Environmental Protection Agency February 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice announces the availability of the letter and technical support document (TSD) approving Arkansas' request to identify Crittenden County, Arkansas in the Memphis 8-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area as a zone targeted for economic development under section 173(a)(1)(B) of the Clean Air Act. Arkansas will be responsible for developing New Source Review (NSR) regulations for the zone that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will review and consider for approval as a revision of Arkansas' State Implementation Plan (SIP). The State rulemaking and EPA's SIP review process will provide the public opportunities to participate in the process to consider implementing regulations for the zone.

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 April 30, 2006. 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.

Pursuant to section 112 of the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency is announcing the availability of Version 3 of the CAP88-PC model used to demonstrate compliance with the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs) applicable to radionuclides. CAP88-PC is approved for this use by EPA. Version 3 includes an expanded library of radionuclides and incorporates updated radionuclide risk conversion factors. Hence, it is recommended that Version 3 be used for future compliance demonstrations.

EPA is taking direct final action to amend the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) section 8(a) Inventory Update Reporting (IUR) regulations by adding the following four chemical substances to the list of chemical substances in Sec. 710.46(b)(2)(iv) which are exempt from reporting processing and use information required by Sec. 710.52(c)(4): Two vegetable-based oils (fats and glyceridic oils, vegetable (CASRN 68956-68-3) and canola oil (CASRN 120962-03-0)), soybean meal (CASRN 68308-36-1), and xylitol (CASRN 87-99-0). EPA has determined that the IUR processing and use information for these chemicals is of low current interest. Manufacturers and importers of the chemicals listed in Sec. 710.46(b)(2)(iv) must continue to report manufacturing information.

This document announces that the EPA Administrator has responded to a joint citizen petition asking EPA to object to the operating permit issued to Camden County Energy Recovery Associates (CCERA) by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). Specifically, the Administrator has partially granted and partially denied the petition submitted by the Rutgers Environmental Law Clinic on behalf of various New Jersey Environmental Groups to object to the CCERA State operating permit. Pursuant to section 505(b)(2) of the Clean Air Act (Act), Petitioner may seek judicial review of those portions of the petition which EPA denied in the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit. Any petition for review shall be filed within 60 days from the date this notice appears in the Federal Register, pursuant to section 307 of the Act.

In accordance with the requirements of section 122(h)(1) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended (``CERCLA''), 42 U.S.C. 9622(h)(1), notice is hereby given of the proposed administrative settlement under section 122(h) of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. 9622(h) between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA'') and Chemical Specialties Incorporated (Chemical Specialties) (collectively, ``Settling Parties''). Chemical Specialties consents to and will not contest EPA's authority to enter into this Agreement or to implement or enforce its terms. By entering into this Agreement, the mutual objective of the Settling Parties is to avoid difficult and prolonged litigation by Chemical Specialties making a monetary payment to address its alleged civil liability for the Site. In return, the Chemical Specialties receives a Covenant Not to Sue by the EPA. The EPA has incurred response costs, starting in January 2003 and extending through June 2004, totaling approximately $239,636.70, and additional response costs from June 2004 to the present. EPA alleges that Chemical Specialties is a responsible party pursuant to Section 107(a) of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. 9607(a), and is jointly and severally liable for response costs incurred and to be incurred at or in connection with the Site. EPA has reviewed the Financial Information submitted by the Chemical Specialties to determine whether the Chemical Specialties is financially able to pay response costs incurred and to be incurred at the Site. Based upon this Financial Information, and its review completed July 13, 2005, EPA has determined that Chemical Specialties has limited financial ability to pay for response costs incurred and to be incurred at and in connection with the Site. Chemical Specialties has agreed to pay to the EPA Hazardous Substance Superfund $22,000.00, plus an additional amount for interest. The Settling Parties recognize that this Agreement has been negotiated in good faith and that this Agreement is entered into without the admission or adjudication of any issue of fact or law.

The EPA is announcing three public hearings to be held jointly for two proposed rules``National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter'' and ``Revisions to Ambient Air Monitoring Regulations'' that were published in the Federal Register on January 17, 2006 (71 FR 2620 and 71 FR 2710). The hearings will be held concurrently in Chicago, Illinois; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and San Franciso, California. In the proposed rule entitled ``National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter,'' EPA proposes to make revisions to the primary and secondary national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter (PM) to provide requisite protection of public health and welfare, respectively, and to make corresponding revisions in monitoring reference methods and data handling conventions for PM. In the ``Revisions to Ambient Air Monitoring Regulations,'' EPA is proposing to revise the ambient air monitoring requirements for criteria pollutants. The proposal establishes ambient air monitoring requirements in support of the proposed revisions to the NAAQS for PM and proposes other changes to better serve current and future air quality management and research needs.

This notice announces receipt of applications to register pesticide products containing a new active ingredient 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.

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 January 16, 2006 to January 31, 2006, 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 availability of EPA's risk assessments and related documents for the triazole fungicide propiconazole and for its free triazole metabolites, and opens a public comment period on these documents. The triazole fungicides, which include propiconazole, triadimefon, and triadimenol, and others, share the common metabolites 1,2,4-triazole, triazole alanine, and triazole acetic acid (also known as free triazoles). EPA has conducted an aggregate risk assessment for the free triazole metabolites to ensure that aggregate exposure and risk from these common metabolites meet the current safety standards. The public is encouraged to suggest risk management ideas or proposals to address the risks identified. EPA is developing a Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) for propiconazole through a modified, 4-Phase 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 the availability of EPA's risk assessments, and related documents for the triazole fungicide triadimefon and for its free triazole metabolites, and opens a public comment period on these documents. The triazole fungicides, which include triadimefon, triadimenol, and propiconazole, and others, share the common metabolites 1,2,4-triazole, triazole alanine, and triazole acetic acid (also known as free triazoles). EPA has conducted an aggregate risk assessment for the free triazole metabolites to ensure that aggregate exposure and risk from these common metabolites meet the current safety standards. The public is encouraged to suggest risk management ideas or proposals to address the risks identified. EPA is developing a Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) for triadimefon through a modified, 4-Phase 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 the initial filing of a pesticide petition proposing the amendment of a regulation for residues of the fungicide boscalid (BAS 510F), 3-pyridinecarboxamide, 2-chloro-N-(4'- chloro(1,1'-biphenyl)-2-yl in or on strawberry and berries (Crop Group 13) commodities.

The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public meeting of the U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB).

The Charter for the Environmental Protection Agency's National Advisory Committee for Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Hazardous Substances (NAC/AEGL) has been renewed for an additional 2-year period, as a necessary committee which is in the public interest, in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), 5 U.S.C. App. 2 sec. 9(c). The purpose of NAC/AEGL is to provide advice and recommendations to the Administrator of EPA on issues associated with development of acute exposure guideline levels for hazardous substances for use in chemical emergency programs. It has been determined that NAC/AEGL is in the public interest in connection with the performance of duties imposed on the Agency by law.

This notice announces the availability of EPA's risk assessment(s), and related documents for the pesticide streptomycin, and opens a public comment period on these documents. The public is encouraged to suggest risk management ideas or proposals to address the risks identified. EPA is developing a tolerance reassessment decision (TRED) for streptomycin through a modified, 4-Phase 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.

In accordance with the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation, and Liability Act, as amended (``CERCLA''), 42 U.S.C. 9601, et. seq., notice is hereby given of a proposed Agreement and Covenant Not to Sue (``Agreement'') between the United States, on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA''), and L.C. Canyon Partners, LLC (``Settling Respondent''). Under the Proposed Agreement, Settling Respondent agrees to pay past costs, oversight costs, and to conduct a removal action defined in the enforcement action memorandum consisting primarily of the development of remediated portions of the property being purchased by Settling Respondent into single-family home sites. In addition, Settling Respondent agrees to provide access to representatives of EPA and the State of Utah. In exchange for this consideration, EPA will grant Settling Respondent a covenant not to sue for existing contamination. Additionally, Settling Respondent will be entitled to contribution protection for ``matters addressed'' in the Agreement. For thirty (30) days following the date of publication of this notice, EPA will receive written comments relating to the Agreement. EPA will consider all comments received and may modify or withdraw its consent to the Agreement if comments received disclose facts or considerations that indicate that the Agreement is inappropriate, improper, or inadequate. The proposed Agreement, as well as EPA's response to any comments received will be available for public inspection in the administrative record held at the Superfund Record Center, 999 18th Street, Suite 300, Denver, CO. During the public comment period, the Agreement (without exhibits) may also be examined on the following Department of Justice Web site, https://www.usdoj.gov/ enrd/open.html.

EPA is proposing to grant a petition submitted by Bayer Material Science LLC (Bayer) to exclude (or delist) a certain solid waste generated by its Baytown, Texas, facility from the lists of hazardous wastes. EPA used the Delisting Risk Assessment Software (DRAS) in the evaluation of the impact of the petitioned waste on human health and the environment. EPA bases its proposed decision to grant the petition on an evaluation of waste-specific information provided by the petitioner. This proposed decision, if finalized, would exclude the petitioned waste from the requirements of hazardous waste regulations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). If finalized, EPA would conclude that Bayer's petitioned waste, spent carbon, is non-hazardous. The spent carbon from the facility's waste water treatment plant, before treatment, would be listed under the hazardous waste codes K027, K104, K111, and K112. Long- and short- term threats to human health and the environment from the spent carbon as generated are minimized.

EPA is taking final action to approve State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the Governor of Utah on September 20, 1999 and February 5, 2001. The September 20, 1999 submittal revises the numbering and format of the Utah Administrative Code (UAC) rules within Utah's SIP. The February 5, 2001 submittal restores a paragraph that was inadvertently deleted from Utah's rules when the State submitted their SIP submittal dated September 20, 1999 that renumbered the UAC rules. The intended effect of this action is to make these provisions federally enforceable. In addition, the approval of Utah's SIP revision dated September 20, 1999 supersedes and replaces previous SIP revisions submitted by Utah on October 26, 2000, September 7, 1999, two SIP revisions submitted February 6, 1996, and one submitted on January 27, 1995. Some of the provisions of the rules submitted in Utah's SIP revisions will be addressed at a later date by more recent SIP actions that have been submitted which supersede and replace the earlier SIP submittal actions. EPA will be removing Utah's Asbestos Work Practices, Contractor Certification, AHERA Accreditation and AHERA Implementation rule R307-1-8 and Eligibility of Pollution Control Expenditures for Sales Tax Exemption rule R307-1-6 from Utah's federally enforceable SIP because these rules are not generally related to attainment of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and are therefore not required to be in Utah's SIP. Finally, EPA will be removing Utah's National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPS) rule R307-1-4.12. Utah has delegation of authority for NESHAPs in 40 CFR part 61 (49 FR 36368), pursuant to 110(k)(6) of the Act, therefore we are removing the existing language (R307-1-4.12) that was approved into Utah's current SIP because it is no longer required to be in the SIP. This action is being taken under section 110 of the Clean Air Act.

The EPA is taking direct final action on amendments to the national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) for new and existing refractory products manufacturing facilities, which were promulgated on April 16, 2003, under section 112(d) of the Clean Air Act (CAA). The amendments clarify the testing and monitoring requirements and startup and shutdown requirements for batch processes, make certain technical corrections, and add recent changes to be consistent with the NESHAP General Provisions.

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 consent decree, to address a deadline suit filed by Sierra Club: Sierra Club v. Johnson, No. 05CV02177 (RMC) (D. DC). On July 9, 2002 and November 18, 2002, Sierra Club petitioned EPA to object to certain Clean Air Act Title V permit amendments proposed by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division for steam generating plants at (1) Georgia Power's Bowen Steam-Electric Generating Plant (``the Bowen plant'') and (2) the Bowen, McDonough/Atkinson, Yates, Hammond, Wansley, Scherer, and Branch Steam-Electric Generating Plants (collectively ``the seven power plants'') in the State of Georgia. Subsequently, Sierra Club filed suit, alleging that the Administrator failed to perform his nondiscretionary duty to respond to the petitions within sixty days of the date they were filed. Under the terms of today's proposed consent decree, EPA has agreed to respond to the petitions by March 15, 2006, and Sierra Club has agreed that if EPA does so, Sierra Club will dismiss its suit with prejudice. In addition, EPA has agreed to pay Sierra Club a specified amount in settlement for attorneys' fees in this matter.

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 a petition for writ of mandamus filed by Sierra Club in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit: In re Sierra Club, No. 05-1045 (DC Cir.). On February 15, 2005, Petitioner filed a petition asking the Court to issue a writ of mandamus directing EPA to complete remand proceedings ordered by the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Sierra Club v. EPA, 167 F.3d 658 (DC Cir. 1999) for EPA's maximum achievable control technology (``MACT'') determinations for new and existing hospital, medical and infectious waste incinerators (``HMIWI''). Under the terms of the proposed settlement agreement, no later than one year after this agreement is executed, the Administrator shall sign a notice of proposed rulemaking which responds to the remand order and no later than two years after this agreement is executed, the Administrator shall sign a notice of final rulemaking which responds to the remand order.

EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the Kentucky State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the Commonwealth of Kentucky on September 2, 2004. The proposed revisions modify Kentucky's Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Nonattainment New Source Review (NNSR) regulations in the SIP to address changes to the federal NSR regulations, which were promulgated by EPA on December 31, 2002 (67 FR 80186) and reconsidered with minor changes on November 7, 2003 (68 FR 63021) (collectively, these two final actions are called the ``2002 NSR Reform Rules''). Together, the PSD and NNSR programs are commonly referred to as the ``NSR programs.'' EPA's 2002 NSR Reform Rules, proposed for inclusion in the Kentucky SIP, include provisions for baseline emissions calculations, an actual-to-projected-actual methodology for calculating emissions changes, options for plantwide applicability limits, recordkeeping and reporting requirements, and a significance threshold for ozone depleting substances.