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

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes to approve state implementation plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ) on March 20, 2018 and April 12, 2018. The submitted revisions update incorporation by reference (IBR) of Federal regulations in the Idaho's rules. The revisions also remove an interim regulation that expired in 2003.

Pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve portions of the Arkansas State Implementation Plan (SIP) submittal addressing the CAA requirement that SIPs address the potential for interstate transport of air pollution to significantly contribute to nonattainment or interfere with maintenance of the 2012 fine particulate matter (PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in other states. EPA is proposing to determine that emissions from Arkansas sources do not contribute significantly to nonattainment in, or interfere with maintenance by, any other state with regard to the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS. The EPA is also proposing to approve a revision to update incorporation by reference of NAAQS germane to this proposed action.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving revised rules submitted by the State of Michigan as State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions. The main revision specifies volatile organic compound (VOC) limits for cutback and emulsified asphalts as well as the test methods for determining the VOC content of these products. Michigan also moved the adoption by reference citations from Part 6. Emission Limitations and ProhibitionsExisting Sources of Volatile Organic Emissions to Part 9. Emission Limitations and Prohibitions Miscellaneous and updated references to federal test methods in several of its Part 6 rules.

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.

EPA has authorized its contractor, Industrial Economics Incorporated of Cambridge, MA, to access information which has been submitted to EPA under all sections of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Some of the information may be claimed or determined to be Confidential Business Information (CBI).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an information collection request (ICR), Application for Reimbursement to Local Governments for Emergency Response to Hazardous Substance Releases under CERCLA Section 123 (EPA ICR Number 1425.11, OMB Control Number 2050-0077) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through June 30, 2018. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on March 16, 2018 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 has submitted an information collection request (ICR)NESHAP for Primary Aluminum Reduction Plants (Renewal), EPA ICR No. 1767.08, OMB Control No. 2060- 0360to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through June 30, 2018. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on June 29, 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 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 Clean Air Act (CAA) requires each State Implementation Plan (SIP) to contain adequate provisions prohibiting emissions that will have certain adverse air quality effects in other states. On February 7, 2018, the State of Washington made a submission to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address these requirements. The EPA is proposing to approve the submission as meeting the requirement that each SIP contain adequate provisions to prohibit emissions that will contribute significantly to nonattainment or interfere with maintenance of the 2012 annual fine particulate matter (PM2.5) national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) in any other state.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving Minnesota's regional haze progress report under the Clean Air Act (CAA) as a revision to the Minnesota State Implementation Plan (SIP). Minnesota has satisfied the progress report requirements of the Regional Haze Rule. Minnesota also provided a determination of the adequacy of its plan in addressing regional haze with its negative declaration, submitted with the progress report, that no revisions are needed to its plan.

Pursuant to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA or Act), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality's Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) State permit program, which will operate in lieu of the Federal CCR program. EPA has determined that Oklahoma's program meets the standard for approval under RCRA. Facilities operating under the state program requirements and resulting permit provisions will also be subject to EPA's inspection and enforcement authorities under RCRA.

As required by TSCA, which was amended by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act in June 2016, EPA is announcing the availability of a document entitled: Strategic Plan to Promote the Development and Implementation of Alternative Test Methods Supporting the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). EPA is also making available a response to comments document that addresses comments received on the draft Strategic Plan.

As amended in 2016, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requires EPA to develop a system to assign a unique identifier (UID) whenever it approves a confidential business information (CBI) claim for the specific chemical identity of a chemical substance, to apply this UID to other information concerning the same chemical substance, and to ensure that any non-confidential information received by the Agency identifies the chemical substance using the UID while the specific chemical identity of the chemical substance is protected from disclosure. EPA previously requested comment on several approaches for assigning and applying UIDs. EPA has determined that it will use a numerical identifier that incorporates the year the CBI claim was asserted, and will apply this UID to non-confidential information related to the chemical substance, except where the Agency's act of applying the UID would itself disclose to the public the confidential specific chemical identity that the UID was assigned to protect.

The Clean Air Act requires each State Implementation Plan (SIP) to contain adequate provisions prohibiting emissions that will have certain adverse air quality effects in other states. On March 10, 2016, the State of Alaska made a submission to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address these requirements. The EPA is approving the submission as meeting the requirement that each SIP contain adequate provisions to prohibit emissions that will contribute significantly to nonattainment or interfere with maintenance of the 2012 annual fine particulate matter (PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS).

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of fluroxypyr in or on teff forage, teff grain, teff hay, and teff straw. Interregional Research Project Number 4 (IR-4) requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 is issuing a Notice of Intent to Delete 101 residential parcels of the Omaha Lead Superfund site located in Omaha, Nebraska, from the National Priorities List (NPL) and requests public comments on this proposed action. The NPL, promulgated pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), as amended, is an appendix of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). The EPA and the state of Nebraska, through the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, determined that all appropriate response actions under CERCLA were completed at the identified parcels. However, this deletion does not preclude future actions under CERCLA. This partial deletion pertains to 101 residential parcels. The remaining parcels will remain on the NPL and are not being considered for deletion as part of this action.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS), is soliciting information to facilitate the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee's (CASAC) consideration of any adverse public health, welfare, social, economic, or energy effects which may result from various strategies for attainment and maintenance of national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to withdraw from EPA regulation and management one designated ocean dredged material disposal site, the Grays Harbor Eight Mile Site, located near the mouth of Grays Harbor, Washington. This action is pursuant to the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act, as amended. The disposal site was designated by the EPA for a specific one-time use in 1990. The Grays Harbor Eight Mile Site fulfilled its intended purpose in 1990 as a single-use disposal site, and monitoring indicates that there will be no unacceptable adverse impacts to the marine environment once the EPA relinquishes management of the site. Five other open-water dredged material disposal sites remain in close proximity to the mouth of Grays Harbor. These sites remain available for use for the disposal of suitable dredged material and are not affected by this withdrawal.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a public comment period for the draft document titled, ``Second External Review Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen, Oxides of Sulfur, and Particulate MatterEcological Criteria'' (EPA/ 600/R-18/097). The draft document was prepared by the National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) as part of the review of the secondary (welfare- based) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for oxides of nitrogen, oxides of sulfur, and particulate matter. The Integrated Science Assessment (ISA), in conjunction with additional technical and policy assessments, provides the scientific basis for EPA's decisions on the adequacy of the current NAAQS and the appropriateness of possible alternative standards. On January 28, 2016, EPA released a separate ISA as part of an independent review for the primary (health- based) NAAQS for oxides of nitrogen (EPA/600/R-15/068). In addition, EPA also released a separate ISA to support the primary NAAQS review for oxides of sulfur (EPA/600/R-17/451, December 13, 2017), and is currently reviewing the primary and non-ecological secondary (e.g., visibility, climate, materials damage) NAAQS for particulate matter. EPA is releasing this draft document to seek review by the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) and the public (meeting date and location to be specified in a separate Federal Register notice). This draft document is not final, as described in EPA's information quality guidelines, and it does not represent, and should not be construed to represent, Agency policy or views. When revising the document, EPA will consider any public comments submitted during the public comment period specified in this notice.

Pursuant to the Federal Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing approval of revisions to the Texas State Implementation Plan (SIP) addressing volatile organic compounds (VOC) revised rules and the State's reasonably available control technology (RACT) analyses for VOC and nitrogen oxides (NOX). We are proposing to approve the revised VOC rules as assisting in reaching attainment of the 2008 ozone National Air Quality Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS or the standard) and as meeting the RACT requirements in the Houston- Galveston-Brazoria 2008 8-hour ozone nonattainment area (HGB area). We are also proposing to approve negative declarations for certain VOC source categories subject to RACT in the HGB area. The EPA also is proposing to find that the State's RACT analyses demonstrate that the HGB area meets the VOC and NOX RACT requirements for this standard.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to approve State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the State of South Dakota on October 4, 2017 related to South Dakota's Air Pollution Control Program. The October 4, 2017 submittal revises certain definitions and dates of incorporation by reference and contains new, amended and renumbered rules. In this rulemaking, we are taking final action on all portions of the October 4, 2017 submittal, except for those portions of the submittal which do not belong in the SIP. This action is being taken under section 110 of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to approve a revision to the South Carolina State Implementation Plan (SIP). The revision makes a modification to the definition of ``volatile organic compounds'' (VOC). EPA is approving the SIP revision submitted by the State of South Carolina, through the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) on September 5, 2017, because the State has demonstrated that these changes are consistent with the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing its action to codify into the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) the delegation of authority to implement and enforce the Federal Plan Requirements for Sewage Sludge Incineration Units Constructed on or before October 14, 2010 (SSI Federal Plan) to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NH DES). The SSI Federal Plan addresses the implementation and enforcement of the emission guidelines applicable to existing SSI units located in areas not covered by an approved and currently effective state plan. The SSI Federal Plan imposes emission limits and other control requirements for existing affected SSI facilities which will reduce designated pollutants. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) is proposing to establish no new requirements under Clean Water Act (CWA), section 311. This section directs the President to issue regulations to prevent discharges of oil and hazardous substances from onshore and offshore facilities, and to contain such discharges. On July 21, 2015, EPA was sued for failing to comply with the alleged duty to issue regulations to prevent and contain CWA hazardous substance discharges. On February 16, 2016, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a Consent Decree between EPA and the litigants that required EPA to sign a notice of proposed rulemaking pertaining to the issuance of hazardous substance regulations, and take final action after notice and comment on said notice. Based on an analysis of the frequency and impacts of reported CWA HS discharges and the existing framework of EPA regulatory requirements, the Agency is not proposing additional regulatory requirements at this time. This proposed action is intended to comply with the Consent Decree and to provide an opportunity for public notice and comment on EPA's proposed approach to satisfy the CWA requirements.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to approve changes to the South Carolina State Implementation Plan (SIP) to revise definitions and a regulation for open burning. 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: July 18, 2011, June 17, 2013, April 10, 2014, August 8, 2014, and July 27, 2016. These actions are being taken pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).