Environmental Protection Agency August 8, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with section 113(g) of the Clean Air Act, as amended (``Act''), 42 U.S.C. 7413(g), notice is hereby given of a proposed settlement agreement to address a lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana: Louisiana Environmental Action Network v. EPA, No. 3:12-cv-00088-JTT-JDK (M.D. La). On or about February 15, 2012, Louisiana Environmental Action Network filed a complaint that EPA failed to perform its nondiscretionary duty pursuant to section 505(b)(2) of the Act, 42 U.S.C. 7661d(b)(2), to grant or deny, within 60 days after it was filed, a petition requesting that EPA object to a proposed title V operating permit for the Noranda Alumina, LLC alumina processing facility in Gramercy, St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana issued by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (``LDEQ''). Under the terms of the proposed settlement agreement, EPA would be required to sign its response to Plaintiff's petition by December 15, 2012.

This document notifies the public as required by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) that the EPA Administrator has forwarded to the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) a draft regulatory document concerning Declaration of Prion as a Pest Under FIFRA; Related Amendments; and Availability of Final Test Guidelines. The draft regulatory document is not available to the public until after it has been signed and made available by EPA.

EPA Region 6 today announces issuance of the final NPDES general permit for the Coastal Waters of Texas (No. TXG330000) for discharges from existing and new dischargers and New Sources in the Coastal and Stripper Subcategories of the Oil and Gas Extraction Point Source Category as authorized by section 402 of the Clean Water Act, (CWA). This permit renewal authorizes discharges from exploration, development, and production facilities discharging to the coastal waters of Texas. The draft permit was proposed in the Federal Register on March 30, 2012. EPA Region 6 has considered all comments received and makes few changes to the proposed permit: pH limit for formation test fluids and fecal coliform limit only for oyster water.

This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of the plant-incorporated protectant (PIP), Bacillus thuringiensis eCry3.1Ab protein in corn, in or on the food and feed commodities of corn; corn, field; corn, sweet; and corn, pop. Syngenta Seeds, Inc., Field Crops NAFTA 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 Bacillus thuringiensis eCry3.1Ab protein in corn.