Environmental Protection Agency December 6, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 is publishing a direct final Notice of Deletion of the State Marine of Port Arthur (SMPA) Superfund Site located in Port Arthur, Texas (Jefferson County), from the National Priorities List (NPL). The NPL, promulgated pursuant to Section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended, is an appendix of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). This direct final deletion is being published by EPA with the concurrence of the State of Texas, through the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, because EPA has determined that all appropriate response actions at these identified parcels under CERCLA, other than operation, maintenance, and Five-Year Reviews, have been completed. However, this deletion does not preclude future actions under Superfund.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that EPA is planning to submit a request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to renew an existing approved Information Collection Request (ICR) concerning RCRA public participation. This ICR is scheduled to expire on April 30, 2012. 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 the availability for comment on the administrative record files and the calculations of three TMDLs prepared by EPA Region 6. This notice covers waters in the State of Louisiana's Lake Pontchartrain Basin that were identified as impaired on the States Section 303(d) list. These TMDLs were completed in response to a court order in the lawsuit styled Sierra Club, et al. v. Clifford, et al., No. 96-0527, (E.D. La.).

EPA is making an interim final determination to defer imposition of sanctions based on a proposed approval of revisions to the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District (SJVUAPCD or District) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP) published elsewhere in today's Federal Register. The revisions concern SJVUAPCD Rules 2020 and 2201.

Due to the receipt of an adverse comment, EPA is withdrawing the October 19, 2011 (76 FR 64825), direct final rule approving Ohio's and Indiana's requests to redesignate their respective portions of the Cincinnati-Hamilton nonattainment area (for Ohio: Butler, Clermont, Hamilton, and Warren Counties, Ohio; for Indiana: a portion of Dearborn County) to attainment for the 1997 annual National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS or standard) for fine particulate matter (PM2.5). In the direct final rule, EPA stated that if adverse comments were received by November 18, 2011, the rule would be withdrawn and not take effect. On October 19, 2011, EPA received a comment. EPA interprets this comment as adverse and, therefore, EPA is withdrawing the direct final rule. EPA will address the comment in a subsequent final action based upon the proposed rulemaking action, also published on October 19, 2011 (76 FR 64880). EPA will not institute a second comment period on this action.