Environmental Protection Agency March 21, 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

EPA has authorized its contractor and subcontractors, Syracuse Research Corporation (SRC) of East Syracuse, New York; BeakerTree Corporation of Arlington, VA; Eastern Research Group (ERG) of Chantilly, VA; Essential Software Inc. of Potomac, MD; and Versar Inc. of Springfield, VA, to access information which has been submitted to EPA under sections 4, 5, 6, 8, and 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Some of the information may be claimed or determined to be Confidential Business Information (CBI).

EPA is required under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), as amended by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, to make information publicly available and to publish information in the Federal Register pertaining to submissions under TSCA section 5, including notice of receipt of a Premanufacture Notice (PMN), Significant New Use Notice (SNUN) or Microbial Commercial Activity Notice (MCAN), including an amended notice or test information; an exemption application (Biotech exemption); an application for a Test Marketing Exemption (TME), both pending and/or concluded; a Notice of Commencement (NOC) of manufacture (including import) for new chemical substances; and a periodic status report on new chemical substances that are currently under EPA review or have recently concluded review. This document covers the period from September 1, 2018 to September 30, 2018.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an information collection request (ICR), NESHAP for Radionuclides (EPA ICR Number 1100.16, OMB Control Number 2060-0191) 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 September 6, 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.

On December 6, 2018, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois) submitted a request for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to redesignate the Illinois portion of the St. Louis, MO- IL nonattainment area (hereafter, ``St. Louis area'') to attainment for the 1997 fine particulate matter (PM2.5) annual national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS or standard). The Illinois portion of the St. Louis area includes Madison, Monroe, and St. Clair counties, and Baldwin Township in Randolph County. EPA is taking this action because it has determined that the St. Louis area is attaining the annual 1997 PM2.5 standard based on the most recent three years of certified air quality data. EPA is also proposing to approve a revision to the Illinois state implementation plan (SIP) for maintaining the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS through 2030. Illinois' maintenance plan submission includes an updated emission inventory, which includes emission inventories for PM2.5, NOX, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and ammonia. The maintenance plan submission also includes motor vehicle emission budgets (MVEBs) for the mobile source contribution of PM2.5 and nitrogen oxides (NOX) to the St. Louis PM2.5 area for transportation conformity purposes. EPA is proposing to approve and update both the emissions inventory and MVEBs. EPA is proposing to take these actions in accordance with the Clean Air Act (CAA) and EPA's SIP rules regarding the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing regulatory changes to allow gasoline blended with up to 15 percent ethanol to take advantage of the 1-pound per square inch (psi) Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) waiver that currently applies to E10 during the summer months. EPA is also proposing an interpretive rulemaking which defines gasoline blended with up to 15 percent ethanol as ``substantially similar'' to the fuel used to certify Tier 3 motor vehicles. Finally, EPA is proposing regulatory changes to modify certain elements of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) compliance system, in order to improve functioning of the renewable identification number (RIN) market and prevent market manipulation.