Environmental Protection Agency 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a public meeting of the National Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWC) Lead and Copper Rule Working Group (LCRWG). The meeting is scheduled for May 29 and 30, 2014, in Arlington, VA. During this meeting, the LCRWG and the EPA will focus discussions on the Lead and Copper Rule sample site selection criteria.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator signed an Order, dated April 14, 2014, partially granting and partially denying petitions to object to Clean Air Act (CAA) title V operating permit renewals issued by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division to Georgia Power Company for the following steam-electric generation stations: Hammond located near Coosa in Floyd County, Georgia; Kraft located near Port Wentworth in Chatham County, Georgia; McIntosh located near Rincon in Effingham County, Georgia; Scherer located near Juliette in Monroe County, Georgia; and Wansley located near Carrollton in Heard County, Georgia. This Order constitutes a final action on the petitions submitted by GreenLaw on behalf of Sierra Club and other environmental groups (Petitioners) and received by EPA on June 13 and 15, September 5, October 23 and November 13, 2012, respectively.

In this notice, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is notifying the public that EPA has found that the motor vehicle emissions budgets (MVEBs) in the Maryland portion of the Martinsburg- Hagerstown, WV-MD 1997 Fine Particulate (PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) Nonattainment Area Maintenance Plan (Hagerstown Maintenance Plan), submitted as a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision by Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), are adequate for transportation conformity purposes. As a result of EPA's finding, the State of Maryland must use the 2017 and 2025 MVEBs from the Hagerstown Maintenance Plan for future conformity determinations for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS.

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of tebuconazole in or on orange and orange, oil. Bayer CropScience, LP requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

EPA issued a final rule in the Federal Register of February 3, 2014, establishing an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of [alpha]-alkyl-[omega]-hydroxypoly (oxypropylene) and/or poly (oxyethylene) polymers where the alkyl chain contains a minimum of six carbons, and [alpha]-alkyl-[omega]-hydroxypoly (oxypropylene) and/ or poly (oxyethylene) polymers where the alkyl chain contains a minimum of six carbons and a minimum number average molecular weight (in amu) 1,100 when used as an inert ingredient as a surfactant in pesticide formulations in growing crops without limitations. The document inadvertently omitted Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) registry numbers from the regulatory text. This document corrects those errors.

The EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the Alaska State Implementation Plan (SIP). Alaska submitted these revisions on February 13, 2008, December 11, 2009, April 14, 2010, November 29, 2010, October 21, 2011, December 10, 2012, and January 28, 2013, to meet Clean Air Act (CAA) requirements. These revisions update the Alaska SIP to reflect changes to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), area designations, and Federal permitting requirements. In addition, the submitted changes revise and clarify Alaska permitting rules, and remove provisions that are duplicated in other regulations. Although the EPA is proposing to approve most of the submitted revisions, the EPA is proposing to not approve certain provisions which are inappropriate for SIP approval. The EPA is also removing specific provisions from the Alaska SIP that were previously approved, but that implement other provisions of the CAA and that the State has not relied on to demonstrate attainment or maintenance of the NAAQS or to meet other specific requirements of section 110 of the CAA, and therefore should not be part of the Federally-approved Alaska SIP. Finally, the EPA is deferring action on certain portions of the submissions, including those that adopt by reference updates to the Federal nonattainment major new source review requirements, because those revisions will be addressed in a separate action.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to make technical amendments to address several minor, inadvertent and nonsubstantive errors in the regulatory text establishing the air quality designations for certain areas in fourteen states for the 1997 Fine Particles (PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS), the 2008 Ozone NAAQS, the 2008 Lead NAAQS, the 2010 Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) NAAQS and the 2010 Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) NAAQS. The states are: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, Washington and Wisconsin. This action does not change the designation for any area.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to revise the 2013 cellulosic biofuel standard published on August 15, 2013. This action follows from EPA having granted two petitioners' requests for reconsideration of the 2013 cellulosic biofuel standard. EPA granted reconsideration because one of the two companies that EPA expected to produce cellulosic biofuel in 2013 announced soon after EPA signed its final rule that it intended to produce substantially lower volumes of cellulosic biofuel in 2013 than it had earlier reported to EPA. Since the cellulosic biofuel standard was based on EPA's projection of cellulosic biofuel production in 2013, EPA deemed this new information to be of central relevance to the rule, warranting reconsideration. On reconsideration, EPA is directed to base the standard on the lower of ``projected'' production of cellulosic fuel in 2013 or the cellulosic biofuel applicable volume set forth in the statute. Since data are available to show actual production volumes for 2013, EPA's ``projection'' and proposal are based on actual cellulosic biofuel production in 2013. This action only affects the 2013 cellulosic biofuel standard; all other RFS standards remain unchanged. EPA is proposing a revised cellulosic biofuel standard of 0.0005% for 2013. In the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of this Federal Register, we are making this same amendment as a direct final rule. If we receive no adverse comment, the direct final rule will go into effect and we will not take further action on this proposed rule.

Pursuant to its authority under the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a revision to the Wisconsin State Implementation Plan (SIP), submitted by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) to EPA on March 12, 2014, for parallel processing. The SIP revision modifies the definition of the term ``major modification'' in Wisconsin's Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Nonattainment New Source Review (NNSR) programs. The changes made to the definition of major modification remove an NSR exemption for fuel changes as major modifications where the source was capable of accommodating the change before January 6, 1975. Additionally, the submittal modifies Wisconsin's PSD program to identify precursors for ozone. WDNR requested these revisions to match Federal requirements. EPA is proposing approval of Wisconsin's March 12, 2014, SIP revision because the Agency has made the preliminary determination that this SIP revision is in accordance with the CAA and applicable EPA regulations regarding PSD and NNSR.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Commonwealth of Virginia through the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Virginia's SIP revision addresses requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and EPA's rules that require states to submit periodic reports describing progress towards reasonable progress goals (RPGs) established for regional haze and a determination of the adequacy of the state's existing implementation plan addressing regional haze (regional haze SIP). EPA is approving Virginia's SIP revision on the basis that it addresses the progress report and adequacy determination requirements for the first implementation period for regional haze.

The EPA is proposing to approve a Tribal implementation plan (TIP) submitted by the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community (SITC or the Tribe). The TIP was submitted to the EPA on June 28, 2012, and supplementary submittals were received on September 24, 2013, November 18, 2013, and January 28, 2014. The TIP establishes regulations for open burning that will apply to all persons within the exterior boundaries of the Swinomish Reservation (the Reservation). The EPA approved the SITC for treatment in the same manner as a State (TAS) to regulate open burning on the Swinomish Reservation under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act) on February 16, 2010. This action proposes to federally approve the TIP. If the EPA finalizes this approval, the provisions of the TIP would become federally enforceable. Upon the effective date of a final action to approve the TIP, the SITC's open burning TIP would replace the Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) provisions regulating open burning within the exterior boundaries of the Swinomish Reservation.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve two State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the State of Maryland pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA). Whenever new or revised National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) are promulgated, the CAA requires states to submit a plan for the implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of such NAAQS. The plan is required to address basic program elements, including, but not limited to regulatory structure, monitoring, modeling, legal authority, and adequate resources necessary to assure attainment and maintenance of the standards. These elements are referred to as infrastructure requirements. The State of Maryland has made two submittals addressing the infrastructure requirements for the 2008 lead (Pb) NAAQS.

The EPA is proposing to approve a maintenance plan for the Central Puget Sound area to maintain the 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) through 2015. This plan was submitted by the Washington Department of Ecology as a revision to its State Implementation Plan on January 10, 2008. The maintenance plan for this area meets all Clean Air Act requirements, and demonstrates that the Central Puget Sound area will remain in attainment with the 1997 and 2008 ozone NAAQS through 2015.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the Governor of North Dakota on April 14, 2011. The revisions affect North Dakota's air pollution control rules regarding general provisions, ambient air quality standards (sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NOX), and lead), and permitting. EPA acted separately on other provisions in the April 14, 2011 submittal related to North Dakota's regulation of greenhouse gases (GHGs) under its Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program. This action is being taken under section 110 of the Clean Air Act (the Act or CAA).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a direct final rule that appeared in the Federal Register on March 14, 2014. The document approved revisions to the California State Implementation Plan (SIP) concerning emissions inventories for the 2006 24-hour fine particle National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for the San Francisco Bay Area and Chico PM2.5 nonattainment areas. We are approving these emissions inventories under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act). An error in the amendatory instruction is identified and corrected in this action.

The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office requests public nominations of scientific experts to form an SAB panel to provide advice through the chartered SAB on the appropriate role of economy-wide modeling of the costs and benefits of air regulations in informing the regulatory process.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), ``Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Detergent Gasoline'' (EPA ICR No. 1655.09, OMB Control No. 2060-0275 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, 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 September 30, 2014. 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.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reissuing its final limited approval of the Pennsylvania State Implementation Plan (SIP) to implement the regional haze program for the first planning period through 2018. EPA originally finalized a limited approval of the Pennsylvania regional haze SIP on July 13, 2012. In response to a petition for review of that final action in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, EPA successfully moved for a voluntary remand, without vacatur, to more adequately respond to certain public comments. EPA is providing new responses to those comments in this rulemaking notice.

On February 24, 2014, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) submitted revisions to its nitrogen oxide (NOX) combustion turbine rule for the Milwaukee-Racine area. This revision is contained in ``2013 Wisconsin Act 91Senate Bill 371'' which allows alternative NOX emission requirements for simple cycle combustion turbines that undergo a modification on or after February 1, 2001, if dry low NOX combustion is not technically or economically feasible. This revision is approvable because it provides for alternative NOX requirements subject to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approval on a case-by-case basis and therefore satisfies the reasonably available control technology (RACT) requirements of the Clean Air Act.

EPA has received a specific exemption request from the Wyoming Department of Agriculture to use the pesticide diflubenzuron (CAS No. 35367-38-5) to treat up to 26,000 acres of alfalfa to control grasshoppers and Mormon crickets. The applicant proposes a use which is supported by the Interregional (IR)-4 program and has been requested in 5 or more previous years, and a petition for tolerance has not yet been submitted to the Agency. EPA is soliciting public comment before making the decision whether or not to grant the exemption.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the Commonwealth of Virginia's State Implementation Plan (SIP). The revisions consist of a Federally enforceable state operating permit containing terms and conditions for the control of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from the Mondel[emacr]z Global LLC, Inc. (Mondel[emacr]z)Richmond Bakery located in Henrico County, Virginia. EPA is approving these revisions for the purpose of meeting the requirements for reasonably available control technology (RACT) in order to implement the maintenance plan for the Richmond 1997 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) maintenance area in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

Notice is hereby given that the State of North Carolina is revising its approved Public Water System Supervision Program. North Carolina has adopted the following rules: Long Term 1 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule, Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule, Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule, Lead and Copper Rule Short-Term Regulatory Revisions and Clarifications, and Ground Water Rule. The EPA has determined that North Carolina's rules are no less stringent than the corresponding federal regulations. Therefore, the EPA is tentatively approving this revision to the State of North Carolina's Public Water System Supervision Program.