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

EPA is finalizing updates to the Code of Federal Regulations delegation tables to reflect the current delegation status of New Source Performance Standards and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants in Arizona, California, and Nevada.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve most elements of New York's State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions submitted to demonstrate that the State meets the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) for the 1997 8-hour ozone and the 1997 and 2006 fine particulate matter (PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). EPA is also proposing to conditionally approve certain elements of New York's submittals. The CAA requires that each state adopt and submit a SIP for the implementation, maintenance and enforcement of each NAAQS promulgated by the EPA and is commonly referred to as an infrastructure SIP.

The EPA is extending its deadline for the public to submit data and scientific literature to inform EPA's research on the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources from April 30, 2013 until November 15, 2013. EPA is extending the deadline in order to provide the public with more of an opportunity to provide feedback to the Agency.

EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District (AVAQMD), Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (SBCAPCD), South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) and Ventura County Air Pollution Control District (VCAPCD) portions of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) emissions from motor vehicle and mobile equipment coating operations and from graphic arts operations. We are approving local rules that regulate these emission sources under the Clean Air Act (``CAA'' or ``the Act''). We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a final action.

In accordance with Section 122(i) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act, as amended (CERCLA), notice is hereby given of a proposed administrative settlement with The Doe Run Resources Corporation, St. Louis, Missouri, for recovery of past response costs concerning the Leadwood Mine Tailings Superfund Site in St. Francois County, Missouri. The settlement requires The Doe Run Resources Corporation to pay $175,000.00 to the Hazardous Substance Superfund. The settlement includes a covenant not to sue the settling party pursuant to Section 107(a) of CERCLA. For thirty (30) days following the date of publication of this notice, EPA will receive written comments relating to the settlement. EPA will consider all comments and may modify or withdraw its consent to the settlement if comments received disclose facts or considerations which indicate that the settlement is inappropriate, improper, or inadequate. EPA's response to any comments received will be available for public inspection at the EPA Region 7 office located at 11201 Renner Boulevard, Lenexa, Kansas 66219.

The Environmental Protection Agency has submitted an information collection request (ICR), ``Nitrogen Oxides Ambient Air Monitoring (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR No. 2358.04, OMB Control No. 2060-0638) 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 proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through April 30, 2013. This ICR is being submitted to OMB concurrently with the renewal for the ``Ambient Air Quality Surveillance'' ICR (EPA ICR Number 0940.27, OMB Control Number 2060-0084). The renewal for the Ambient Air Quality Surveillance ICR will incorporates the requirements and burden currently approved under the Nitrogen Oxides Ambient Monitoring ICR (OMB 2060-0638, EPA ICR Number 2358.03) and the Sulfur Dioxides Ambient Monitoring ICR (OMB 2060-0642, EPA ICR Number 2370.02). Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register (78 FR 12052) on February 21, 2013 during a 60-day comment period. 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.

EPA is approving into the Ohio State Implementation Plan (SIP), several volatile organic compound (VOC) rules that were submitted by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) on June 1, 2011. These rules, which include the source categories covered by the Control Technique Guideline (CTG) documents issued in 2008, as well as several other miscellaneous rule revisions, will help Ohio's effort to attain the 2008 ozone standard. These rules are being approved because they are consistent with the CTG documents issued by EPA in 2008, and satisfy the reasonably available control technology (RACT) requirements of the Clean Air Act (Act). EPA proposed these rules for approval on May 25, 2012, and received no comments.

EPA has received a quarantine exemption request from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to use the pesticide ethylene oxide (CAS No. 75-21-8) to sterilize the interior surfaces of enclosed animal isolator units to control microorganisms. The applicant proposes a use of a pesticide which contains an active ingredient which is or has been the subject of a Special Review, and which could pose a risk similar to the risk which is or has been the subject of the Special Review. EPA is soliciting public comment before making the decision whether or not to grant the exemption.

On March 15, 2013, EPA initiated reconsideration of its approval of North Dakota's best available retrofit technology (BART) emission limits for nitrogen oxides (NOX) for Milton R. Young Station Units 1 and 2 and Leland Olds Station Unit 2, which are coal-fired power plants in North Dakota. EPA is holding public hearings on May 15, 2013 to accept written and oral comments on this proposed action. The comment period for this action was scheduled to close on May 14, 2013. EPA is extending the comment period to June 17, 2013 to allow for a full 30-day public comment period for the submission of additional public comment following the public hearings.

The EPA is approving State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the State of Oregon on February 16, 2001, July 14, 2005, August 28, 2006, and May 20, 2008 that relate to open burning rules, enforcement procedures, civil penalties, and procedures in contested cases (appeals). These revisions were made to the Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR) Chapter 340, Division 264 (OAR 340-264), OAR 340-012, and OAR 340-011. The EPA is approving the SIP revisions because the revisions clarify and strengthen the SIP and meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act.

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of azoxystrobin in or on multiple commodities discussed later in this document. Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

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 notice announces EPA's order for the cancellations, voluntarily requested by the registrants and accepted by the Agency, of the products listed in Table 1 of Unit II., pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). This cancellation order follows a September 19, 2012 Federal Register notice of receipt of requests from the registrants listed in Table 2 of Unit II. to voluntarily cancel these product registrations. In the September 19, 2012 notice, EPA indicated that it would issue an order implementing the cancellations, unless the Agency received substantive comments within the 180-day comment period that would merit its further review of these requests, or unless the registrants withdrew their requests. The Agency did not receive any comments on the notice. Further, the registrants did not withdraw their requests. Accordingly, EPA hereby issues in this notice a cancellation order granting the requested cancellations. Any distribution, sale, or use of the products subject to this cancellation order is permitted only in accordance with the terms of this order, including any existing stocks provisions.

The EPA is taking final action on its reconsideration of certain issues in the final rules titled, ``National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants from Coal- and Oil-fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units and Standards of Performance for Fossil-Fuel- Fired Electric Utility, Industrial-Commercial-Institutional, and Small Industrial-Commercial-Institutional Steam Generating Units.'' The National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) rule issued pursuant to Clean Air Act (CAA) section 112 is referred to as the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) NESHAP, and the New Source Performance Standards rule issued pursuant to CAA section 111 is referred to as the Utility NSPS. The Administrator received petitions for reconsideration of certain aspects of the MATS NESHAP and the Utility NSPS. On November 30, 2012, the EPA granted reconsideration of, proposed, and requested comment on a limited set of issues. We also proposed certain technical corrections to both the MATS NESHAP and the Utility NSPS. The EPA is now taking final action on the revised new source numerical standards in the MATS NESHAP and the definitional and monitoring provisions in the Utility NSPS that were addressed in the proposed reconsideration rule. As part of this action, the EPA is also making certain technical corrections to both the MATS NESHAP and the Utility NSPS. The EPA is not taking final action on requirements applicable during periods of startup and shutdown in the MATS NESHAP or on startup and shutdown provisions related to the PM standard in the Utility NSPS.

EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ) is announcing that attest engagements reports due on or after May 8, 2013 must be submitted via EPA's Central Data Exchange (CDX). The substance of the attest engagement report itself is unchanged. EPA is switching to all-electronic reporting using the Central Data Exchange (CDX) because it is simple, cost effective, and efficient. As of May 8, 2013, parties will no longer be permitted to submit attest engagements via any method but CDX. This notice affects parties subject to attest engagement requirements of fuels programs, including reformulated gasoline, anti-dumping, gasoline sulfur, benzene content, and the renewable fuel standard.

EPA is finalizing approval of revisions to the Imperial County Air Pollution Control District (ICAPCD) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). This action was proposed in the Federal Register on January 7, 2013 and concerns local rules that regulate inhalable particulate matter (PM) emissions from sources of fugitive dust such as unpaved roads and disturbed soils in open and agricultural areas in Imperial County. We are approving local rules that regulate these emission sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act).

Under 122(h) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), the United States Environmental Protection Agency has entered into a settlement with one hundred twenty-five (125) parties and nineteen (19) Federal Agencies addressing past costs concerning the LWD, Inc., Superfund Site located in Calvert City, Marshall County, Kentucky. The settlement addresses costs from a federally funded Removal Action taken by EPA at the Site and response costs incurred by the settling parties in connection with the Site pursuant to a 2007 work AOC.

In accordance with the Clean Air Act, as amended (``CAA''), notice is hereby given of a proposed consent decree, to resolve a lawsuit filed by Clean Air Council in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia: Clean Air Council v. Jackson, No. 1:12- cv-00707 (D. DC). On May 2, 2012, Plaintiff filed a complaint alleging that EPA failed to promulgate a Federal Implementation Plan (``FIP'') as mandated by the CAA, addressing certain nonattainment planning provisions for the 1997 fine particulate matter National Ambient Air Quality Standard (``NAAQS'') in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (``Pennsylvania''). The complaint also alleges that EPA failed to make a determination regarding whether the Liberty-Clairton nonattainment area in Pennsylvania (``Liberty-Clairton Area'') has attained the 1997 fine particulate matter NAAQS by the applicable attainment date as mandated by the CAA,. The proposed consent decree establishes deadlines for EPA to take action.

EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the Maricopa County Area portion of the Arizona State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern particulate matter (PM10) emissions from fugitive dust sources. We are approving local statutes that regulate these emission sources under the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act). We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a final action.

This regulation amends existing tolerances for residues of propiconazole in or on multiple commodities which are identified and discussed later in this document. Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

EPA is approving a request submitted by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) on January 30, 2013, to revise the Indiana State Implementation Plan (SIP) for particulate matter under the Clean Air Act (CAA). This submission contains the 24-hour fine particle (PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) promulgated by EPA in 2006, and removes the annual coarse particle (PM10) NAAQS that EPA has previously revoked. The submission also asks EPA to approve into the SIP certain Federally regulated criteria pollutant definitions and abbreviations.

Notice is hereby given that a reissuance of an exemption to the land disposal Restrictions, under the 1984 Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, has been granted to BASF Corporation for three Class I injection wells located at Freeport, Texas. The company has adequately demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Environmental Protection Agency by the petition reissuance application and supporting documentation that, to a reasonable degree of certainty, there will be no migration of hazardous constituents from the injection zone for as long as the waste remains hazardous. This final decision allows the underground injection by BASF, of the specific restricted hazardous wastes identified in this exemption, into Class I hazardous waste injection wells WDW-51 and WDW- 99 and WDW-408 until December 31, 2028, unless EPA moves to terminate this exemption. Additional conditions included in this final decision may be reviewed by contacting the Region 6 Ground Water/UIC Section. A public notice was issued December 27, 2012. The public comment period closed on February 15, 2013. No comments were received. This decision constitutes final Agency action and there is no Administrative appeal. This decision may be reviewed/appealed in compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act.