Environmental Protection Agency November 29, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Pursuant to section 304(a) of the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the availability of the 2012 Recreational Water Quality Criteria (RWQC). The document contains the EPA's recreational water quality criteria recommendations for protecting human health in ambient waters that are designated for primary contact recreation. CWA Section 304(a) water quality criteria recommendations are intended as guidance to States and authorized Tribes in developing water quality standards. The 2012 RWQC document describes the relevant scientific findings, explains how these findings were used to derive criteria for two indicators of fecal contamination (enterrococcus and E. coli) as measured by culture based test methods. On December 21, 2011, EPA made available draft national recommended recreational water quality criteria (2011 Draft RWQC) and provided the public an opportunity to provide scientific views. The 2012 RWQC differs from the current 1986 Ambient Water Quality Criteria in the following ways: the EPA recommends States use one of two sets of criteria values, and no longer recommends multiple ``use intensity'' values; the RWQC consist of both a geometric mean (GM) and a Statistical Threshold Value (STV); the RWQC are now comprised of a magnitude, a duration, and frequency of excursion for the GM and STV; the EPA introduces a rapid analytical technique for beach monitoring, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), for the detection of enterococci in recreational water (EPA Method 1611; the EPA provides information on tools for evaluating and managing recreational waters, such as predictive modeling; the EPA is providing a beach action value for use in beach notification programs; and the EPA is providing tools for developing site-specific criteria. The CWA, as amended by the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act of 2000, directed the EPA to conduct studies associated with pathogens and human health under section 104(v), and to publish new or revised criteria for pathogens and pathogen indicators based on those studies under section 304(a)(9). The criteria announced today are the new or revised criteria that EPA is directed to publish under section 304(a)(9) of the CWA, as amended by the BEACH Act.

EPA is taking direct final action to approve a revision to the Pennsylvania State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP). The SIP revision adds Section 2105.88Consumer Products from Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) Rules and Regulations, Article XXI, Air Pollution Control to incorporate by reference 25 Pa. Code sections 130.201-130.471 (Consumer Products) of the PADEP Air Pollution Control Act. EPA is approving these revisions in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

EPA is taking direct final action to approve a revision to the Pennsylvania State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP). The SIP revision adds a regulation to control nitrogen oxides (NOX) emissions from glass melting furnaces to the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) Rules and Regulations. The ACHD regulation incorporates by reference the Pennsylvania regulations and related definitions for controlling NOX emissions from glass melting furnaces. The SIP revision is a regulation that will reduce emissions of NOX from glass melting furnaces. EPA is approving this SIP revision in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

EPA is finalizing approval of revisions to the SJVUAPCD and SCAQMD portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). This action was proposed in the Federal Register on June 21, 2012 and concerns volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from chipping and grinding activities, and composting operations. We are approving local rules that regulate these emission sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act).

The EPA is finalizing a full approval of the Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART) determinations addressed in the Agency's May 25, 2012, proposed rulemaking action on a regional haze state implementation plan (SIP) submitted by the State of Florida, through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). These BART determinations were submitted to the EPA in a draft regional haze SIP on April 13, 2012, for parallel processing, and re-submitted in final form on September 17, 2012. Specifically, the portion of Florida's September 17, 2012, regional haze SIP that is being acted upon in this final action addresses some of the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) and the 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. The EPA will take separate action at a later date to address the remainder of Florida's September 17, 2012, regional haze SIP.