Environmental Protection Agency August 24, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Association of American Pesticide Control Officials (AAPCO)/State FIFRA Issues Research and Evaluation Group (SFIREG), Pesticides Operations and Management (POM) Working Committee will hold a 2-day meeting, beginning on September 17, 2012, and ending September 18, 2012. This notice announces the location and times for the meeting and sets forth the tentative agenda topics.

In accordance with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended (``CERCLA''), and the Solid Waste Disposal Act, commonly referred to as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, as amended by the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 (``RCRA''), notice is hereby given that a proposed Prospective Purchaser Agreement (``PPA'') associated with a 1400-acre parcel of property located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (``Property'') was executed by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice. Once finalized, the PPA will resolve potential claims under Sections 106 and 107(a) of CERCLA, and Sections 3005 and 3008(a) of RCRA, against Philadelphia Energy Solutions LLC (``PES LLC'') and Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refining & Marketing (``PES R&M LLC''). The proposed PPA is now subject to public comment after which the United States may modify or withdraw its consent if comments received disclose facts or considerations which indicate that the PPA is inappropriate, improper, or inadequate. Sunoco, Inc. (R&M), a subsidiary of Sunoco, Inc., currently operates the Property as a crude oil refinery to distribute, store and process petroleum. PES R&M LLC has proposed to purchase the Property and continue crude oil refining and related operations at the Property. The Property consists of two formerly separate refining operations known as ``Point Breeze'' and ``Girard Point.'' EPA issued a RCRA Corrective Action Permit under RCRA Section 3004(u), 42 U.S.C. Section 6924(u), for the Point Breeze operation in 1988 and for the Girard Point operation in 1989. Both permits require Sunoco, Inc. (R&M) to, among other things, investigate solid waste management units (``SWMUs'') and evaluate remedy options. Both permits have been extended by EPA until final remedy selection. After PES R&M LLC purchases the Property, Sunoco, Inc. (R&M) will be required to complete its RCRA corrective action obligations at the Property.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is promulgating a source-specific Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) requiring the Four Corners Power Plant (FCPP), a coal-fired power plant located on the Navajo Nation near Farmington, New Mexico, to achieve emissions reductions required by the Clean Air Act's (CAA) Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART) provision. In this final action, EPA is requiring FCPP to reduce emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOX) and is setting emission limits for particulate matter (PM) based on emission rates already achieved at FCPP. These pollutants contribute to visibility impairment in the numerous mandatory Class I Federal areas surrounding FCPP. For NOX emissions, EPA is requiring FCPP to meet a plant-wide emission limit of 0.11 lb/MMBtu on a rolling 30-day heat input-weighted average. This represents an 80 percent reduction from the current NOX emission rate and is expected to provide significant improvement in visibility. EPA is also finalizing an alternative emission control strategy that gives the owners of FCPP the option to close Units 1-3 and install controls on Units 4 and 5 to each meet an emission limit of 0.098 lb/MMBtu, based on a rolling average of 30 successive boiler operating days. For PM, EPA is requiring Units 4 and 5 at FCPP to meet an emission limit of 0.015 lb/MMBtu, and retaining the existing 20 percent opacity limit. These PM limits are achievable through the proper operation of the existing baghouses. EPA is also requiring FCPP to comply with a 20 percent opacity limit on its coal and material handling operations.