Environmental Protection Agency May 4, 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Today's notice announces the availability of The U.S. Phaseout of HCFCs: Projected Servicing Demand in the U.S. Air Conditioning, Refrigeration, and Fire Suppression Sectors (2020-2030). The draft document is an update to reports EPA has issued in the past, such as The U.S. Phaseout of HCFCs: Projected Servicing Needs in the U.S. Air Conditioning, Refrigeration, and Fire Suppression Sectors Updated for 2015 to 2025, most recently issued in 2014. This document contains information that revises estimates of potential future market demand for HCFC-123 and HCFC-124 based on current uses in air-conditioning, refrigeration, and fire suppression equipment and considers the availability of recovered HCFCs. This information may be relevant to an upcoming rulemaking regarding allowances for consumption and production of HCFC-123 and HCFC-124 for the 2020-2029 regulatory period. Comments submitted in response to today's Notice of Data Availability (NODA) may be used as the Agency prepares for that rulemaking.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving the portion of Georgia's July 26, 2017, State Implementation Plan (SIP) submittal changing reliance from the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) to the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) for certain regional haze requirements. EPA is also converting the previous limited approval/ limited disapproval of Georgia's regional haze plan to a full approval and is removing the Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) for Georgia which replaced reliance on CAIR with reliance on CSAPR. Finally, EPA is converting the conditional approvals to full approvals for the visibility prong of Georgia's infrastructure SIP submittals for the 2012 Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5), 2010 Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), 2010 Sulfur Dioxide (SO2), and 2008 8-hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to approve revisions to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) portion of the applicable Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) state implementation plan (SIP) for the State of Arizona (State). We are approving revisions that are primarily intended to correct deficiencies in ADEQ's SIP-approved rules for the issuance of New Source Review (NSR) permits for stationary sources, with a focus on the Act's preconstruction permit requirements for major sources and major modifications. This action also finalizes a conditional approval of ADEQ's NSR program with respect to the CAA requirements related to ammonia as a precursor to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) under the nonattainment NSR (NA-NSR) program requirements in CAA section 189(e). In addition, this action permanently terminates the sanctions clock associated with deficiencies being corrected by the rules being approved today, except that this action continues the deferral of sanctions under the Act related to PM2.5 precursors under section 189(e) of the Act for the NA-NSR program.