Environmental Protection Agency March 29, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

These guidelines describe the formula necessary for EPA to allot Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 106 water pollution control program grant funds that have been targeted in EPA's appropriation process to support enhanced monitoring efforts by states, interstate agencies, and tribes for FY 2006 and beyond. These guidelines also describe the specific activities that states, interstate agencies, and tribes must carry out under the monitoring initiative in order to receive the funds. These activities will improve state and tribal capacity to monitor and report on water quality, and include two components: implementation of comprehensive monitoring strategies, including building capacity for state-scale statistically-valid surveys of water condition, and collaboration on statistically-valid surveys of the nation's waters.

This notice announces the order to amend registrations to terminate certain uses, voluntarily requested by the registrant(s) and accepted by the Agency, of end-use products containing the pesticide azinphos-methyl, pursuant to section 6(f)(1) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as amended. This cancellation order follows an August 17, 2005, Federal Register Notice of Receipt of Requests (70 FR 48395) (FRL-7733-3) from the azinphos- methyl registrants to amend their product registrations to terminate certain uses of azinphos-methyl from their product registrations. In the August 17, 2005 Notice, EPA indicated that it would issue an order implementing the amendments to terminate uses, unless the Agency received substantive comments within the 60-day comment period that would merit its further review of these requests. The Agency received two comments on the notice. These comments have been reviewed and taken into consideration in the Agency's decision to proceed with this termination order, and a response was sent to each commentor and placed in the public docket. EPA's decision is discussed in Unit III. of this notice. Any distribution, sale, or use of the azinphos-methyl products subject to this cancellation order is permitted only in accordance with the terms of this order, including any existing stocks provisions.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (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. The ICR, which is abstracted below, describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated burden and cost.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that an Information 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. The ICR, which is abstracted below, describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated burden and costs.

This notice announces the availability of EPA's cumulative risk assessment for the chloroacetanilide group of pesticides and opens a public comment period on these documents. As required by the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA), a cumulative risk assessment, which evaluates exposures based on a common mechanism of toxicity, was conducted to evaluate the risk from food, drinking water, and non- occupational exposure resulting from all registered uses of chloroacetanilide pesticides. The chloroacetanilides group includes the pesticides acetochlor, alachlor and butachlor; however, butachlor was not incorporated into the cumulative assessment because there are no U.S. registrations or established tolerances. The Agency is also releasing the Report on FQPA Tolerance Reassessment Progress and Risk Management Decision (TRED) for Acetochlor concurrent with the release of the chloroacetanilide cumulative assessment. See EPA-HQ-OPP-2005- 0227 in the Notice section of this issue of the Federal Register.

This notice announces the availability of EPA's Report on Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) Tolerance Reassessment Progress and Risk Management Decision (TRED) for the chloroacetanilide pesticide acetochlor. The Agency's risk assessments and other related supporting documents also are available in the acetochlor docket. Through the tolerance reassessment program, EPA is ensuring that all pesticides meet current health and food safety standards. This decision is being released concurrent with the Notice of Availability of the cumulative risk assessment for the chloroacetanilide pesticides which include acetochlor and alachlor. See EPA-HQ-OPP-2006-0202 in the Notice section of this issue of the Federal Register.

This Notice of Acceptability expands the list of acceptable substitutes for ozone-depleting substances (ODS) under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program. The substitutes are for use in the following sectors: refrigeration and air conditioning, foam blowing, and fire suppression and explosion protection. The determinations concern new substitutes.

EPA is proposing to approve a revision to the existing Priority Reserve rule, Rule 1309.1, into the South Coast Air Quality Management District (District) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). Rule 1309.1 was approved into the SIP in 1996 to allow the District to provide emission reduction credits (ERCs) for specific priority sources, such as sources using innovative technology, conducting research operations or providing essential public services. The revision to Rule 1309.1 that we are proposing to approve merely adds specific types of electrical generating facilities to the list of sources entitled to use ERCs from the Priority Reserve. We are proposing to approve the revision to Rule 1309.1 and taking comment on the revision that adds specific types of electrical generating facilities to the sources eligible for ERCs from the Priority Reserve. We plan to follow this proposal with a final action.

This regulation establishes a tolerance for combined residues of flonicamid and its metabolites in or on head and stem brassica and mustard greens. ISK Biosciences Corporation requested this tolerance under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), as amended by the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA).

Today EPA is proposing controls on gasoline, passenger vehicles, and portable gasoline containers (gas cans) that would significantly reduce emissions of benzene and other hazardous air pollutants (``mobile source air toxics''). Benzene is a known human carcinogen, and mobile sources are responsible for the majority of benzene emissions. The other mobile source air toxics are known or suspected to cause cancer or other serious health effects. We are proposing to limit the benzene content of gasoline to an annual average of 0.62% by volume, beginning in 2011. We are also proposing to limit exhaust emissions of hydrocarbons from passenger vehicles when they are operated at cold temperatures. This standard would be phased in from 2010 to 2015. For passenger vehicles we also propose evaporative emissions standards that are equivalent to those in California. Finally, we are proposing a hydrocarbon emissions standard for gas cans beginning in 2009, which would reduce evaporation and spillage of gasoline from these containers. These controls would significantly reduce emissions of benzene and other mobile source air toxics such as 1,3-butadiene, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acrolein, and naphthalene. This proposal would result in additional substantial benefits to public health and welfare by significantly reducing emissions of particulate matter from passenger vehicles. We project annual nationwide benzene reductions of 35,000 tons in 2015, increasing to 65,000 tons by 2030. Total reductions in mobile source air toxics would be 147,000 tons in 2015 and over 350,000 tons in 2030. Passenger vehicles in 2030 would emit 45% less benzene. Gas cans meeting the new standards would emit almost 80% less benzene. Gasoline would have 37% less benzene overall. We estimate that these reductions would have an average cost of less than 1 cent per gallon of gasoline and less than $1 per vehicle. The average cost for gas cans would be less than $2 per can. The reduced evaporation from gas cans would result in significant fuel savings, which would more than offset the increased cost for the gas can.