Environmental Protection Agency May 28, 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

All ten of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regions today are issuing a final modification to the 2017 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) general permit for stormwater discharges from construction activities, also referred to as the ``2017 Construction General Permit (CGP)'' or ``2017 CGP,'' which became effective on February 16, 2017. The modified permit, hereinafter known as the ``modified 2017 CGP'' or ``final modified permit,'' replaces several conditions in the original 2017 CGP and relevant fact sheet sections. The scope of the modification is limited to only these conditions; all other conditions remain the same. The permit term also remains the same, meaning the modified 2017 CGP will still expire on February 16, 2022. This Federal Register notice describes the final permit modification and changes that were made from the proposed modified permit to the final modified permit based on public comments. The modified 2017 CGP and accompanying fact sheet can be found in the Docket (EPA-HQ-OW-2015-0828) as well as on the EPA's construction stormwater website at https://www.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater-discharges- construction-activities.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a 30- day public comment period associated with the release of the Updated Problem Formulation and Protocol for the Inorganic Arsenic IRIS Assessment. This document summarizes the Agency needs for the assessment and presents the refined focus based on problem formulation activities conducted since the last assessment plan released to the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) in 2015. EPA is releasing this document for public comment in advance of an NAS public meeting on July 16, 2019.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is redesignating the Illinois portion of the St. Louis, MO-IL, nonattainment area (hereafter, ``the 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 approving 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 emissions inventory, which includes emissions inventories for PM2.5, nitrogen oxides (NOX), sulfur dioxide (SO2) 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 NOX to the St. Louis PM2.5 area for transportation conformity purposes. EPA is approving and updating both the emissions inventory and MVEBs. EPA is taking these actions in accordance with the Clean Air Act (CAA) and EPA's implementation rule regarding the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS.

The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to approve South Carolina's June 18, 2018, State Implementation Plan (SIP) submission pertaining to the ``good neighbor'' provision of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) for the 2008 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The good neighbor provision requires each state's implementation plan to address the interstate transport of air pollution in amounts that contribute significantly to nonattainment, or interfere with maintenance, of a NAAQS in any other state. In this action, EPA is proposing to determine that South Carolina's SIP contains adequate provisions to prohibit emissions within the State from contributing significantly to nonattainment or interfering with maintenance of the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS in any other state.