Environmental Protection Agency July 13, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

EPA is proposing a limited approval and a limited disapproval of a revision to the West Virginia State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the State of West Virginia through the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) on June 18, 2008, that addresses regional haze for the first implementation period. This revision addresses the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and EPA's rules that require states to prevent any future, and remedy any existing, anthropogenic impairment of visibility in mandatory Class I areas caused by emissions of air pollutants from numerous sources located over a wide geographic area (also referred to as the ``regional haze program''). States are required to assure reasonable progress toward the national goal of achieving natural visibility conditions in Class I areas. EPA is proposing a limited approval of this SIP revision to implement the regional haze requirements for West Virginia on the basis that the revision, as a whole, strengthens the West Virginia SIP. Also in this action, EPA is proposing a limited disapproval of this same SIP revision because of the deficiencies in the State's June 2008 regional haze SIP submittal arising from the remand by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (D.C. Circuit) to EPA of the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR). EPA is also proposing to approve this revision as meeting the requirements of 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II) and 110(a)(2)(J), relating to visibility protection for the 1997 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) and the 1997 and 2006 fine particulate matter (PM2.5) NAAQS.

The Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee (PPDC) provides a forum for a diverse group of stake holders to provide advice to the pesticide program on various pesticide regulatory, policy, and program implementation issues. In meeting its Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and Endangered Species Act (ESA) obligations, EPA continues to seek advice from the PPDC and its workgroup, the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA) Process Improvement Work Group. EPA plans to meet its ESA consultation obligations through the pesticide registration review program. EPA seeks input on improving the current process for stake holder input on endangered species' consultations, such as when and where stake holders should provide information regarding a pesticide during the registration review process. This meeting of the PRIA Process Improvement Work Group continues the dialogue between EPA and interested stake holders on improving opportunities for stake holder involvement on endangered species' consultations. The agenda will be available on the Web at https://www.epa.gov/oppfead1/cb/ppdc/pria/ index.html.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that EPA is planning to submit a continuing Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This is a request to renew an existing approved collection. This ICR is scheduled to expire on 7/31/11. Before submitting the ICR to OMB for review and approval, EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described below.

This notice announces EPA's notice of receipt of a request to amend the order for the cancellation of products, voluntarily requested by the registrant and accepted by the Agency, containing the pesticide fenamiphos, pursuant to section 6(f)(1) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as amended. This request follows a December 10, 2008 Federal Register Amendment to Use Deletion and Product Cancellation Order, which extended the deadline for persons other than the registrant to sell and distribute one fenamiphos product, Nemacur 3 Emulsifiable Systemic Insecticide-Nematicide, from November 30, 2008 until March 31, 2009. The Agency subsequently received a request from an end user to extend the sale and distribution deadline for Nemacur 3. If this request is granted, the Agency will extend the deadline for persons other than the registrant to sell and distribute Nemacur 3 Emulsifiable Systemic Insecticide-Nematicide (EPA Reg. No. 264-731) for 1 year from the date of publication of the amended order. Additionally, the Agency intends to prohibit use of existing stocks of all fenamiphos products 3 years from the date of publication of the amended order.

EPA is approving into the Ohio State Implementation Plan (SIP) a new rule for the control of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from reinforced plastic composites production operations. This rule applies to any facility that has reinforced plastic composites production operations. This rule is approvable because it satisfies the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA). EPA proposed this rule for approval on January 27, 2011, and received three sets of comments.

EPA is taking final action to approve the December 13, 2007, submission submitted by the State of South Carolina, through the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SC DHEC) as demonstrating that the State meets the state implementation plan (SIP) requirements of sections 110(a)(1) and (2) of the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act) for the 1997 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). Section 110(a) of the CAA requires that each state adopt and submit a SIP for the implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of each NAAQS promulgated by the EPA, which is commonly referred to as an ``infrastructure'' SIP. South Carolina certified that the South Carolina SIP contains provisions that ensure the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS is implemented, enforced, and maintained in South Carolina (hereafter referred to as ``infrastructure submission''). South Carolina's infrastructure submission, provided to EPA on December 13, 2007, addressed all the required infrastructure elements for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. Additionally, EPA is correcting an inadvertent error and responding to adverse comments received on EPA's March 17, 2011, proposed approval of South Carolina's December 13, 2007, infrastructure submission.

EPA is taking final action to approve the December 7, 2007, submission by the State of Mississippi, through the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) as demonstrating that the State meets the implementation plan (SIP) requirements of sections 110(a)(1) and (2) of the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act) for the 1997 8- hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). Section 110(a) of the CAA requires that each state adopt and submit a SIP for the implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of each NAAQS promulgated by the EPA, which is commonly referred to as an ``infrastructure'' SIP. Mississippi certified that the Mississippi SIP contains provisions that ensure the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS is implemented, enforced, and maintained in Mississippi (hereafter referred to as ``infrastructure submission''). Mississippi's infrastructure submission, provided to EPA on December 7, 2007, addressed all the required infrastructure elements for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. Additionally, EPA is responding to adverse comments received on EPA's March 17, 2011, proposed approval of Mississippi's December 7, 2007, infrastructure submission.

EPA is taking final action to approve elements of submissions by Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin regarding the infrastructure requirements of sections 110(a)(1) and (2) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) for the 1997 eight-hour ground level ozone national ambient air quality standards (1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS) and 1997 fine particle national ambient air quality standards (1997 PM2.5 NAAQS). The infrastructure requirements are designed to ensure that the structural components of each state's air quality management program are adequate to meet the state's responsibilities under the CAA. The proposed rulemaking was published on April 28, 2011. During the comment period, which ended on May 31, 2011, EPA received three comment letters raising a number of concerns, which will be addressed in this final action.

In accordance with section 6(f)(1) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as amended, EPA is issuing a notice of receipt of requests by registrants to voluntarily amend their formetanate HCl and acephate product registrations to delete uses. The requests would delete formetanate HCl use in or on apple, pear and peach commodities, and acephate use in or on succulent green beans. The requests would not terminate the last formetanate HCl or acephate products registered for use in the United States. EPA intends to grant these requests at the close of the comment period for this announcement unless the Agency receives substantive comments within the comment period that would merit its further review of the request, or unless one or more of the registrants withdraws its request. If these requests are granted, any sale, distribution, or use of products listed in this notice will be permitted after the uses are deleted only if such sale, distribution, or use is consistent with the terms as described in the final order.