Environmental Protection Agency September 18, 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Under the Clean Water Act (``CWA''), The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) intends to conduct a rulemaking to potentially revise certain best available technology economically achievable (``BAT'') effluent limitations and pretreatment standards for existing sources (``PSES'') for the steam electric power generating point source category, which were published in the Federal Register on November 3, 2015. EPA is, accordingly, postponing the associated compliance dates in the 2015 Rule. In particular, EPA is postponing the earliest compliance dates for the new, more stringent, BAT effluent limitations and PSES for flue gas desulfurization (``FGD'') wastewater and bottom ash transport water in the 2015 Rule for a period of two years. At this time, EPA does not intend to conduct a rulemaking that would potentially revise the new, more stringent BAT effluent limitations and pretreatment standards in the 2015 Rule for fly ash transport water, flue gas mercury control wastewater, and gasification wastewater, or any of the other requirements in the 2015 Rule. As such, EPA is not changing the compliance dates for the BAT limitations and PSES established by the 2015 Rule for these wastestreams. EPA's action to postpone certain compliance dates in the 2015 Rule is intended to preserve the status quo for FGD wastewater and bottom ash transport water until EPA completes its next rulemaking concerning those wastestreams, and it thus does not otherwise amend the effluent limitations guidelines and standards for the steam electric power generating point source category.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a 30- day public comment period associated with the draft IRIS Assessment Plans for Nitrate/Nitrite, Chloroform, and Ethylbenzene. These documents communicate information on the scoping needs identified by EPA program and regional offices and the IRIS Program's initial problem formulation activities. Specifically, the assessment plans outline the objectives for each assessment and the type of evidence considered most pertinent to address the scoping needs. EPA is releasing these draft IRIS Assessment Plans for public comment. These assessment plans will also be discussed during the September 27-28 Science Advisory Board (SAB) Chemical Assessment Advisory Committee (CAAC) peer consultation meeting. These documents were prepared by the National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to approve portions of the State Implementation Plan (SIP) submission, submitted by the State of Alabama, through the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM), for inclusion into the Alabama SIP, on December 9, 2015, to demonstrate that the State meets the infrastructure requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) for the 2012 annual fine particulate matter (PM2.5) national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS). The CAA requires that each state adopt and submit a SIP for the implementation, maintenance and enforcement of each NAAQS promulgated by EPA, which is commonly referred to as an ``infrastructure SIP submission.'' ADEM certified that the Alabama SIP contains provisions that ensure the 2012 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS is implemented, enforced, and maintained in Alabama. EPA has determined that portions of Alabama's SIP satisfy certain required infrastructure elements for the 2012 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS.