Environmental Protection Agency June 2, 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Clean Water Act (CWA) requires that states periodically submit, and EPA approve or disapprove, lists of waters (called ``Section 303(d) lists'') for which existing technology-based pollution controls are not stringent enough to attain or maintain State water quality standards and for which total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) must be prepared. Waters identified on Section 303(d) lists are called ``water quality-limited segments.'' This notice announces EPA's proposal to include in West Virginia's 2014 Section 303(d) list certain water quality-limited segments and requests public comment. On May 11, 2016, EPA partially approved West Virginia's 2014 Section 303(d) list of water quality-limited segments and associated pollutants and partially disapproved West Virginia's submission to the extent that West Virginia did not evaluate certain water quality information and therefore did not identify certain water quality- limited segments. EPA has evaluated the information and proposes to identify these additional water quality-limited segments for inclusion on the State's 2014 Section 303(d) list. The proposed water quality- limited segments are identified in Enclosure 3 of the decision document available at the Web site link provided below. EPA is providing the public the opportunity to review its decision to add these water quality-limited segments to West Virginia's 2014 Section 303(d) list. EPA will consider public comments before transmitting its final listing decision to the State.

EPA is required under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to publish in the Federal Register a notice of receipt of a premanufacture notice (PMN); an application for a test marketing exemption (TME), both pending and/or expired; and a periodic status report on any new chemicals under EPA review and the receipt of notices of commencement (NOC) to manufacture those chemicals. This document covers the period from April 1, 2016 to April 29, 2016.

EPA is proposing to add a hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) category to the list of toxic chemicals subject to reporting under section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and section 6607 of the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA). EPA is proposing to add this chemical category to the EPCRA section 313 list because EPA believes HBCD meets the EPCRA section 313(d)(2)(B) and (C) toxicity criteria. Specifically, EPA believes that HBCD can reasonably be anticipated to cause developmental and reproductive effects in humans and is highly toxic to aquatic and terrestrial organisms. In addition, based on the available bioaccumulation and persistence data, EPA believes that HBCD should be classified as a persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemical and assigned a 100-pound reporting threshold. Based on a review of the available production and use information, members of the HBCD category are expected to be manufactured, processed, or otherwise used in quantities that would exceed a 100-pound EPCRA section 313 reporting threshold.