Environmental Protection Agency February 5, 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), ``Information Collection Request for the 2020 Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment (DWINSA)'' (EPA ICR No. 2616.01, OMB Control No. 2040-NEW) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). Before doing so, the EPA is soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described in this document. This is a request for approval of a new collection. 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 proposing two actions related to the attainment date for two areas classified as ``Moderate'' for the 2008 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). First, EPA is proposing to determine that the Inland Sheboygan, Wisconsin (WI) nonattainment area attained the standard by the July 20, 2019, extended attainment date. Second, EPA is proposing to determine that the Shoreline Sheboygan, WI nonattainment area failed to attain the standard by the extended attainment date. The effect of failing to attain by the attainment date is that the area will be reclassified by operation of law to ``Serious'' upon the effective date of the final reclassification action. Consequently, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) must submit State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions required to satisfy the statutory and regulatory requirements for Serious areas for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. EPA is proposing deadlines for submittal of those SIP revisions and implementation of the related control requirements.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is revising its regulations to streamline and clarify processes related to submission and review of title V petitions. This final rule implements changes in three key areas: Method of petition submittal to the agency, required content and format of petitions, and administrative record requirements for permits. In the first area, the EPA is establishing an electronic submittal system as the preferred method of submittal, with specified email and physical addresses as alternate routes to submit petitions. By doing so, the agency anticipates (and has already seen) improved tracking of petitions. To help petitioners in preparing their petitions, as well as the EPA in reviewing and responding to petitions, the EPA is finalizing its proposal to incorporate certain content and format requirements into the regulations, codifying practices that the EPA has described in prior orders responding to petitions and the preamble to the proposal for this rule. Finally, the EPA is requiring permitting authorities to prepare a written response to comments (RTC) document if significant comments are received during the public participation process on a draft permit, and requiring that the RTC, when applicable, be sent to the agency with the proposed permit and necessary documents including the statement of basis for its 45-day review. This change is anticipated to provide more complete permit records during the EPA's 45-day review period for proposed permits, the 60-day petition window, and the EPA's review of any petition submitted, and thus reduce the likelihood that the Administrator will grant a petition because of an incomplete permit record.