Environmental Protection Agency December 31, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On December 18, 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) for brick and structural clay products manufacturing and NESHAP for clay ceramics manufacturing. The EPA is extending the deadline for written comments on the proposed rule by 30 days to March 19, 2015. In addition, the EPA is changing the date of the public hearing, if requested, to January 27, 2015, and the date to pre- register for the hearing if it is held.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing three public hearings for the proposed rule titled, ``National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone,'' that was published in the Federal Register on December 17, 2014. The hearings will be held in Washington, DC, Arlington, Texas, and Sacramento, California. Based on its review of the air quality criteria for ozone (O3) and related photochemical oxidants and national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for O3, the EPA proposes to make revisions to the primary and secondary NAAQS for O3 to provide requisite protection of public health and welfare, respectively. The EPA is proposing to revise the primary standard to a level within the range of 0.065 to 0.070 parts per million (ppm), and to revise the secondary standard to within the range of 0.065 to 0.070 ppm, which air quality analyses indicate would provide air quality, in terms of 3-year average W126 index values, at or below a range of 13-17 ppm-hours. The EPA proposes to make corresponding revisions in data handling conventions for O3 and conforming changes to the Air Quality Index; to revise regulations for the Prevention of Significant Deterioration program to add a transition provision for certain applications; and to propose schedules and convey information related to implementing any revised standards. The EPA is proposing changes to the O3 monitoring seasons, the Federal Reference Method (FRM) for monitoring O3 in the ambient air, Federal Equivalent Method procedures for testing, and the Photochemical Assessment Monitoring Stations network. Along with proposing exceptional event schedules related to implementing any revised O3 standards, the EPA is proposing to apply this same schedule approach to other future revised NAAQS and to remove obsolete regulatory language for expired exceptional event deadlines. The EPA is proposing to make minor changes to the procedures and time periods for evaluating potential FRMs and equivalent methods (including making the requirements for nitrogen dioxide consistent with the requirements for O3) and to remove an obsolete requirement for the annual submission of documentation by manufacturers of certain particulate matter monitors.

This action finalizes amendments to new source performance standards (NSPS) for the oil and natural gas sector. On August 16, 2012, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published final NSPS for the oil and natural gas sector. The Administrator received petitions for administrative reconsideration of certain aspects of the standards. Among issues raised in the petitions were time-critical issues related to certain storage vessel provisions and well completion provisions. On July 17, 2014 (79 FR 41752), the EPA published proposed amendments and clarifications as a result of reconsideration of certain issues related to well completions, storage vessels and other issues raised for reconsideration as well as technical corrections and amendments to further clarify the rule. This action finalizes these amendments and corrects technical errors that were inadvertently included in the final standards.

This notice announces EPA's approval of the State of Maryland's request to revise its EPA Administered Permit Programs: The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System EPA-authorized program to allow electronic reporting.