Environmental Protection Agency September 8, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

EPA is announcing a 30-day public comment period for the draft documents titled, Vulnerability Assessments in Support of the Climate Ready Estuaries Program: A Novel Approach Using Expert Judgment, Volume I: Results for the San Francisco Estuary Partnership (EPA/600/R-11/ 058a) and Vulnerability Assessments in Support of the Climate Ready Estuaries Program: A Novel Approach Using Expert Judgment, Volume II: Results for the Massachusetts Bays Program (EPA/600/R-11/058b). The EPA also is announcing that Eastern Research Group, an EPA contractor for external scientific peer review, will select two independent groups of experts to conduct a letter peer-review of the same draft documents. The documents were prepared by the National Center for Environmental Assessment within EPA's Office of Research and Development, in collaboration with the San Francisco Estuary Partnership (SFEP), the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, and the Massachusetts Bays Program (MBP). The reports are pilot ecological vulnerability assessments using a novel methodology, based on expert judgment, to inform adaptation planning under EPA's Climate Ready Estuaries Program. To demonstrate the novel methodology, two ecosystem processes were selected for each assessment: sediment retention in salt marshes (for both SFEP and MBP) and community interactions (of wading shorebirds and their mudflat prey for SFEP, and of the saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrow and key species of nesting habitat grasses for MBP). This study assesses (1) Relationships among key physical and ecological variables that regulate each process, (2) relative sensitivities of these relationships under current and future climate change scenarios, (3) degree of confidence about these relationships, and (4) implications for management. The results of this study are designed to support the SFEP's and MBP's adaptation planning efforts as well as those of other estuary managers. EPA intends to forward the public comments that are submitted in accordance with this notice to the external peer-reviewers for their consideration during the letter review. When finalizing the draft document, EPA intends to consider any public comments received in accordance with this notice. EPA is releasing these draft documents for the purpose of pre-dissemination peer review under applicable information quality guidelines. These documents have not been formally disseminated by EPA. They do not represent and should not be construed to represent any Agency policy or determination. The draft documents are available via the Internet on the NCEA home page under the Recent Additions and the Data and Publications menus at https://www.epa.gov/ncea.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that the following Information Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval: PCBs, Consolidated Reporting and Record Keeping Requirements; EPA ICR No. 1446.10, OMB No. 2070- 0112. The ICR, which is abstracted below, describes the nature of the information collection activity and its expected burden and costs.

EPA issued a proposed rule in the Federal Register of July 12, 2011, concerning a proposed significant new use rule (SNUR) under section 5(a)(2) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 14 glymes. Since publication, EPA has received a request for additional time to submit comments. This document extends the comment period for 30 days, from September 12, 2011 to October 12, 2011.

EPA is proposing to approve a revision to the Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision concerns volatile organic compound emissions from expandable polystyrene product manufacturing operations. We are proposing to approve a local rule to regulate these emission sources under the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990.

The EPA is making a finding that certain states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico have not submitted a complete State Implementation Plan (SIP) that addresses basic program elements of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) necessary to implement, maintain, and enforce the 2006 24-hour Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The EPA refers to these SIP submissions as ``infrastructure'' SIPs, because they address basic structural requirements specified in section 110(a)(1) and (2) that states must establish that they meet following the promulgation of a new or revised NAAQS. Specifically, the EPA is evaluating whether these states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico made complete infrastructure SIP submissions to address the applicable requirements of section 110(a)(2)(A) through (M) necessary to implement the 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS, with the exception of section 110(a)(2)(I), portions of section 110(a)(2)(C) pertaining to nonattainment area requirements and section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I). By this action, the EPA is identifying those states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico that have failed to make a complete submission for some or all of these specific requirements. The finding of failure to submit for some or all of these specific elements establishes a 24-month deadline for the EPA to promulgate a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) to address each state's outstanding infrastructure SIP elements unless, prior to that time, the state submits, and the EPA approves, a submission that meets the required elements, or unless the state is already subject to an existing FIP that addresses the SIP deficiency.

EPA is determining that the Chattanooga, Alabama-Tennessee- Georgia, fine particulate (PM2.5) nonattainment area (hereafter referred to as ``the Chattanooga Area'') and the Macon, Georgia PM2.5 nonattainment area (hereafter referred to as ``the Macon Area'') have attained the 1997 annual PM2.5 national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) by the applicable attainment date of April 5, 2010. The determinations of attainment were previously finalized by EPA on May 31, 2011, for the Chattanooga Area and June 2, 2011, for the Macon Area, and were based on quality-assured and certified monitoring data for the 2007-2009 monitoring period. The Chattanooga Area is comprised of Hamilton County in Tennessee, Catoosa and Walker Counties in Georgia, and a portion of Jackson County in Alabama. The Macon Area is comprised of Bibb County in its entirety and a portion of Monroe County in Georgia. EPA is determining to find that both of the above-identified areas attained the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS by the applicable attainment date. EPA is finalizing these actions because they are consistent with the Clean Air Act (CAA) and its implementing regulations.