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

On November 16, 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the Renewables Enhancement and Growth Support (REGS) rule. The proposal specified that the public comment period would end on January 17, 2017, 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. On December 9, 2016, the EPA received a joint request for an extension of the comment period from the following parties: American Soybean Association, Corn Refiners Association, Global Renewable Strategies and Consulting, LLC, Growth Energy, Iowa Biodiesel Board, Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, National Biodiesel Board, National Renderers Association, Renewable Fuels Association, and U.S. Canola Association. The petitioners requested an extension in order to have more time to evaluate the implications of the REGS rule. In light of the large number of revisions proposed in this action, the EPA is extending the deadline for written comments on the proposal by 30 days to February 16, 2017.

The Environmental Protection Agency has submitted an information collection request (ICR), ``NESHAP for Area Sources: Acrylic and Modacrylic Fibers Production, Carbon Black Production, Chemical Manufacturing: Chromium Compounds, Flexible Polyurethane Foam Production and Fabrication, Lead Acid Battery Manufacturing, and Wood Preserving (40 CFR part 63, subparts LLLLLL, MMMMMM, NNNNNN, OOOOOO, PPPPPP, and QQQQQQ) (Renewal)'' EPA ICR Number 2256.05, OMB Control Number 2060-0598, 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 December 31, 2016. Public comments were requested previously via the Federal Register (81 FR 26546) on May 3, 2016 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 neither conduct nor 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 has submitted an information collection request (ICR), ``NESHAP for Aerospace Manufacturing and Rework Facilities (40 CFR part 63, subpart GG) (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR No. 1687.11, OMB Control No. 2060-0314), 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 December 31, 2016. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register (81 FR 26546) on May 3, 2016 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 neither conduct nor 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 has submitted an information collection request (ICR), ``Information Requirements for Boilers and Industrial Furnaces (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR No. 1361.17, OMB Control No. 2050-0073) 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 December 31, 2016. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register (81 FR 58510) on August 25, 2016 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 has submitted an information collection request (ICR), ``Notice of Arrival of Pesticides and Devices under section 17(c) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act'' (EPA ICR No. 0152.12, OMB Control No. 2070-0020) 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 December 31, 2016. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register (81 FR 22261) on April 15, 2016 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 proposing to find that the Cincinnati, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana area is attaining the 2008 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS or standard) and to approve a request from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) to redesignate the Indiana portion of the Cincinnati area to attainment for the 2008 ozone NAAQS because the request meets the statutory requirements for redesignation under the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act). The Cincinnati area includes Lawrenceburg Township in Dearborn County, Indiana; Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Hamilton, and Warren Counties in Ohio; and, Boone, Campbell, and Kenton Counties in Kentucky. IDEM submitted this request on February 23, 2016, and supplemented that submittal with a revised emissions inventory on May 4, 2016. EPA is also proposing to approve, as a revision to the Indiana State Implementation Plan (SIP), the state's plan for maintaining the 2008 ozone standard through 2030 in the Cincinnati area. Additionally, EPA finds adequate and is proposing to approve the state's 2020 and 2030 volatile organic compound (VOC) and oxides of nitrogen (NOX) Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets (MVEBs) for the Indiana and Ohio portion of the Cincinnati area. Finally, EPA is proposing to approve the 2011 base year emissions inventory submitted by IDEM as meeting the base year emissions inventory requirement of the CAA for the Indiana portion of the Cincinnati area.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing action on four permitting rules submitted as a revision to the Mendocino County Air Quality Management District (``MCAQMD'' or ``the District'') portion of the applicable state implementation plan (SIP) for the State of California pursuant to requirements under the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act). We are proposing a limited approval and limited disapproval of one rule and we are proposing to approve the remaining three permitting rules. The submitted revisions include amended rules governing the issuance of permits for stationary sources, including review and permitting of minor sources, and major sources and major modifications under part C of title I of the Act. The intended effect of these proposed actions is to update the applicable SIP with current MCAQMD permitting rules and to set the stage for remedying certain deficiencies in these rules. If finalized as proposed, the limited disapproval actions would trigger an obligation for EPA to promulgate a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) for the specific New Source Review (NSR) program deficiencies unless California submits and we approve SIP revisions that correct the deficiencies within two years of the final action.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, through the Kentucky Division for Air Quality (KDAQ) on August 9, 2016, that addresses reasonably available control measures (RACM) for the Kentucky portion of the Louisville, KY-IN, nonattainment area for the 1997 Annual fine particulate matter (PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) (hereinafter referred to as the ``bi-state Louisville Area'' or ``Area'').

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing approval of some elements of a July 13, 2015 state implementation plan (SIP) submittal from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) regarding the infrastructure requirements of section 110 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) for the 2012 fine particulate matter (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 under the CAA. The proposed rulemaking associated with this final action was published on February 19, 2016, and EPA received adverse comments during the comment period, which ended on March 21, 2016. Responses to comments are included below. In this rulemaking, EPA is not taking action on Wisconsin's satisfaction of the infrastructure requirements of CAA section 110(a)(2)(F), also referred to as ``element F,'' which pertains to stationary source monitoring and reporting. EPA proposed approval of and received an adverse comment on our proposed approval of element F, which will be addressed in a separate rulemaking. In this rulemaking we respond to the remainder of the comments we received on our initial proposed rulemaking, which includes those comments not pertaining to element F, and finalize as initially proposed our approval of the other elements of Wisconsin's 2012 PM2.5 infrastructure SIP.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing amendments to the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) to address the results of the residual risk and technology review (RTR) conducted under the Clean Air Act (CAA). As a result of our review, we are proposing to include pretreatment requirements to limit emissions from collection systems and the POTW treatment plant; requirements for existing, new, or reconstructed industrial (Group 1) POTW to comply with both the requirements in this rule and those in the applicable NESHAP for which they act as control; and hazardous air pollutants (HAP) emission limits for existing, non-industrial (Group 2) POTW. In addition, the EPA is proposing to revise the applicability criteria, revise the names and definitions of the industrial (Group 1) and non- industrial (Group 2) subcategories, revise regulatory provisions pertaining to emissions during periods of startup, shutdown, and malfunction, add requirements for electronic reporting, and make other miscellaneous edits and technical corrections.