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

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of hexythiazox in or on alfalfa and timothy. Gowan Company requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

Scientific evidence demonstrates that the climate is changing at an increasingly rapid rate, outside the range to which society has adapted in the past. Climate change can pose significant challenges to the EPA's ability to fulfill its mission. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is committed to identifying and responding to the challenges that a changing climate poses to human health and the environment. It is essential; therefore, that the EPA adapt to climate change in order to continue fulfilling its statutory, regulatory and programmatic requirements, chief among these protection of human health and the environment. Adaptation will involve anticipating and planning for changes in climate and incorporating considerations of climate change into many of the Agency's programs, policies, rules and operations to ensure they are effective under changing climatic conditions. Adaptation also necessitates close coordination between EPA and its many partners and stakeholders. EPA and other Federal Agencies and Departments have developed draft Agency Climate Change Adaptation Plans in response to the President's October 2009 Executive Order (E.O. 13514``Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance'') and the March, 2011 Implementing Instructions to all Federal Department and Agencies. Today, EPA announces the availability of a public review draft of its Agency Plan. The draft Plan will be available for a 60-day public review.

EPA is taking direct final action to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) pertaining to the F. Keeler Company Boiler at Mount Saint Mary's College. This revision removes the Mount Saint Mary's College 1979 Consent Order (1979 Consent Order) from the Maryland SIP because the coal-fired F. Keeler Boiler has been modified by removing the coal-firing capability and converting the boiler to fire natural gas with No. 2 fuel oil as backup. EPA is approving this SIP revision because the 1979 Consent Order is no longer required as the modified gas-fired unit can comply with all visible emission and particulate requirements in the Maryland SIP, and this 1979 Consent Order is no longer required to satisfy any applicable Federal regulations or the Clean Air Act (CAA). This action is being taken under the CAA.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee (CAAAC) on November 19, 1990, to provide independent advice and counsel to EPA on policy issues associated with implementation of the Clean Air Act of 1990. The Committee advises on economic, environmental, technical, scientific and enforcement policy issues.

The EPA is proposing to approve several State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the State of Massachusetts. The revisions add new monitoring, inspection, maintenance and testing requirements for certain fossil fuel utilization facilities, rename and clarify stationary source emission reporting requirements, and establish compliance and certification standards for new boilers. The intended effect of this action is to propose approval of the state's revised fossil fuel utilization facility regulation, source registration regulation, and new industrial performance standards for boilers. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act.

Notice is hereby given that the State of Texas is revising its approved Public Water System Supervision Program. Texas has adopted three EPA drinking water rules, namely the: (1) Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT2), (2) the Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (DBP2), and (3) the Public Notification Rule minor revisions (PN/MR). EPA has determined that the proposed LT2, DBP2, and the PN/MRs submitted by Texas are no less stringent than the corresponding federal regulations. Therefore, EPA intends to approve this program revision.

The Environmental Protection Agency has submitted an information collection request (ICR), ``Willingness to Pay Survey for Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load: Instrument, Pre-test, and Implementation'' (EPA ICR No. 2456.01, OMB Control No. 2010-NEW) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). This is a request for approval of a new collection. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register (77 FR 31006) on May 24, 2012 during a 60-day comment period, which was later extended for an additional 30 days (77 FR 43822). This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. A fuller description of the ICR is given below, including its estimated burden and cost to the public. An Agency may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

This document announces the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) responses to Agency Clearance requests, in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA regulations are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and 48 CFR chapter 15.

Pursuant to section 6(b) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), EPA hereby announces its intent to cancel the registration of 12 rodenticide products identified in this Notice. Pursuant to section 3(c)(6) of FIFRA, EPA hereby announces the denial of applications for registration of 2 products identified in this Notice. This Notice summarizes EPA's basis for these actions, and explains how eligible persons may request a hearing and the consequences of requesting or failing to request such a hearing.

EPA is proposing to disapprove in part revisions to the Arizona State Implementation Plan (SIP) to implement the regional haze program addressing visibility impairment in mandatory Class I areas covered by the requirements related to the Grand Canyon Visibility Transport Commission, an optional program for certain western states. These SIP revisions were submitted to address the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) requiring states to prevent any future and remedy any existing impairment of visibility in mandatory Class I areas caused by man-made pollution. We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a final action.

In this notice, EPA is notifying the public that EPA has found that the 2017 and 2025 motor vehicle emissions budgets (MVEBs) in the June 22, 2012 Connecticut State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision are adequate for transportation conformity purposes. The submittal includes MOVES2010 motor vehicle emissions budgets for 2017 and 2025 for the Connecticut portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT fine particle (PM2.5) nonattainment area. On March 2, 1999, the D.C. Circuit Court ruled that budgets in submitted SIPs cannot be used for conformity determinations until EPA has affirmatively found them adequate. As a result of our finding, the State of Connecticut can use the MOVES2010 motor vehicle emissions budgets from the submitted plan for future conformity determinations for the Connecticut portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT PM2.5 area.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing a source-specific federal implementation plan (FIP) requiring the Navajo Generating Station (NGS), located on the Navajo Nation, to reduce emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOX) under the Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART) provision of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) in order to reduce visibility impairment resulting from NGS at 11 National Parks and Wilderness Areas. NGS, which was built over 35 years ago, is the largest coal-fired power plant in the West in terms of generating capacity. It is central to the economies of the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe and supplies power to the states of Arizona, Nevada, and California. Electricity produced by NGS is also used to power the Central Arizona Project, which supplies surface water to three counties and numerous Indian tribes in Arizona. NGS is projected to continue operating at least until 2044. EPA is proposing to require NGS to achieve a nearly 80 percent reduction of its current overall NOX emission rate. Our analysis indicates that installation of controls to achieve this reduction would result in significant visibility improvement that is well-balanced with the cost of those controls. For a number of reasons, including the importance of NGS to numerous Indian tribes located in Arizona and the federal government's reliance on NGS to meet the requirements of water settlements with several tribes, EPA is proposing an alternative to BART that would provide flexibility to NGS in the schedule for the installation of new control equipment. We also describe other compliance schedules for consideration and comment. We recognize that there may be other approaches that could result in equivalent or better visibility benefits over time and that there may be changes in energy demand, supply or other developments over the next several decades that may change electricity generation on the Navajo Nation. EPA encourages a robust public discussion of our proposed BART determination and alternative, the additional alternatives described herein, and other possible approaches. EPA is prepared to issue a supplemental proposal if approaches other than the proposed BART determination or proposed alternative articulated in this notice are identified as satisfying the requirements of the Clean Air Act and meeting the needs of the stakeholders. EPA is committed to continuing to engage with stakeholders to develop a final FIP that maintains benefits to tribes and the regional economy while improving visibility in many of our nation's most treasured National Parks and Wilderness Areas.

EPA is extending the public comment period for a proposed rule published in the Federal Register on December 21, 2012, with a former deadline for comments of February 4, 2013. The new deadline of March 6, 2013, will provide an additional 30 days for a total of 75 days to comment on our proposal. The proposal is to approve in part and disapprove in part a revision to Arizona's State Implementation Plan (SIP) to implement the regional haze program for the first planning period through 2018. The proposal includes all portions of the State's regional haze SIP except for three electric generating stations that were addressed in a final rule published on December 5, 2012.

The Environmental Protection Agency published a document in the Federal Register of December 26, 2012, concerning request for comments for the Draft Quality Standard for Environmental Data Collection, Production, and Use by Non-EPA (External) Organizations and two associated QA Handbooks. The notice of availability is being extended to a 62 day review and comment period to provide more time for external reviewers to provide comments. This document extends the comment period for 17 days, from February 11, 2013, to February 28, 2013.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), 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 the current approval for the ICR entitled ``Notification of Chemical ExportsTSCA Section 12(b)'' and identified as EPA ICR No. 0795.14 and OMB Control No. 2070-0030). The ICR, which is abstracted below, describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated burden and cost, and is available in the docket for additional public review and comment.

EPA is approving a revision to the Beaumont/Port Arthur (BPA) 1997 8-hour ozone maintenance air quality State Implementation Plan (SIP) which replaces the previously approved motor vehicle emissions budgets (budgets) with budgets developed using EPA's Motor Vehicle Emissions Simulator (MOVES) 2010a emissions model. The BPA 1997 8-hour ozone maintenance area consists of Hardin, Jefferson, and Orange Counties in Texas.

This document announces that the EPA Administrator has responded to a citizen petition asking EPA to object to an operating permit (Permit Number 2453-V2) issued by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ). Specifically, the Administrator has denied the March 28, 2011 petition, submitted by the Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN), Sierra Club, and O'Neil Couvillion (the Petitioners), to object to the operating permit issued on February 15, 2011 to Noranda Alumina, LLC, for the operation of the alumina production plant located in Gramercy, St James Parish, Louisiana. Sections 307(b) and 505(b)(2) of the Act provide that a petitioner may ask for judicial review of those portions of the petition which EPA denies in the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit. Any petition for review shall be filed within 60 days from the date this notice appears in the Federal Register, pursuant to section 307 of the Act.

EPA is notifying the public that it has found that the motor vehicle emissions budgets (MVEBs) in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas (DFW) Reasonable Further Progress (RFP) State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision, submitted on January 17, 2012 by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) are adequate for transportation conformity purposes. As a result of EPA's finding, the DFW area must use these budgets for future conformity determinations.

This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of 2-pyrrolidone, 1-ethenyl-, polymer with ethenol; when used as an inert ingredient in a pesticide formulation. Sekisui Specialty Chemicals America, LLC 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 2-pyrrolidone, 1-ethenyl-, polymer with ethenol on food or feed commodities.