Environmental Protection Agency March 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), Contractor Conflicts of Interest; EPA ICR No. 1550.10, OMB Control No. 2030-0023 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 ICR, which is currently approved through August 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 State of Alaska (the State) submitted two State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions to the Anchorage Transportation Control Program, Anchorage Carbon Monoxide (CO) Maintenance Plan. On September 20, 2011, the State submitted a SIP revision (2011 Submittal) that updated Anchorage's CO motor vehicle emissions budget (MVEB) in the Anchorage CO maintenance area using the EPA's Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator (MOVES) model. On April 22, 2013, the State submitted a SIP revision (2013 Submittal) to satisfy the Clean Air Act (CAA) section 175A(b) requirement for a second 10-year maintenance plan for the Anchorage CO maintenance area in the form of a limited maintenance plan (LMP). This LMP addresses maintenance of the CO National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for a second 10-year period, beyond redesignation of the area to attainment, through 2024. The EPA is taking direct final action to approve both the 2013 Submittal and portions of the 2011 Submittal that are not superseded by the 2013 Submittal. The EPA is approving these SIP revisions because the State has demonstrated that they are consistent with the CAA.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is partially approving the May 9, 2013, State Implementation Plan (SIP) submittal from Idaho to revise the SIP to update the incorporation by reference of Federal air quality regulations into the SIP and make minor edits and clarifications. The EPA is granting limited approval, as SIP strengthening, to a portion of the submittal that incorporates by reference updates to the Federal nonattainment new source review (nonattainment NSR) requirements that have been recently remanded to the EPA by a court. In addition, the EPA is partially disapproving Idaho's incorporation by reference of two provisions of the Federal prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) permitting rules that have been recently vacated in a separate decision by a court. Finally we are taking no action on Idaho's incorporation by reference of another provision of the Federal PSD permitting rules that has also been the subject of a court action. Upon the effective date of this action, the Idaho SIP will incorporate by reference certain Federal regulations as of July 1, 2012.