Environmental Protection Agency January 26, 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This rule extends the laboratory and analytical use exemption for the production and import of class I ozone-depleting substances through December 31, 2021. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking this action under the Clean Air Act, consistent with a recent decision of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. The exemption allows the production and import of controlled substances in the United States for laboratory and analytical uses that have not been already identified by EPA as nonessential.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of the Chief Financial Officer is requesting comments on the development of an E- Enterprise for the Environment portal and announcing three public meetings in the form of internet webinars. E-Enterprise is a transformative 21st- century strategy for rethinking how government agencies deliver environmental protection in the United States. Through joint governance at the federal, state, and tribal levels, EPA, the states, and tribes are collaboratively modernizing business processes and driving and sharing innovations. These changes will improve environmental results and enhance services to the regulated community and the public by making government more efficient and effective. The portal, a Web site that functions as a point of access to information and tools, may provide consolidated entry points for businesses and citizens to efficiently locate, obtain access to, and interact with relevant EPA, state, and tribal environmental programs and resources. EPA and our state and tribal partners ultimately may choose to provide a different name than ``portal'' to better characterize the functionalities provided. The goal is to reduce regulatory burden and optimize information technology resources across government entities. Further detail on the portal is provided in the Background section below and also at www2.epa.gov/e-enterprise/e-enterprise-portal. EPA is seeking comment on the value of establishing a portal and the functions that it should provide. The EPA will host a series of webinars for the public to learn about the portal, ask questions and learn how to provide comments. While open to any participants, the first webinar on 2/19/15 will be oriented towards states and other co- regulators; the second webinar on 2/23/15 will be for theregulated community; and the third on 3/5/15 will be aimed atthe general public . In parallel with this Federal Register notice, EPA will conduct tribal consultation to obtain input from tribes.

Georgia has applied to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for final authorization of changes to its hazardous waste program under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). EPA has determined that these changes satisfy all requirements needed to qualify for final authorization, and is authorizing the State's changes through this direct final rule. In the ``Proposed Rules'' section of today's Federal Register, EPA is also publishing a separate document that serves as the proposal to authorize these changes. EPA believes this action is not controversial and does not expect comments that oppose it. Unless EPA receives written comments that oppose this authorization during the comment period, the decision to authorize Georgia's changes to its hazardous waste program will take effect. If EPA receives comments that oppose this action, EPA will publish a document in the Federal Register withdrawing today's direct final rule before it takes effect, and the separate document published in today's ``Proposed Rules'' section of this Federal Register will serve as the proposal to authorize the changes.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking a direct final action to approve revisions to the New Mexico State Implementation Plan (SIP) related to the General Definitions section of the New Mexico SIP that were submitted by the State of New Mexico on June 11, 2009. EPA has evaluated the SIP revisions for New Mexico and determined these revisions are consistent with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (Act or CAA). EPA is approving this action under section 110 of the Act.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to add new health and environmental protection standards to regulations promulgated under the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 (``UMTRCA'' or ``the Act''). The proposed standards will regulate byproduct materials produced by uranium in-situ recovery (ISR), including both surface and subsurface standards, with a primary focus on groundwater protection, restoration and stability. ISR has a greater potential to directly affect groundwater than does conventional milling. Therefore, by explicitly addressing the most significant hazards represented by ISR activities, these proposed standards are intended to address the shift toward ISR as the dominant form of uranium recovery that has occurred since the standards for uranium and thorium mill tailings were initially promulgated in 1983. The general standards proposed today, when final, will be implemented by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). This action also proposes to amend specific provisions in the current Health and Environmental Protection Standards for Uranium and Thorium Mill Tailings rule to address a ruling of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, to update a cross- reference to another environmental standard and to correct certain technical and typographical errors that have been identified since the 1983 promulgation.