Environmental Protection Agency January 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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 Sierra Club (``Plaintiffs'') in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia: Sierra Club v. McCarthy, Civil Action No. 1:16-cf-01895- KBJ (D.D.C). On September 23, 2016, Plaintiffs filed a complaint alleging that the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA'') failed to perform a non-discretionary duty to grant or deny within 60 days a petition submitted by Plaintiffs on April 11, 2016 requesting that EPA object to a CAA Title V permit issued by the Utah Department of Air Quality, to PacifiCorp Energy, authorizing the operation of the coal-fired Hunter Plant in Castle Dale, Utah. The proposed consent decree would establish a deadline for EPA to take such action.

The Environmental Protection Agency has submitted an information collection request (ICR), ``NESHAP for Lime Manufacturing (40 CFR part 63, subpart AAAAA)'' (EPA ICR No. 2072.06, OMB Control No. 2060-0544), 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 January 31, 2017. 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), ``NSPS for Phosphate Rock Plants (40 CFR part 60, subpart NN)'' (EPA ICR No. 1078.11, OMB Control No. 2060-0111), 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 January 31, 2017. 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), ``NESHAP for Beryllium (40 CFR part 61, subpart C) (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR No. 0193.12, OMB Control No. 2060-0092), 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 January 31, 2017. 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.

In this action, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is determining that 60 days is insufficient time to complete the technical and other analyses and public notice-and-comment process required for our review of a petition submitted by the state of Delaware pursuant to section 126 of the Clean Air Act (CAA). The petition requests that the EPA make a finding that Conemaugh Generating Station, located in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, emits air pollution that significantly contributes to nonattainment and interferes with maintenance of the 2008 and 2015 ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) in the state of Delaware. Under section 307(d)(10) of CAA, the EPA is authorized to grant a time extension for responding to a petition if the EPA determines that the extension is necessary to afford the public, and the agency, adequate opportunity to carry out the purposes of the section 307(d) notice-and-comment rulemaking requirements. By this action, the EPA is making that determination. The EPA is, therefore, extending the deadline for acting on the petition to no later than August 3, 2017.

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of acequinocyl in or on multiple commodities which are identified and discussed later in this document. Interregional Project Number 4 (IR-4) requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received 38 petitions for reconsideration of the final Carbon Pollution Emission Guidelines for Existing Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units, published in the Federal Register on October 23, 2015. The agency is providing notice that it denied the petitions for reconsideration except to the extent they raise topics concerning biomass and waste-to-energy, and it is deferring action on the petitions to the extent they raised those topics. The EPA also received 22 petitions for an administrative stay of this rule. The agency is providing notice that it denied these petitions. The basis for the EPA's actions is set out fully in letters sent to the petitioners and a separate memorandum available in the rulemaking docket.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes to make conforming changes to existing drinking water regulations based on the Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act of 2011 (RLDWA) and the Community Fire Safety Act of 2013 (CFSA). Section 1417 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) prohibits the use and introduction into commerce of certain plumbing products that are not lead free. The RLDWA revised the definition of lead free to lower the allowable maximum lead content from 8.0 percent to a weighted average of 0.25 percent of the wetted surfaces of plumbing products and established a statutory method for calculating lead content. In addition, the RLDWA created exemptions from the lead free requirements for plumbing products that are used exclusively for nonpotable services as well as for other specified products. The CFSA further amended section 1417 to exempt fire hydrants from these requirements. EPA proposes to establish new requirements to assure that individuals purchasing, installing or inspecting potable water systems can identify lead free plumbing materials. Specifically, EPA proposes to establish labeling requirements to differentiate plumbing products that meet the lead free requirements from those that are exempt from the lead free requirements and to require manufacturers to certify compliance with the lead free requirements. These proposed requirements would reduce inadvertent use of non-lead free plumbing products in potable use applications and, consequently, reduce exposure to lead in drinking water and associated adverse health effects.

In this action, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgates revisions to the Guideline on Air Quality Models (``Guideline''). The Guideline provides EPA's preferred models and other recommended techniques, as well as guidance for their use in estimating ambient concentrations of air pollutants. It is incorporated into the EPA's regulations, satisfying a requirement under the Clean Air Act (CAA) for the EPA to specify with reasonable particularity models to be used in the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program. This action includes enhancements to the formulation and application of the EPA's preferred near-field dispersion modeling system, AERMOD (American Meteorological Society (AMS)/EPA Regulatory Model), and the incorporation of a tiered demonstration approach to address the secondary chemical formation of ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) associated with precursor emissions from single sources. The EPA is changing the preferred status of and removing several air quality models from appendix A of the Guideline. The EPA is also making various editorial changes to update and reorganize information throughout the Guideline to streamline the compliance assessment process.

On December 28, 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a notice to announce its proposed amendments to the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for the Manufacturing of Nutritional Yeast source category. The notice also requested public comment on the proposed amendments. The EPA is announcing that a public hearing will be held. In addition, the EPA is extending the public comment period.

The Environmental Protection Agency has submitted an information collection request (ICR), ``Performance Evaluation Studies on Wastewater Laboratories (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR No. 0234.12, OMB Control No. 2080-0021) 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 March 31, 2017. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register (81 FR 44017) on July 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 proposing a rule to implement section 425 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016, which requires EPA to work with the Great Lakes states to establish public notification requirements for combined sewer overflow (CSO) discharges to the Great Lakes. The proposed requirements address signage, notification of local public health departments and other potentially affected public entities, notification to the public, and annual notice provisions. The proposed rules, when finalized, will protect public health by ensuring timely notification to the public and to public health departments, public drinking water facilities and other potentially affected public entities, including Indian tribes. Timely notice may allow the public to take steps to reduce their potential exposure to pathogens associated with human sewage, which can cause a wide variety of health effects, including gastrointestinal, skin, ear, respiratory, eye, neurologic, and wound infections.

Pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92-463, notice is hereby given that the next meeting of the Children's Health Protection Advisory Committee (CHPAC) will be held February 1 and 2, 2017, at Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center, 3800 Reservoir Road NW., Washington, DC 20057. The CHPAC advises the Environmental Protection Agency on science, regulations, and other issues relating to children's environmental health.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is promulgating this final rule to adjust the level of statutory civil monetary penalty amounts under the statutes EPA administers. This action is mandated by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended through the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (``the 2015 Act''). The 2015 Act prescribes a formula for annually adjusting statutory civil penalties to reflect inflation, maintain the deterrent effect of statutory civil penalties, and promote compliance with the law. The rule does not necessarily revise the penalty amounts that EPA chooses to seek pursuant to its civil penalty policies in a particular case. EPA's civil penalty policies, which guide enforcement personnel in how to exercise EPA's statutory penalty authorities, take into account a number of fact- specific considerations, e.g., the seriousness of the violation, the violator's good faith efforts to comply, any economic benefit gained by the violator as a result of its noncompliance, and a violator's ability to pay.

EPA is establishing reporting and recordkeeping requirements for certain chemical substances when they are manufactured or processed at the nanoscale as described in this rule. Specifically, EPA is requiring persons that manufacture (defined by statute to include import) or process, or intend to manufacture or process these chemical substances to electronically report to EPA certain information, which includes insofar as known to or reasonably ascertainable by the person making the report, the specific chemical identity, production volume, methods of manufacture and processing, exposure and release information, and existing information concerning environmental and health effects. This rule involves one-time reporting for existing discrete forms of certain nanoscale materials, and a standing one-time reporting requirement for new discrete forms of certain nanoscale materials before those new forms are manufactured or processed.

On March 5, 2012, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, through the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, Division for Air Quality (DAQ), submitted a request for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to redesignate the portion of Kentucky that is within the bi- state Louisville, KY-IN fine particulate matter (PM2.5) nonattainment area (hereafter referred to as the ``bi-state Louisville Area'' or ``Area'') to attainment for the 1997 Annual PM2.5 national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) and to approve a state implementation plan (SIP) revision containing a maintenance plan for the Area. EPA is proposing to approve the Commonwealth's plan for maintaining the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS in the Area, including the motor vehicle emission budgets (MVEBs) for nitrogen oxide (NOX) and PM2.5 for the years 2015 and 2025 for the bi-state Louisville Area, and incorporate it into the SIP, and to redesignate the Kentucky portion of the Area to attainment for the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA is also notifying the public of the status of EPA's adequacy determination for the MVEBs for the bi-state Louisville Area.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) are promulgating 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 discharge performance standards will 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 final rule are the following: aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), chain locker effluent, distillation and reverse osmosis brine, elevator pit effluent, gas turbine water wash, non-oily machinery wastewater, photographic laboratory drains, seawater cooling overboard discharge, seawater piping biofouling prevention, small boat engine wet exhaust, and welldeck discharges.

EPA issued a final rule on December 14, 2016, (81 FR 90207), that determined that the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, Texas nonattainment area (HGB area) failed to attain the 2008 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) by the applicable attainment deadline of July 20, 2016, and thus was classified by operation of law as ``Moderate''. In that action, EPA also determined January 1, 2017 as the deadline by which Texas must submit to the EPA the State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions that meet the Clean Air Act (CAA) statutory and regulatory requirements that apply to 2008 ozone NAAQS nonattainment areas reclassified as Moderate. The language in the December 14, 2016 Federal Register amended the table in 40 CFR 81.344 (Subpart C-Section 107 Attainment Status Designations) titled ``Texas2008 8-Hour Ozone NAAQS (Primary and secondary)''. The amendatory language failed to update the table for the classification date for HGB nonattainment area to 12/14/2016. This document corrects the listed classification date in the December 14, 2016 final rule document.

This action proposes the federal plan for existing commercial and industrial incineration (CISWI) units. This proposed action implements the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) emission guidelines (EG) adopted on February 7, 2013, as amended on June 23, 2016, in states that do not have an approved state plan implementing the EG in place by the effective date of this federal plan. The federal plan will result in emissions reductions of certain pollutants from all affected units covered.

Section 108(b) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) establishes certain regulatory authorities concerning financial responsibility requirements. Specifically, the statutory language addresses the promulgation of regulations that require classes of facilities to establish and maintain evidence of financial responsibility consistent with the degree and duration of risk associated with the production, transportation, treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous substances. On January 6, 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) that identified additional classes of facilities within three industry sectors that may warrant the development of financial responsibility requirements under CERCLA section 108(b)the Chemical Manufacturing industry (NAICS 325), the Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing industry (NAICS 324), and the Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution industry (NAICS 2211). This document formally announces EPA's intention to publish a notice for proposed rulemaking for classes of facilities within the three industries identified in the 2010 ANPRM, as well as gives an overview of some of the comments received on the ANPRM and initial responses to those comments. The announcement in this action is not a determination that requirements are necessary for any or all of the classes of facilities within the three industries, or that EPA will propose such requirementsrather, it is an announcement that EPA intends to move forward with the regulatory process. After that process, EPA will determine whether proposal of requirements for any or all of the classes of facilities within the three industries is necessary.

This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of butanedioic acid, 2-methylene-, telomer with sodium phosphinate (1:1), acidified, potassium salts when used as an inert ingredient in a pesticide chemical formulation. Itaconix 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 butanedioic acid, 2-methylene-, telomer with sodium phosphinate (1:1), acidified, potassium salts on food or feed commodities.

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of tetraconazole in or on vegetable, fruiting (Crop Group 8-10) at 0.30 parts per million (ppm) and vegetable, cucurbit (Crop Group 9) at 0.15 ppm and revises the tolerance for residues on beet, sugar, root; beet, sugar, dried pulp; and beet, sugar molasses. Isagro S.P.A. (d/b/a Isagro USA, Inc.) requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).