Environmental Protection Agency October 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the State Implementation Plan (SIP) for the State of Nebraska. This action will amend the SIP to include revisions to title 129 of the Nebraska Air Quality Regulations, chapter 5, ``Operating PermitsWhen Required''; chapter 9, ``General Operating Permits for Class I and Class II Sources''; chapter 22, ``Incinerators; Emission Standards''; chapter 30, ``Open Fires''; and chapter 34 ``Emission Sources; Testing; Monitoring. These revisions were requested by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) in three submittals, submitted on May 1, 2003, November 8, 2011, and July 14, 2014. The May 1, 2003, submittal revised chapters 5 and 9, to address changes in regard to the permits-by-rule provisions of Title 129. The November 8, 2011, submittal allows for the issuance of multiple operating permits to major sources through revisions to chapter 5. In addition, revisions to chapters 22 and 30 encourage the use of air curtain incinerators over open burning; and changes to chapter 34 clarify the authority of NDEQ to order emission sources to do testing when NDEQ deems it necessary. The July 14, 2014, submittal further revises chapter 34, by updating the reference to allowable test methods for evaluating solid waste, changing the amount of time allowed to submit test results, and allowing the Department to approve a request for testing with less than 30 days notification.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) propose discharge performance standards for 11 discharges incidental to the normal operation of a vessel of the Armed Forces into the navigable waters of the United States, the territorial seas, and the contiguous zone. When implemented, the proposed discharge performance standards would reduce the adverse environmental impacts associated with the vessel discharges, stimulate the development of improved vessel pollution control devices, and advance the development of environmentally sound vessels of the Armed Forces. The 11 discharges addressed by the proposed rule are the following: catapult water brake tank and post-launch retraction exhaust, controllable pitch propeller hydraulic fluid, deck runoff, firemain systems, graywater, hull coating leachate, motor gasoline and compensating discharge, sonar dome discharge, submarine bilgewater, surface vessel bilgewater/oil-water separator effluent, and underwater ship husbandry.

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of dichlormid in or on all commodities for which there is a tolerance for metolachlor and S-metolachlor. Drexel Chemical Company requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is denying a request submitted by California for extension of the attainment date for the 1997 24-hour and annual fine particulate matter (PM2.5) national ambient air quality standards in the San Joaquin Valley Serious PM2.5 nonattainment area.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving State Implementation Plan revisions submitted by the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) on July 11, 2016. The revisions update the incorporation by reference of federal provisions cited in Ecology's general air quality regulations. The revisions also reflect changes to the primary and secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone, promulgated since Ecology's last update. Ecology also made minor corrections to typographical errors and non-substantive edits for clarity, such as standardizing the citation format.

The Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX, is making a final determination to approve two Site-Specific Flexibility Requests (SSFRs) from Imperial County (County or Imperial County) to close and monitor the Picacho Solid Waste Landfill (Picacho Landfill or Landfill). The Picacho Landfill is a commercial municipal solid waste landfill (MSWLF) operated by Imperial County from 1977 to the present on the Quechan Indian Tribe of the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation in California. EPA is promulgating a site-specific rule proposed on April 7, 2016, that approves an alternative final cover and a modification to the prescribed list of groundwater detection-monitoring parameters for ongoing monitoring for the Picacho Landfill.

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Office of Pesticide Programs is announcing a public meeting of the Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee (PPDC) on November 2-3, 2016. This meeting provides advice and recommendations to the EPA Administrator on issues associated with pesticide regulatory development and reform initiatives, evolving public policy and program implementation issues, and science issues associated with evaluating and reducing risks from use of pesticides.

EPA has granted amendments, extensions, and/or issuances of experimental use permits (EUPs) to the pesticide applicants described in Unit II. of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. An EUP allows use of a pesticide for experimental or research purposes only in accordance with the limitations in the permit.

This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of 2-propenoic acid, polymer with butyl 2- propenoate and ethenylbenzene, also known as acrylic acid-butyl acrylate-styrene copolymer, when used as an inert ingredient in a pesticide chemical formulation. Momentive Performance Materials 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 2-propenoic acid, polymer with butyl 2-propenoate and ethenylbenzene on food or feed commodities.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving portions of two revisions to the Georgia State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the Georgia Department of Environmental Protection (GA EPD) on July 25, 2014, and November 1, 2015. These revisions modify the definition of ``volatile organic compounds'' (VOC). Specifically, these revisions add two compounds to the list of those excluded from the VOC definition on the basis that these compounds make a negligible contribution to tropospheric ozone formation. This action is being taken pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving elements of State Implementation Plan (SIP) submittals from Louisiana which address the requirements of Clean Air Act (CAA) sections 110(a)(1) and (2) regarding the infrastructure requirements for the 2006 fine particulate matter (PM2.5), 2008 Lead (Pb), 2008 Ozone (O3), 2010 Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), 2010 Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) and 2012 PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The infrastructure requirements are designed to ensure that the structural components of each state's air quality management program are adequate to meet the state's responsibilities as defined by the CAA. These infrastructure SIP (i- SIP) submittals address how the existing SIP provides for implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of the NAAQS.

The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), ``Final Rule at 40 CFR part 8: Environmental Impact Assessment of Nongovernmental Activities in Antarctica'' (EPA ICR No. 1808.07, OMB Control No. 2020-0007) 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 March 31, 2017. 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) is providing notice that it has clarified the scope of its July 29, 2016, response to petitions for reconsideration of the 2012 final rule titled ``Oil and Natural Gas Sector: New Source Performance Standards and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants Reviews'' and the subsequent amendments published in the Federal Register on September 23, 2013, and December 31, 2014. The EPA has sent a letter to each of the petitioners clarifying that the July 29, 2016, action denied the above mentioned petitions only with respect to the issues related to the new source performance standards (NSPS), and was not intended to include denial of reconsideration of any issue relative to the 2012 action on the national emission standards for hazardous air Pollutants (``2012 NESHAP''). The letters further state that, to the extent the July 29, 2016, action may be construed to have denied reconsideration of issues relative to the 2012 NESHAP, the follow-up letters supersede that previous action on NESHAP-related matters.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District (SMAQMD) and the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District (SDCAPCD) portions of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from architectural coatings. We are approving local rules that regulate these emission sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act).

EPA has received applications to register pesticide products containing active ingredients not included in any currently registered pesticide products. Pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), EPA is hereby providing notice of receipt and opportunity to comment on these applications.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve revisions to the Missouri State Implementation Plan (SIP) and the 40 CFR part 70 operating permits program. EPA is proposing to approve revisions to two Missouri rule(s) entitled, ``Construction Permits Required,'' and ``Operating Permits.'' This proposed action is consistent with the July 12, 2013, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and the June 23, 2014, U.S. Supreme Court actions regarding Greenhouse Gas Prevention of Significant Deterioration and Title V Permitting. This action makes non-substantive changes to definitions, and language clarifications.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes to approve a revision to the Wyoming hospital/medical/infectious waste incinerator (HMIWI) Section 111(d)/129 plan (the ``plan''). The revision contains a modified state rule for solid waste combustion that was updated as a result of the October 6, 2009, amendments to federal emission guidelines (EG) and New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), 40 CFR part 60, subparts Ce and Ec, respectively. This revision and approval action relate only to HMIWI units.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing revisions to certain sections within the regulations that govern the exclusion of event-influenced air quality data from certain regulatory decisions under the Clean Air Act (CAA). The EPA's mission includes preserving and improving the quality of our nation's ambient air to protect human health and the environment, and the CAA and the EPA's regulations rely heavily on ambient air quality data. However, the CAA also recognizes that it may not be appropriate to use the monitoring data influenced by ``exceptional'' events that are collected by the ambient air quality monitoring network when making certain regulatory determinations. When ``exceptional'' events cause exceedances or violations of the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) that subsequently affect certain regulatory decisions, the normal planning and regulatory process established by the CAA may not be appropriate. This final rule contains definitions, procedural requirements, requirements for air agency demonstrations, criteria for the EPA's approval of the exclusion of event-influenced air quality data and requirements for air agencies to take appropriate and reasonable actions to protect public health from exceedances or violations of the NAAQS. It reflects the experiences of the EPA, state, local and tribal air agencies, federal land managers and other stakeholders in implementing this program over the past 10 years. These regulatory revisions, the EPA's commitment to improved communications, our focus on decisions with regulatory significance, and the expressed non- binding guidance in the preamble regarding recommendations for demonstration narrative and analyses to include in demonstration packages, protect human health and the environment while providing needed clarity, increasing the administrative efficiency of demonstration submittal process, and removing some of the challenges associated with implementing the Exceptional Events Rule. As part of the EPA's mission to protect public health, this action promulgates new requirements for mitigation plans for areas with known, recurring events. We are simultaneously using this action to provide written notification to those states with areas that are initially subject to these new requirements. In addition to finalizing revisions to the Exceptional Events Rule, the EPA is also announcing the availability of the final version of the non-binding guidance document titled Guidance on the Preparation of Exceptional Events Demonstrations for Wildfire Events that May Influence Ozone Concentrations, which applies the rule revisions to wildfire events that could influence monitored ozone concentrations.