Endothall is also used as a biocide to control mollusks in cooling towers/systems. Endothall is applied as either a dipotassium salt or an N, N-dimethylalkylamine salt. The endothall acid is not directly applied to use sites; it is formed as a break-down product resulting from application of the salt forms. The amine salt is the only form applied terrestrially, while both the dipotassium and amine salt are applied to aquatic use sites. EPA has reviewed endothall through the public participation process that the Agency uses to involve the public in developing pesticide reregistration and tolerance reassessment decisions. Through these programs, EPA is ensuring that all pesticides meet current health and safety standards.

This notice announces that pesticide related information submitted to EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), including information that may have been claimed as Confidential Business Information (CBI) by the submitter, will be tranferred to Versar, Inc. and its subcontractors, EnDyna, BR Stern and Associates, Menzie-Cura and Associates, and Tetrahedon, Inc., in accordance with 40 CFR 2.307(h)(3) and 2.308(i)(2). Versar, Inc. and its subcontractors, EnDyna, BR Stern and Associates, Menzie-Cura and Associates, and Tetrahedon, Inc., have been awarded a contract to perform work for OPP, and access to this information will enable Versar, Inc. and its subcontractors, EnDyna, BR Stern and Associates, Menzie-Cura and Associates, and Tetrahedon, Inc., to fulfill the obligations of the contract.

Under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), 5 U.S.C. App.2 (Public Law 92-463), EPA gives notice of a public teleconference of the National Pollution Prevention and Toxics Advisory Committee (NPPTAC). The purpose of the teleconference is to provide advice and recommendations to EPA regarding the overall policy and operations of the programs of the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT). The meeting is open to the public. However, due to limited space, seating will be on a first come basis.

EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District (VCAPCD) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from surface cleaning operations. We are proposing to approve local rules to regulate these emission sources under the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act).

Under section 10(a)(2) of Public Law 92-423, The Federal Advisory Committee Act, notice is hereby given for a meeting of the National Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWAC or Council). This Council was authorized by the Safe Drinking Water Act in 1974 (42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.) to support the Environmental Protection Agency in performing its duties and responsibilities related to the national drinking water program. The principal items on the Agenda for this meeting include: A report from the Council's Working Group on the near- term efforts to revise performance measures and indicators for the drinking water program; a presentation and discussion of the water program's sustainable infrastructure initiative; an update on the implementation of the recommendations in the Report on Water Security Practices, Incentives, and Measures, which the Council sent to EPA's Administrator in June 2005. Other EPA drinking water program activities will be addressed if sufficient time is available.

EPA is taking final action to approve the Control of Visible Emissions portion of a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted to EPA, by the State of North Carolina, on December 14, 2004. EPA is approving changes to the opacity standards for sources required to install, operate and maintain continuous opacity monitoring systems (COMs). These changes do not increase the number of exceptions or the number of minutes per day for exceptions, but allow the aggregation of the daily exceptions. At this time, we are not taking final action on the remaining portions of the SIP revision submitted by the State on December 14, 2004.

The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Interagency Testing Committee (ITC) transmitted its 56\th\ ITC Report to the Administrator of EPA on September 15, 2005. In the 56\th\ ITC Report, which is included with this notice, the ITC is revising the TSCA section 4(e) Priority Testing List by adding 5 High Production Volume (HPV) orphan chemicals and 2 tungsten compounds and removing 28 HPV orphan chemicals, 3 pyridinamine compounds, 6 indium compounds, and 6 vanadium compounds. The ITC is requesting that EPA add the 5 HPV orphan chemicals and 2 tungsten compounds to the TSCA section 8(a) Preliminary Assessment Information Reporting (PAIR) rule and the 5 HPV orphan chemicals to the TSCA section 8(d) Health and Safety Data Reporting (HaSDR) rule. To facilitate the efforts of EPA, other Federal and State agencies, interested stakeholders, and members of the public in obtaining basic health effects and environmental data on HPV chemicals, the ITC conducted a December 2004 Data-Availability Study of 235 substances that were HPV chemicals in the 1998 and 2002 Inventory Update Rules (IURs), but not in the 1990 or 1994 IURs. The study is discussed and the list of 235 substances is appended to this 56\th\ ITC Report.

EPA is approving State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the State of Connecticut. These revisions incorporate volatile organic compound (VOC) reasonably available control technology (RACT) state consent orders into the Connecticut SIP for four facilities: Hitchcock Chair Co., Ltd.; Kimberly Clark Corp.; Watson Laboratories, Inc.; and Ross & Roberts, Inc. This action will have a beneficial effect on air quality by reducing VOC emissions which contribute to ground-level ozone formation. EPA is taking this action in accordance with the Clean Air Act (CAA).

EPA is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Maine. This revision establishes requirements to reduce volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from consumer products. The intended effect of this action is to approve these requirements into the Maine SIP. EPA is taking this action in accordance with the Clean Air Act (CAA).

On September 8, 1994, we promulgated national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) from industrial process cooling towers (59 FR 46350). The NESHAP eliminated the use of chromium-based water treatment chemicals that are known or suspected to cause cancer or have a serious health or environmental effect. Section 112(f)(2) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) directs EPA to assess the risk remaining (residual risk) after the application of the NESHAP and promulgate additional standards if warranted to provide an ample margin of safety to protect public health or prevent an adverse environmental effect. Also, section 112(d)(6) of the CAA requires EPA to review and revise the NESHAP as necessary at least every 8 years, taking into account developments in practices, processes, and control technologies. Based on our findings from the residual risk review and technology review, we are proposing no further action at this time to revise the NESHAP. This proposed action requests public comments on the residual risk review and technology review for the NESHAP.

On December 15, 1994, we promulgated national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (HAP) from magnetic tape manufacturing operations (59 FR 64580). The national emission standards limit and control HAP that are known or suspected to cause cancer or have other serious health or environmental effect. Section 112(f)(2) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) directs EPA to assess the risk remaining (residual risk) after the application of national emission standards controls and to promulgate more stringent standards, if necessary, to protect public health with an ample margin of safety and to prevent adverse environmental effect. Also, section 112(d)(6) of the CAA requires EPA to review and revise the national emission standards, as necessary, taking into account developments in practices, processes, and control technologies. Based on our findings from the residual risk and technology review, we are proposing no further action at this time to revise the national emission standards. Today's proposed action requests public comments on the residual risk and technology review for the national emission standards.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that EPA is planning to submit a continuing Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This is a request to renew an existing approved collection. This ICR is scheduled to expire on 12/31/2005. Before submitting the ICR to OMB for review and approval, EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described below.

EPA is announcing a 30-day public review and comment period on several Additional Proposed IndicatorsEPA ROE 2007. These proposed indicators are in addition to the proposed indicators that were the subject of a June 6, 2005, Federal Register notice (70 FR 32769) that announced both a public comment period and an independent peer-review workshop that was held on July 27-29, 2005. Several of these additional indicators were added in response to comments from the first peer- review regarding additional indicators needed. Others were evaluated during the first review but have changed substantially and therefore warrant re-review; and a few are indicators for which materials were not ready at the time of the initial review. In addition to the public comment period, this set of additional proposed indicators will also undergo independent expert peer-review. The peer-review for this smaller set will be conducted via letter review. ERG, an EPA contractor for external scientific peer-review, is conducting this independent, external, peer-review and will engage the same expert panel that reviewed the first set of proposed ROE 2007 indicators. This public comment period, however, provides an opportunity for all stakeholders to weigh in on the primary contents of the draft 2007 Report on the Environment (EPA ROE 2007) at an early stage. In preparing the EPA ROE 2007, EPA will consider ERG's report of the comments and recommendations from this expert peer-review and any public comments EPA receives in accordance with today's notice. EPA is releasing these proposed indicators for public comment and for the purpose of pre-dissemination peer-review under applicable information quality guidelines. These indicators have not been formally disseminated by EPA. They do not represent and should not be construed to represent any Agency policy or determination.

This document notifies the public that the Administrator of EPA has forwarded to the Secretary of Agriculture a draft final rule as required by section 25(a) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). As described in the Agency's semi-annual Regulatory Agenda, the draft final rule will make several improvements to the pesticide emergency exemption process under section 18 of FIFRA. EPA has established regulations under section 18 of FIFRA which allow a Federal or State agency to apply for an emergency exemption to allow an unregistered use of a pesticide for a limited time when such use is necessary to alleviate an emergency condition.

Due to adverse comment, EPA is withdrawing the direct final rule published September 22, 2005, (70 FR 55550) approving the redesignation of the Clarksville-Hopkinsville 8-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area to Attainment for Ozone. EPA stated in the direct final rule that if EPA received adverse comment by October 24, 2005, the rule would be withdrawn and not take effect. EPA subsequently received adverse comment. EPA will address the comment in a subsequent final action based upon the proposed action also published on September 22, 2005 (70 FR 55613). EPA will not institute a second comment period on this action.

EPA has authorized its contractor Avanti Corporation, of Annandale, Virginia, and its subcontractor, Geologics Corporation of Alexandria, Virginia, access to information which has been submitted to EPA under sections 4, 5, 6, and 8 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Some of the information may be claimed or determined to be Confidential Business Information (CBI).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, ``we'' or ``the Agency'') has determined that the Department of Energy's (DOE) Compliance Recertification Application (CRA, or ``application'') for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is complete. EPA provided written notice of the completeness decision to the Secretary of Energy on September 29, 2005. The text of the letter is contained in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. The Agency has determined that the Compliance Recertification Application is complete, in accordance with 40 CFR Part 194, ``Criteria for the Certification and Recertification of the WIPP's Compliance with the 40 CFR part 191 Disposal Regulations'' (Compliance Certification Criteria). The completeness determination is an administrative step that is required by regulation, and it does not imply in any way that the Compliance Recertification Application demonstrates compliance with the Compliance Criteria and/or the disposal regulations. EPA is now engaged in the full technical review that will determine if WIPP remains in compliance with the disposal regulations. As required by the 1992 WIPP Land Withdrawal Act and our implementing regulations, EPA will make a final recertification decision within six months of issuing the completeness letter to the Secretary of Energy.

EPA is approving the Sections 111(d) and 129 negative declaration submitted by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MADEP) on August 23, 2005. This negative declaration adequately certifies that there are no existing commercial and industrial solid waste incineration units (CISWIs) located within the boundaries of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. EPA publishes regulations under Sections 111(d) and 129 of the Clean Air Act requiring states to submit control plans to EPA. These state control plans show how states intend to control the emissions of designated pollutants from designated facilities e.g., CISWIs). The Commonwealth of Massachusetts submitted this negative declaration in lieu of a state control plan.

The EPA (we) is proposing to revise the emissions test for existing electric generating units (EGUs) that are subject to the regulations governing the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and nonattainment major New Source Review (NSR) programs (collectively ``NSR'') mandated by parts C and D of title I of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act). The revised emissions test is the same as that in the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) program under CAA section 111(a)(4). For existing EGUs, we are proposing to compare the maximum hourly emissions achievable at that unit during the past 5 years to the maximum hourly emissions achievable at that unit after the change to determine whether an emissions increase would occur. Alternatively, we are soliciting public comment on a major NSR emissions test for existing EGUs that would compare maximum hourly emissions achieved before a change to the maximum hourly emissions achieved after the change. We are also soliciting public comment on adopting an NSR emissions test based on mass of emissions per unit of energy output. In addition, we are soliciting comment on whether to revise the NSPS regulations to include a maximum achieved emissions test or an output- based emissions test, either in lieu of or in addition to the maximum achievable hourly emissions test. Today's proposal would not affect new EGUs, which would continue to be subject to major NSR preconstruction review and to the NSPS program. The proposed rule would only apply prospectively to changes at existing EGUs potentially covered by major NSR and the NSPS programs. These proposed regulations interpret CAA section 111(a)(4), in the context of NSR and NSPS, for physical changes and changes in the method of operation at existing EGUs. The proposed regulations would establish a uniform emissions test nationally under the NSPS and NSR programs for existing EGUs. The proposed regulations would also promote the safety, reliability, and efficiency of EGUs.