Environmental Protection Agency 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes revisions to the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System regulations to eliminate regulatory and application form inconsistencies; improve permit documentation, transparency and oversight; clarify existing regulations; and remove outdated provisions. This proposal would make specific targeted changes to the existing regulations and would not reopen the regulations for other specific or comprehensive revision. These proposed regulatory changes cover 15 topics in the following major categories: permit applications; the water quality-based permitting process; permit objection, documentation and process efficiencies; the vessels exclusion; and the Clean Water Act (CWA) section 401 certification process. These revisions would further align NPDES regulations with statutory requirements from the 1987 CWA Amendments and more recent case law requirements. By modernizing the NPDES regulations, the proposed revisions would provide NPDES permit writers with improved tools to write well-documented permits to protect human health and the environment. The revisions would also provide the public with enhanced opportunities for public participation in permitting actions.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the Eastern Kern Air Pollution Control District (EKAPCD) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern administrative changes of a previously approved regulation and emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in aerospace assembly and coating operations and in metal, plastic and pleasure craft parts and products coating operations. We are approving local rules that regulate these activities under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act).

Section 518 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), enacted as part of the 1987 amendments to the statute, authorizes EPA to treat eligible Indian tribes with reservations in a manner similar to states (TAS) for a variety of purposes, including administering each of the principal CWA regulatory programs and receiving grants under several CWA authorities. Since 1991, EPA has followed a cautious interpretation that has required tribes, as a condition of receiving TAS regulatory authority under section 518, to demonstrate inherent authority to regulate waters and activities on their reservations under principles of federal Indian common law. The Agency has consistently stated, however, that its approach was subject to change in the event of further congressional or judicial guidance addressing tribal authority under CWA section 518. Based on such guidance, EPA in the interpretive rule we are finalizing today concludes definitively that section 518 includes an express delegation of authority by Congress to Indian tribes to administer regulatory programs over their entire reservations, subject to the eligibility requirements in section 518. This reinterpretation streamlines the process for applying for TAS, eliminating the need for applicant tribes to demonstrate inherent authority to regulate under the Act and allowing eligible tribes to implement the congressional delegation of authority. The reinterpretation also brings EPA's treatment of tribes under the CWA in line with EPA's treatment of tribes under the Clean Air Act, which has similar statutory language addressing tribal regulation of Indian reservation areas. This interpretive rule does not revise any regulatory text. Regulatory provisions remain in effect requiring tribes to identify the boundaries of the reservation areas over which they seek to exercise authority and allowing the adjacent state(s) to comment to EPA on an applicant tribe's assertion of authority. This rule will reduce burdens on applicants associated with the existing TAS process and has no significant cost.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to revise the minimum monitoring requirements for near-road nitrogen dioxide (NO2) monitoring by removing the existing requirements for near-road NO2 monitoring stations in Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) having populations between 500,000 and 1,000,000 persons, that are due by January 1, 2017. Current near-road NO2 monitoring data indicate air quality levels in the near- road environment are well below the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for the oxides of nitrogen. In light of this information, and due to the relationship between population, traffic, and expected NO2 concentrations in the near-road environment, it is anticipated that measured near-road NO2 concentrations in relatively smaller CBSAs (e.g., CBSAs with populations less than 1,000,000 persons) would exhibit similar, and more likely, lower concentrations, than what is being measured in larger urban areas.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a 60- day public comment period for the draft IRIS Toxicological Review of tert-Butyl Alcohol. The draft document was prepared by the National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD). EPA is releasing this draft IRIS assessment for public comment and discussion during the June 29-30, 2016 IRIS Public Science Meeting. This draft assessment is not final, as described in EPA's information quality guidelines, and it does not represent, and should not be construed to represent Agency policy or views. EPA will consider all public comments submitted in response to this notice when revising this document.

EPA is promulgating significant new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 55 chemical substances which were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMNs). Ten of these chemical substances are subject to TSCA section 5(e) consent orders issued by EPA. This action requires persons who intend to manufacture (defined by statute to include import) or process any of these 55 chemical substances for an activity that is designated as a significant new use by this rule to notify EPA at least 90 days before commencing that activity. The required notification will provide EPA with the opportunity to evaluate the intended use and, if necessary, to prohibit or limit that activity before it occurs.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing a final rule to remove outdated information and make administrative changes to the Environmental Protection Agency Acquisition Regulation (EPAAR). EPA does not anticipate any adverse comments.

The Environmental Protection Agency has submitted an information collection request (ICR), ``Brownfields Program Accomplishment Reporting (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR No. 2104.06, OMB Control No. 2050-0192) 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 May 31, 2016. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register (81 FR 10859) on March 2, 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), ``Title I of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act'' (EPA ICR No. 0824.06, OMB Control No. 2040-0008) 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 reinstatement of the ICR (formerly known as ``Ocean Dumping Regulationsreports and record keeping to obtain a permit, request designation, and report on permitted dumping activities''), which is currently expired. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register (81 FR 484) on January 6, 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 withdrawing a May 22, 2014 final action approving a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of California under the Clean Air Act (CAA) to address contingency measure requirements for the 1997 annual and 24-hour national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the San Joaquin Valley. Simultaneously, EPA is disapproving this SIP submission. These final actions are in response to a decision issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Committee for a Better Arvin v. EPA, 786 F.3d 1169 (9th Cir. 2015)) remanding EPA's approval of a related SIP submission and rejecting EPA's rationale for approving plan submissions that rely on California mobile source control measures to meet SIP requirements such as contingency measures, which was a necessary basis for the May 22, 2014 final rule. Finally, EPA is issuing a protective finding for transportation conformity determinations for the disapproval.

In accordance with section 113(g) of the Clean Air Act, as amended (``CAA'' or the ``Act''), notice is hereby given of a proposed consent decree to address a lawsuit filed by Midwest Environmental Defense Center, Inc. (MEDC or Plaintiff), in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin: Midwest Environmental Defense Center v. McCarthy, Civil Action No. 1:15-cv-1511 (E.D. Wis.). On December 17, 2015, Plaintiff filed a complaint alleging that Gina McCarthy, in her official capacity as Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA''), failed to perform a nondiscretionary duty to grant or deny within 60 days a petition submitted by Plaintiff on October 28, 2013, requesting that EPA object to a CAA Title V permit issued by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (``WDNR''), to Appleton Coated, LLC, authorizing the operation of its facility located in Combined Locks, Wisconsin. The proposed consent decree would establish a deadline for EPA to take such action.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a public hearing to be held for the proposed rule titled, ``Protection of Visibility: Amendments to Requirements for State Plans'' which published in the Federal Register on May 4, 2016. The hearing will be held on Wednesday, June 1, 2016, in Denver, Colorado. Please note that this hearing is being held in addition to the May 19, 2016, public hearing in Washington, DC that was announced in the notice of proposed rulemaking.

EPA has received applications to register new uses for pesticide products containing currently registered active ingredients. Pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), EPA is hereby providing notice of receipt and opportunity to comment on these applications.

In accordance with Section 122(i) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended (CERCLA), 42 U.S.C. 9622(i), notice is hereby given of a proposed administrative settlement with 7007 W. Romaine (LA) LLC, for a removal action by a bona fide prospective purchaser, concerning the Highland Plating Removal Site in Los Angeles, California. EPA enters the settlement pursuant to Section 122(h)(1) of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. 9622(h)(1). The settlement provides for the completion of a removal action at a fire-ravaged plating facility in a residential and light industrial community, and is premised on the status of 7007 W. Romaine (LA) LLC as a bona fide prospective purchaser. The settlement does not require cost recovery, but includes a covenant not to sue pursuant to Sections 106 or 107(a) of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. 9606 or 9607(a). For thirty (30) days following the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register, the Agency will receive written comments relating to the settlement. The Agency will consider all comments received and may modify or withdraw its consent to the settlement if comments received disclose facts or considerations that indicate the proposed settlement is inappropriate, improper, or inadequate. The Agency's response to any comments received will be available for public inspection at 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing action on the portions of two submissions from the State of Utah 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 2008 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and 2008 lead (Pb) NAAQS. Specifically, the EPA is proposing to approve interstate transport prongs 1 and 2 for the 2008 Pb NAAQS, and proposing to disapprove prongs 1 and 2 for the 2008 ozone NAAQS.

EPA has received a specific exemption request from the Idaho State Department of Agriculture to use the pesticide sulfoxaflor (CAS No. 946578-00-3) to treat up to 12,000 acres of alfalfa grown for seed to control lygus bugs. The applicants propose a use of a pesticide, sulfoxaflor, which is now considered to be unregistered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) owing to the vacature of sulfoxaflor registrations by the United States District court for the Central District of California. In accordance with 40 CFR 166.24(a)(7), EPA is soliciting public comment before making the decision whether or not to grant the exemption.

In accordance with Section 743 of Division C of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-117), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is publishing this notice to advise the public of the availability of the FY 2015 Service Contract Inventory. This inventory provides information on service contract actions over $25,000 that were made in FY 2015. The information is organized by function to show how contracted resources are distributed throughout the Agency. The inventory has been developed in accordance with guidance issued by the Office of Management and Budget's Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), Service Contract Inventories (December 19, 2011). The Environmental Protection Agency has posted its inventory and a summary of the inventory on the EPA's homepage at the following link: https://www.epa.gov/oam/inventory/inventory.htm

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to partially approve and partially disapprove a revision to the Louisiana State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the State of Louisiana on December 21, 2011. This revision outlines the State's program to regulate and permit emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the Louisiana Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program. We are proposing to approve those provisions to the extent that they address the GHG permitting requirements for sources already subject to PSD for pollutants other than GHGs. We are proposing to disapprove those provisions to the extent they require PSD permitting for sources that emit only GHGs above the thresholds triggering the requirement to obtain a PSD permit since that is no longer consistent with federal law. The EPA is proposing this action under section 110 and part C of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).

In accordance with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), EPA is issuing a notice of receipt of requests by registrants to voluntarily cancel certain pesticide registrations and amend one pesticide registration. The amendment request would delete the following uses of MGK 264: Outdoor ground applications (tall grass, shrubbery, around lawns, corrals, feed lots, swine lots, zoos); and direct applications to beef cattle, dairy cattle, and horses. The product cancellation requests listed herein would not terminate the last products registered for these pesticides for use in the United States. EPA intends to grant these cancellation and amendment 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 their requests. If these requests are granted, any sale, distribution, or use of products listed in this notice will be permitted after the registration has been cancelled or amended only if such sale, distribution, or use is consistent with the terms as described in the final order.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing approval of revisions to the Indiana State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) to EPA in parallel process form on January 27, 2016, and February 5, 2016, and final form on March 21, 2016, and March 31, 2016. The submittals consist of orders issued by the Commissioner of IDEM that require more stringent sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions limits than those currently contained in the SIP for Vectren's A.B. Brown Generating Station (A.B. Brown) and Indiana-Kentucky Electric Corporation's Clifty Creek Generating Station (Clifty Creek). EPA proposed approval of these revisions to the Indiana SIP on February 25, 2016 and received no adverse comments. EPA's approval of these revisions makes the Commissioner's orders' SO2 emissions limits and applicable reporting, recordkeeping, and compliance demonstration requirements federally enforceable.

EPA has received specific exemption requests from the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA), the Arkansas State Plant Board (ASPB) and the Mississippi Departments of Agriculture and Commerce (MDAC) to use the pesticide sulfoxaflor (CAS No. 946578-00-3) to treat up to 168,750 acres of cotton in Tennessee, up to 320,000 of acres of cotton fields in Arkansas and up to 337,500 acres of cotton fields in Mississippi to control tarnished plant bug. The applicants propose a use of a pesticide, sulfoxaflor, which is now considered to be unregistered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) owing to the vacature of sulfoxaflor registrations by the United States District court for the Central District of California. In accordance with 40 CFR 166.24(a)(7), EPA is soliciting public comment before making the decision whether or not to grant the exemption.

This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of butanedioic acid, 2-sulfo-, C-C9-11- isoalkyl esters, C10-rich, disodium salts (CAS Reg. No. 815583-91-6) when used as an inert ingredient (surfactant) in pesticides applied to growing crops and raw agricultural commodities after harvest under 40 CFR 180.910 limited to maximum concentration of 10% by weight in pesticide formulations. Keller and Heckman LLP on behalf of Cytec Industries, Inc. submitted a petition to EPA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), requesting establishment of an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. This regulation eliminates the need to establish a maximum permissible level for residues of butanedioic acid, 2-sulfo-, C-C9-11-isoalkyl esters, C10- rich, disodium salts.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to approve a submittal by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (Idaho DEQ) demonstrating that the State Implementation Plan (SIP) meets certain interstate transport requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) for the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) promulgated for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) on January 22, 2010. Specifically, the Idaho DEQ reviewed monitoring and modeling data to show that sources within Idaho do not significantly contribute to nonattainment, or interfere with maintenance, of the NO2 NAAQS in any other state.

This document announces the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) responses to Agency Clearance requests, in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). 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 OMB control numbers for EPA regulations are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and 48 CFR chapter 15.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action on three separate and independent types of determinations for each of the 36 areas that are currently classified as ``Marginal'' for the 2008 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). First, the EPA is determining that 17 areas attained the 2008 ozone NAAQS by the applicable attainment date of July 20, 2015, based on complete, quality-assured and certified ozone monitoring data for 2012-2014. Second, the EPA is granting 1-year attainment date extensions for eight areas on the basis that the requirements for such extensions under the Clean Air Act (CAA) and the EPA's implementing regulations have been met. Third, the EPA is determining that 11 areas failed to attain the 2008 ozone NAAQS by the applicable attainment date of July 20, 2015, and thus are reclassified by operation of law as ``Moderate'' for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. States containing any or any portion of these new Moderate areas must submit State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions that meet the statutory and regulatory requirements that apply to 2008 ozone nonattainment areas classified as Moderate by January 1, 2017.