Environmental Protection Agency December 6, 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Settlement Agreement for Recovery of Past Response Costs: ACM Smelter and Refinery Site, Great Falls, Cascade County, Montana
Document Number: 2018-26484
Type: Notice
Date: 2018-12-06
Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
In accordance with the requirements of section 122(h)(1) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended (``CERCLA'') notice is hereby given of the proposed settlement under section 122 (h)(1) of CERCLA, between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Atlantic Richfield Company and ARCO Environmental Remediation, LLC (Settling Parties). The proposed Settlement Agreement requires the Settling Parties to reimburse the EPA for past response costs. The Settling Parties will pay ($851,393.17) within 30 days after the effective date of the Proposed Agreement to the EPA. The Settling Parties consent to and will not contest the authority of the United States to enter into the Agreement or to implement or enforce its terms. The Settling Parties recognize that the Agreement has been negotiated in good faith and that the Agreement is entered into without the admission or adjudication of any issue of fact or law.
Clean Air Act Operating Permit Program; Petition for Objection To State Operating Permit for the U.S. Department of Energy-Hanford Operations, Benton County, Washington
Document Number: 2018-26482
Type: Notice
Date: 2018-12-06
Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator signed an Order, dated October 15, 2018, granting a petition dated September 1, 2016, filed by Bill Green of Richland, Washington. The Petition requested that the EPA object to a Clean Air Act (CAA) title V operating permit (Permit No. 00-05-006, Renewal 2, Revision B) issued by the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) to the U.S. Department of Energy-Hanford Operations (DOE) for the Hanford site located in Benton County, Washington.
Allocations of Cross-State Air Pollution Rule Allowances From New Unit Set-Asides for 2018 Control Periods
Document Number: 2018-26481
Type: Notice
Date: 2018-12-06
Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing notice of the availability of preliminary lists of units eligible for second- round allocations of emission allowances for the 2018 control periods from the new unit set-asides (NUSAs) established under the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) trading programs. EPA has posted spreadsheets containing the lists on EPA's website. EPA will consider timely objections to the lists before determining the amounts of the second-round allocations.
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania; Nonattainment New Source Review Requirements for 2008 8-Hour Ozone Standard
Document Number: 2018-26479
Type: Proposed Rule
Date: 2018-12-06
Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a revision to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's state implementation plan (SIP). The revision is in response to EPA's February 3, 2017 Findings of Failure to Submit for various requirements relating to the 2008 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). This SIP revision is specific to nonattainment new source review (NNSR) requirements. EPA is approving this revision in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans: New York Ozone Section 185
Document Number: 2018-26475
Type: Proposed Rule
Date: 2018-12-06
Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve the State of New York's Low Emissions Vehicle program as an alternative program to fulfill the Clean Air Act Section 185 requirement for the New York portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT nonattainment area for the revoked 1979 1- hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard. Clean Air Act Section 185 requires fees to be paid, per ton of emissions, by major sources located in ozone nonattainment areas classified as Severe or Extreme that have failed to attain the National Ambient Air Quality Standard by the required attainment date. The EPA is proposing to find that New York's Low Emissions Vehicle program is no less stringent than a Clean Air Act Section 185 fee program because the emissions reductions achieved by the Low Emissions Vehicle program are at least equivalent to reductions associated with a 185 fee program.
Findings of Failure To Submit Complete State Implementation Plans Required for the 1997, 2006, and 2012 PM2.5
Document Number: 2018-26359
Type: Rule
Date: 2018-12-06
Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to find that California has failed to submit complete state implementation plans (SIPs) required under the Clean Air Act (CAA or ``Act'') to implement the 1997, 2006, and 2012 national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS or ``standards'') for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the San Joaquin Valley. For the 1997 annual and 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS, California was required to submit by December 31, 2016, a SIP submission that provides for, among other things, annual reductions in emissions of direct PM2.5 or a PM2.5 plan precursor pollutant within the area of not less than five percent of the amount of such emissions as reported in the most recent inventory for the area. For the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS, California was required to submit by August 21, 2017, a SIP submission that meets the requirements for Serious PM2.5 nonattainment areas, including the requirement for best available control measures (BACM). For the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS, California was required to submit by October 15, 2016, a SIP submission that meets the requirements for Moderate PM2.5 nonattainment areas, including the requirement for reasonably available control measures (RACM). California submitted substantial portions of each of these required SIP submissions as part of an integrated plan on November 16, 2018, but each of these submissions fails to meet the EPA's minimum criteria for completeness. If the EPA has not affirmatively found that the State has submitted complete SIPs that correct the deficiencies in each of these SIP submissions within 18 months of this finding, the offset sanction will apply in the area. If within 6 additional months the EPA still has not affirmatively determined that the State has submitted complete SIPs that correct the deficiencies, the highway funding sanction will apply in the area. No later than 2 years after the EPA makes these findings, if the State has not submitted, and the EPA has not approved, each of the required SIP submissions, the EPA must promulgate a federal implementation plan (FIP) to address any remaining requirements.
Revision of the Agency's Privacy Act Regulations for EPA-63
Document Number: 2018-26355
Type: Rule
Date: 2018-12-06
Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action on revisions to the Agency's Privacy Act regulations in order to exempt a new system of records, EPA-63, the eDiscovery Enterprise Tool Suite, from certain requirements of the Privacy Act because records in EPA's eDiscovery Enterprise Tool Suite are maintained for use in civil and criminal actions. A notice has been published in the Federal Register on July 27, 2018 for the creation of this new system of records that will contain information collected using the Agency's suite of tools that search and preserve electronically stored information (ESI) in support of the Agency's eDiscovery (electronic discovery) and Freedom of Information Act processes.
Extension of Tolerances for Emergency Exemptions (Multiple Chemicals)
Document Number: 2018-26346
Type: Rule
Date: 2018-12-06
Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
This regulation extends time-limited tolerances for the pesticides listed in this document. These actions are in response to EPA's granting of emergency exemptions under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) authorizing use of these pesticides. In addition, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) requires EPA to establish a time-limited tolerance or exemption from the requirement for a tolerance for pesticide chemical residues in food that will result from the use of a pesticide under an emergency exemption granted by EPA.
Clomazone; Pesticide Tolerances
Document Number: 2018-26345
Type: Rule
Date: 2018-12-06
Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of clomazone in or on multiple commodities which are identified and discussed later in this document. Interregional Research Project No. 4 (IR-4) requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).
Air Plan Approval; Texas; Interstate Transport Requirements for the 1997 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards
Document Number: 2018-26287
Type: Rule
Date: 2018-12-06
Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
Pursuant to the Federal Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving portions of two Texas State Implementation Plan (SIP) submittals that pertain to the good neighbor and interstate transport requirements of the CAA with respect to the 1997 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The good neighbor provision requires each state, in its SIP, to prohibit emissions that will significantly contribute to nonattainment, or interfere with maintenance, of a NAAQS in other states. In this action, EPA is approving the Texas SIP submittals as having met the requirements of the good neighbor provision for the 1997 ozone NAAQS in accordance with section 110 of the CAA.
Protection of Human Research Subjects
Document Number: 2018-26228
Type: Proposed Rule
Date: 2018-12-06
Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
On January 19, 2017, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), acting in concert with other agencies, promulgated revisions to the ``Common Rule,'' which is based on regulations for the protection of human research subjects originally promulgated by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that were then revised and jointly adopted by multiple departments and agencies that conduct or support research involving human subjects. EPA's codification of these revisions is in 40 CFR part 26, subpart A. These revisions will go into effect on January 21, 2019. In addition to the core protections found in the Common Rule, EPA has promulgated regulations that are specific to research involving human subjects conducted or sponsored by EPA or submitted to EPA for regulatory purposes. The revisions to the Common Rule create a discrepancy within some of these EPA-specific regulations. This proposed action is to harmonize the EPA-specific regulations with revisions to the Common Rule in order to resolve those discrepancies.
Revision of the Agency's Privacy Act Regulations for EPA-63
Document Number: 2018-26214
Type: Proposed Rule
Date: 2018-12-06
Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing revisions to the Agency's Privacy Act regulations in order to exempt a new system of records, EPA-63, the eDiscovery Enterprise Tool Suite, from certain requirements of the Privacy Act because records in EPA's eDiscovery Enterprise Tool Suite are maintained for use in civil and criminal actions. A notice has been published in the Federal Register on July 27, 2018 for the creation of this new system of records that will contain information collected using the Agency's suite of tools that search and preserve electronically stored information (ESI) in support of the Agency's eDiscovery (electronic discovery) and Freedom of Information Act processes. In the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of this Federal Register, we are simultaneously publishing the Revision of the Agency's Privacy Act Regulations for EPA-63 as a direct final rule without a prior proposed rule. If we receive no adverse comment, we will not take further action on this proposed rule.
Implementation of the 2015 National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone: Nonattainment Area State Implementation Plan Requirements
Document Number: 2018-25424
Type: Rule
Date: 2018-12-06
Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing nonattainment area and ozone transport region (OTR) implementation requirements for the 2015 ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) (2015 ozone NAAQS) that were promulgated on October 1, 2015. This final rule is largely an update to the implementing regulations previously promulgated for the 2008 ozone NAAQS, and we are retaining without significant revision the majority of those provisions to implement the 2015 ozone NAAQS. This final rule addresses a range of nonattainment area and OTR state implementation plan (SIP) requirements for the 2015 ozone NAAQS, including attainment demonstrations, reasonable further progress (RFP) and associated milestone demonstrations, reasonably available control technology (RACT), reasonably available control measures (RACM), major nonattainment new source review, emissions inventories, the timing of required SIP submissions and compliance with emission control measures in the SIP. The EPA is not taking any final action regarding our proposed approach for revoking a prior ozone NAAQS and establishing anti-backsliding requirements; the agency intends to address any revocation of the 2008 ozone NAAQS and any potential anti-backsliding requirements in a separate future rulemaking.
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