Environmental Protection Agency June 27, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ), Maricopa County Air Quality Department (MCAQD), and Pima County Department of Environmental Quality (PCDEQ) portions of the Arizona State Implementation Plan (SIP) that EPA expects to be submitted by ADEQ. These revisions concern regulations that require monitoring and reporting of volatile organic compounds (VOC), oxides of nitrogen (NOX), and particulate matter (PM) emissions from stationary sources. This proposed approval is based upon proposed regulations submitted by ADEQ and an accompanying request that EPA proceed with SIP review while the State and local agencies complete their public review and agency adoption processes. EPA will not take final action on these regulations until ADEQ submits the final adopted versions to EPA as a revision to the Arizona SIP. Final EPA approval of the regulations and incorporation of them into the Arizona SIP would make them federally enforceable under the Clean Air Act (CAA). We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a final action.

EPA is announcing the availability of the final test guidelines for Series 810Product Performance Test Guidelines for Public Health Uses of Antimicrobial Agents, concerning specifically OCSPP 810.2400Disinfectants and Sanitizers for Use on Fabrics and TextilesEfficacy Data Recommendations; OSCPP 810.2500Air SanitizersEfficacy Data Recommendations; and OSCPP 810.2600Disinfectants and Sanitizers for Use in WaterEfficacy Data Recommendations. These test guidelines are part of a series of test guidelines established by the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) for use in testing pesticides and chemical substances to develop data for submission to the Agency under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), and section 408 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). As guidance documents, the final test guidelines are not binding on either EPA or any outside parties. These test guidelines are final and effective 90 days after publication of this notice.

EPA is determining, pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA), that the bi-state St. Louis, Missouri-Illinois, fine particulate (PM2.5) nonattainment area (hereafter referred to as ``the St. Louis area'' or ``the area'') has attained the 1997 annual PM2.5 national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) by its applicable attainment date of April 5, 2010. This determination is based on quality-assured and certified monitoring data for the 2007- 2009 monitoring period. Based on this data, EPA previously determined on May 23, 2011, that the area attained the 1997 standards, and EPA suspended certain planning requirements for the area based on that determination. EPA is now finding that the St. Louis area attained the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS by its applicable attainment date. EPA is finalizing this action because it is consistent with the CAA and its implementing regulations.

EPA is proposing to approve a state implementation plan revision submitted by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality to address the moderate area PM10, particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than or equal to a nominal ten micrometers, planning requirements for the Nogales nonattainment area. Consistent with this proposal, EPA is also proposing to approve the following plan elements as meeting the requirements of the Clean Air Act: the Nogales nonattainment area 2008 and 2011 emission inventories; the demonstration that the Nogales nonattainment area is attaining the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for PM10, but for international emissions sources in Nogales, Mexico; the demonstration that reasonably available control measures sufficient to meet the standard have been implemented in the nonattainment area; the reasonable further progress demonstration; the demonstration that implementation of measures beyond those needed for attainment meet the contingency measure requirement; and, the motor vehicle emissions budget for the purposes of determining the conformity of transportation plans, programs, and projects with this PM10 plan.

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of propiconazole in or on multiple commodities which are identified and discussed later in this document. This regulation additionally removes an established tolerance on stone fruit crop group 12, as it will be superseded by the new tolerance for stone fruit crop group 12, except plum. Interregional Research Project Number 4 (IR-4) requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

EPA is finalizing a limited approval of a revision to the North Carolina State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the State of North Carolina through the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NC DENR), Division of Air Quality (DAQ), on December 17, 2007. North Carolina's December 17, 2007, SIP revision addresses regional haze for the first implementation period. Specifically, this SIP revision addresses the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) and EPA's rules that require states to prevent any future and remedy any existing anthropogenic impairment of visibility in mandatory Class I areas (national parks and wilderness areas) caused by emissions of air pollutants from numerous sources located over a wide geographic area (also referred to as the ``regional haze program''). States are required to assure reasonable progress toward the national goal of achieving natural visibility conditions in Class I areas. EPA is finalizing a limited approval of North Carolina's December 17, 2007, SIP revision to implement the regional haze requirements for North Carolina on the basis that this SIP revision, as a whole, strengthens the North Carolina SIP. In a separate action published on June 7, 2012, EPA finalized a limited disapproval of this same SIP revision because of the deficiencies in the State's regional haze SIP revision arising from the remand by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit) to EPA of the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR).