Environmental Protection Agency May 13, 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Director of the Water Division, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 10, is reissuing the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) General Permit for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) located in Idaho, excluding facilities in Indian Country. The General Permit authorizes discharges of wastewater from CAFOs. The previous permit NPDES General Permit for CAFOs in Idaho expired on May 8, 2017. This permit will transfer to the State of Idaho in July 2020 as part of the phased implementation of Idaho's administration of the NPDES program. The EPA will remain the permitting authority for CAFO facilities located in Indian Country in Idaho.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to find that the Shoreline Sheboygan County, Wisconsin area is attaining the 2008 primary and secondary ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), and to act in accordance with a request from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) to redesignate the area to attainment for the 2008 ozone NAAQS because the request meets the statutory requirements for redesignation under the Clean Air Act (CAA). EPA is proposing to approve, as a revision to the Wisconsin State Implementation Plan (SIP), the State's plan for maintaining the 2008 ozone NAAQS through 2032 in the Shoreline Sheboygan area. EPA finds adequate and is proposing to approve Wisconsin's 2025 and 2032 volatile organic compound (VOC) and oxides of nitrogen (NOX) Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets (MVEBs) for the Shoreline Sheboygan area. EPA is also proposing to approve Wisconsin's VOC reasonably available control technology (RACT) SIP revisions. Finally, EPA is proposing to approve the Wisconsin SIP as meeting the applicable base year inventory requirement, emission statement requirements, VOC RACT requirements, motor vehicle inspection and maintenance (I/M) program requirements, and NOX RACT requirements.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the State of New York for purposes of implementing Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) in the New York portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island NY-NJ-CT nonattainment area (New York Metropolitan Area or NYMA) for the 2008 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) as it relates to major sources emitting oxides of nitrogen (NOX), control technique guidelines (CTG) for sources of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and non-CTG for major sources of VOCs. In addition, the EPA is approving portions of the SIP revision submitted by New York to address the 2008 ozone NAAQS that certify that the State has satisfied the requirements for an enhanced vehicle Inspection and Maintenance Program, an emissions statement program, and a nonattainment new source review program. The EPA is also approving New York's RACT plan as it applies to the CTG for industrial cleaning solvents and to solvent metal cleaning processes. This action is being taken in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to make adjustments to certain laboratory tailpipe emission testing procedures for automobiles, light trucks, and heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans as the result of a test fuel change that was finalized as a part of EPA's 2014 Tier 3 vehicle emissions rule. In that rule, EPA changed its laboratory test fuel to be more similar to typical gasoline currently in use. In the Tier 3 Final Rulemaking, EPA required vehicle manufacturers to perform greenhouse gas (GHG) and CAFE fuel economy testing on the new Tier 3 test fuel, beginning for model year 2020 and later vehicles. Changes to the fuel used for emissions testing can result in a change in emission results on the tests. When we adopted the Tier 3 test fuel, we indicated that we intended to undertake rulemaking to re-align test results from GHG and CAFE fuel economy testing on the new Tier 3 test fuel so they are consistent with test results from testing on the original Tier 2 test fuel, in order to avoid an effective change in the stringency of the GHG and CAFE standards. Specifically, EPA is now proposing adjustment factors to apply to both vehicle GHG and fuel economy test results for the GHG and CAFE programs and the Fuel Economy and Environment Label. In addition, we propose that the shift to required use of the new fuel for all vehicle testing be phased in through Model Year 2024, but required in Model Year 2025. Because the purpose of the rule is simply to realign testing results in response to the test fuel change, there would be no significant costs associated with the proposed action.