Environmental Protection Agency July 11, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

EPA is proposing to approve a redesignation request and a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) is requesting that the Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley, Pennsylvania ozone nonattainment area (Pittsburgh Area) be redesignated as attainment for the 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS). EPA is proposing to approve the ozone redesignation request for Pittsburgh Area. In conjunction with its redesignation request, PADEP submitted a SIP revision consisting of a maintenance plan for Pittsburgh Area that provides for continued attainment of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS for at least 10 years after redesignation. EPA is proposing to make a determination that the Pittsburgh Area has attained the 8-hour ozone NAAQS, based upon three years of complete, quality- assured ambient air quality ozone monitoring data for 2003-2005. EPA's proposed approval of the 8-hour ozone redesignation request is based on its determination that the Pittsburgh Area has met the criteria for redesignation to attainment specified in the Clean Air Act (CAA). In addition, PADEP submitted a 2002 base year inventory for the Pittsburgh Area which EPA is proposing to approve as a SIP revision. EPA is also providing information on the status of its adequacy determination for the motor vehicle emission budgets (MVEBs) that are identified in the Pittsburgh Area maintenance plan for purposes of transportation conformity, which EPA is also proposing to approve. EPA is proposing approval of the redesignation request, and the maintenance plan and the 2002 base year inventory SIP revisions in accordance with the requirements of the CAA.

This notice announces the initial filing of a pesticide petition proposing the amendment of regulations at 40 CFR 180.190(a) for residues of antimicrobial pesticide formulation containing silver compounds applied to food contact surfaces in public eating places, dairy processing equipment, and food processing equipment and utensils.

EPA is notifying the public that it has received negative declarations for other solid waste incinerator (OSWI) units from the States of Delaware, and West Virginia. These negative declarations certify that OSWI units subject to the requirements of sections 111(d) and 129 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) do not exist within the jurisdictional boundaries of these air pollution control agencies.

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 schedule to expire on November 30, 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.

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of cymoxanil in or on grape, hop, and caneberry. The Interregional Research Project (IR-4) requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

This notice announces the availability of EPA's risk assessment, and related documents for the pesticide copper 8- quinolinolate, 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 Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) for copper 8-quinolinolate through a modified, 4-Phase public participation process that the Agency uses to involve the public in developing pesticide reregistration decisions. Through this program, EPA is ensuring that all pesticides meet current health and safety standards.

Based on its review of the air quality criteria for ozone (O3) and related photochemical oxidants and national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for O3, EPA proposes to make revisions to the primary and secondary NAAQS for O3 to provide requisite protection of public health and welfare, respectively, and to make corresponding revisions in data handling conventions for O3. With regard to the primary standard for O3, EPA proposes to revise the level of the 8-hour standard to a level within the range of 0.070 to 0.075 parts per million (ppm), to provide increased protection for children and other ``at risk'' populations against an array of O3-related adverse health effects that range from decreased lung function and increased respiratory symptoms to serious indicators of respiratory morbidity including emergency department visits and hospital admissions for respiratory causes, and possibly cardiovascular-related morbidity as well as total nonaccidental and cardiopulmonary mortality. The EPA also proposes to specify the level of the primary standard to the nearest thousandth ppm. The EPA solicits comment on alternative levels down to 0.060 ppm and up to and including retaining the current 8-hour standard of 0.08 ppm (effectively 0.084 ppm using current data rounding conventions). With regard to the secondary standard for O3, EPA proposes to revise the current 8-hour standard with one of two options to provide increased protection against O3-related adverse impacts on vegetation and forested ecosystems. One option is to replace the current standard with a cumulative, seasonal standard expressed as an index of the annual sum of weighted hourly concentrations, cumulated over 12 hours per day (8 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.) during the consecutive 3- month period within the O3 season with the maximum index value, set at a level within the range of 7 to 21 ppm-hours. The other option is to make the secondary standard identical to the proposed primary 8-hour standard. The EPA solicits comment on specifying a cumulative, seasonal standard in terms of a 3-year average of the annual sums of weighted hourly concentrations; on the range of alternative 8-hour standard levels for which comment is being solicited for the primary standard, including retaining the current secondary standard, which is identical to the current primary standard; and on an alternative approach to setting a cumulative, seasonal secondary standard(s).