Environmental Protection Agency April 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing notice of its response to a petition for reconsideration of a rule published in the Federal Register on December 21, 2017 addressing Clean Air Act regional haze planning requirements for the State of Louisiana. The petition, submitted on February 20, 2018, on behalf of the Sierra Club and the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) asked EPA to reconsider its final action which determined that Louisiana has satisfied the Clean Air Act's reasonable progress and long-term strategy requirements. EPA has denied the petition by action signed April 9, 2018, for reasons that EPA explains in the document denying the petition.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a 30- day public comment period associated with release of the draft IRIS Assessment Plan for ammonia and ammonium salts. This document communicates information on the scoping needs identified by EPA program and regional offices and the IRIS Program's initial problem formulation activities. Specifically, the assessment plan outlines the objectives for each assessment and the type of evidence considered most pertinent to address the scoping needs. EPA is releasing this draft IRIS Assessment Plan for public comment at least 30 days in advance of a public science webinar planned on May 23, 2018.

This notice announces EPA's order for the cancellations, voluntarily requested by the registrants and accepted by the Agency, of the products listed in Table 1 of Unit III., pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of fluensulfone in or on multiple commodities that are identified and discussed later in this document. Makhteshim Agan of North America (MANA) requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

On January 3, 2018, the State of Alabama, through the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM), submitted a request for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to redesignate the Troy 2008 lead Nonattainment Area (``Troy Area'' or ``Area'') to attainment for the 2008 lead (Pb) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS or standard) and to approve an associated State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision containing a maintenance plan. The Troy Area is comprised of a portion of Pike County in Alabama surrounding the Sanders Lead Company facility (Sanders Lead Facility or Facility). EPA is proposing to determine that the Troy Area is attaining 2008 lead NAAQS; to approve the SIP revision containing the State's maintenance plan for maintaining attainment of the 2008 lead standard; and to redesignate the Troy Area to attainment for the 2008 lead NAAQS.

In this notice, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator has reconsidered the previous Final Determination of the Mid-term Evaluation of greenhouse gas emission standards for model year 2022-2025 light-duty vehicles. The Administrator determines that the current standards are based on outdated information, and that more recent information suggests that the current standards may be too stringent. The Administrator thus concludes that the standards are not appropriate in light of the record before EPA and, therefore, should be revised as appropriate. EPA is also withdrawing the previous Final Determination issued by the agency on January 12, 2017, with this notice. EPA, in partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, will initiate a notice and comment rulemaking in a forthcoming Federal Register notice to further consider appropriate standards for model year 2022-2025 light-duty vehicles, as appropriate. On March 22, 2017, EPA published a Federal Register notice providing its intention to reconsider the Final Determination of the Mid-term Evaluation of greenhouse gas emissions standards for model year 2022- 2025 light-duty vehicles, this notice was published jointly with the Department of Transportation (DOT). On August 21, 2017, EPA and DOT jointly published a Federal Register notice providing a 45-day public comment period on the reconsideration and EPA held a public hearing on September 6, 2017.

The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) has submitted updated regulations for receiving delegation and approval of a program for the implementation and enforcement of certain New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for all sources (both Title V and non-Title V sources). These updated regulations apply to certain NSPS promulgated by the EPA at part 60, as amended between September 24, 2013 and January 15, 2017; certain NESHAP promulgated by the EPA at part 61, as amended between January 1, 2011 and January 15, 2017; and other NESHAP promulgated by the EPA at part 63, as amended between August 30, 2013 and January 15, 2017, as adopted by the NMED. The EPA is providing notice that it is updating the delegation of certain NSPS to NMED, and taking direct final action to approve the delegation of certain NESHAP to NMED. The delegation of authority under this action does not apply to sources located in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, or to sources located in Indian Country.

EPA has received applications to register pesticide products containing active ingredients not included in any currently registered pesticide products. Pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), EPA is hereby providing notice of receipt and opportunity to comment on these applications.

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.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a revision to the Alaska regional haze State Implementation Plan (SIP), submitted by the State of Alaska on March 10, 2016. Alaska submitted its Regional Haze Progress Report (``progress report'' or ``report'') and a negative declaration stating that further revision of the existing regional haze SIP is not needed at this time. Alaska submitted both the progress report and the negative declaration in the form of implementation plan revisions as required by federal regulations. The progress report addresses the federal Regional Haze Rule requirements under the Clean Air Act to submit a report describing progress in achieving reasonable progress goals established for regional haze and a determination of the adequacy of the state's existing plan addressing regional haze. We are also approving minor updates to the Enhanced Smoke Management Plan, Long-Term Strategy, and Commitment to Future 308 Plan Revision sections of the regional haze SIP, submitted concurrently with the progress report.

In the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, signed by the President on March 23, 2018, Congress provided at least $55 million in budget authority for the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014 (WIFIA) program to cover the subsidy required to provide a much larger amount of credit assistance. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that this budget authority may provide approximately $5.5 billion in credit assistance and may finance approximately $11 billion in water infrastructure investment, while covering increased costs associated with implementing a larger program. The purpose of this notice of funding availability (NOFA) is to solicit letters of interest (LOIs) from prospective borrowers seeking credit assistance from EPA.

This document announces the Agency's receipt of several initial filings of pesticide petitions requesting the establishment or modification of regulations for residues of pesticide chemicals in or on various commodities.

The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), ``Data Reporting Requirements for State and Local Vehicle Emission Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) Programs'' (EPA ICR No.1613.06, OMB Control No. 2060-0252) 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 proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through October 31, 2018. 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.

In accordance with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, as amended (CERCLA), notice is given by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5 of a proposed administrative settlement under CERCLA regarding the Central Transport, Inc. Superfund Site (Site) in Romulus, Wayne County, Michigan. Subject to review and comment by the public pursuant to this notice, this settlement resolves a claim by EPA, for recovery of response costs from three related parties who have executed a binding certification of their consent to the settlement, as listed in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Section. For thirty (30) days following the date of publication of this notice, EPA will receive written comments relating to the settlement. EPA will consider all comments received and may modify or withdraw its consent to the settlement if comments received disclose facts or considerations that indicate that the settlement is inappropriate, improper, or inadequate.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is hereby giving notice of a proposed bona fide prospective purchaser settlement agreement, embodied in an Order on Consent, with Sensient Colors LLC. This agreement pertains to the former Homer A. Doerr & Sons Plating Company property located in St. Louis, Missouri.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an information collection request (ICR), ``Hazardous Substance Handling and Storage Procedures and Associated Costs Survey'' (EPA ICR No. 2566.01, OMB Control No. 2050-NEW) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. This is a request for approval of a new collection. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register September 27, 2017 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 approve elements of two State Implementation Plan (SIP) submissions from New Hampshire which address the infrastructure and interstate transport requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) for the 2012 fine particle (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. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in a final rule action published in the Federal Register on August 6, 2015, erroneously approved and codified previously removed entries; erroneously omitted the addition of previously approved entries; and erroneously published codification of previously revised entries. This technical amendment corrects the erroneous entries.

On May 31, 2017, the State of Colorado submitted State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions related to attainment of the 2008 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for the Denver Metro/North Front Range (DMNFR) Moderate nonattainment area by the applicable attainment date of July 20, 2018. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes to approve the majority of the submittal, which includes an attainment demonstration, base and future year emission inventories, a reasonable further progress (RFP) demonstration, a reasonably available control measures (RACM) analysis, a motor vehicle inspection and maintenance (I/M) program in Colorado Regulation Number 11 (Reg. No. 11), a nonattainment new source review (NNSR) program, a contingency measures plan, 2017 motor vehicle emissions budgets (MVEBs) for transportation conformity, and revisions to Colorado Regulation Number 7 (Reg. No. 7). The EPA is also proposing to approve portions of the reasonably available control technology (RACT) analysis. Finally, the EPA proposes to approve revisions made to Colorado's Reg. No. 7 in a May 5, 2013 SIP submission. This action is being taken in accordance with the Clean Air Act (CAA).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to approve a revision to the Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District (YSAQMD or ``District'') portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision concerns the District's demonstration regarding Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) requirements for the 1997 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). The EPA is also taking final action to approve YSAQMD's negative declarations into the SIP for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. We are approving local SIP revisions under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public teleconference of the Chartered Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) and CASAC Sulfur Oxides Panel to discuss the CASAC draft reviews of the EPA's Risk and Exposure Assessment for the Review of the Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standard for Sulfur Dioxide (External Review Draft) and Policy Assessment for the Review of the Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standard for Sulfur Dioxide (External Review Draft).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is withdrawing the designation of Unclassifiable for the Citrus County, Florida, area that the EPA originally promulgated on December 21, 2017, and is establishing a designation of Attainment/Unclassifiable for that area as part of promulgating initial air quality designations for certain areas in the United States (U.S.) for the 2010 sulfur dioxide (SO2) primary National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). This action supplements our December 2017 action, which together comprise the third of four expected rounds of actions to designate areas of the U.S. for the 2010 SO2 NAAQS. This third round of designations is based on application of the EPA's nationwide analytical approach and technical analysis, including evaluation of monitoring data and air quality modeling, to determine the appropriate designation based on the weight of evidence for each area.

In this notice, the EPA is notifying the public that we find the motor vehicle emissions budgets (MVEBs) for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and oxides of nitrogen (NOX) in the Sheboygan County, Wisconsin 2008 Ozone Standard nonattainment area adequate for use in transportation conformity determinations. On September 25, 2017, Wisconsin submitted a 2008 Ozone Standard Attainment Demonstration for Sheboygan County, which included the MVEBs for 2017 and 2018. As a result of our finding, this area must use these MVEBs from the submitted Attainment Demonstration for future transportation conformity determinations.