Environmental Protection Agency February 7, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In this notice, EPA is notifying the public that the Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets (MVEBs) for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) in the 2009 Attainment Plan and 2010 Contingency Plan submitted as a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision on June 4, 2007 by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) and June 12, 2007 by both the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VADEQ) and the District of Columbia Department of Health (DCDOH) are adequate for transportation conformity purposes. As a result of EPA's finding, the Washington DC-MD-VA Nonattainment Area for the 1997 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (the Metropolitan Washington Area) must use the MVEBs from the June 4, 2007 and June 12, 2007 Attainment Plan and Contingency Plan for future conformity determinations for the 1997 8-hour ozone standard.

Under section 211(o) of the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency is required to set the renewable fuel standards each November for the following year. In general the standards are designed to ensure that the applicable volumes of renewable fuel specified in the statute are used. However, the statute specifies that EPA is to project the volume of cellulosic biofuel production for the upcoming year and must base the cellulosic biofuel standard on that projected volume if it is less than the applicable volume set forth in the Act. EPA is today proposing a projected cellulosic biofuel volume for 2013 that is below the applicable volume specified in the Act. EPA is proposing that the applicable volumes of advanced biofuel and total renewable fuel would remain at the statutory levels for 2013. Finally, today's action also proposes annual percentage standards for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and renewable fuels that would apply to all gasoline and diesel produced or imported in year 2013.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that an Information Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This is a request to renew an existing approved collection. The ICR which is abstracted below describes the nature of the collection and the estimated burden and cost.

This action sets forth the EPA's final decision on the issues for which it granted reconsideration in December 2011, which pertain to certain aspects of the March 21, 2011, final rule titled ``Standards of Performance for New Stationary Sources and Emissions Guidelines for Existing Sources: Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incineration Units'' (CISWI rule). This action also includes our final decision to deny the requests for reconsideration with respect to all issues raised in the petitions for reconsideration of the final commercial and industrial solid waste incineration rule for which we did not grant reconsideration. Among other things, this final action establishes effective dates for the standards and makes technical corrections to the final rule to clarify definitions, references, applicability and compliance issues. In addition, the EPA is issuing final amendments to the regulations that were codified by the Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials rule (NHSM rule). Originally promulgated on March 21, 2011, the non-hazardous secondary materials rule provides the standards and procedures for identifying whether non-hazardous secondary materials are solid waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act when used as fuels or ingredients in combustion units. The purpose of these amendments is to clarify several provisions in order to implement the non-hazardous secondary materials rule as the agency originally intended.