Environmental Protection Agency April 9, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Notice is hereby given that the EPA has tentatively approved three revisions to the State of Ohio's public water system supervision program. Ohio EPA has revised several of its rules to comply with the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations, including the Administrative Penalty Authority (APA), the Radionuclides Rule, and the Lead and Copper Rule Minor Revisions (LCRMR). EPA has determined that these revisions are no less stringent than the corresponding federal regulations. Therefore, EPA intends to approve these revisions to the State of Ohio's public water system supervision program, thereby giving Ohio EPA primary enforcement responsibility for these regulations. Ohio EPA has been administering the APA since October 1, 1999, with amendments effective on October 17, 2003. Ohio EPA's revised radionuclide requirements became effective on September 15, 2004, and Ohio EPA adopted the LCRMR into its lead and copper rules on July 24, 2009.

The Director, Office of Water and Watersheds, EPA Region 10, is publishing notice of availability of the final National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) general permit (IDG010000), authorizing discharges from CAFOs in Idaho including CAFOs in Indian Country. Unless excluded from coverage in the general permit, owners/ operators of animal feeding operations that are defined as CAFOs, or designated as CAFOs by the permitting authority, are eligible for coverage under the general permit.

EPA will hold a public meeting on May 16, 2012, to give the public an opportunity to comment on a proposed test rule for 23 high production volume (HPV) chemical substances and a significant new use rule (SNUR) for another 22 HPV chemical substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The test rule would require manufacturers and processors to develop screening-level health, environmental, and fate data based on the potential for substantial exposures of workers and consumers to the 23 HPV chemical substances, and the SNUR would require persons to file a significant new use notice (SNUN) with EPA prior to manufacturing, importing, or processing any of the 22 HPV chemical substances for use in a consumer product or for any use, or combination of uses, that would be reasonably likely to expose 1,000 or more workers at a single-corporate entity to the chemical substances. The required notification would provide EPA with the opportunity to evaluate the intended use and, if necessary, to prohibit or limit that activity before it occurs. The opportunity to present oral comment was offered in the proposed rule and, in response to that offer, a request to present oral comments was received.