Environmental Protection Agency December 20, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

EPA announces the availability of the Draft Cruise Ship Discharge Assessment Report (Draft Report), which assesses five cruise ship waste streams, specifically, sewage, graywater, bilge water, solid waste, and hazardous waste. EPA prepared the Draft Cruise Ship Discharge Assessment Report as part of its response to a petition submitted by the Bluewater Network on behalf of a number of environmental advocacy organizations. EPA invites public comment on its assessment, as well as input on options, alternatives, and recommendations on whether and how to better control and regulate these waste streams. EPA intends to use this public input to help identify a range of alternatives for these waste streams when it completes the Cruise Ship Discharge Assessment Report.

EPA is conditionally approving a revision to the Michigan State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted on July 16, 2007. This revision incorporates provisions related to the implementation of EPA's Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR), promulgated on May 12, 2005, and subsequently revised on April 28, 2006, and December 13, 2006, and the CAIR Federal Implementation Plan (CAIR FIP) concerning sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOX) annual, and NOX ozone season emissions for the state of Michigan, promulgated on April 28, 2006, and subsequently revised December 13, 2006. EPA is not making any changes to the CAIR FIP, but is, to the extent EPA approves Michigan's SIP revision, amending the appropriate appendices in the CAIR FIP trading rules simply to note that approval. The SIP revision that EPA is conditionally approving is an abbreviated SIP revision that addresses: The applicability provisions for the NOX ozone season trading program under the CAIR FIP and supporting definitions of terms; the methodology to be used to allocate NOX annual and ozone season NOX allowances under the CAIR FIP and supporting definitions of terms; and provisions for opt-in units under the CAIR FIP. Michigan will be submitting additional SO2 rules in the future.