Environmental Protection Agency February 6, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

EPA is adopting amendments to the technical hardship provisions under the Transition Program for Equipment Manufacturers related to the Tier 4 standards for nonroad diesel engines, and to the replacement engine exemption generally applicable to new nonroad engines. These provisions may have minor impacts on the costs and emission reductions of the underlying regulatory programs amended in this action, though in most cases these are simple technical amendments. For those provisions that may have a minor impact on the costs or benefits of the amended regulatory program, any potential impacts would be small and we have not attempted to quantify the potential changes.

In accordance with Section 122(i) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended (``CERCLA''), notice is hereby given by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA''), Region 2, of a proposed Administrative Settlement Agreement for Recovery of Past Response Costs (``Agreement'') pursuant to Section 122(h)(1) of CERCLA with the Sherwin-Williams Company (``Settling Party''). The Settling Party is a potentially responsible party, pursuant to Section 107(a) of CERCLA, and thus is potentially liable for response costs incurred at or in connection with the Sherwin-Williams Site (``Site''), located in Gibbsboro, Camden County, New Jersey. Under the Agreement, the Settling Party agrees to pay a total of $104,000.00 to EPA for past response costs. EPA will consider all comments received and may modify or withdraw its consent to the Agreement if comments received disclose facts or considerations that indicate that the proposed Agreement is inappropriate, improper, or inadequate. EPA's response to any comments received will be available for public inspection at EPA Region 2 offices, 290 Broadway, New York, New York 10007-1866.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), ``Information Collection Request Renewal for the Federal Implementation Plans to Reduce Interstate Transport of Fine Particulate Matter and Ozone'' (EPA ICR Number 2391.03, OMB Control No. 2060-0667) 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.). Before doing so, EPA is soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described below. This is a proposed extension of the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule ICR, which is currently approved through July 31, 2014. 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 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Arizona to meet Clean Air Act (CAA) requirements applicable to the Maricopa County (Phoenix) PM-10 Nonattainment Area. The Maricopa County PM-10 Nonattainment Area is located in the eastern portion of Maricopa County and encompasses the cities of Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale, Tempe, Chandler, Glendale, several other smaller jurisdictions, unincorporated County lands, as well as the town of Apache Junction in Pinal County. The Maricopa County PM-10 Nonattainment Area is designated as a serious nonattainment area for the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter of ten microns or less (PM-10). The submitted SIP revision is the Maricopa Association of Governments Five Percent Plan for PM-10 for the Maricopa County Nonattainment Area (2012 Five Percent Plan). Arizona's obligation to submit the 2012 Five Percent Plan was triggered by EPA's June 6, 2007 finding that the Maricopa PM-10 Nonattainment Area had failed to meet its December 31, 2006 deadline to attain the PM-10 NAAQS. The CAA requires a serious PM-10 nonattainment area that fails to meet its attainment deadline to submit a plan providing for attainment of the PM-10. NAAQS and for an annual emission reduction in PM-10 or PM-10 precursors of not less than five percent until attainment. EPA is proposing to approve the 2012 Five Percent Plan as meeting all relevant statutory and regulatory requirements.

In the Federal Register of May 18, 2011, EPA issued a notice of intent to implement a Federal program to certify applicators of restricted use pesticides (RUPs) in Indian country where no other certification plan applies. The program will be administered by EPA. In that notice, EPA solicited comments from the public on EPA's Proposed Federal Plan for Certifying Applicators of Restricted Use Pesticides within Indian Country (EPA plan). EPA received comments from four commenters. EPA also issued a notice of intent to implement a similar plan in EPA Region 8, the Proposed Federal Plan for Certification of Applicators of Restricted Use Pesticides Within EPA Region 8 Indian Country (EPA Region 8 plan) in the Federal Register of April 20, 2011. EPA received comments from seven commenters on the EPA Region 8 plan. A complete summary of the comments and the Agency responses is available in the docket. EPA has decided to merge these plans into one EPA plan and hereby implements the final EPA plan. Applicators must hold the appropriate Federal certification under the final EPA plan to apply RUPs in Indian country where no other EPA-approved or EPA-implemented certification plan applies.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is partially approving and partially disapproving revisions to the Utah State Implementation Plan (SIP) relating to regulation of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) under Utah's Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program and other SIP provisions. These revisions were submitted to EPA on April 14, 2011 by the Governor. The GHG-related SIP revisions are designed to align Utah's regulations with the GHG emission thresholds established in EPA's ``PSD and Title V Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Final Rule,'' which EPA issued by notice dated June 3, 2010. In today's action, EPA is approving the GHG (as it relates to the PSD program) revisions because the Agency has determined that this SIP revision, which is already adopted by Utah as a final effective rule, is in accordance with the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) and EPA regulations regarding PSD permitting for GHGs.

EPA is approving changes to Utah's rule R307-107, which pertains to source emissions during breakdowns. Utah's prior version of rule R307-107 had several deficiencies related to the treatment of excess emissions from sources during malfunction events. On April 18, 2011, EPA finalized a rulemaking which found that the Utah State Implementation Plan (SIP) was substantially inadequate to attain or maintain the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) or to otherwise comply with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) because it included rule R307-107. Concurrent with this finding, EPA issued a SIP call that required the State to revise its SIP by either removing R307-107 or correcting its deficiencies, and to submit the revised SIP to EPA by November 18, 2012. On August 16, 2012, the State submitted to EPA revisions to R307-107. EPA is approving these revisions because they correct the identified SIP deficiencies concerning the treatment of excess emissions during malfunctions and, therefore, satisfy EPA's April 18, 2011 SIP call. This final approval eliminates all potential clocks for sanctions and for EPA to promulgate a federal implementation plan (FIP) related to the April 18, 2011 SIP call.