Environmental Protection Agency July 15, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with section 122(i) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, as amended (CERCLA) and section 7003 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the EPA and the State of California's Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Coast Region (Regional Board) and Department of Fish and Game (DFG) (jointly referred to as the State Regulatory Entities), are hereby providing notice of a proposed administrative de minimis settlement concerning the Casmalia Disposal Site in Santa Barbara County, California (the Casmalia Disposal Site). Section 122(g) of CERCLA provides EPA with the authority to enter into administrative de minimis settlements. This settlement is intended to resolve the liabilities of 142 settling parties for the Casmalia Disposal Site under sections 106 and 107 of CERCLA and section 7003 of RCRA. These parties are identified below. Of these 142 parties, 100 have elected to resolve their liability with EPA and the State Regulatory Entities. An additional 42 parties have elected to resolve their liability only with the State Regulatory Entities at this time; 23 of these have previously settled with EPA. The parties that have settled with the State Regulatory Entities have also settled potential natural resource damage claims by the California Department of Fish and Game as the State Natural Resource Trustee (``State Trustee''). Most of those resolving their liability to the EPA have also elected to resolve their liability for response costs and potential natural resource damage claims by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The 100 parties settling with EPA and the State Regulatory Entities and State Trustee sent 19,762,737 lbs. of waste to the Casmalia Disposal Site, which represents 0.35% of total Site waste. This settlement requires these parties to pay over $1.7 million to EPA. These parties and the additional 42 parties settling with only the State Regulatory Entities and State Trustee will pay a total of $675,000 to the State Regulatory Entities and State Trustee. EPA is simultaneously publishing another Federal Register Notice relating to another settlement with de minimis parties that had received offers prior to the group of parties listed in this Notice.

Under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92-463, EPA gives notice of a meeting of the Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Committee (FRRCC). The purpose of the FRRCC is to provide advice to the Administrator of EPA on environmental issues and programs that impact, or are of concern to, farms, ranches, and rural communities. The FRRCC is a part of EPA's efforts to expand cooperative working relationships with the agriculture industry and others who are interested in agricultural issues and to achieve greater progress in environmental protection.

The Regional Administrator of the Environmental Protection AgencyNew England Region, has determined that adequate facilities for the safe and sanitary removal and treatment of sewage from all vessels are reasonably available for the coastal waters of Southern Mount Desert Island.

This notice announces that EPA has received a petition under section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), and requests comments on issues raised by the petition. The petition was received from the Ecology Center of Ann Arbor, Michigan and the Sierra Club et al., (petitioners) on May 29, 2009. The petition requests that EPA establish regulations prohibiting the manufacture, processing, and distribution in commerce of lead wheel balancing weights. EPA must either grant or deny the petition within 90 days of filing.

This notice announces EPA's order for the amendments to terminate uses, voluntarily requested by the registrants and accepted by the Agency, of certain products containing the pesticide PCNB, pursuant to section 6(f)(1) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as amended. This order follows a March 30, 2009 Federal Register Notice of Receipt of Requests from the PCNB registrants to amend voluntarily certain of their PCNB product registrations. Specifically, the registrants requested to amend their registrations to terminate the following uses of PCNB: Golf course roughs; residential sites including lawns, yards, and ornamental plants and gardens around homes and apartments; grounds around day care facilities; school yards; parks (except industrial parks); playgrounds; and athletic fields (except professional and college fields). In the March 30, 2009 Notice, EPA indicated that it would issue an order implementing the 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, or unless the registrants withdrew their requests within this period. The Agency did not receive any comments on the notice. Further, the registrants did not withdraw their requests. Accordingly, EPA hereby issues in this notice an order granting the requested amendments to terminate certain uses. Any distribution, sale, or use of the PCNB products subject to this order is permitted only in accordance with the terms of this order, including any existing stocks provisions.

This notice announces 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 malathion, pursuant to section 6(f)(1) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as amended. This cancellation order follows a May 20, 2009 Federal Register Notice of Receipt of Requests from the malathion registrants to voluntarily cancel or to amend to terminate uses of certain malathion product registrations. These are not the last malathion products registered for use in the United States. In the May 20, 2009 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, or unless the registrants withdrew their requests within this period. The Agency did not receive any comments on the notice. Further, the registrants did not withdraw their requests. 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 malathion products subject to this cancellation order is permitted only in accordance with the terms of this order, including any existing stocks provisions.

Based on its review of the air quality criteria for oxides of nitrogen and the primary national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for oxides of nitrogen as measured by nitrogen dioxide (NO2), EPA proposes to make revisions to the primary NO2 NAAQS in order to provide requisite protection of public health. Specifically, EPA proposes to supplement the current annual standard by establishing a new short-term NO2 standard based on the 3-year average of the 99th percentile (or 4th highest) of 1-hour daily maximum concentrations. EPA proposes to set the level of this new standard within the range of 80 to 100 ppb and solicits comment on standard levels as low as 65 ppb and as high as 150 ppb. EPA also proposes to establish requirements for an NO2 monitoring network that will include monitors within 50 meters of major roadways. In addition, EPA is soliciting comment on an alternative approach to setting the standard and revising the monitoring network. Consistent with the terms of a consent decree, the Administrator will sign a notice of final rulemaking by January 22, 2010.