Environmental Protection Agency 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On November 14, 2014, the State of Tennessee, through the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), Air Pollution Control Division, submitted a request for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to redesignate the Knoxville, Tennessee 8-hour ozone nonattainment area (hereafter referred to as the ``Knoxville Area'' or ``Area'') to attainment for the 2008 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision containing a maintenance plan and a base year emissions inventory for the Area. The Knoxville Area includes a portion of Anderson County as well as Blount and Knox Counties in their entireties. EPA is proposing to approve the base year emissions inventory for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS for the Knoxville Area; to determine that the Knoxville Area is attaining the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS; to approve the State's plan for maintaining attainment of the 2008 8-hour ozone standard in the Area, including the motor vehicle emission budgets (MVEBs) for nitrogen oxides (NOX) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) for the years 2011 and 2026 for the Area, into the SIP; and to redesignate the Area to attainment for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. EPA is also notifying the public of the status of EPA's adequacy determination for the Knoxville Area MVEBs.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announces the formation of a new Science and Information Subcommittee (SIS) of the Great Lakes Advisory Board (the Board) and requests nominations of experts to be considered for appointment to the SIS. The SIS will assist the Board in providing ongoing advice on Great Lakes ``adaptive management,'' the process of learning from past decisions to make more effective future Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) decisions. The SIS may provide other recommendations, as requested by the federal Great Lakes Interagency Task Force (IATF) and for the benefit of the IATF. Sources in addition to this Federal Register Notice may be used in the solicitation of nominees.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a revision to the Illinois State Implementation Plan. The submitted state rule revisions update Illinois' ambient air quality standards for sulfur dioxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, lead, fine particulate matter, particulate matter, and carbon monoxide and bring them up to date (through 2012) with EPA-promulgated National Ambient Air Quality Standards. The SIP revision also adopts EPA-promulgated monitoring methods and test procedures for the revised state air quality standards.

This document announces the Agency's receipt of several initial filings of pesticide petitions requesting the establishment or modification of regulations for residues of pesticide chemicals in or on various commodities.

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of trinexapac-ethyl in or on multiple commodities which are identified and discussed later in this document. Syngenta Crop protection LLC requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of various fragrance component substances when used as inert ingredients in antimicrobial pesticide formulations for use on food contact surfaces in public eating places, dairy- processing equipment, and food-processing equipment and utensils. This regulation eliminates the need to establish a maximum permissible level for residues of these various fragrance component substances

In accordance with Section 743 of Division C of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-117), the Environmental Protection Agency is publishing this notice to advise the public of the availability of the FY 2014 Service Contract Inventory. This inventory provides information on service contract actions over $25,000 that were made in FY 2014. The information is organized by function to show how contracted resources are distributed throughout the Agency. The inventory has been developed in accordance with guidance issued by the Office of Management and Budget's Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), Service Contract Inventories (December 19, 2011). The Environmental Protection Agency has posted its inventory and a summary of the inventory on the EPA's homepage at the following link: https://www.epa.gov/oam/inventory/inventory.htm.

This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of Trichoderma asperelloides strain JM41R in or on all food commodities when used in accordance with label directions and good agricultural practices. BASF Corporation submitted a petition to EPA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), requesting an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. This regulation eliminates the need to establish a maximum permissible level for residues of Trichoderma asperelloides strain JM41R under FFDCA.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted the following information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA): Pesticide Program Public Sector Collections (FIFRA Sections 18 & 24(c)), identified by EPA ICR No. 2311.02 and OMB Control No. 2070-0182. The ICR, which is available in the docket along with other related materials, provides a detailed explanation of the collection activities and the burden estimate that is briefly summarized in this document. EPA did not receive any comments in response to the previously provided public review opportunity issued in the Federal Register on September 17, 2014 (79 FR 55791). With this submission, EPA is providing an additional 30 days for public review.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an information collection request (ICR), ``Continuous Release Reporting Regulations (CRRR) Under CERCLA 1980 (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR No. 1445.12, OMB Control No. 2050-0086) 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.). This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through June 30, 2015. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register (80 FR 7460) on February 10, 2015 during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. A fuller description of the ICR is given below, including its estimated burden and cost to the public. 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 taking direct final action to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Utah. On March 9, 2015, the Governor of Utah submitted a revision to the Utah SIP, adding a new rule regarding trading of motor vehicle emission budgets (MVEB) for Utah County. The rule allows trading from the motor vehicle emissions budget for primary particulate matter of 10 microns or less in diameter (PM10) to the motor vehicle emissions budget for nitrogen oxides (NOX), which is a PM10 precursor. The resulting motor vehicle emissions budgets for NOX and PM10 may then be used to demonstrate transportation conformity with the SIP. The EPA is taking this action under section 110 of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

The EPA is proposing to approve portions of an August 19, 2011 State Implementation Plan (SIP) submission from the State of Wyoming that are intended to demonstrate that its SIP meets certain interstate transport requirements of the Clean Air Act (Act or CAA) for the 2006 24-hour fine particulate matter (PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). This submission addresses the requirement that Wyoming's SIP contain adequate provisions prohibiting air emissions that will have certain adverse air quality effects in other states. Specifically, EPA is proposing to approve the portion of the Wyoming SIP submission that addresses the significant contribution to nonattainment and interference with maintenance transport requirements for the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA is also proposing to approve the interference with prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) of air quality transport requirement for this NAAQS, and is not proposing action on the interference with visibility transport requirement at this time. EPA will address the visibility requirement for this NAAQS in a separate future action.

The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), ``Data Reporting Requirements for State and Local Vehicle Emission Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) Programs'' (EPA ICR No.1613.05, OMB Control No. 2060-0252) 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 November 30, 2015. 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 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5 is issuing a Notice of Intent to Delete the Burrows Sanitation Superfund Site located in Hartford Township, Van Buren County, Michigan from the National Priorities List (NPL) and requests public comments on this proposed action. The NPL, promulgated pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended, is an appendix of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). EPA and the State of Michigan, through the Michigan Department of Environment Quality (MDEQ), have determined that all appropriate response actions under CERCLA have been completed. However, this deletion does not preclude future actions under Superfund.

The Environmental Protection Agency has submitted an information collection request (ICR), ``Contractor Cumulative Claim and Reconciliation (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR No. 0246.12, OMB Control No. 2030- 0016) 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.). This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through May 31, 2015. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register (80 FR 6702) on February 6, 2015 during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. A fuller description of the ICR is given below, including its estimated burden and cost to the public. 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.

In accordance with section 113(g) of the Clean Air Act, as amended (``CAA'' or the ``Act''), notice is hereby given of a proposed consent decree to address a lawsuit filed by Sierra Club: Sierra Club v. McCarthy, No. 4:14-cv-02149-CRC (D.D.C.). On December 18, 2014, Plaintiff filed a complaint alleging that Gina McCarthy, in her official capacity as Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA''), failed to perform a non-discretionary duty to grant or deny within 60 days a petition submitted by Sierra Club on July 28, 2014, requesting that EPA object to a CAA Title V permit issued by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services for Public Service Company of New Hampshire's Schiller Station power plant located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The proposed consent decree would establish a deadline for EPA to take such action.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to approve the 2011 base year emissions inventories submitted by the District of Columbia, State of Maryland, and Commonwealth of Virginia (collectively, the States) for the 2008 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS). The emissions inventories were submitted to meet nonattainment requirements related to the Washington, DC-MD-VA nonattainment area (the DC Area or Area) for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. EPA is approving the 2011 base year emissions inventory for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS for the DC Area in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a Texas State Implementation (SIP) revision for control of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from degassing of storage tanks, transport vessels and marine vessels. The revision reformats the existing requirement to comply with current rule writing standards, adds additional control options for owner/operators to use when complying, clarifies the monitoring and testing requirements of the rule, and makes non-substantive changes to VOC control provisions that apply in the Beaumont-Port Arthur nonattainment area (Hardin, Jefferson and Orange Counties), four counties in the Dallas-Fort Worth nonattainment area (Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant Counties), El Paso County, and the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria nonattainment area (Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery and Waller Counties).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is partially approving and partially disapproving 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 its SIP to ensure that it meets the infrastructure requirements necessary to implement the new or revised NAAQS. On September 22, 2014, Washington made a SIP submission to establish that the Washington SIP meets the infrastructure requirements of the CAA for the PM2.5 NAAQS, except for certain elements related to the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permitting program currently addressed under a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP), certain elements of the regional haze program currently addressed under a FIP, and specific requirements related to interstate transport which the State will address in a separate submittal. The EPA has determined that Washington's SIP is adequate for purposes of the infrastructure SIP requirements of the CAA for the PM2.5 NAAQS, with the exceptions noted above. The SIP deficiencies related to PSD permitting and regional haze, however, have already 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.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a May 11, 2012 State Implementation Plan (SIP) submission from the State of Colorado that is intended to demonstrate that its SIP meets certain interstate transport requirements of the Clean Air Act (Act or CAA) for the 2006 fine particulate matter (PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). This submission addresses the requirement that Colorado's SIP contain adequate provisions prohibiting air emissions that will have certain adverse air quality effects in other states. EPA is proposing to determine that Colorado's existing SIP contains adequate provisions to ensure that air emissions in Colorado do not significantly contribute to nonattainment or interfere with maintenance of the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS in any other state, or interfere with another state's measures to prevent significant deterioration (PSD) of air quality or to protect visibility. EPA is also proposing to approve the portion of Colorado's submission that addresses the CAA requirement that SIPs contain adequate provisions related to interstate and international pollution abatement.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), ``Part 70 State Operating Permit Program (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR No. 1587.12, OMB Control No. 2060.0243) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). Before doing so, the EPA is soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described below. This ICR renewal covers state, local and tribal (state) air quality operating permitting programs under 40 CFR part 70, as authorized under Title V of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) for the period of November 1, 2015, through October 31, 2018. 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.

EPA has granted emergency exemptions under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) for use of pesticides as listed in this notice. The exemptions were granted during the period October 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015 to control unforeseen pest outbreaks.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving portions of two State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania through the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) 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. PADEP made two separate SIP submittals addressing the infrastructure requirements for the 2010 nitrogen dioxide (NO2) NAAQS and the 2012 fine particular matter (PM2.5) NAAQS. In this rulemaking action, EPA is approving, in accordance with the requirements of the CAA, the two infrastructure SIP submissions with the exception of some portions of the submittals addressing visibility protection.

The Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA'') is granting the California Air Resources Board's (``CARB'') request for authorization of amendments to its mobile cargo handling equipment at ports and intermodal rail yards regulations (``CHE amendments''). EPA is also confirming that certain CHE amendments are within the scope of prior EPA authorizations. CARB's mobile cargo handling equipment at ports and intermodal rail yard regulations apply to all newly purchased, leased or rented on- and off-road vehicles and equipment, as well as in-use on- and off-road vehicles and equipment, with compression-ignition engines that operate at ports and intermodal rail yards. This decision is issued under the authority of the Clean Air Act (``CAA'' or ``Act'').