Environmental Protection Agency September 10, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice announces to the public the availability of an Order (stipulated injunction) issued by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington that, among other things, would reinstitute streamside no-spray buffer zones to protect endangered or threatened Pacific salmon and steelhead in California, Oregon, and Washington. The stipulated injunction, issued on August 15, 2014, settles litigation brought against EPA by the Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP) and others. These buffers were originally established by the same court in prior litigation brought against EPA by the Washington Toxics Coalition (WTC) and others. Like the original buffer zones, the limitations in this stipulated injunction are part of a court order but are not to be enforceable as labeling requirements under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). The no-spray buffer zones will apply to the pesticides carbaryl, chlorpyrifos, diazinon, malathion, and methomyl. These buffers will remain in place until EPA implements any necessary protections for Pacific salmon and steelhead based on reinitiated consultations with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). EPA is reevaluating these pesticides in connection with its current FIFRA registration review process and the stipulated injunction reinstitutes the buffers in the interim.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), ``Final National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Small Vessel General Permit for Discharges Incidental to the Normal Operation of Vessels Less than 79 Feet'' (EPA ICR No. 2504.01, OMB Control No. 2040NEW) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). Before doing so, EPA is soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described below. This is a request for approval of a new collection. 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.