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

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces two public teleconferences of the SAB Chemical Assessment Advisory Committee Augmented for the Review of the Draft Trimethylbenzenes Assessment (CAAC-TMB Panel) to discuss its draft report concerning EPA's draft Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Toxicological Review of Trimethylbenzenes (August 2013 Revised External Review Draft).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to partially approve and partially disapprove the State Implementation Plan (SIP) submittal from Washington demonstrating that the SIP meets the infrastructure requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) for the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) promulgated for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) on July 18, 1997, October 17, 2006, and December 14, 2012 (collectively the PM2.5 NAAQS). The CAA requires that each state, after a new or revised NAAQS is promulgated, review their SIP to ensure that it meets the infrastructure requirements necessary to implement the new or revised NAAQS. On September 22, 2014, Washington certified that the Washington SIP meets the infrastructure requirements of the CAA for the PM2.5 NAAQS, except for those requirements related to the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permitting program currently operated under a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP), certain elements of the regional haze program currently operated under a FIP, and specific requirements related to interstate transport which will be addressed in a separate submittal. The EPA is proposing to find that Washington's SIP is adequate for purposes of the infrastructure SIP requirements of the CAA with the exceptions noted above. The EPA is proposing to find that the SIP deficiencies related to PSD permitting and regional haze, however, have been adequately addressed by the existing EPA FIPs and, therefore, no further action is required by Washington or the EPA for those elements. The EPA will address the remaining interstate transport requirements in a separate action.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's requests to redesignate to attainment the Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle-York nonattainment areas (hereafter ``the Areas'') for the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour fine particulate matter (PM2.5) national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS). This proposed approval is contingent upon the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (D.C. Circuit Court) granting EPA's motion to lift the stay of the Cross State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) that the D.C. Circuit Court issued on December 30, 2011. EPA is proposing to find that the attainment of the Areas is in part due to the emissions reductions resulting from the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) in Pennsylvania and in the states upwind of Pennsylvania. Thus, if the D.C. Circuit Court lifts the stay of CSAPR and grants EPA's motion to begin implementation of CSAPR on January 1, 2015, those emission reductions originally required under CAIR will be made permanent and enforceable through the implementation of CSAPR. In addition to the redesignation requests, EPA is also proposing to determine that the Areas continue to attain the 1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. Furthermore, EPA is proposing to approve as revisions to the Pennsylvania State Implementation Plan (SIP), the associated maintenance plans to show maintenance of the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS through 2025 for the Areas. The maintenance plans include the 2017 and 2025 PM2.5 and nitrogen oxides (NOX) mobile vehicle emissions budgets (MVEBs) for the Areas for the 1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS which EPA is proposing to approve for transportation conformity purposes. EPA is also initiating the process to determine if these budgets are adequate for transportation conformity purposes. In addition, EPA is proposing to approve as revisions to the Pennsylvania SIP, the 2007 base year emissions inventory for the Areas for the 1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA's proposed approvals of the maintenance plans and MVEBs for the Areas are also contingent upon the lifting of the CSAPR stay by the D.C. Circuit Court.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the California Air Resources Board portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from consumer products. We are approving a local rule that regulates these emission sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency on January 17, 2014, concerning the state's gasoline vapor recovery requirements. The SIP revision phases out the Stage II vapor recovery program requirements in the Illinois portion of the Chicago ozone nonattainment area as a component of the Illinois ozone SIP. The SIP revision also includes amendments to the state's permitting regulations applicable to storage tanks and fuel dispensing, including repealing the Stage I vapor recovery registration provisions due to overlapping Federal notification requirements and state tracking systems for gasoline dispensing operations. Finally, the SIP revision includes other clarifying and clean-up amendments at 35 Ill. Adm. Code Parts 201, 218, and 219. The submittal also includes a demonstration under section 110(l) of the Clean Air Act that shows there are no emissions impacts associated with the removal of the program.