Environmental Protection Agency September 17, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively, the Services), are holding a 1-day workshop to provide a forum for stakeholders to offer scientific and technical feedback on the interim approaches that were issued in November 2013 by EPA, USDA, and the Services in response to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report entitled, ``Assessing Risks to Endangered and Threatened Species from Pesticides.'' The workshop is an opportunity for stakeholders and agencies to continue their dialogue on the technical aspects of implementing the NAS recommendations, building upon public meetings held in November and December 2013, April 2014, and the implementation of the enhanced stakeholder engagement process that was finalized in March 2013. The workshop is not designed to, or intended to be a decisionmaking forum; consensus will not be sought or developed at the meeting. This meeting furthers the agencies' goal of developing a consultation process for pesticide impacts on listed species that is efficient, inclusive, and transparent.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing plans to hold an information and stakeholder input session on September 22, 2014 in New York City, New York to discuss implementation of the ``Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014'' (WIFIA). A second session will be held on September 23, 2014 in New York City if registration for the first day exceeds room capacity. Additional information and stakeholder input sessions will be held in locations around the country through December, 2014. Locations and dates for the additional sessions will be announced when they become available. WIFIA is an innovative financing mechanism for water-related infrastructure of national or regional significance. It was signed into law on June 11, 2014 as Public Law 113-121. EPA will be providing an overview of the statute, assistance options and terms, and ideas for implementing the program. EPA would like participants to discuss project ideas and potential selection criteria; opportunities, challenges, and questions about implementation; and future stakeholder engagement. The intended audience is municipal, state, and regional utility decision makers; private finance sector representatives; and other interested organizations and parties.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a November 14, 2011, request by Indiana to revise the state implementation plan (SIP) to incorporate the open burning provisions in Title 326 of the Indiana Administrative Code (IAC), Article 4, Rule 1 (326 IAC 4-1), Open Burning Rule. EPA is approving this rule for attainment counties and is taking no action on the rule for Clark, Floyd, Lake and Porter counties which are nonattainment or maintenance areas for ozone (O3) or particulate matter (PM).

On August 12, 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a direct final notice of partial deletion and a proposed notice of intent for partial deletion for Operable Unit 4, Upper California Gulch; Operable Unit 5, ASARCO Smelters/Slag/Mill Sites; and Operable Unit 7, Apache Tailing Impoundment, of the California Gulch Superfund Site from the National Priorities List. The EPA is withdrawing the final notice of partial deletion due to adverse comments that were received during the public comment period. After consideration of the comments received, if appropriate, EPA will publish a notice of partial deletion in the Federal Register based on the parallel notice of intent for partial deletion and place a copy of the final partial deletion package, including a Responsiveness Summary, if prepared, in the Site repositories.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), this document announces that EPA is planning to submit an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The ICR, entitled: ``Pesticide Program Public Sector Collections (FIFRA Sections 18 and 24(c))'' and identified by EPA ICR No. 2311.02 and OMB Control No. 2070-0182, represents the renewal of an existing ICR that is scheduled to expire on May 31, 2015. Before submitting the ICR to OMB for review and approval, EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection that is summarized in this document. The ICR and accompanying material are available in the docket for public review and comment.

In this supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPR), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is supplementing and revising what it previously proposed as its response to a petition for rulemaking filed by the Sierra Club (the Petition). By notice published on February 22, 2013, the EPA proposed its response to the Petition's requests concerning treatment of excess emissions in state rules by sources during periods of startup, shutdown or malfunction (SSM). Subsequent to that proposal, a federal court ruled that the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) precludes authority of the EPA to create affirmative defense provisions applicable to private civil suits. As a result, in this SNPR the EPA is proposing to apply its revised interpretation of the CAA, but only with respect to affirmative defense provisions in state implementation plans (SIPs). For specific affirmative defense provisions identified in the Petition, we are revising the basis for the proposed findings of substantial inadequacy and SIP calls or proposing new findings of substantial inadequacy and SIP calls. For specific provisions that the EPA has independently identified, including SIP provisions in states not included in the February 2013 proposal notice, we are proposing new findings and SIP calls.