Environmental Protection Agency June 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

EPA is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Delaware. This SIP revision consists of adding specific emission control requirements for controlling nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from industrial boilers. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

EPA has received applications to register pesticide products containing Fluxapyroxad, an active ingredient not included in any previously registered pesticide product. Pursuant to the provisions of section 3(c)(4) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), EPA is hereby providing notice of receipt and opportunity to comment on these applications.

On January 2, 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) to solicit comment on which non-hazardous secondary materials that are used as fuels or ingredients in combustion units are solid wastes under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The meaning of ``solid waste'' as defined under RCRA is of particular importance since it will determine whether a combustion unit is required to meet emissions standards for solid waste incineration units issued under section 129 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) or emissions standards for commercial, industrial, and institutional boilers issued under CAA section 112. CAA section 129 states that the term ``solid waste'' shall have the meaning ``established by the Administrator pursuant to [RCRA].'' EPA is proposing a definition of non-hazardous solid waste that would be used to identify whether non-hazardous secondary materials burned as fuels or used as ingredients in combustion units are solid waste. EPA is also proposing that non-hazardous secondary materials that have been discarded, and are therefore solid wastes, may be rendered products after they have been processed (altered chemically or physically) into a fuel or ingredient product. This proposed rule is necessary to identify units for the purpose of developing certain standards under sections 112 and 129 of the CAA. In addition to this proposed rule, EPA is concurrently proposing air emission requirements under CAA section 112 for industrial, commercial, and institutional boilers and process heaters, as well as air emission requirements under CAA section 129 for commercial and industrial solid waste incineration units.

On September 13, 2004, under authority of section 112 of the Clean Air Act, EPA promulgated national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants for new and existing industrial/commercial/ institutional boilers and process heaters. On June 19, 2007, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated and remanded the national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants for industrial/commercial/institutional boilers and process heaters.

The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public meeting of the SAB Lead Review Panel to provide a consultation on EPA's draft technical analyses that will be used to support the development of lead-based paint dust hazard standards.

EPA is taking direct final action on amendments to the paints and allied products manufacturing area source rule. With this direct final rule, EPA is amending the definition of ``material containing hazardous air pollutants.'' It was not EPA's intent to omit the part of

The EPA is determining that the Providence (All of Rhode Island) moderate 8-hour ozone nonattainment area has attained the 1997 8-hour National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone. This determination is based upon complete, quality-assured and certified ambient air monitoring data that show the area has monitored attainment of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS for the 2006-2008 monitoring period. In addition, quality-assured and certified ozone data for 2009, show that this area continues to attain the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. This determination results in the suspension of the requirements for Rhode Island to submit an attainment demonstration, a reasonable further progress plan, contingency measures, and other planning State Implementation Plans for this area related to attainment of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS. These requirements shall remain suspended for so long as the area continues to attain the ozone NAAQS.

EPA is partially approving State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the State of Colorado on June 18, 2009. These revisions, referred to as the Colorado Interstate Transport SIP,

The Regional Administrator of EPA Region 3 is hereby granting a project waiver of the Buy American requirements of ARRA Section 1605 under the authority of Section 1605(b)(2) [manufactured goods are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory quality] to the Canaan Valley Public Service District (CVPSD) for the purchase of a membrane bioreactor system (MBR), supplied by Enviroquip Inc., that contains a primary component not manufactured in America, at two of its Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs). CVPSD indicates that the MBR treatment process is necessary to achieve the wastewater treatment levels required by the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits issued for these WWTPs. The membrane filtration equipment under consideration is manufactured by a company located in Japan and no United States manufacturer produces an alternative that meets the CVPSD's technical specifications. This is a project specific waiver and only applies to the use of the specified product for the ARRA funded project being proposed. Any other ARRA project that may wish to use the same product must apply for a separate waiver based on the specific project circumstances. The Regional Administrator is making this determination based on the review and recommendations of the EPA Region III, Water Protection Division, Office of Infrastructure and Assistance. The CVPSD has provided sufficient documentation to support its request. The Assistant Administrator of the EPA's Office of Administration and Resources Management has concurred on this decision to make an exception to Section 1605 of ARRA. This action permits the purchase of membrane filtration cassettes for the proposed project being implemented by the CVPSD.

The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces two public teleconferences of the SAB Trichloroethylene (TCE) Review Panel to conduct a follow-up discussion of its review of EPA's Toxicological Review of Trichloroethylene in Support of Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), External Review Draft.

Due to the receipt of an adverse comment, EPA is withdrawing the April 8, 2010 (75 FR 17865), direct final rule approving Wisconsin's update to its state ambient air quality standards. The updates were made to the particulate matter standards by adding fine particulate standards and revoking the state's course particulate standards. The State of Wisconsin submitted this revision as a modification to the State Implementation Plan on September 11, 2009. In the direct final rule, EPA stated that if adverse comments were submitted by May 10, 2010, the rule would be withdrawn and not take effect. On May 7, 2010, EPA received a comment. EPA believes this comment is adverse and, therefore, EPA is withdrawing the direct final

EPA is announcing a 90-day public comment period and a public listening session for the external review draft human health assessment titled, ``Toxicological Review of Formaldehyde Inhalation Assessment: In Support of Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)'' (EPA/635/R-10/002C). The draft assessment was prepared by the National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within the EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD). EPA is releasing this draft assessment solely for the purpose of pre-dissemination peer review under applicable information quality guidelines. This draft assessment has not been formally disseminated by EPA. It does not represent and should not be construed to represent any Agency policy or determination. A committee of the National Research Council, acting under the auspices of National Academy of Sciences (NAS), will conduct an independent scientific peer review of the EPA draft human health assessment of formaldehyde. The peer review committee will hold meetings, some of which may involve public sessions. Public sessions will be announced before each meeting on the National Academies Web site (https://www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/projectview.aspx?key=49 207). The public comment period and NAS scientific peer review are separate processes that provide opportunities for all interested parties to comment on the assessment. Due to the timing of the NAS peer review meetings, one or more NAS meetings may take place before the close of EPA's public comment period (see DATES below). For NAS meetings that occur during the public comment period, EPA will provide all public comments to the NAS at least 5 working days before the meeting date announced on the National Academies website. All comments provided to the EPA during the public comment period will inform the Agency's revision of the draft assessment.

The Environmental Protection Agency is announcing plans to hold several ``listening sessions'' beginning in June 2010 to obtain information from the public on certain issues EPA is considering. EPA is considering whether to propose to modify the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) regulations as they apply to municipal sanitary sewer collection systems and sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) in order to better protect the environment and public health from the harmful effects of sanitary sewer overflows and basement back ups. The Agency is considering whether to propose possible modifications to the NPDES regulations, including establishing standard permit conditions for publicly owned treatment works (POTW)

Notice is hereby given by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that an exemption to the land disposal restrictions under the 1984 Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA) to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) has been granted to Cabot Corporation Tuscola Plant (Cabot Corporation) of Tuscola, Illinois, for two Class I injection wells located in Tuscola, Illinois. As required by 40 CFR part 148, Cabot Corporation has demonstrated, to a reasonable degree of certainty, that there will be no migration of hazardous constituents out of the injection zone or into an underground source of drinking water (USDW) for at least 10,000 years. This final decision allows the continued underground injection by Cabot Corporation of specific restricted wastes from the silica production processes (codes D002, F003, and F039 under 40 CFR part 261), into two Class I hazardous waste injection wells specifically identified as Injection Wells No. 2 and No. 3 at the Tuscola facility. This decision constitutes a final EPA action for which there is no Administrative Appeal.

EPA is announcing an extension of the public comment period for two related draft documents: (1) ``The Effects of Mountaintop Mines and Valley Fills on Aquatic Ecosystems of the Central Appalachian Coalfields'' (EPA/600/R-09/138A) and (2) ``A Field-based Aquatic Life Benchmark for Conductivity in Central Appalachian Streams'' (EPA/600/R- 10/023A). We are specifically extending the comment period to give the public an opportunity to evaluate the data used to derive a benchmark for conductivity. By following the link below, reviewers may download the initial data and EPA's derivative data sets that were used to calculate the conductivity benchmark. These reports were developed by the National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within EPA's Office of Research and Development as part of a set of actions taken by EPA to further clarify and strengthen environmental permitting requirements for Appalachian mountaintop removal and other surface coal mining projects, in coordination with Federal and State regulatory agencies (https://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/guidance/mining.html).