Environmental Protection Agency August 8, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve four State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the State of Maine. These revisions establish Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) for two categories of volatile organic compound (VOC) sources and revise two existing VOC RACT regulations previously approved into Maine's SIP. The intended effect of this action is to propose approval of the requirements of the four submittals into the Maine SIP. This action is being taken under the Clean Air 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 Pamela S. Ahlen, J.J. Seifert Land Company and J.J. Seifert Machine Co., Inc. concerning the J.J. Seifert Machine Shop Superfund Site located in Sun City, Hillsborough County, Florida. The settlement is based on a financial analysis and addresses liability for past and future costs concerning work being performed at the Site and allows for the sale of the property.

The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), ``Underground Injection Control Program'' (EPA ICR No. 0370.25, OMB Control No. 2040-0042) 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 November 30, 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 notifying the public that the Agency has found that the motor vehicle emissions budgets (MVEBs) for ozone for the years 2014, 2017, and 2018 in the Sacramento Regional 8-Hour Ozone Attainment Plan and Reasonable Further Progress Plan, 2013 SIP Revisions (``2013 Sacramento Ozone Plan'') are adequate for transportation conformity purposes. The 2013 Sacramento Ozone Plan was submitted to EPA on December 31, 2013 by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) as a revision to the California State Implementation Plan (SIP) and includes an attainment demonstration for the 1997 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standard. Upon the effective date of this notice of adequacy, the Sacramento Area Council of Governments and the U.S. Department of Transportation must use the MVEBs for future conformity determinations.

This rule consists of three parts. First, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is adopting minimum maintenance intervals for replenishment of consumable chemical reductant (commonly known as diesel exhaust fluid, or DEF) in connection with the use of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technologies. Second, EPA is adopting provisions allowing manufacturers of nonroad engines to give operators the means to obtain short-term relief from emission controls while operating in emergency situations, such as those where operation of a nonroad engine or equipment is needed to protect human life, and where obtaining short-term relief from emission controls enables such operation. Third, EPA is adopting minor revisions to the direct final rule for emergency vehicles that became effective August 7, 2012, in response to comments received on the parallel Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to extend two reporting deadlines for the 2013 compliance period under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. This proposed action would specifically affect the annual compliance and attest engagement reporting requirement deadlines for regulated parties. The annual compliance reports and attest engagement reports for the 2013 RFS compliance period would not be due until 30 days and 90 days, respectively, following publication of the final rule establishing the 2014 renewable fuel percentage standards for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel and total renewable fuel in the Federal Register. This proposed action would ensure timely amendment of existing deadlines, before compliance obligations would otherwise go into effect. In the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of this Federal Register, we are extending the annual compliance and attest engagement reporting deadlines for the 2013 RFS compliance period as a direct final rule without a prior proposed rule. If we receive no adverse comment, we will not take further action on this proposed rule.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is promulgating a source-specific Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) requiring the Navajo Generating Station (NGS), a coal-fired power plant located on the Navajo Nation near Page, Arizona, to achieve reductions in oxides of nitrogen (NOX) required under the Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART) provisions of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and the Regional Haze Rule (RHR). On February 5, 2013, EPA issued a proposed BART determination for NGS and an alternative to BART. In a supplemental proposal on October 22, 2013, EPA proposed to approve a new alternative plan, based on an agreement developed by a group of stakeholders known as the Technical Work Group (TWG). EPA is finalizing the alternative to BART described in our supplemental proposal. This rule is consistent with the TWG Agreement, including a lifetime cap in total emissions of NOX from NGS over 2009-2044 (2009-2044 NOX Cap). Our final action will achieve greater emissions reductions than BART and is expected to significantly reduce the impact of NGS on visibility at 11 mandatory Class I Federal areas. The operator of NGS must implement one of several alternative operating scenarios to achieve the necessary emission reductions to comply with the 2009-2044 NOX Cap.