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

EPA proposes to approve an amendment to the State of Delaware's operating permit program to correct the definition of ``a major source.'' This amendment would change the definition of ``a major source'' by removing the phrase ``but only with respect to those air pollutants that have been regulated for that category'' from the Regulation No. 30 (Title V) definition of a major source, as it applies to these Federal standards. This would require all fugitive emissions to be included in major source determination for sources subject to Federal New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) or the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants standards (NESHAPs), not just the pollutants regulated by the particular NSPS or NESHAP. This amendment is necessary to make the current definition as stringent as the corresponding provision of the Title V regulations, which went into effect on November 27, 2001. This change will make this aspect of Regulation No. 30 consistent with Federal rule. In the Final Rules section of this Federal Register, EPA is approving the State's amendment to its operating permit program as a direct final rule without prior proposal because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial submittal and anticipates no adverse comments. A detailed rationale for the approval is set forth in the direct final rule. If no adverse comments are received in response to this action, no further activity is contemplated. If EPA receives adverse comments, the direct final rule will be withdrawn and all public comments received will be addressed in a subsequent final rule based on this proposed rule. The EPA will not institute a second comment period. Any parties interested in commenting on this action should do so at this time.

EPA issued a final rule in the Federal Register of September 6, 2006, concerning establishing tolerances for residues of paraquat dichloride in or on various food and feed commodities. This document is being issued to correct typographical errors.

EPA is promulgating amendments to the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Boilers and Process Heaters. After promulgation of this final rule, the Administrator received petitions for reconsideration of certain provisions in the final rule. Subsequently, EPA published a notice of the reconsideration and requested public comment on proposed amendments to the NESHAP. After evaluating public comments, we are adopting each of the amendments that we proposed.

This rule excepts from the definitions of ``pesticide chemical'' and ``pesticide chemical residue'' under FFDCA section 201(q), food packaging (e.g. paper and paperboard, coatings, adhesives, and polymers) that is treated with a pesticide as defined in the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) section 2(u). As a result, such ingredients in food packaging treated with a pesticide are exempt from regulation under FFDCA section 408 as pesticide chemical residues. Further, a food that bears or contains such ingredients are not subject to enforcement by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under section 402(a)(2) (B) of the FFDCA since the ingredients are not pesticide chemical residues. Instead, such ingredients are subject to regulation by the FDA as food additives under FFDCA section 409. FDA generally regulates such food additives in food packaging as food contact substances under FFDCA, section 409(h). This rule expands the scope of the provision in 40 CFR 180.4 which currently applies only to food packaging impregnated with an insect repellent - one type of pesticide. This rule, as with the rule it amends, only applies to the food packaging materials themselves; it does not otherwise limit EPA's FFDCA jurisdiction over pesticides or limit FDA's jurisdiction over substances subject to FDA regulation as food additives. EPA, in consultation with FDA, believes this rule will eliminate the duplicative FFDCA jurisdiction and economize Federal government resources while continuing to protect human health and the environment. Under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), EPA still regulates the food packaging as an inert ingredient of the pesticide product and still regulates the pesticide active ingredient in the treated food packaging under both FIFRA and the FFDCA.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is requesting applications for essential use allowances for calendar years 2008 and 2009. Essential use allowances provide exemptions from the production and import phaseout of ozone-depleting substances (ODSs) and must be authorized by the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (the Protocol). The U.S. Government will use the applications received in response to this notice as the basis for its nomination of essential use allowances at the Nineteenth Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol, to be held in 2007.

EPA proposes to approve the State Implementation Plan (SIP) and operating permits program revision submitted by the State of Missouri to update the ambient air quality standards, sampling methods, definitions, and common reference methods and tables. The update also includes references to implement the 8-hour ozone and PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards that were finalized on July 18, 1997.

EPA is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the state of Missouri for the inclusion of revisions to the Construction Permit Exemptions rule. The Construction Permit Exemptions rule lists specific construction or modification projects that are not required to obtain permits under the Construction Permits Required rule. Revisions to this rule include updating the insignificance levels, adding a new exemption for manufacturing operations (which produce insignificant emissions), clarifying the grain handling facilities exemption, and restructuring of the record keeping portion of the rule. Missouri developed the revisions to this rule under two separate state rulemaking processes.

EPA is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Missouri. This revision pertains to Grossman Iron and Steel Company's Source Registration Permit, number SR00.045A. This permit, issued by the City of St. Louis, will control particulate matter (PM10) emissions from Grossman Iron and Steel Company. This approval will make the permit Federally enforceable.

The Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8 (EPA) announces the deletion of portions of the Ellsworth Air Force Base (AFB) Site located in Meade and Pennington Counties, South Dakota, from the National Priorities List (NPL). All areas originally proposed for deletion under the Notice of Intent to Partially Delete published in the Federal Register on June 28, 2006 (71 FR 36736) are being deleted. The NPL constitutes Appendix B to the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan, 40 CFR Part 300, which EPA promulgated pursuant to Section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). EPA has determined, with the concurrence of the State of South Dakota through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources that the parcels pose no significant threat to public health, welfare or the environment and, therefore, no further response action pursuant to CERCLA is appropriate. This partial deletion pertains to surface soil, unsaturated subsurface soil, surface water, and sediments at Operable Units 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12, and excludes the ground water medium at these parcels. The ground water medium at the Ellsworth AFB Site (OU-11, Basewide Ground Water), and the soil medium (surface and unsaturated subsurface soils) at OU-1, Fire Protection Training Area, will remain on the NPL and response activities will continue for those OUs. Two additional areas not associated with an operable unit, the Gateway Lake Ash Study Area and the Pride Hangar Study Area, are currently under investigation and are also not part of this partial deletion.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that EPA is planning to submit a request to renew an existing approved Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This ICR is scheduled to expire on March 31, 2007. 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.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Center for Environmental Innovation (NCEI) is giving notice of the availability of its solicitation for pre-proposals for the 2007 ``State Innovation Grant Program,'' an assistance agreement program to support innovation by state environmental regulatory agencies. Only the principal environmental regulatory agency within each state, U.S. territory, or the District of Columbia (generally, where delegated authorities for federal environmental regulations exist) is eligible to receive funding under this solicitation.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the availability of a final report titled, ``An Inventory of Sources and Environmental Releases of Dioxin-Like Compounds in the United States for the Years 1987, 1995 and 2000'' (EPA/600/P-03/002F), which was prepared by the National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD).