Environmental Protection Agency 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice announces the availability of EPA's Responsiveness Summary Concerning EPA's June 17, 2008 Public Notice of Final Decisions To Add Waters and Pollutants to Arkansas' 2006 Section 303(d) List. On June 17, 2008, EPA published a notice in the Federal Register at Volume 73, Number 117, pages 34295-34296 providing the public the opportunity to review its final decisions to add waters and pollutants to Arkansas' 2006 Section 303(d) List as required by EPA's Public Participation regulations (40 CFR Part 25). Based on the Responsiveness Summary, EPA has decided to remove six waterbody pollutant combinations identified in EPA's Final Action on Arkansas' 2006 Section 303(d) list based on additional information provided by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality. Therefore, EPA has revised its decision to disapprove Arkansas' decisions not to list 73 water body-pollutant combinations instead of 79 waterbody pollutant combinations. A listing of these 73 water body pollutant-combinations along with priority rankings for inclusion on the 2006 Section 303(d) List can be found in Table 2 of EPA's Responsiveness Summary.

EPA establishes national technology-based regulations known as effluent guidelines and pretreatment standards to reduce pollutant discharges from categories of industry discharging directly to waters of the United States or discharging indirectly through Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTWs). The Clean Water Act (CWA) sections 301(d), 304(b), 304(g), and 307(b) require EPA to review these effluent guidelines and pretreatment standards. This notice presents EPA's 2008 review of existing effluent guidelines and pretreatment standards. It also presents EPA's evaluation of indirect dischargers without categorical pretreatment standards to identify potential new categories for pretreatment standards under CWA sections 304(g) and 307(b). This notice also presents the final 2008 Effluent Guidelines Program Plan (``final 2008 Plan''), which, as required under CWA section 304(m), identifies any new or existing industrial categories selected for effluent guidelines rulemaking and provides a schedule for such rulemaking. CWA section 304(m) requires EPA to biennially publish such a plan after public notice and comment. The Agency published the preliminary 2008 Plan on October 30, 2007 (72 FR 61335). This notice also provides EPA's preliminary thoughts concerning its 2009 annual reviews under CWA sections 304(b) and 304(g) as well as its reviews under 301(d) and 307(b) and solicits comments, data and information to assist EPA in performing these reviews. EPA intends to continue its detailed studies of the steam electric power generating industry, the health services industry, and the coalbed methane extraction industry, which is part of the oil and gas extraction industry. Finally, EPA is using this notice to solicit public comment to identify industry sectors and facilities that use water efficiency practices that promote water efficiency, re-use, and recycling because such practices can be related to reducing overall pollutant discharges.

EPA is taking direct final action to withdraw the federal antidegradation policy for all waters of the United States within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. We are withdrawing the federal antidegradation policy to allow Pennsylvania to implement its own antidegradation policy. Pennsylvania has adequately demonstrated that its antidegradation policy protects all waters of the United States at a level consistent with the federal requirements under the Clean Water Act. Therefore, the federal antidegradation policy is redundant.

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92- 463, the Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development (ORD), gives notice of three meetings of the Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC) Human Health Subcommittee.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) invites all interested persons to nominate qualified individuals to serve a three-year term as members of the National Drinking Water Advisory Council (Council). This 15-member Council was established by the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) to provide practical and independent advice, consultation, and recommendations to the Agency on the activities, functions, policies, and regulations required by the SDWA. The terms of five (5) members expire in December 2008. To maintain the representation required in the statute, nominees for the 2009 Council should represent State and local officials concerned with public water supply and public health protection (1 vacancy), the general public (2 vacancies) and interest groups (2 vacancies), with at least one of these vacancies representing small systems. All nominations will be fully considered, but applicants need to be aware of the specific representation needed as well as geographical balance so that all major areas of the U.S. (East, Mid-West, South, Mountain, South-West, and West) will be represented. The current list of members is available on the EPA Web site at https://www.epa.gov/safewater/ndwac.

EPA is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the Alabama State Implementation Plan (SIP), submitted by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) on January 8, 2008. The revisions include modifications to Alabama's Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) and Control of Open Burning and Incineration regulations, found at Alabama Administrative Code (AAC) Chapters 335-3-1, and 335-3-3, respectively. This action is being taken pursuant to section 110 of the Clean Air Act (CAA). This SIP revision also contains a letter addressing the requirements of section 110(a)(2)(D)(i), which EPA will consider separately.

EPA is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Commonwealth of Virginia removing a nitrogen oxide (NOX) reasonably available control technology (RACT) permit from the Virginia SIP for sources located at the Norfolk Southern Railway CompanyEast End Shops' facility located in Roanoke, Virginia, which have permanently shut down. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region III is publishing a direct final Notice of Deletion of the Berks Landfill Superfund Site (Site), located in Spring Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, from the National Priorities List (NPL). The NPL, promulgated pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended, is Appendix B of 40 CFR part 300, which is the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). This direct final deletion is being published by EPA with the concurrence of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Commonwealth), through the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP), because EPA has determined that all appropriate response actions under CERCLA, other than operation, maintenance and five-year reviews, have been completed. However, this deletion does not preclude future actions under CERCLA.

EPA is taking direct final action to approve a revision to the Missouri State Implementation Plan (SIP) and Operating Permits Program. EPA is approving a revision to the Missouri rule entitled ``Submission of Emission Data, Emission Fees, and Process Information.'' These revisions will establish emission fees for the Missouri facilities as required annually, align state rule reporting requirements with the Federal Consolidated Emission Reporting Rule (CERR), and decrease the required Emissions Inventory Questionnaire (EIQ) reporting frequency for affected installations.

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.

There will be a four-day meeting of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory Panel (FIFRA SAP) to consider and review the Scientific Issues Associated with Worker Reentry Exposure Assessment.

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 August 4, 2008 through August 15, 2008, consists of the PMNs and TME, both 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.

Under Section 122(h)(1) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), the United States Environmental Protection Agency has entered into a settlement for reimbursement of past response costs concerning the 19th Avenue Drum Superfund Site located in Opa Locka, Dade County, Florida for publication.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.), this document announces that EPA is planning to submit a request to reinstate two previously approved Information Collection Requests (ICR) and four new 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 regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of acetic acid ethenyl ester, polymer with sodium 2-methyl-2-[(1-oxo-2-propen-1-yl)amino]-1-propanesulfonate (1:1), hydrolyzed (CAS No. 924892-37-5); when used as an inert ingredient in a pesticide chemical formulation. Celanese Ltd. submitted a petition to EPA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), requesting an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. This regulation eliminates the need to establish a maximum permissible level for residues of acetic acid ethenyl ester, polymer with sodium 2- methyl-2-[(1-oxo-2-propen-1-yl)amino]-1-propanesulfonate (1:1), hydrolyzed on food or feed commodities.

This regulation revises the tolerances for combined residues of spiromesifen and its enol metabolite in or on corn. Bayer CropScience requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of fludioxonil in or on avocado; canistel; citrus, oil; mango; papaya; sapodilla; sapote, black; sapote, mamey; star apple; tomatillo; tomato; vegetable, cucurbit, crop group 9; vegetable, leaves of root and tuber, crop group 2; vegetable, root, except sugar beet, subgroup 1B; and vegetable, tuberous and corm, except potato, subgroup 1D. The Interregional Research Project Number 4 (IR-4) requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) on behalf of the registrant, Syngenta Crop Protection, Greensboro, NC 27409.

EPA is announcing that Eastern Research Group, Inc. (ERG), an EPA contractor for external scientific peer review, will convene an independent panel of experts and organize and conduct an external peer review workshop to review the external review draft document titled, ``Toxicological Review of Carbon Tetrachloride: In Support of Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)'' (EPA/ 635/R-08/005A). EPA previously announced the 60-day public comment period (ending July 21, 2008) for the draft document in the Federal Register on May 21, 2008 (73 FR 29502). EPA will consider public comments and recommendations from the expert panel workshop as EPA finalizes the draft document. The public comment period and the external peer review workshop are separate processes that provide opportunities for all interested parties to comment on the document. EPA intends to forward public comments submitted in accordance with the Federal Register notice (73 FR 29502) to ERG for consideration by the external peer review panel prior to the workshop. EPA is releasing this draft document solely for the purpose of pre- dissemination peer 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 public may attend this workshop as observers through a registration process, and time will be set aside for observers to give brief oral comments at the workshop regarding the draft document under review. 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 the comments and recommendations from the external peer review workshop and any public comments that EPA receives in accordance with 73 FR 29502, May 21, 2008. Public comments submitted during the 60-day public comment period ending July 21, 2008 may be observed at https://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2008-0058.

The Environmental Protection Agency is deleting systems of records OPP Time Accounting Information System (EPA-14). Published in the Federal Register published on February 22, 2002 (67 FR 8246-8264). Reason for deletion is OPP Time Accounting Information System is being integrated into the PRISM system and the sensitive personally identifiable information has been removed from the TAIS application.

This notice announces the availability of a memorandum entitled ``Award of Alaska Rural and Native Villages Program Grant Authorized by the Clean Water Act and the EPA Section of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008'' and the accompanying grant guidelines. These documents describe how EPA will award and administer the 2008 Alaska Rural and Native Villages Program Grant as authorized by Section 113a of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1263a) and the Agency's FY 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act (Pub. L. 110-161). The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008, provides budget authority for funding the Alaska Rural and Native Villages Program that assists communities with the rehabilitation or construction of drinking water and wastewater systems and also training and technical assistance in the operations and maintenance of these systems. The grant guidelines will not be reissued annually. The grant recipient, the State of Alaska, will receive a copy of this notice, the memorandum, and a copy of the grant guidelines from EPA.

This regulation establishes a time-limited tolerance for combined residues of linuron and its metabolites in or on lentils. This action is in response to EPA's granting of an emergency exemption under section 18 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) authorizing use of the pesticide on lentils. This regulation establishes a maximum permissible level for residues of linuron in the food commodity, lentils. The time-limited tolerance expires and is revoked on December 31, 2011.

EPA expressed environmental concerns about air quality, water quality and critical fish habitat impacts. EPA also recommended that the Final EIS include additional information regarding erosion and sediment control measures to minimize aquatic impacts. Rating EC2.

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. This ICR is scheduled to expire on October 31, 2008. The ICR, which is abstracted below, describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated burden and cost.