Environmental Protection Agency September 16, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice announces the availability of the combined Final 2012 and Preliminary 2014 Effluent Guidelines Program Plans and EPA's 2012 and 2013 Annual Effluent Guidelines Review Reports. This notice solicits public comment and input on the Preliminary 2014 Plan and the 2012 and 2013 Annual Review Reports. The Clean Water Act (``CWA'' or ``Act'') requires EPA to biennially publish a plan for new and revised effluent guidelines, after public notice and comment, which identifies any new or existing industrial categories selected for effluent guidelines rulemaking and provides a schedule for such rulemaking. EPA typically publishes a preliminary plan upon which the public is invited to comment, and then publishes a final plan about a year later.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a meeting of the National Drinking Water Advisory Council (Council), as authorized under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The meeting is scheduled for November 6 and 7, 2014. The Council typically considers various issues associated with drinking water protection and public water systems. During this meeting, the Council will focus discussions on the approaches to regulating groups of carcinogenic volatile organic chemicals, harmful algal blooms, climate and drinking water issues and other program topics. In addition, the Council will also discuss options for compliance schedules relative to the Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), ``National Volatile Organic Compound Emission Standards for Architectural Coatings,'' (EPA ICR No. 1750.07, OMB Control No. 2060-0393) 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, the 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 February 28, 2015. 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.

EPA is required under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to publish in the Federal Register a notice of receipt of a premanufacture notice (PMN); an application for a test marketing exemption (TME), both pending and/or expired; and a periodic status report on any new chemicals under EPA review and the receipt of notices of commencement (NOC) to manufacture those chemicals. This document covers the period from February 1, 2014 to March 31, 2014.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing notice that it has responded to a petition for reconsideration and amended rulemaking of certain provisions of the final rule, ``Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) for Particulate Matter Less Than 2.5 Micrometers (PM2.5)Increments, Significant Impact Levels (SILs) and Significant Monitoring Concentration (SMC),'' published on October 20, 2010. The final rule set forth provisions identifying the maximum allowable increases in ambient pollutant concentrations (``increments'') for PM2.5, modifying the definitions for the baseline dates and the baseline area, and adding two screening tools known as SILs and an SMC for PM2.5. On December 23, 2013, the EPA received a petition for reconsideration pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA) and for an amended rulemaking pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act, from the state of North Carolina. The EPA considered the petition for reconsideration and amended rulemaking, along with information contained in the rulemaking docket, in reaching a decision on the petition. The EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy denied the petition for reconsideration and amended rulemaking in a letter to the Attorney General of North Carolina dated August 28, 2014. The letter documents the EPA's reasons for the denial and can be found in the rulemaking docket.