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

Notice is hereby given that the EPA has posted its responses

This document announces the Office of Management and Budget

The EPA has determined that the State of Louisiana is no

The Director of the Office of Ecosystem Protection, EPA-New England, is issuing a notice of availability of the final National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) General Permits for certain Publicly Owned Treatment Works Treatment Plants (POTW treatment plants) and Other Treatment Works Treating Domestic Sewage (collectively, ``facilities'') in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (including both Commonwealth and Indian country lands) and the State of New Hampshire. Throughout this document, these two permits are collectively referred to as the ``Publicly Owned Treatment Works General Permit'' (``POTW GP'' or the ``General Permit''). The General Permit replaces the prior POTW GP, which expired on September 23, 2010 (the ``expired POTW GP''). The POTW GP establishes Notice of Intent (``NOI'') requirements as well as effluent limitations, standards, and prohibitions for facilities that discharge to fresh and marine waters. Coverage under these General Permits is available to facilities in Massachusetts classified as minor facilities and to facilities in New Hampshire classified as major or minor facilities. Owners and/or operators of these facilities, including those facilities whose authorization to discharge under the expired POTW GP was administratively continued in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act (5 U.S.C. 558(c)) and 40 CFR 122.6, will be required to submit an NOI to be covered by the final POTW GP to both EPA-New England and the appropriate state agency, in accordance with the notification requirements of the General Permit. Following EPA and State review of the NOI, the facility will receive written notification from EPA whether coverage and authorization to discharge under the General Permit has been granted. The eligibility requirements for permit coverage, including the requirement that a facility have a receiving water dilution factor equal to or greater than 50, are provided in the General Permit. The General Permit does not cover new sources as defined under 40 CFR 122.2.

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 Chatham, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro, and Provincetown, collectively termed the Outer Cape Cod for the purpose of this notice.

This document announces the Agency's receipt of several initial filings of pesticide petitions requesting the establishment or modification of regulations for residues of pesticide chemicals in or on various commodities.

EPA is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the Imperial County Air Pollution Control District (ICAPCD), Kern County Air Pollution Control District (KCAPCD), and Ventura County Air Pollution Control District (VCAPCD) portions of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from architectural coating operations. We are approving local rules that regulate these emission sources under the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act).

This notice announces the availability of EPA's preliminary human health risk assessment for the registration review of chlorpyrifos and opens a public comment period on this document. Registration review is EPA's periodic review of pesticide registrations to ensure that each pesticide continues to satisfy the statutory standard for registration, that is, the pesticide can perform its intended function without unreasonable adverse effects on human health or the environment. As part of the registration review process, the Agency has completed a comprehensive preliminary human health risk assessment for all chlorpyrifos uses. After reviewing comments received during the public comment period, EPA will issue a revised risk assessment, explain any changes to the preliminary risk assessment, and respond to comments and may request public input on risk mitigation before completing a proposed registration review decision for chlorpyrifos. Through this program, EPA is ensuring that each pesticide's registration is based on current scientific and other knowledge, including its effects on human health and the environment.

EPA is issuing final guidance on how owners and operators of underground storage tanks (USTs) can demonstrate compliance with the Federal compatibility requirement for UST systems storing gasoline containing greater than 10 percent ethanol or diesel containing greater than 20 percent biodiesel.

The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public teleconference of the Chartered SAB on July 19, 2011 to conduct a quality review of a draft SAB report, SAB Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Partial Lead Service Line Replacement.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public teleconference of the Mercury Review Panel.

EPA is updating the materials submitted by Pennsylvania that are incorporated by reference (IBR) into the Pennsylvania State Implementation Plan (SIP). The regulations affected by this update have been previously submitted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) and approved by EPA. This update affects the SIP materials that are available for public inspection at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center located at EPA Headquarters in Washington, DC, and the EPA Regional Office.

EPA is finalizing approval of portions of State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions for the State of Louisiana. The rule revisions, which cover the years 1996-2006, were submitted by the State of Louisiana, and include formatting changes, regulatory wording changes, substantive or content changes, and incorporation by reference (IBR) of Federal rules. The overall intended outcome will make the approved Louisiana SIP consistent with current Federal and State requirements. We are approving the revisions in accordance with 110 of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) and EPA's regulations.

On May 2, 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) announced availability of draft guidance (76 FR 24479) that describes how the agencies will identify waters protected by the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 (Clean Water Act or CWA or Act) and implement the Supreme Court's decisions on this topic (i.e., Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (SWANCC) (531 U.S. 159 (2001)) and Rapanos v. United States (547 U.S. 715 (2006)) (Rapanos)). The comment period was originally set to expire on July 1, 2011, and the agencies are extending the public comment period by 30 days.

EPA is announcing a two week extension of the public comment period for the first external review draft of a document titled, ``First External Review Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Lead'' (EPA/600/R-10/075A). The original Federal Register notice announcing the public comment period was published on May 6, 2011 (76 FR 26284). This assessment document was prepared by the National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within EPA's Office of Research and Development as part of the review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Lead.

The EPA is announcing that the period for providing public comments on the May 3, 2011, Proposed National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants from Coal- and Oil-fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units and Standards of Performance for Fossil-Fuel- Fired Electric Utility, Industrial-Commercial-Institutional, and Small Industrial-Commercial-Institutional Steam Generating Units is being extended for 30 days.

EPA is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District (AVAQMD) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern negative declarations for volatile organic compound (VOC) source categories for the AVAQMD. We are approving these negative declarations under the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act).

Under the Clean Air Act Section 211(o), the Environmental Protection Agency is required to set the renewable fuel standards each November for the following year. In general the standards are designed to ensure that the applicable volumes of renewable fuel specified in the statute are used. However, the statue specifies that EPA is to project the volume of cellulosic biofuel production for the upcoming year and must base the cellulosic biofuel standard on that projected volume if it is less than the applicable volume set forth in the Act. EPA is today proposing a projected cellulosic biofuel volume for 2012 and annual standards for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and renewable fuels that would apply to all gasoline and diesel produced or imported in year 2012. In addition, today's action proposes an applicable volume of biomass-based diesel that would apply in 2013. This action also presents a number of proposed changes to the RFS2 regulations that are designed to clarify existing provisions and to address several unique circumstances that have come to light since the RFS2 program became effective on July 1, 2010. Finally, today's rule also proposes to make a minor amendment to the gasoline benzene regulations regarding inclusion of transferred blendstocks in a refinery's early benzene credit generation calculations.