Environmental Protection Agency November 18, 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), EPA is issuing a notice of receipt of requests by the registrants to voluntarily cancel their registrations and to amend product registrations to terminate uses. EPA intends to grant these requests at the close of the comment period for this announcement unless the Agency receives substantive comments within the comment period that would merit its further review of the requests, or unless the registrants withdraw its requests. If these requests are granted, any sale, distribution, or use of products listed in this notice will be permitted after the registrations have been cancelled and uses terminated only if such sale, distribution, or use is consistent with the terms as described in the final order.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing action on the portions of six submissions from the State of Wyoming that are intended to demonstrate that the State Implementation Plan (SIP) meets certain interstate transport requirements of the Clean Air Act (Act or CAA). These submissions address the 2006 and 2012 fine particulate matter (PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), 2008 ozone NAAQS, 2008 lead (Pb) NAAQS, 2010 sulfur dioxide (SO2) NAAQS and 2010 nitrogen dioxide (NO2) NAAQS. The interstate transport requirements under the CAA consist of four elements: Significant contribution to nonattainment (prong 1) and interference with maintenance (prong 2) of the NAAQS in other states; and interference with measures required to be included in the plan for other states to prevent significant deterioration of air quality (prong 3) or to protect visibility (prong 4). Specifically, the EPA is proposing to approve interstate transport prongs 1 and 2 for the 2008 Pb and 2010 NO2 NAAQS, and proposing to approve prong 1 and disapprove prong 2 for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. The EPA is also proposing to approve interstate transport prong 4 for the 2008 Pb and 2010 SO2 NAAQS, and proposing to disapprove prong 4 for the 2006 PM2.5, 2008 ozone, 2010 NO2 and 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS.

The Clean Air Act prohibits the knowing release of ozone- depleting and substitute refrigerants during the course of maintaining, servicing, repairing, or disposing of appliances or industrial process refrigeration. The existing regulations require that persons maintaining, servicing, repairing, or disposing of air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment containing more than 50 pounds of refrigerant observe certain service practices that reduce emissions of ozone- depleting refrigerant. This rule updates those existing requirements as well as extends them, as appropriate, to non-ozone depleting substitute refrigerants, such as hydrofluorocarbons. Updates include strengthened leak repair requirements, recordkeeping requirements for the disposal of appliances containing more than five and less than 50 pounds of refrigerant, revisions to the technician certification program, and revisions for improved readability and compliance. As a result, this action reduces emissions of ozone-depleting substances and gases with high global warming potentials.