Environmental Protection Agency 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to extend the March 6, 2012 effective date of the ``Water Quality Standards for the State of Florida's Lakes and Flowing Waters; Final Rule'' (inland waters rule) for ninety days to June 4, 2012. EPA's inland waters rule included an effective date of March 6, 2012 for the entire regulation except for the site-specific alternative criteria provision, which took effect on February 4, 2011. This proposal to revise the effective date for the inland waters rule does not affect or change the February 4, 2011 effective date for the site-specific alternative criteria provision. In this proposal, EPA is requesting comment on extending the effective date for the ``Water Quality Standards for the State of Florida's Lakes and Flowing Waters; Final Rule.''

The EPA is taking direct final action to amend the preamble and rule text to the Final Response to Petition From New Jersey Regarding SO2 Emissions From the Portland Generating Station (Portland) published November 7, 2011, to revise minor misstatements. These revisions clarify the EPA's finding that Portland significantly contributes to nonattainment or interferes with maintenance of the 1- hour sulfur dioxide (SO2) national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) in the State of New Jersey, and not in specific counties within the state. These revisions have no impact on any other provisions of the rule.

EPA is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Delaware. The revision adds section 4.0, under Regulation 1141, relating to the control of emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) from the manufacture, sale, use, or application of adhesives, sealants, primers, and solvents. EPA is approving this SIP revision to meet the requirements of a reasonably available control technology (RACT) rule for the miscellaneous industrial adhesives control techniques guideline (CTG) category in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

The EPA announces the withdrawal of the notice titled, ``Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collections; Comment Request; Prevention of Significant Deterioration and Nonattainment Area New Source Review (Renewal)'' published on December 7, 2011. The December 7, 2011, notice is a duplicate to the notice published on November 25, 2011. The November 25, 2011, notice announced in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) that the EPA is planning to submit a request to renew an existing approved Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This ICR is scheduled to expire on April 30, 2012. Before submitting this ICR to OMB for review and approval, the EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection through the notice pulished on November 25, 2011.

Notice is hereby given that the EPA has posted its responses to state and tribal designation recommendations for the 2008 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) on the Agency's Internet Web site. The EPA invites public comments on its responses during the comment period specified in the DATES section. The EPA sent responses directly to the states and tribes on or about December 9, 2011, and intends to make final designation determinations for the 2008 Ozone NAAQS in spring 2012.

EPA is taking direct final action to approve a revision to the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision concerns oxides of nitrogen (NOX) and oxides of sulfur (SOx) emissions from facilities emitting 4 tons or more per year of NOX or SOx in the year 1990 or any subsequent year under the SCAQMD's Regional Clean Air Incentives Market (RECLAIM) program. We are approving a local rule that regulates these emission sources under the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act).

On October 21, 2011 (76 FR 65431) (FRL-9481-7) EPA published a proposed rule entitled, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) Reporting Rule. As initially published in the Federal Register, written comments on the proposal were to be submitted to EPA on or before December 20, 2011 (a 60-day public comment period). Since publication, EPA has received several requests for additional time to submit comments. Therefore, the public comment period is being extended for 30 days and will now end on January 19, 2012.

Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to Clean Water Act, Section 312(f)(3) (33 U.S.C. 1322(f)(3)), the State of New York has determined that the protection and enhancement of the quality of the New York State portions of Lake Ontario requires greater environmental protection and has petitioned the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 2, for a determination that adequate facilities for the safe and sanitary removal and treatment of sewage from all vessels are reasonably available for those waters, so that the State may completely prohibit the discharge from all vessels of any sewage, whether treated or not, into such waters. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) has proposed to establish a Vessel Waste No Discharge Zone (NDZ) for the New York State portion of Lake Ontario (``Lake'') including the waters of the Lake within the New York State boundary, stretching from the Niagara River (including the Niagara River up to Niagara Falls) in the west, to Tibbetts Point at the Lake's outlet to the Saint Lawrence River in the east. The proposed No Discharge Zone encompasses approximately 3,675 square miles and 326 linear shoreline miles, including the navigable portions of the Lower Genesee, Oswego, and Black Rivers; numerous other tributaries, harbors, and embayments of the Lake including Irondequoit Bay, Sodus Bay, North/South Ponds, Henderson Bay, Black River Bay and Chautmont Bay; and an abundance of formally designated habitats and waterways of local, state, and national significance. NYSDEC certified the need for greater protection of the water quality. EPA hereby makes a final affirmative determination that adequate facilities for the safe and sanitary removal and treatment of sewage from all vessels are reasonably available for Lake Ontario. EPA published a tentative affirmative determination on October 5, 2011 in the Federal Register. Public comments were solicited for 30 days and the comment period ended on November 4, 2011. EPA received a total of eight (8) comments via letter and email. The comment tally was seven (6) in favor of, and two (2) questioning or opposing the No Discharge Zone designation. All the relevant comments received have been considered in the final affirmative determination. This Federal Register document addresses comments submitted in response to the October 5, 2011 (Volume 76 No. 193) Federal Register document.

EPA is taking direct final action to rescind the federally promulgated provisions regarding visibility in the Kentucky State Implementation Plan (SIP). EPA approved Kentucky's visibility rules addressing new source review (NSR) for sources in nonattainment areas on July 11, 2006. EPA's approval of these rules neglected to remove the previous federally promulgated provisions from the Federal Implementation Plan (FIP). EPA is correcting this omission in this rulemaking. This action is being taken pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA).

EPA is proposing to approve in part, and to conditionally approve or disapprove in part, the State Implementation Plan (SIP), submitted by the State of North Carolina, through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NC DENR), Division of Air Quality (DAQ), to demonstrate that the State meets the requirements of sections 110(a)(1) and (2) of the Clean Air Act (CAA or 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. DAQ certified that the North Carolina SIP contains provisions that ensure the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS are implemented, enforced, and maintained in North Carolina (hereafter referred to as ``infrastructure submission''). With the exception of sub-element 110(a)(2)(E)(ii), EPA is proposing to determine that North Carolina's infrastructure submission, provided to EPA on December 12, 2007, and clarified in a subsequent submission submitted on June 20, 2008, addressed the required infrastructure elements for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS.

EPA is extending the laboratory and analytical use exemption for the production and import of Class I ozone-depleting substances through December 31, 2014. This action is taken under the Clean Air Act consistent with the recent actions by the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. The exemption allows the production and import of controlled substances in the United States for laboratory and analytical uses that have not been already identified by EPA as nonessential.

This notice is to announce that on October 27, 2011, the EPA issued a final Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) air permit for Eni US Operating Inc. (Eni). This permit became effective on November 28, 2011. In addition, the EPA issued a final Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) air permit for Port Dolphin Energy, LLC (Port Dolphin), which was issued and became effective on December 1, 2011. The Eni permit regulates air pollutant emissions from the Transocean Pathfinder drillship and support vessels, which Eni intends to operate within lease block Lloyd Ridge 411 on the OCS in the Gulf of Mexico, approximately 154 miles southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River and 189 miles south of the nearest Florida coast. The operation will last up to two years, and based on applicable permitting regulations, is a ``temporary source'' for permitting purposes. The Port Dolphin permit will regulate air pollutant emissions from the operation of a liquefied natural gas deepwater port located in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico, approximately 28 miles off the west coast of Florida, and 42 miles southwest of the pipeline landing at Port Manatee, Florida.

EPA is taking final action to approve a request submitted on January 27, 2011, from the Commonwealth of Kentucky, through the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, Division for Air Quality (DAQ), to redesignate the Kentucky portion of the Cincinnati-Hamilton, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana (hereafter referred to as the ``Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area'') fine particulate matter (PM2.5) nonattainment area to attainment for the 1997 Annual PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area is comprised of Boone, Campbell, and Kenton Counties in Kentucky (hereafter referred to as the ``Northern Kentucky Area'' or ``Area''); Butler, Clermont, Hamilton, and Warren Counties in Ohio; and a portion of Dearborn County in Indiana. EPA's approval of the redesignation request is based on the determination that Kentucky has met the criteria for redesignation to attainment set forth in the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act). Additionally, EPA is approving a revision to the Kentucky State Implementation Plan (SIP) to include the 1997 Annual PM2.5 maintenance plan for the Northern Kentucky Area that contains the new 2015 and 2021 motor vehicle emission budgets (MVEBs) for nitrogen oxides (NOX) and PM2.5 for that Area. On December 9, 2010, and January 25, 2011, respectively, Ohio and Indiana submitted requests to redesignate their portion of the Tri-state Cincinnati-Hamilton Area to attainment for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA is taking action on the requests from Ohio and Indiana in an action separate from this final action. This action also approves the emissions inventory submitted with the maintenance plan. Additionally, EPA is responding to comments received on EPA's October 21, 2011, proposed rulemaking.

This regulation establishes new tolerances and revises existing tolerances for residues of hexythiazox in or on multiple commodities which are identified and discussed later in this document. Gowan Company and the Interregional Research Project Number 4 (IR-4) requested the tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of 2-Propenoic acid, 2-methyl-, polymer with butyl 2-propenoate and ethenylbenzene (CAS Reg. No. 25036-16-2); also known as butyl acrylate-methacrylic acid-styrene polymer when used as an inert ingredient in a pesticide chemical formulation. Momentive Performance Materials submitted a petition to EPA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), requesting an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. This regulation eliminates the need to establish a maximum permissible level for residues of 2-Propenoic acid, 2-methyl-, polymer with butyl 2-propenoate and ethenylbenzene on food or feed commodities.

On September 23, 2010, EPA proposed to approve a number of new and revised test procedures (i.e., analytical methods) for measuring pollutants under the Clean Water Act. Today's notice announces the availability of new data on an analytical method for the measurement of oil and grease that EPA described in the earlier notice but did not propose to approve it for use. This notice discusses how EPA is considering revising its proposed regulatory requirements for this method. EPA is soliciting comment only on EPA's consideration of this method.

This document announces that the EPA Administrator has responded to a citizen petition asking EPA to object to an operating permit (Permit Number 2500-00001-V5) issued by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ). Specifically, the Administrator has granted in part and denied in part the December 10, 2009 petition, submitted by Tulane Environmental Law Clinic on behalf of Concerned Citizens Around Murphy (Petitioners). The petition asked the Administrator to object to the October 15, 2009 operating permit that LDEQ issued to Murphy Oil, USA, Inc. (Murphy Oil) for the Meraux Refinery. Pursuant to sections 307(b) and 505(b)(2) of the Clean Air Act (CAA), a petition for judicial review of those parts of the Order that deny issues in the petition may be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit within 60 days from the date this notice appears in the Federal Register.

The EPA is proposing to determine that the Boston-Lawrence- Worcester (Eastern Massachusetts), MA-NH serious one-hour ozone nonattainment area met the applicable deadline of November 15, 2007, for attaining the one-hour National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone. This proposed determination is based upon complete, certified, quality-assured ambient air quality monitoring data for the 2005-2007 monitoring period showing that the area had an expected ozone exceedance rate below the level of the now revoked one-hour ozone NAAQS during that period and therefore attained the standard by its applicable deadline. EPA is proposing this determination under the Clean Air Act.

This notice announces EPA's order for the cancellations, voluntarily requested by the registrants and accepted by the Agency, of products containing dicofol, pursuant to section 6(f)(1) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as amended. This cancellation order follows a June 22, 2011 Federal Register Notice of Receipt of Requests from the registrants listed in Table 3 of Unit II to voluntarily cancel these product registrations. These are the last products containing this pesticide registered for use in the United States. In the June 22, 2011 notice, EPA indicated that it would issue an order implementing the cancellations, unless the Agency received substantive comments within the 30 day comment period that would merit its further review of these requests, or unless the registrants withdrew their requests. The Agency did not receive any comments on the notice. Further, the registrants did not withdraw their requests. Accordingly, EPA hereby issues in this notice a cancellation order granting the requested cancellations. Any distribution, sale, or use of the products subject to this cancellation order is permitted only in accordance with the terms of this order. 11P-1531

EPA proposes to approve the State Implementation Plan (SIP) and Operating Permits Program revisions submitted by the state of Missouri which align the state's rule entitled ``Submission of Emission Data, Emission Fees and Process Information'' with the Federal Air Emissions Reporting Requirements Rule (AERR).

EPA has authorized its contractor, CGI Federal Inc. (CGI) of Fairfax, VA, and subcontractor, Innovate, Inc. of Alexandria, VA, to access information which has been submitted to EPA under all sections of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Some of the information may be claimed or determined to be Confidential Business Information (CBI).

EPA, Region 2, is issuing a Notice of Intent to Delete the Hiteman Leather Superfund Site (Site), located in West Winfield, New York, from the National Priorities List (NPL) and requests public comments on this proposed action. 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). EPA and the State of New York, through the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, have determined that all appropriate response actions under CERCLA, other than monitoring and maintenance and five-year reviews, have been completed. However, the deletion does not preclude future action under Superfund.

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 response costs concerning the North Hollywood Operable Unit of the San Fernando Valley Area 1 Superfund Site, located in the vicinity of Los Angeles, California, with the following settling parties: Pick-Your-Part Auto Wrecking; Hayward Associates, LLC; and PNM Properties, LLC. The settlement requires the settling parties to pay a total of $102,161 to the North Hollywood Operable Unit Special Account within the Hazardous Substance Superfund. The settlement also 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 City of Los Angeles Central Library, Science and Technology Department, 630 West 5th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071 and at the EPA Region 9 Superfund Records Center, Mail Stop SFD-7C, 95 Hawthorne Street, Room 403, San Francisco, CA 94105.

EPA has authorized its contractor, Primus Solutions, Inc. (Primus) of Greenbelt, MD, to access information which has been submitted to EPA under all sections of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Some of the information may be claimed or determined to be Confidential Business Information (CBI).