Environmental Protection Agency February 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Notice is hereby given that the State of North Carolina is revising their Public Water System Supervision (PWSS) program to meet the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources has adopted drinking water regulations for the Public Notification Rule. EPA has determined that these revisions are no less stringent than the corresponding federal regulations. Therefore, EPA intends to approve North Carolina's PWSS program for this rule.

Under sections 104, 106, 107 and 122(h)(1) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), the United States Environmental Protection Agency has entered into an Agreement and Order on Consent for Removal Action by Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser concerning the Ecusta Mill Site located in Pisgah Forest, Transylvania County, North Carolina.

EPA is proposing to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Maine. This revision limits open burning of construction and demolition debris to on-site burning for the disposal of wood wastes and painted and unpainted wood, and adds restrictions to open burning conducted for training, research and recreational purposes. The revised rule also defines which open-burning recreational activities do not require a permit, such as residential use of outdoor grills and fireplaces, and recreational campfires while the ground is covered in snow. The revised rule eliminates provisions that allowed permits to be issued for open burning of rubbish where no rubbish collection is available or ``reasonably located'' and where ``there is no other suitable method for disposal.'' In addition, the revised rule includes a reference to reasonable precautions required by Maine statute 38 MRSA section 1296 to prevent the introduction of lead into the environment from lead-based paint. This action will have a beneficial effect on air quality in Maine by reducing emissions of particulate matter, air toxics, and other pollutants, especially from the burning of lead-painted wood, plastics, metals, and other non-wood materials. This action is being taken in accordance with the Clean Air Act.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 8 has completed its statutory review of variances and exemptions issued by the State of Colorado under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Public Water System Supervision (PWSS) program. This review was announced in the Federal Register published September 25, 2007, 72 FR 54445, and provided the public with an opportunity to comment. No comments related to Variances and/or Exemptions issued or proposed by the State of Colorado were received. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 8 determined as a result of this review that the State of Colorado did not abuse its discretion on any variance or exemption granted or proposed as of the date of the on site review on September 25, 2007.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that an Information Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This is a request to renew an existing approved collection. The ICR, which is abstracted below, describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated burden and cost.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that an Information Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This is a request to renew an existing approved collection. The ICR which is abstracted below describes the nature of the collection and the estimated burden and cost.

EPA is publishing for public review and comment a draft list of contaminants that are currently not subject to any proposed or promulgated national primary drinking water regulations, that are known or anticipated to occur in public water systems, and which may require regulations under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). This is the third Contaminant Candidate List (CCL 3) published by the Agency since the SDWA amendments of 1996. This draft CCL 3 includes 93 chemicals or chemical groups and 11 microbiological contaminants. The EPA seeks comment on the draft CCL 3, the approach used to develop the list, and other specific contaminants.

This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of 1-propanesulfonic acid, 2-methyl-2-[(1- oxo-2-propenyl)amino]-, monosodium salt, polymer with ethenol and ethenyl acetate (CAS Reg. No. 107568-12-7) when used as an inert ingredient in a pesticide chemical formulation. Keller and Heckman, LLP submitted a petition to EPA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), as amended by the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA) requesting an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. This regulation eliminates the need to establish a maximum permissible level for residues of 1-propanesulfonic acid, 2-methyl-2-[(1-oxo-2- propenyl)amino]-, monosodium salt, polymer with ethenol and ethenyl acetate.

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of mesotrione in or on asparagus, grass grown for seed, oats, okra, rhubarb, grain sorghum, sweet sorghum, and sugarcane. Syngenta Crop Protection requested this tolerance under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public meeting of the SAB Ecological Processes and Effects Committee to provide advice on the EPA Ecological Research Program's Multi-Year Plan.

This notice publishes EPA's order for the cancellations and amendments to terminate uses, voluntarily requested by the registrants and accepted by the Agency, of products containing the pesticide azinphos-methyl (AZM), pursuant to section 6(f)(1) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as amended. This cancellation order follows an August 8, 2007 Federal Register Notice of Receipt of Requests from the AZM registrants to voluntarily cancel and amend to terminate uses of all their AZM product registrations by September 30, 2012. Subject to the terms and conditions described in Unit II below and except as provided in the existing stocks provisions of the cancellation order, the order terminates distribution, sale and use of AZM products labeled for use on Brussels sprouts and nursery stock effective as of today's date; and prohibits use of such products on Brussels spouts and nursery stock effective September 30, 2008; terminates AZM use on walnuts, almonds, and pistachios effective October 30, 2009; and cancels all AZM products effective September 30, 2012. The cancellation of AZM products serves to terminate the six remaining uses of AZM (apples, pears, cherries, blueberries, alkali bee beds, and parsley) on September 30, 2012. All distribution, sale and use of such products will be prohibited as of that date except as provided in the existing stocks order of the notice. While the alkali bee bed use was not specifically identified in the registrants' voluntary cancellation requests, the registrants requested cancellation of all AZM products, which includes products labeled for the bee bed use. These are the last AZM products registered for use in the United States. In the August 8, 2007 notice, EPA indicated that it would issue an order implementing the cancellations and amendments to terminate uses, unless the Agency received substantive comments within the 30-day comment period that would merit its further review of these requests. The Agency did not receive any comments on the notice. Accordingly, EPA hereby issues in this notice a cancellation order granting the requested cancellations and amendments to terminate uses. Any distribution, sale, or use of the AZM products subject to this cancellation order is permitted only in accordance with the terms of this order, including any existing stocks provisions.

Section 5 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requires any person who intends to manufacture (defined by statute to include import) a new chemical (i.e., a chemical not on the TSCA Inventory) to notify EPA and comply with the statutory provisions pertaining to the manufacture of new chemicals. Under sections 5(d)(2) and 5(d)(3) of TSCA, EPA is required to publish a notice of receipt of a premanufacture notice (PMN) or an application for a test marketing exemption (TME), and to publish periodic status reports on the chemicals under review and the receipt of notices of commencement to manufacture those chemicals. This status report, which covers the period from December 1, 2007 thru December 31, 2007 consists of the PMNs pending or expired, and the notices of commencement to manufacture a new chemical that the Agency has received under TSCA section 5 during this time period.

EPA is approving a March 30, 2007, request from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) to revise the Indiana State Implementation Plan (SIP) by adding a volatile organic compound (VOC) rule for fuel grade ethanol production at dry mills as amendments to 326 IAC 8-5. This rule revision creates an industry-specific Best Available Control Technology (BACT) standard for new fuel grade ethanol production dry mills that replaces the otherwise required case-by-case SIP BACT determination for new facilities with the potential to emit 25 tons or more of VOC per year. Indiana believes that this rule will increase the clarity, predictability and timeliness of its air permits for this particular group of sources. These rules were proposed for approval on September 13, 2007, and comments were received on October 8, 2007.

The EPA is proposing to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Maine for the purpose of making the SIP consistent with recent additions to the Federal general conformity regulation. This revision incorporates by reference new definitions and establishes de minimis emission levels for fine particular matter (PM2.5) into Maine's existing general conformity criteria and procedures previously approved into the Maine SIP.

On December 31, 2006, the State of Georgia, through the Environmental Protection Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, submitted a voluntary State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision requesting approval of an Early Progress Plan for the sole purpose of establishing motor vehicle emission budgets (MVEBs) for the Atlanta 8-hour ozone nonattainment area. The Atlanta 8-hour ozone nonattainment area is comprised of the following twenty counties: Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, Newton, Paulding, Rockdale, Spalding and Walton counties in their entireties (hereafter referred to as the ``Atlanta 8-Hour Ozone Area''). EPA is proposing to approve Atlanta's Early Progress Plan, including the new regional MVEBs for nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds for 2006. This proposed approval of the Early Progress Plan for the Atlanta 8-Hour Ozone Area is based on EPA's determination that Georgia has demonstrated that the SIP revision containing these MVEBs, when considered with the emissions from all sources, shows some progress toward attainment from the base year (i.e., 2002) through an interim target year (i.e., 2006). In the Final Rules Section of this Federal Register, EPA is approving the SIP revision 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 significant, material, and adverse comments are received in response to this rule, 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. EPA will not institute a second comment period on this document. Any parties interested in commenting on this document should do so at this time.

Notice is hereby given that a proposed Administrative Order on Consent (``Agreement'') concerning certain remedial activities by a Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser in connection with remediation of the Frontier Fertilizer Superfund Site (``Site'') in Davis, California has been negotiated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA'') and Target Corporation (``Respondent'') subject to the final review and approval of the EPA and the U.S. Department of Justice. The proposed Agreement concerns relocation and abandonment of groundwater wells on Respondent's property pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. 9604, 9606 and 9622 (``CERCLA''). Respondent's property is adjacent to the Frontier Fertilizer facility, and wells on Respondent's property are necessary for implementation of the remedial action at the Site. The Agreement requires that wells on Respondent's property be relocated under the oversight of EPA. The proposed Agreement includes EPA's covenant not to sue or to take administrative action against the Respondent, provided that the Respondent complies with all the terms and conditions of the Agreement. The Agreement also commits the Respondent to reimburse oversight costs incurred by EPA in connection with the work conducted under CERCLA at the Respondent's property. For thirty (30) calendar days following the date of publication of this notice, EPA will receive written comments relating to the proposed Agreement. EPA's response to any comments received will be available for public inspection at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105.

EPA does not object to the proposed action. Rating LO. EIS No. 20070508, ERP No. D-AFS-J65500-00, Wild and Scenic River Suitability Study for National Forest System Lands on the Ashley, Dixie, Fishlake, Manti-La Sal, Uinta and Wasatch-Cache National Forests in UT and Portion of National Forests extend into Colorado and Wyoming, several counties, UT, Montrose County, CO, and Uinta County, WY. Summary: EPA has environmental concerns about potential water quality impacts and recommends that the final EIS evaluate and compare the environmental impacts by alternative, of removing interim protections from the 86 eligible stream segments. Rating EC1.

EPA is announcing a public comment period for the external review draft document titled, ``Toxicological Review of Thallium: In Support of Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)'' (NCEA-S-2949). The EPA intends to consider comments and recommendations from the public and the expert panel meeting, which will be scheduled at a later date and announced in the Federal Register, when EPA finalizes the draft document. The public comment period will provide opportunities for all interested parties to comment on the document. EPA intends to forward public comments submitted in accordance with this notice to the external peer-review panel prior to the meeting for their consideration. EPA is releasing this draft document solely for the purpose of pre- dissemination public review under applicable information quality guidelines. This document has not been formally disseminated by EPA. It does not represent and should not be construed to represent any Agency policy or determination. The draft document and EPA's peer-review charge are available via the Internet on NCEA's home page under the Recent Additions and the Data and Publications menus at https://www.epa.gov/ncea. When finalizing the draft document, EPA intends to consider any public comments that EPA receives in accordance with this notice.

The EPA is proposing to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Massachusetts. The SIP revision consists of technical revisions to Massachusetts regulation 310 CMR 7.38, ``Certification of Tunnel Ventilation Systems in the Metropolitan Boston Air Pollution Control District.'' The amendments better define the emissions monitoring techniques for various types of tunnel ventilation systems, and provide flexibility in emission monitoring requirements. This action is being taken in accordance with the Clean Air Act.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.), this document announces that an Information Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This is a request to renew an existing approved collection. The ICR, which is abstracted below, describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated burden and cost.

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 for a new Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). 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 document announces the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) responses to Agency Clearance requests, in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA's regulations are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and 48 CFR chapter 15.

North Dakota has applied to EPA for final authorization of the changes to its hazardous waste program under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The EPA proposes to grant final authorization to the hazardous waste program changes submitted by North Dakota. In addition, EPA is proposing to codify in the regulations entitled ``Approved State Hazardous Waste Management Programs'', North Dakota's authorized hazardous waste program. EPA will incorporate by reference into the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) those provisions of the State statutes and regulations that are authorized and that EPA will enforce under the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended and commonly referred to as RCRA. In the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of this Federal Register, we are authorizing the State's program changes and codifying and incorporating by reference the authorized hazardous waste program as an immediate final rule. EPA did not make a proposal prior to the immediate final rule because we believe these actions are not controversial and do not expect comments to oppose them. We have explained the reasons for this authorization and incorporation-by- reference in the preamble to the immediate final rule. Unless we get written comments opposing this authorization and incorporation by reference during the comment period, the immediate final rule will become effective and the Agency will not take further action on this proposal. If we receive comments that oppose these actions, we will publish a document in the Federal Register withdrawing this rule before it takes effect. EPA will then address public comments in a later final rule based on this proposal. Any parties interested in commenting on these actions must do so at this time. EPA may not provide further opportunity for comment.