Environmental Protection Agency June 17, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On June 6, 2007, the Environmental Law and Policy Center, the Sierra Club, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, the Washington Toxics Coalition, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and UNITE HERE (hereinafter ``petitioners''), petitioned EPA under section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to initiate rulemaking proceedings under section 4 and section 6 of TSCA for the substances nonylphenol (NP) and nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs). EPA granted the petitioners' request for chronic aquatic toxicity testing and a few other aspects of the petitioners' TSCA section 4 request, but denied all of the petitioners' section 6 requests. Subsequently, on October 24, 2007, the petitioners filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California challenging EPA's denial of their TSCA section 21 petition. The lawsuit was mediated and, in an agreement signed on December 30, 2008, the parties settled the case. EPA is now providing this advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) for aquatic and sediment toxicity testing under TSCA section 4 for these substances, and is also requesting comment on gathering data under TSCA and through other means to facilitate the evaluation of industrial laundry worker exposure to NPEs.

The EPA published a notice in the Federal Register of Tuesday, June 9, 2009 (74 FR, 27313-27315), announcing a listening session for the external review draft document titled, ``Toxicological Review of 1,4-Dioxane: In Support of Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)'' (EPA/635/R-09/005). The notice contained incorrect dates.

Due to the receipt of an adverse comment, the EPA is withdrawing the May 5, 2009 (74 FR 20599), direct final rule approving a rule revision to extend Federally Enforceable State Operating Permit renewal terms from five years to ten years. The State of Indiana submitted this revision as a modification to the State Implementation Plan on December 19, 2007. In the direct final rule, EPA stated that if adverse comments were submitted by June 4, 2009, the rule would be withdrawn and not take effect. On May 19, 2009, EPA received a comment. EPA believes this comment is adverse and, therefore, EPA is withdrawing

On or about June 5, 2009, the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS) of EPA is making available for public review and comment a draft document titled ``Risk and Exposure Assessment to Support the Review of the Secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Oxides of Nitrogen and Oxides of Sulfur: Second Draft.'' The purpose of this draft document is to convey the approach taken to assess environmental exposures to ambient oxides of nitrogen and sulfur and to characterize associated public welfare risks, as well as to present the results of those assessments.

Notice is hereby given that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has designated, in accordance with 40 CFR Part 53, four new equivalent methods for measuring concentrations of PM2.5 in the ambient air.

This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of alkyl amine polyalkoxylates when used as inert ingredients in pesticide formulations applied to growing crops and animals. The Joint Inerts Task Force (JITF), Cluster Support Team Number 4 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 alkyl amine polyalkoxylates.