Environmental Protection Agency February 22, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (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. The ICR, which is abstracted, below describes the nature of the collection and the estimated burden and cost.

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. The ICR, which is abstracted below, describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated burden and cost.

This notice announces the broadly applicable alternative test method approval decisions that EPA has made under and in support of New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) in 2010.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is publishing an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) to seek comments from interested parties on possible EPA actions to address water quality conditions affecting aquatic resources in the San Francisco Bay/ Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary (Bay Delta Estuary) in California. EPA is asking the public to consider broadly whether EPA should be taking new or different actions under its programs to address recent significant declines in multiple aquatic species in the Bay Delta Estuary. EPA is not limiting its request to actions that would require rulemaking. There may be a range of changes in EPA's activities in the Bay Delta Estuary that would be constructive, including enforcement, research, revisions to water quality standards, etc. EPA will consider all comments before deciding what changes, if any, should be pursued. After reviewing the comments and completing its evaluation, EPA will provide the results of its review and any proposed next steps to the public. This ANPR identifies specific issues on which EPA solicits comment, including potential site-specific water quality standards and site-specific changes to pesticide regulation. In addition to the specific issues on which EPA solicits comments, EPA is interested in comments on any other aspects of EPA's programs affecting Bay Delta Estuary aquatic resources. This notice contains a summary version of the ANPR. Information on accessing the unabridged version is included in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.

EPA is taking final action to approve a revision to the State Implementation Plan (SIP) for Kansas, submitted by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) to EPA on October 4, 2010, for parallel processing. KDHE submitted the final version of this SIP revision on December 23, 2010. The SIP revision, which incorporates updates to KDHE's air quality regulations, includes two significant changes impacting the regulation of greenhouse gas (GHG) under Kansas's New Source Review (NSR) Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program. First, the SIP revision provides the State of Kansas with authority to issue PSD permits governing GHGs. Second, the SIP revision establishes emission thresholds for determining which new stationary sources and modification projects become subject to Kansas's PSD permitting requirements for their GHG emissions. The first provision is required under the GHG PSD SIP call, which EPA published on December 13, 2010, and which required the state of Kansas to apply its PSD program to GHG-emitting sources. The second provision is consistent with the thresholds EPA established in the Tailoring Rule, published on June 3, 2010. EPA is approving this SIP revision because this SIP revision meets the requirements of the GHG PSD SIP Call. In addition, as a result of this approval, EPA is rescinding the Federal implementation plan (FIP)as it relates to Kansas onlythat had previously been imposed on December 30, 2010.

EPA is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the Maryland State Implementation Plan (SIP) amending the definition of ``fuel-burning equipment.'' The revision removes the word ``furnace'' from the definition of ``fuel-burning equipment'' in one of Maryland's regulations and also removes the redundant definition of ``fuel-burning equipment'' from another section. EPA is approving these revisions to the definition of ``fuel-burning equipment'' in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

EPA is approving a July 29, 2010, request from the State of Illinois to exempt sources of Oxides of Nitrogen (NOX) in the Illinois portions of the Chicago-Gary-Lake County, Illinois-Indiana and St. Louis, Missouri-Illinois 8-hour ozone nonattainment areas from Clean Air Act (CAA) requirements for NOX Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) for purposes of attaining the 1997 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS or standard). This NOX RACT waiver is based on the most recent three years of complete, quality assured ozone monitoring data, which show attainment of the 1997 8-hour ozone standard in the subject nonattainment areas and demonstrate that additional reduction of NOX emissions in these areas would not contribute to attainment of the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS.