Environmental Protection Agency March 27, 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Agency is announcing the availability of and seeking public comment on a draft guidance document entitled ``Guidance for Plant Regulator Label Claims, Including Plant Biostimulants.'' Guidance documents are issued by the Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) to inform pesticide registrants and other interested persons about important policies, procedures, and registration related decisions, and serve to provide guidance to pesticide registrants and OPP personnel. This draft guidance document is intended to clarify that products with label claims that are considered to be plant regulator claims are subject to regulation as a pesticide.

Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), EPA has the authority to apply a suite of regulatory tools to address unreasonable risks from chemical substances, including authority to regulate the distribution in commerce for a particular use and to regulate any manner or method of commercial use, to the extent necessary so that the chemical substance no longer presents unreasonable risk. EPA is issuing an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) to solicit public input on training, certification, and limited access requirements that could address any unreasonable risks that EPA could potentially find to be presented by methylene chloride when used for commercial paint and coating removal. Such a program could allow access to paint and coating removal products containing methylene chloride only to commercial users who are certified as properly trained to engage in use practices that do not present unreasonable risks.

The EPA's Environmental Financial Advisory Board (EFAB) will hold a public meeting on April 17-18, 2019 in Washington, DC. The EFAB is an EPA advisory committee chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act to provide advice and recommendations to EPA on creative approaches to funding environmental programs, projects, and activities. The purpose of this meeting is to hear from informed speakers on environmental finance issues and EPA priorities; to discuss recommendations from EFAB work products; to discuss changes to the EFAB's process of selecting new topics and developing recommendations; and to discuss stormwater funding and financing. The meeting is open to the public; however, seating is limited. All members of the public who wish to attend the meeting must register in advance, no later than Wednesday, April 10, 2019.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve Arizona's Regional Haze Progress Report (``Progress Report'' or ``Report''), submitted by the State of Arizona on November 12, 2015, as a revision to its state implementation plan (SIP). Arizona submitted its Progress Report and a negative declaration stating that further revision of the existing regional haze implementation plan is not needed at this time. The Progress Report addresses the federal Regional Haze Rule requirements under the Clean Air Act (CAA) to submit a report describing progress in achieving reasonable progress goals (RPGs) established for regional haze and a determination of the adequacy of the state's existing implementation plan addressing regional haze. Arizona's Progress Report notes that Arizona has implemented the measures in the regional haze implementation plan due to be in place by the date of the Progress Report and that visibility in Class I areas affected by emissions from Arizona is improving. The EPA is proposing approval of Arizona's determination that the State's regional haze implementation plan is adequate to meet RPGs in Class I areas affected by emissions from Arizona for the first implementation period, which extended through 2018, and requires no substantive revision at this time.