Environmental Protection Agency November 9, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

EPA has received a specific exemption request from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to use the pesticide streptomycin sulfate (CAS No. 3810-74-0) to treat up to 54,000 acres of fresh-market grapefruit to control citrus canker (caused by the bacteria Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. Citri (Xac)). The applicant proposes a use of a pesticide which contains the active ingredient, streptomycin sulfate, also used in humans and animals as an antibiotic drug. EPA is soliciting public comment before making the decision whether or not to grant the exemption.

The purpose of this notice is to inform the public that EPA has recently learned of a corporate merger/acquisition involving a contractor cleared for access to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) confidential business information and to provide notice that this contract has been extended until December 31, 2011. Protection Strategies Incorporated (PSI) has been the owner of Eagle Technologies Incorporated (Eagle) since March 2010. Eagle's previous contract (EP-W- 06-029) expired September 30, 2011. A bridge contract, signed on September 30, 2011, with Eagle's successor PSI, is currently in place and will expire December 31, 2011. EPA has authorized its contractor, PSI of Arlington, VA, to access information which has been submitted to EPA under all sections of TSCA. Some of the information may be claimed or determined to be Confidential Business Information (CBI).

EPA announced a 60-day public comment period on September 30, 2011, (76FR60825) for the external review draft human health assessment titled, ``Toxicological Review of Vanadium Pentoxide: In Support of Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)'' (EPA/635R-11/004A). EPA is extending the public comment period 30 days at the request of the Vanadium Producers and Reclaimers Association. EPA is also rescheduling the listening session to December 8, 2011. The draft assessment was prepared by the National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within the EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD). EPA has released 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. After public review and comment, an EPA contractor will convene an expert panel for independent external peer review of this draft assessment. The public comment period and external peer review meeting are separate processes that provide opportunities for all interested parties to comment on the assessment. The external peer review meeting will be scheduled at a later date and announced in the Federal Register. Public comments submitted during the public comment period will be provided to the external peer reviewers before the panel meeting and considered by EPA in the disposition of public comments. Public comments received after the public comment period closes will not be submitted to the external peer reviewers and will only be considered by EPA if time permits.

In accordance with Section 122(I) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, as amended (``CERCLA''), 42 U.S.C. 9622(I), notice is hereby given of a proposed administrative settlement for recovery of past response costs concerning the Tracy Lead Battery Site in Tracy, Minnesota with the following settling parties: Day Side Recycling Corporation, Bay Side Holding Corporation and Zenith Investment and Management Corporation. The settlement requires the settling parties to pay $45,300.00 to the Hazardous Substance Superfund. The settlement includes a covenant not to sue the settling parties pursuant to Section 107(a) of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. 9607(a). For thirty (30) days following the date of publication of this notice, the Agency will receive written comments relating to the settlement. The Agency will consider all comments received and may modify or withdraw its consent to the settlement if comments received disclose facts or considerations which indicate that the settlement is inappropriate, improper, or inadequate. The Agency's response to any comments received will be available for public inspection at the U.S. EPA Record Center, Room 714 U.S. EPA, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois.

Section 5 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requires any person who intends to manufacture (defined by statute to include import) a new chemical (i.e., a chemical not on the TSCA Chemical Substances Inventory (TSCA Inventory)) to notify EPA and comply with the statutory provisions pertaining to the manufacture of new chemicals. Under TSCA sections 5(d)(2) and 5(d)(3), EPA is required to publish in the Federal Register a notice of receipt of a premanufacture notice (PMN) or an application for a test marketing exemption (TME), and to publish in the Federal Register periodic status reports on the new chemicals under review and the receipt of notices of commencement (NOC) to manufacture those chemicals. This document, which covers the period from September 12, 2011 to September 23, 2011, and provides the required notice and status report, consists of the PMNs and TMEs, both pending or expired, and the NOC to manufacture a new chemical that the Agency has received under TSCA section 5 during this time period.

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of trifloxystrobin in or on alfalfa, forage and alfalfa, hay. Bayer CropScience requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

This document announces the withdrawal of a pesticide petition requesting the establishment or modification of regulations for residues of pesticide chemicals in or on various commodities. The petition was either withdrawn voluntarily by the petitioner or administratively by the Agency.

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of abamectin (avermectin) in or on onion, bulb, subgroup 3-07A; chive, fresh leaves; chive, dried leaves; and bean, dry, seed. This regulation additionally removes time-limited tolerances on bean, lima, seed; and onion, bulb, as the tolerances will be superseded by permanent tolerance. Interregional Research Project Number 4 (IR-4) requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

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.

The Association of American Pesticide Control Officials (AAPCO)/State FIFRA Issues Research and Evaluation Group (SFIREG), Full Committee will hold a 2-day meeting, beginning on December 5, 2011, and ending December 6, 2011. This notice announces the location and times for the meeting and sets forth the tentative agenda topics.

EPA is approving in part and disapproving in part state implementation plan (SIP) revisions submitted by California to provide for attainment of the 1997 fine particulate matter (PM2.5) national ambient air quality standards in the Los Angeles-South Coast area (South Coast). These SIP revisions are the South Coast 2007 Air Quality Management Plan (South Coast 2007 AQMP) (revised 2011) and South Coast-related provisions of the 2007 State Strategy (revised 2009 and 2011). EPA is approving the emissions inventory; reasonably available control measures/reasonably available control technology demonstration; the reasonable further progress and attainment demonstrations and associated air quality modeling; and the transportation conformity motor vehicle emissions budgets. EPA is also granting California's request to extend the attainment deadline for the South Coast to April 5, 2015 and approving commitments to measures and reductions by the South Coast Air Quality Management District and the California Air Resources Board. Finally, we are disapproving the SIP's contingency measures and issuing a protective finding under 40 CFR 93.120(a)(3), and we are rejecting the assignment of 10 tons per day (tpd) of nitrogen oxide (NOX) reductions to the federal government.