Environmental Protection Agency March 9, 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is requesting public input on the agency's periodic retrospective review of its regulations. Executive Order 13563, ``Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review,'' and Executive Order 13610, ``Identifying and Reducing Regulatory Burdens,'' call on all federal agencies to conduct a retrospective analysis of rules that may be outmoded, ineffective, insufficient, or excessively burdensome and to modify, streamline, expand, or repeal them in accordance with what has been learned. The EPA is particularly seeking public input on how the agency can promote regulatory modernization through business-process streamlining, facilitated by improved technology.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes to approve the State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of West Virginia for the purpose of addressing the State Boards requirements for all criteria pollutants of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). EPA is also proposing to approve a related infrastructure element from the West Virginia February 21, 2012 SIP submittal for the 2008 ozone (O3) NAAQS, the December 13, 2012 SIP submittal for the 2010 nitrogen dioxide (NO2) NAAQS, and the July 1, 2013 SIP submittal for the 2010 sulfur dioxide (SO2) NAAQS. In the Final Rules section of this Federal Register, EPA is approving the State's SIP submittal as a direct final rule without prior proposal because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial submittal and anticipates no adverse comments. A detailed rationale for the approval is set forth in the direct final rule. If no adverse comments are received in response to this action, no further activity is contemplated. If EPA receives adverse comments, the direct final rule will be withdrawn and all public comments received will be addressed in a subsequent final rule based on this proposed rule. EPA will not institute a second comment period. Any parties interested in commenting on this action should do so at this time.

On May 14, 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final rule to approve a request submitted on June 21, 2012, by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, through Georgia Environmental Protection Division, to redesignate the Rome, Georgia, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) nonattainment area (hereafter referred to as the ``Rome Area'' or ``Area'') to attainment for the 1997 Annual PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). This action corrects an inadvertent error in the preamble of EPA's May 14, 2014, final rule related to the redesignation of the Rome Area for the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS.