Environmental Protection Agency October 12, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

EPA is taking direct final action to approve state implementation plan (SIP) revision, submitted by the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NC DENR), on June 15, 2007, as updated on November 30, 2009, to address the reasonable further progress (RFP) plan requirements for the 1997 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for the North Carolina portion of the bi-state Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill 1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment area. The Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, North Carolina- South Carolina 1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment area (hereafter referred to as the ``bi-state Charlotte Area'') is comprised of Cabarrus, Gaston, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Union and a portion of Iredell (Davidson and Coddle Creek Townships) Counties in North Carolina (hereafter referred to as the ``North Carolina portion of the bi-state Charlotte Area''); and a portion of York County in South Carolina. EPA is also providing the status of its adequacy determination for the motor vehicle emissions budgets (MVEB) for volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) that were included in North Carolina's RFP plan. Further, EPA is approving these MVEB. These actions are being taken pursuant to section 110 of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act). EPA will take action on South Carolina's RFP plan for its portion of the bi-state Charlotte Area, in a separate action.

EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the New Mexico SIP to update the New Mexico NNSR and PSD SIP permitting programs consistent with federal requirements. EPA proposes to find that these revisions to the New Mexico SIP meet the Federal Clean Air Act (the Act or CAA) and EPA regulations, and are consistent with EPA policies. New Mexico submitted the PSD and NNSR SIP permitting revisions in two SIP submittals on June 11, 2009, and May 23, 2011. EPA is proposing this action under section 110 and parts C and D of the Act.

EPA is announcing an extension to the public comment period for the external review of the draft research report titled, ``Investigation of Ground Water Contamination near Pavillion, Wyoming.'' The draft research report was prepared by the National Risk Management Research Laboratory, within the EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD), and EPA Region 8. This draft research report is not final as described in EPA's Information Quality Guidelines, and does not represent and should not be construed to represent Agency policy or views. Eastern Research Group, Inc., an EPA contractor for external peer review, will convene an independent panel of experts for peer review of this draft research report. Public comments submitted during the public comment period will be made available to the peer review panel for consideration in their review. An external peer review meeting will take place following the public comment period. An additional Federal Register notice will be published about one month prior to the meeting to provide the meeting date, location, and registration information. Additional details about the peer review process can be found at: https://cfpub.epa.gov/si/sipublicpra view.cfm?dirEntryID=240345.

Under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92-463, EPA gives notice of a meeting of the National Advisory Committee (NAC) and Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) to the U.S. Representative to the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). The National and Governmental Advisory Committees advise the EPA Administrator in her capacity as the U.S. Representative to the CEC Council. The Committees are authorized under Articles 17 and 18 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, P.L. 103-182, and as directed by Executive Order 12915, entitled ``Federal Implementation of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation.'' The NAC is composed of 13 members representing academia, environmental non- governmental organizations, and private industry. The GAC consists of 13 members representing state, local, and Tribal governments. The Committees are responsible for providing advice to the U.S. Representative on a wide range of strategic, scientific, technological, regulatory, and economic issues related to implementation and further elaboration of the NAAEC. The purpose of the meeting is to provide advice on issues related to the new CEC Communication Strategy and the role of the committee's in furthering the goals of the strategy. The committees will also review the CEC's 2013 Draft Operational Plan and learn about Tribal issues in North America. The meeting will also include a public comment session. A copy of the agenda will be posted at https://www.epa.gov/ ofacmo/nacgac-page.htm.

EPA is taking final action to approve multiple changes to the Jefferson County portion of the Kentucky State Implementation Plan (SIP), submitted by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, through the Kentucky Division for Air Quality (KDAQ), to EPA in two submittals dated June 1, 2009, and February 8, 2011. These revisions were submitted by KDAQ on behalf of the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District (LMAPCD) (also referred to as Jefferson County) and modify the LMAPCD New Source Review (NSR) Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permitting regulations. EPA is approving Jefferson County's June 1, 2009, and February 8, 2011, SIP revisions because the Agency has determined that these SIP revisions are consistent with the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) and EPA regulations regarding the PSD permitting program.