Environmental Protection Agency June 27, 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve portions of the State Implementation Plan (SIP) submission, submitted by the State of South Carolina, through the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SC DHEC) on April 30, 2014, to demonstrate that the State meets the infrastructure requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) for the 2010 nitrogen dioxide (NO2) national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS). The CAA requires that each state adopt and submit a SIP for the implementation, maintenance and enforcement of each NAAQS promulgated by EPA, which is commonly referred to as an ``infrastructure'' SIP submission. SC DHEC certified that the South Carolina SIP contains provisions that ensure the 2010 NO2 NAAQS is implemented, enforced, and maintained in South Carolina. With the exception of provisions pertaining to prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) permitting, and interstate transport provisions pertaining to the contribution to nonattainment or interference with maintenance and visibility in other states, for which EPA is proposing no action through this rulemaking, EPA is proposing to find that South Carolina's infrastructure SIP submission, provided to EPA on April 30, 2014, satisfies the required infrastructure elements for the 2010 NO2 NAAQS.

EPA is extending the comment period for the notice, ``National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES): Applications and Program Updates.'' In response to stakeholder requests, EPA is extending the comment period for an additional 15 days, from July 18, 2016 to August 2, 2016.

In accordance with section 122(i) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, as amended (CERCLA) and section 7003 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is hereby providing notice of a proposed administrative de minimis settlement concerning the Casmalia Resources Superfund Site in Santa Barbara County, California (the Casmalia Resources Site). Section 122(g) of CERCLA provides EPA with the authority to enter into administrative de minimis settlements. This settlement is intended to resolve the liabilities of the 171 settling parties identified below for the Casmalia Resources Site under sections 106 and 107 of CERCLA and section 7003 of RCRA. These parties have also elected to resolve their liability for response costs and potential natural resource damage claims by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). These 171 parties sent 27,811,584 lbs. of waste to the Casmalia Resources Site, which represents 0.005 (0.5%) of the total Site waste of 5.6 billion pounds. This settlement requires these parties to pay over $1.7 million to EPA.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to make a determination, under the Clean Air Act, that the Cleveland, Ohio and St. Louis, Missouri-Illinois areas attained the 2008 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards by the applicable attainment date of July 20, 2016. This proposed determination for each area is based on complete, quality-assured and certified ozone monitoring data for 2013- 2015.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a revision to the Minnesota sulfur dioxide (SO2) State Implementation Plan (SIP) for the Flint Hills Resources, LLC Pine Bend Refinery (FHR) as submitted on May 1, 2015. The revision will consolidate existing permanent and enforceable SO2 SIP conditions into the facility's joint Title I/Title V SIP document. This action highlights process modifications necessary to meet EPA's Tier 3 gasoline sulfur standards; a comprehensive monitoring strategy to better quantify SO2 emissions from fuel gas-fired emission units; a new restrictive flaring procedure for refinery process units, and other updates and administrative changes. This revision results in a modeled reduction in SO2 emissions from FHR and modeled SO2 ambient air concentrations less than half of the national ambient air quality standards.