Environmental Protection Agency February 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an information collection request (ICR), Air Stationary Source Compliance and Enforcement Information Reporting (EPA ICR Number 0107.12, OMB Control Number 2060-0096) 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 January 31, 2019. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on June 8, 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 (EPA) has submitted an information collection request (ICR), NSPS for Nonmetallic Mineral Processing (EPA ICR No. 1084.14, OMB Control No. 2060-0050), 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 March 31, 2019. 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 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an information collection request (ICR), NSPS for Beverage Can Surface Coating (EPA ICR No. 0663.13, OMB Control No. 2060-0001), 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 March 31, 2019. 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.

Due to a partial Federal government shutdown related to the lack of authorized funding (i.e., a Fiscal Year 2019 Appropriations Bill or a Continuing Resolution), EPA is extending the review periods for all Premanufacture Notices (PMNs), Significant New Use Notices (SNUNs), Microbial Commercial Activity Notices (MCANs), and exemption notices submitted to the Agency under section 5 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) received by EPA on or before December 29, 2018, and for which the review period had not expired as of December 29, 2018. Additionally, EPA did not receive notifications or process such submissions on or after December 29, 2018, and before the date on which the shutdown terminated on January 25, 2019, and the affected operations for the TSCA New Chemicals Program fully resumed on January 31, 2019. Also, during the shutdown, submissions made through e-PMN/CDX or other methods were not processed by EPA. Consequently, the review period for any TSCA section 5 notice submitted during the shutdown did not begin until TSCA New Chemical operations fully resumed on January 31, 2019.

On November 14, 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a rule titled ``Determinations of Attainment by the Attainment Date, Extensions of the Attainment Date and Reclassification of Several Areas Classified as Moderate for the 2008 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards,'' which allowed for a 30-day public review and comment period that closed on December 14, 2018. In the proposal, the EPA offered to hold a public hearing if one was requested by November 29, 2018. The EPA received multiple requests for a public hearing, and, therefore, is announcing in this notice details for a scheduled public hearing. The hearing will provide the public with an opportunity to present oral testimony on the proposal. In addition, the EPA is reopening the public comment period on the proposed rule. The additional comment period will ensure the public has sufficient time to comment on the proceedings of the public hearing and the proposal.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is soliciting public comment and recommendations on the National Compliance Initiatives (NCIs) to be undertaken in fiscal years 2020-2023. The EPA focuses enforcement and compliance resources on the most serious environmental violations by developing and implementing national program priorities, previously called National Enforcement Initiatives. The NCIs currently underway, as well as potential modifications to these NCIs under consideration, are described in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document, with additional descriptions and data on the current NCIs available on our website: https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/national- compliance-initiatives.

The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), ``Brownfields Program Accomplishment Reporting (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR No. 2104.07, OMB Control No. 2050-0192 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 July 31, 2019. 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 planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), ``EPA's Responsible Appliance Disposal (RAD) Program (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR No. 2254.02, OMB Control No. 2060-0703) 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 August 31, 2019. 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.

This action finalizes the residual risk and technology review (RTR) conducted for the Friction Materials Manufacturing Facilities source category regulated under national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP). In addition, we are taking final action addressing periods of startup, shutdown, and malfunction (SSM). We are finalizing our proposed determination that the risks from the category are acceptable and that the current NESHAP provides an ample margin of safety to protect public health. We identified no new cost- effective controls under the technology review to achieve further emissions reductions. These final amendments include amendments to revise reporting requirements for deviations. These amendments are made under the authority of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and will improve the effectiveness of the rule. The amendments are environmentally neutral.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is updating the materials that are incorporated by reference (IBR) into the Washington State Implementation Plan (SIP). The regulations affected by this update have been previously submitted by the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) and approved by the EPA. In this action, the EPA is also notifying the public of corrections to typographical errors and rearranging the contents for clarity. This update affects the SIP materials that are available for public inspection at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and the EPA Regional Office.

On November 30, 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a rule titled ``Standards of Performance for New Residential Wood Heaters, New Residential Hydronic Heaters and Forced- Air Furnaces.'' The EPA is reopening the public comment period on the proposed rule that closed on January 14, 2019. The EPA is taking this action to allow time for the public to comment on the proposed rule for at least 30 days following the public hearing, which was held on December 17, 2018.

In this final action, EPA is amending its reformulated gasoline regulations to reflect that Boone, Campbell, and Kenton counties in Kentucky (the Northern Kentucky Area), which are part of the Cincinnati-Hamilton, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana ozone area, are no longer federal reformulated gasoline (RFG) covered areas as of July 1, 2018. As described in a separate document published on May 16, 2018, pursuant to EPA's regulations, EPA approved an April 18, 2017 petition from the state of Kentucky to opt-out of the federal RFG program and removed the requirement to sell federal RFG in the Northern Kentucky Area as of July 1, 2018. This effective date applies to retailers, wholesale purchaser-consumers, refiners, importers, and distributors. This rulemaking merely conforms the list of RFG covered areas in the regulations to reflect the effective date of the opt-out for the Northern Kentucky Area.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing a revision to its response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Michigan v. EPA which held that the EPA erred by not considering cost in its determination that regulation under section 112 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) of hazardous air pollutant (HAP) emissions from coal- and oil- fired electric utility steam generating units (EGUs) is appropriate and necessary. After considering the cost of compliance relative to the HAP benefits of regulation, the EPA proposes to find that it is not ``appropriate and necessary'' to regulate HAP emissions from coal- and oil-fired EGUs, thereby reversing the Agency's prior conclusion under CAA section 112(n)(1)(A) and correcting flaws in the Agency's prior response to Michigan v. EPA. We further propose that finalizing this new response to Michigan v. EPA will not remove the Coal- and Oil-Fired EGU source category from the CAA section 112(c) list of sources that must be regulated under CAA section 112(d) and will not affect the existing CAA section 112(d) emissions standards that regulate HAP emissions from coal- and oil-fired EGUs. We are soliciting comment, however, on whether the EPA has the authority or obligation to delist EGUs from CAA section 112(c) and rescind (or to rescind without delisting) the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Coal- and Oil-Fired EGUs, commonly known as the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS). The EPA is also proposing the results of the residual risk and technology review (RTR) of the NESHAP that the Agency is required to conduct in accordance with CAA section 112. The results of the residual risk analysis indicate that residual risks due to emissions of air toxics from this source category are acceptable and that the current standards provide an ample margin of safety to protect public health. No new developments in HAP emission controls to achieve further cost-effective emissions reductions were identified under the technology review. Therefore, based on the results of these analyses and reviews, we are proposing that no revisions to MATS are warranted. Finally, the EPA is also taking comment on establishing a subcategory for emissions of acid gas HAP from existing EGUs firing eastern bituminous coal refuse.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 8 is issuing a Notice of Intent to Delete Operable Unit 2 (OU2), Former Screening Plant, of the Libby Asbestos Superfund Site (Site), located in Lincoln County, Montana, 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 (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended, is an appendix of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). The EPA and the State of Montana (State), through the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), have determined that all appropriate response actions at OU2 under CERCLA, other than operation and maintenance and five-year reviews (FYR), have been completed. However, this partial deletion does not preclude future actions under Superfund. This partial deletion pertains only to OU2. Operable Unit 1 (OU1), Former Export Plant; Operable Unit 3 (OU3), Former Vermiculite Mine; Operable Unit 4 and Operable Unit 7 (OU4/OU7), Residential/Commercial Properties of Libby and Troy; Operable Unit 5 (OU5), Former Stimson Lumber Mill; Operable Unit 6 (OU6), BNSF Rail Corridor; and Operable Unit 8 (OU8), Highways and Roadways, are not being considered for deletion as part of this proposed action and will remain on the NPL.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving the remaining portions of a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Delaware. This revision addresses the infrastructure requirement for interstate transport of pollution with respect to the 2010 1-hour sulfur dioxide (SO2) national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS). This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

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 (EPA) is approving, as a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision, Illinois' certification that its SIP satisfies the nonattainment new source review (NNSR) requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) for the 2008 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (``NAAQS'' or ``Standard''). This action permanently stops the Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) clocks triggered by EPA's February 3 and December 11, 2017 findings that Illinois failed to submit an NNSR plan for the Illinois portion of the Chicago-Naperville, Illinois-Indiana-Wisconsin area (Chicago Nonattainment Area).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving revisions to the Iowa State Implementation Plan (SIP) and the Operating Permits Program. The revisions include updating definitions, clarifying permit rule exemptions and permit-by-rule regulations, revising methods and procedures for performance test/stack test and continuous monitoring systems, and updating the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) regulations and Operating Permits Program. In addition, the State has removed its rules that implement the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) and revised their acid rain rules. These revisions will not impact air quality and will ensure consistency between the state and federally approved rules.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving revisions to the North Dakota State Implementation Plan (SIP) for all National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for the purposes of transferring authority from the North Dakota Department of Health (NDDH) to the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality (NDDEQ). We are approving the related recodification of the portions of North Dakota's Air Pollution Rules that have been previously approved into the SIP. The EPA is taking this action pursuant to section 110 of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) is proposing to approve two revisions to the Georgia State Implementation Plan (SIP), submitted by the State of Georgia, through the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (Georgia EPD), with two letters dated November 13, 2017, and July 31, 2018. Specifically, EPA is proposing to approve changes that revise existing exemptions for firefighting equipment. EPA is proposing to approve this SIP revision because the Agency believes that it is consistent with the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve two revisions to the Jefferson County portion of the Kentucky State Implementation Plan (SIP), submitted by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, through the Energy and Environment Cabinet (Cabinet), with letters dated August 25, 2017, and March 15, 2018. The proposed SIP revisions were submitted by the Cabinet on behalf of the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District (District) and make amendments to Jefferson County's regulation regarding the prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) permitting program. This action is being proposed pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve most elements of a State Implementation Plan (SIP) submission from Rhode Island that addresses the infrastructure requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) for the 2012 fine particle (PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). We are also proposing to conditionally approve certain elements of this submittal that relate to requirements for the state's Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program. In addition, EPA is proposing to disapprove the submission with respect to future SIP revisions. However, a federal implementation plan has been in place for this requirement since 1973. 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 with respect to this NAAQS under the CAA.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve the motor vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance (I/M) program certifications contained in State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the State of Connecticut relating to the 2008 8- hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The SIP revisions pertain to the Greater Connecticut and the Connecticut portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT moderate ozone nonattainment areas. The intended effect of this action is to propose approval of Connecticut's motor vehicle emissions I/M program certifications. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).