Environmental Protection Agency January 16, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) are announcing the availability of the final ``Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Assessment of Materials and Equipment manual'' (MARSAME). MARSAME provides information on planning, conducting, evaluating, and documenting radiological surveys for demonstrating compliance with measurable action levels. The MARSAME manual is a multi-agency consensus document. The agencies previously have sought public comment in order to receive feedback from the widest range of interested parties and to ensure that all information relevant to developing the document was received. The agencies reviewed public comments received on the draft MARSAME as well as comments from a concurrent, independent, technical peer review. Suggested changes were incorporated, where appropriate, in response to those comments.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing action on portions of two State Implementation Plan revisions submitted by New Jersey that are intended to meet several Clean Air Act (Act) requirements for attaining the 0.08 part per million (ppm) 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards. EPA is proposing approval of: The 2008 reasonable further progress plan and associated 2008 ozone projection year emission inventories, contingency measures for the 2008 reasonable further progress plan, 2008 conformity budgets used for planning purposes, and the reasonably available control measure analysis. In addition, EPA is proposing a conditional approval of New Jersey's efforts to meet the reasonably available control technology requirement. The intended effect of this action is to approve those programs that meet Act requirements and to further achieve emission reductions that will be critical to attainment of the national ambient air quality standard for ozone in New Jersey's two nonattainment areas.

EPA today, pursuant to section 209(e) of the Clean Air Act (Act), 42 U.S.C. 7543(e), is granting California its request for authorization to enforce its Airborne Toxic Control measure (ATCM) establishing in-use emission performance standards for engines in transport refrigeration units (TRUs) and TRU generator sets that will be phased-in commencing in December 31, 2008.

The EPA proposes to revise the rule for implementing the 1997 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for several of the limited portions of the rule vacated by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The proposal addresses the classification system for the subset of initial 8-hour ozone nonattainment areas that the implementation rule originally covered under Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) title I, part D, subpart 1. The proposal also addresses how 1-hour ozone contingency measures that apply for failure to attain or make reasonable progress toward attainment of the 1-hour standard should apply under the anti- backsliding provisions of the implementation rule. In addition, the proposal removes language relating to the vacated provisions of the rule that provided exemptions from the requirements of nonattainment new source review (NSR) and CAA section 185 penalty fees under the 1- hour standard. The EPA plans to issue a separate proposed rule providing additional guidance as to how these two requirements (185 fees and NSR) now apply. In addition, this proposal includes the deletion of an obsolete provision in the 1-hour ozone standard itself.