Environmental Protection Agency August 16, 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of fatty acids, rape-oil, triesters with polyethylene glycol ether with glycerol (3:1) (CAS Reg. No. 688045-21- 8) when used as an inert ingredient in a pesticide chemical formulation. Seppic, Inc. 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 fatty acids, rape-oil, triesters with polyethylene glycol ether with glycerol (3:1) on food or feed commodities.

The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to submit a revised information collection request (ICR), ``Identification, Listing and Rulemaking Petitions (Revision)'' (EPA ICR No. 1189.26, OMB Control No. 2050-0053) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. Before doing so, EPA is soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described below. This is a request for approval of a new collection and revision to a single activity contained in an existing approved collection. 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 approve the portion of a revision to the North Carolina State Implementation plan submitted by the State of North Carolina on March 24, 2006, for the purpose of clarifying the State's transportation conformity rules consistent with Federal requirements.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve Vermont's regional haze progress report, submitted on February 29, 2016 as a revision to its State Implementation Plan (SIP). Vermont's SIP revision addresses requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and EPA's rules that require states to submit periodic reports describing the progress toward reasonable progress goals (RPGs) established for regional haze and a determination of adequacy of the State's existing regional haze SIP. EPA is proposing to approve Vermont's progress report on the basis that it addresses the progress report and adequacy determination requirements for the first implementation period covering through 2018.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to approve changes to the South Carolina State Implementation Plan (SIP) that revise several miscellaneous rules for control standards for process industries. Specifically, changes are made to standards for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and oxides of nitrogen (NOX). EPA is approving portions of SIP revisions submitted by the State of South Carolina, through the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SC DHEC), on the following dates: October 1, 2007, June 17, 2013, and January 20, 2016. These actions are being taken pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).

On May 19, 2017, the State of Alabama, through the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM), submitted changes to the Alabama State Implementation Plan (SIP). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to approve the submission. Specifically, the revision pertains to definitional changes, including the modification of the definition of ``volatile organic compounds'' (VOCs), correction of a typographical error, and removal of control of particulate emissions and opacity limits. EPA is taking direct final action to approve the SIP revision because the State has demonstrated that these changes are consistent with the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve portions of a revision to the Georgia State Implementation Plan (SIP) concerning the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) and the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) that was submitted by Georgia on July 26, 2017. Under CSAPR, large electricity generating units (EGUs) in Georgia are subject to Federal Implementation Plans (FIPs) requiring the units to participate in CSAPR's federal trading program for annual emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOX), one of CSAPR's two federal trading programs for annual emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2), and one of CSAPR's two federal trading programs for ozone season emissions of NOX. This action would approve the State's regulations requiring large Georgia EGUs to participate in new CSAPR state trading programs for annual NOX, annual SO2, and ozone season NOX emissions integrated with the CSAPR federal trading programs, replacing the corresponding FIP requirements. EPA is proposing to approve the portions of the SIP revision concerning these CSAPR state trading programs because these portions of the SIP revision meet the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) and EPA's regulations for approval of a CSAPR full SIP revision replacing the requirements of a CSAPR FIP. Under the CSAPR regulations, approval of these portions of the SIP revision would automatically eliminate Georgia's units' obligations under the corresponding CSAPR FIPs addressing interstate transport requirements for the 1997 Annual Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS, and the 1997 8-hour Ozone NAAQS. Approval of these portions of the SIP revision would satisfy Georgia's good neighbor obligation for the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS, the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS, and the 1997 8-hour Ozone NAAQS. In addition, approval of this revision would remove from Georgia's SIP those state trading program rules adopted to comply with CAIR.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving elements of State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions from the State of South Dakota to demonstrate the State meets infrastructure requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) for the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) promulgated for sulfur dioxide (SO2) on June 2, 2010 and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) on December 14, 2012.