Environmental Protection Agency October 22, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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 the Vantran Electric Corporation addressing past costs concerning the Vantran Electric Corporation Site located in Louisville, Jefferson County, Georgia. The settlement addresses costs from a fund-lead Removal Action taken by EPA at the Site.

The Environmental Protection Agency has submitted an information collection request (ICR), ``NSPS for Magnetic Tape Coating Facilities (40 CFR part 60, subpart SSS) (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR No. 1135.11, OMB Control No. 2060-0171), 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 November 30, 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.

On February 5, 2013, EPA published its proposed 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). EPA proposed the BART FIP to reduce visibility impairment caused by NGS at 11 National Parks and Wilderness Areas. EPA's proposed FIP included: (1) A proposed BART determination; (2) A proposed ``better than BART'' alternative that achieves greater reasonable progress towards the national visibility goals than BART; and (3) a framework for evaluating additional alternatives to BART. This framework for evaluating additional alternatives was included in the proposal due to the unique purpose and history of NGS and the numerous stakeholder interests in it. On March 19, 2013 and June 19, 2013, EPA provided two extensions of the public comment period based on requests of several stakeholders who were actively working to develop an alternative to BART. On July 26, 2013, a group of stakeholders, known as the Technical Work Group (TWG), submitted to EPA their suggested alternative to BART (the ``TWG Alternative''). The TWG Alternative establishes a lifetime cap in NOX emissions over 2009-2044 (the 2009-2044 NOX Cap) that is equivalent to the cumulative NOX emissions over 2009-2044 that NGS would emit under EPA's proposed BART determination of 0.055 lb/MMBtu achieved within five years of the final rule. Due to on-going lease and ownership uncertainties, the operators of NGS cannot yet commit to a single course of action for maintaining emissions below the 2009-2044 NOX Cap. The TWG Alternative therefore includes several alternative operating scenarios for meeting the 2009-2044 NOX Cap. EPA did not participate in the TWG or assist in developing the TWG Alternative, and has independently evaluated the TWG Alternative to determine if it meets the requirements of the CAA and the Regional Haze Rule (RHR). In this action, EPA is proposing to determine that the TWG Alternative is ``better than BART'' because maintaining emissions below the 2009-2044 NOX Cap, as provided in the TWG Alternative, achieves greater reasonable progress than EPA's proposed BART determination towards the national visibility goal. EPA is accepting comment concurrently on today's Supplemental Proposal and our proposal from February 5, 2013.

EPA is taking direct final action to approve two State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the District of Columbia (hereafter ``the District'') pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA). Whenever new or revised national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) are promulgated, the CAA requires states to submit a plan for the implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of such NAAQS. The plan is required to address basic program elements including, but not limited to, regulatory structure, monitoring, modeling, legal authority, and adequate resources necessary to assure attainment and maintenance of the NAAQS. These elements are referred to as infrastructure requirements. The District made a submittal addressing the infrastructure requirements for the 2008 lead (Pb) NAAQS and a separate submittal addressing requirements in relation to State Boards. EPA is approving portions of the infrastructure requirements for the 2008 lead NAAQS and the requirements addressing State Boards for the District in accordance with the requirements of the CAA.

The EPA is taking final action to revise the regulatory definition of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for purposes of preparing state implementation plans (SIPs) to attain the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for ozone under title I of the Clean Air Act (CAA). This final action adds 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene (also known as HFO-1234yf) to the list of compounds excluded from the regulatory definition of VOCs on the basis that this compound makes a negligible contribution to tropospheric ozone formation. As a result, if you are subject to certain federal regulations limiting emissions of VOCs, your emissions of HFO-1234yf may not be regulated for some purposes. This action may also affect whether HFO-1234yf is considered a VOC for state regulatory purposes, depending on whether the state relies on the EPA's regulatory definition of VOCs.