Environmental Protection Agency December 18, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice announces that the EPA Administrator has responded to a citizen petition requesting that EPA object to a Clean Air Act (``CAA'' or ``the Act'') title V operating permit modification issued by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (``New Hampshire DES''). Specifically, the Administrator has granted in part and denied in part the petition submitted by the Residents Environmental Action Committee of Hopkinton, the Conservation Law Foundation, and the Physician Petitioners (collectively referred to herein as ``Petitioners'') requesting that the Administrator object to the permit modification issued to Bio Energy, LLC of Hopkinton, New Hampshire. Pursuant to section 505(b)(2) of the Act, the petitioner may seek judicial review of any portion 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.

EPA is proposing to approve revisions adopted by North Dakota on February 1, 2005 to Chapter 33-15-15 of the North Dakota Administrative Code (Prevention of Significant Deterioration of Air Quality) that incorporate EPA's December 31, 2002 NSR Reforms. North Dakota submitted the request for approval of these rule revisions into the State Implementation Plan (SIP) on February 10, 2005. North Dakota has a federally-approved Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program for new and modified sources impacting attainment areas in the State. North Dakota is in attainment for all pollutants, and does not have a SIP-approved non-attainment permit program. On December 31, 2002, EPA published revisions to the Federal Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and non-attainment NSR regulations (67 FR 80186). 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 (68 FR 63021). On June 24, 2005, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a ruling on challenges to the December 2002 NSR Reform revisions (State of New York v. EPA, 413 F.3d 3 (D.C. Cir. 2005). 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. North Dakota is seeking approval at this time for its PSD regulations to implement the NSR Reform provisions that have not been vacated by the June 24, 2005, court decision.

EPA is proposing two actions related to excess emissions provisions that were previously approved by EPA into the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources portion of the Nevada State Implementation Plan. These proposed actions include approval of a State request for rescission of certain provisions related to excess emissions and correction of an error made by the Agency in approving another provision also related to excess emissions. We are proposing to correct the error by disapproving the previously approved provision and thereby deleting the provision from the plan. The proposed approval of the rescission request is contingent upon receipt of certain public notice and hearing documentation from the State of Nevada. EPA is proposing these actions under the Clean Air Act authority to correct errors in approving, and obligation to take action on, State submittals of revisions to state implementation plans. The intended effect is to correct a past error in approving a particular provision into the plan and to allow for the rescission of closely-related provisions. EPA is taking comments on this proposal and plans to follow with a final action.

EPA is hereby extending the comment period for a proposed rule issued on October 20, 2006 (71 FR 61926) (FRL-8081-3), to require testing for certain chemicals on the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)/EPA Priority List of Hazardous Substances to March 19, 2007. This extension is being made as a result of a request by a member of the public for additional time to submit comments.