Environmental Protection Agency June 22, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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 lawsuit filed by Environmental Defense, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Sierra Club (hereinafter ``Petitioners''): Environmental Defense et al. v. Environmental Protection Agency, No. 06-1164 (DC Cir.). On or about May 9, 2006, Petitioners filed a complaint challenging EPA's Transportation Conformity Hot-Spot Final Rule, alleging that the rule failed to satisfy the Clean Air Act's transportation conformity criteria, that it permitted EPA to issue particulate matter (PM) hot-spot guidance without following required procedures, and that it withdrew a motor vehicle emissions factor model for use in PM hot-spot analysis without following required procedures. Under the terms of the proposed settlement agreement, Petitioners agree to dismiss the claim relating to issuance of PM hot-spot guidance once EPA provides public notice of and an opportunity to comment on such guidance.

On behalf of the National Dredging Team, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is requesting comment on the National Dredging Policy and the National Dredging Team's 2003 Action Agenda for Dredged Material Management. The National Dredging Policy was developed by a Federal Interagency Working Group, which was convened by the U.S. Department of Transportation in the early 1990s to investigate and recommend methods to improve the dredging review process. The Group identified the need for a unified national dredging policy to guide in the development of recommendations and to focus Federal agency commitments. The findings and principles described in the National Dredging Policy have been embraced by the Group's participating agencies. The National Dredging Team (NDT), a Federal interagency group co-chaired by the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), published its Dredged Material Management: Action Agenda for the Next Decade in 2003. This Action Agenda lays out 22 recommended actions to guide the National Dredging Team and support implementation of the National Dredging Policy. At the request of the Cabinet-level Committee on the Marine Transportation System, the NDT is currently reviewing the National Dredging Policy, as well as the NDT's Action Agenda, to reaffirm their adequacy in support of the U.S. Marine Transportation System.

EPA expressed environmental concerns about impacts to groundwater, and recommended the evaluation and selection of a reduced- size alternative and a commitment to green building practices. Rating EC2.