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

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a revision to the Feather River Air Quality Management District (FRAQMD or ``District'') portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision concerns emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from vehicle and mobile equipment coating operations. We are proposing to approve a local rule to regulate these emission sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the ``Act''). We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a final action.

This document announces the Agency's receipt of an initial filing of a pesticide petition requesting the establishment or modification of regulations for residues of pesticide chemicals in or on various commodities.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator signed an Order, dated February 19, 2020, denying a petition dated July 18, 2019, filed by Mr. Bill Green of Richland, Washington. The Petition requested that the EPA object to a Clean Air Act (CAA) title V operating permit (Permit No. 00-05-006, Renewal 3) issued by the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) to the U.S. Department of EnergyHanford Operations (DOE) for the Hanford site located in Benton County, Washington.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Maryland. This revision pertains to the Maryland Department of the Environment's (MDE) plan for maintaining the 1997 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for the Kent and Queen Anne's Counties area. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

This notice announces the availability of EPA's proposed interim registration review decisions and opens a 60-day public comment period on the proposed interim decisions for the following pesticides: Bifenthrin, boscalid, chlorine gas, clopyralid, Coniothyrium species, cyfluthrin and beta-cyfluthrin, cyproconazole, deltamethrin, esfenvalerate, ethoxyquin, etoxazole, fenpropathrin, flower oils, fluazifop-P-butyl, formetanate hydrochloride, Gliocladium species, mecoprop, permethrin, phenol and salts, phenothrin, pinoxaden, prallethrin, pyraclostrobin, pyraflufen-ethyl, mandipropamid, tau- fluvalinate, terbuthylazine, thiabendazole and salts, vegetable oils.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing that a virtual public hearing will be held for the proposed action titled, ``Review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter,'' which was signed on April 14, 2020. The hearing will be held May 20 and 21, 2020. Based on its review of the air quality criteria and the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter (PM), the EPA is proposing to retain both the primary and secondary PM standards, without revision.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the State of South Carolina through letters dated April 12, 2019, and July 11, 2019 to establish a SIP-approved state control program to comply with the Nitrogen Oxides (NOX) SIP call obligations for electric generating units (EGUs) and large non-EGUs. EPA is also proposing to remove the SIP-approved portions of the State's Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) Program rules from the South Carolina SIP. In addition, EPA is proposing to approve into the SIP state regulations that establish an alternative monitoring option for certain sources.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve multiple state implementation plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. These revisions were submitted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) to establish and require reasonably available control technology (RACT) for 26 major sources of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) pursuant to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's conditionally approved RACT regulations. In this rulemaking action, EPA is only proposing to approve source-specific (also referred to as ``case-by-case'') RACT determinations for four of the 26 major sources submitted by PADEP. These RACT evaluations were submitted to meet RACT requirements for the 1997 and 2008 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

This notice announces EPA's order for the cancellations and amendments to terminate uses, voluntarily requested by the registrants and accepted by the Agency, of the products listed in Table 1 and Table 2 of Unit II, pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). This cancellation order follows a February 4, 2020 Federal Register Notice of Receipt of Requests from the registrants listed in Table 3 of Unit II to voluntarily cancel and amend to terminate uses of these product registrations. In the February 4, 2020 notice, EPA indicated that it would issue an order implementing the cancellations and amendments to terminate uses, unless the Agency received substantive comments within the 30-day comment period that would merit its further review of these requests, or unless the registrants withdrew their requests. The Agency received one comment on the notice, but it did not merit its further review of the request. Further, the registrants did not withdraw their requests. Accordingly, EPA hereby issues in this notice a cancellation order granting the requested cancellations and amendments to terminate uses. Any distribution, sale, or use of the products subject to this cancellation order is permitted only in accordance with the terms of this order, including any existing stocks provisions.

This notice announces the availability of EPA's draft human health and/or ecological risk assessments for the registration review of acetochlor, ethofumesate, fipronil, forchlorfenuron, halohydantoins, inorganic sulfites, novaluron, oxadiazon, peroxy compounds, peroxyoctanoic acid, picloram, rotenone, sodium percarbonate, spiromesifen, thiophanate-methyl and carbendazim. In addition, the agency will not be publishing draft risk assessments for spirodiclofen because all products containing that active ingredient are subject to cancellation effective December 31, 2020.

EPA is announcing the availability of and soliciting public comment on the draft Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) risk evaluation of perchloroethylene. EPA is also submitting the same document to the TSCA Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC) for peer review and is announcing that there will be two virtual public meetings of the TSCA SACC, with participation by phone and webcast only, and no in-person gathering. The first virtual public meeting will be a preparatory meeting for the SACC to consider the scope and clarity of the draft charge questions for the peer review. This will be followed by the peer review public virtual meeting for the SACC to consider and review the draft risk evaluation. The purpose of conducting risk evaluations under TSCA is to determine whether a chemical substance presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment under the conditions of use, including an unreasonable risk to a relevant potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulation.

EPA is proposing significant new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMNs) and are subject to Orders issued by EPA pursuant TSCA. The SNURs require persons who intend to manufacture (defined by statute to include import) or process any of these chemical substances for an activity that is proposed as a significant new use by this rule to notify EPA at least 90 days before commencing that activity. The required notification initiates EPA's evaluation of the use, under the conditions of use for that chemical substance, within the applicable review period. Persons may not commence manufacture or processing for the significant new use until EPA has conducted a review of the notice, made an appropriate determination on the notice, and has taken such actions as are required by that determination.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces four public meetings of the Science Advisory Board Economic Guidelines Review Panel. The purpose of the meetings is to conduct a peer review of the EPA's revised document titled ``Guidelines for Preparing Economic Analyses'' and to develop a report responsive to charge questions on the revised document.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Georgia through the Georgia Environmental Protection Division on October 18, 2019. This revision modifies the State's air quality regulations as incorporated into the SIP by changing the definition of ``volatile organic compound'' (VOC) to be consistent with federal regulations. EPA is proposing to approve this SIP revision because the State has demonstrated that these changes are consistent with the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving Florida's September 18, 2018, State Implementation Plan (SIP) submission pertaining to the ``good neighbor'' provision of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) for the 2010 1-hour sulfur dioxide (SO2) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (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 has determined that Florida will not contribute significantly to nonattainment or interfere with maintenance of the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS in any other state. Therefore, EPA is approving the September 18, 2018, SIP revision as meeting the requirements of the good neighbor provision for the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to approve revisions to the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District (MDAQMD) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from organic liquid and gasoline transfer and storage operations. We are approving local rules that regulate these emission sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act). We are also converting the conditional approval of the MDAQMD's reasonably available control technology (RACT) SIPs for the 1997 and 2008 ozone standards, as it applies to these rules, to a full approval.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a plan for the Wallula area in Washington State that addresses the second 10- year maintenance period for particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to a nominal 10 micrometers (PM10). This plan relies upon the control measures contained in the first 10-year maintenance plan, with revisions to reflect updated permits and agreements, also approved in this action. Concurrently, we are taking final agency action on high wind and wildfire exceptional events associated with the Wallula area.