Environmental Protection Agency September 27, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with section 113(g) of the Clean Air Act, as amended (``Act''), notice is hereby given of a proposed settlement agreement to address a lawsuit filed by the American Forest & Paper Association, Inc. and American Wood Council (``Petitioners'') in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia: American Forest and Paper Association, Inc. and American Wood Council v. EPA, No. 12-1452 (D.C. Cir.). Petitioners filed a petition for review challenging EPA's final rule entitled ``Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases; Final Rule,'' (Oct. 30, 2009) (``GHG Reporting Rule''). Under the terms of the proposed settlement agreement, Petitioners would dismiss their claims if, at the conclusion of a rulemaking process that has included notice and an opportunity for public comment, EPA promulgates in final form an amendment to the GHG Reporting Rule that includes changes that are substantially the same substance as set forth in Attachment A to the proposed settlement agreement. Nothing in the proposed settlement agreement limits or modifies EPA's discretion under the Clean Air Act.

Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to Clean Water Act Section 312(f)(3), the State of New York has determined that the protection and enhancement of the quality of the New York State (NYS or the State) area of Lake Erie requires greater environmental protection, and has petitioned the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2, for a determination that adequate facilities for the safe and sanitary removal and treatment of sewage from all vessels are reasonably available for those waters, so that the State may completely prohibit the discharge from all vessels of any sewage, whether treated or not, into such waters. NYS has proposed to establish a ``Vessel Waste No Discharge Zone'' for the NYS area of Lake Erie stretching from the Pennsylvania-New York State boundary to include the upper Niagara River to Niagara Falls. The proposed No Discharge Zone encompasses approximately 593 square miles and 84 linear shoreline miles, including the navigable portions of the Upper Niagara River and numerous other tributaries and harbors, embayments of the Lake including Barcelona Harbor, Dunkirk Harbor and Buffalo Outer Harbor, and other formally designated habitats and waterways of local, state, and national significance. On December 6, 2012, the EPA completed the review of NYS's petition and issued a tentative affirmative determination in the Federal Register that adequate facilities for the safe and sanitary removal and treatment of sewage from all vessels for such waters are reasonably available. During the 30-day public comment period, the EPA received significant comments regarding the availability of adequate pumpouts for commercial vessels. Specifically, two commenters submitted that the December 6, 2012 notice did not contain adequate information about the availability of pumpout facilities for large commercial vessels. Therefore, the EPA and New York State collected additional information to demonstrate the reasonable availability of pumpout services for commercial vessels that use the New York area of Lake Erie. The EPA hereby republishes its tentative affirmative determination with the additional information included.

The Environmental Protection Agency has submitted an information collection request (ICR), ``Notification of Substantial Risk of Injury to Health and the Environment under TSCA Section 8(e)'' (EPA ICR No. 0794.13, OMB Control No. 2070-0046) 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 renewal of the ICR that is currently approved through June 30, 2013. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register (77 FR 71415) on November 30, 2012, during a 60-day comment period. The ICR, which is abstracted below, describes the nature of the information collection activity and its expected burden and costs. Copies of the ICR and related documents are available in the docket.

The Environmental Protection Agency has submitted an information collection request (ICR), ``NESHAP for Metal Can Manufacturing Surface Coating (40 CFR Part 63, Subpart KKKK) (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR No. 2079.05, OMB Control No. 2060-0541), 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 October 31, 2013. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register (78 FR 33409) on June 4, 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.