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

As required by the final rule on fees for the administration of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) (the Fees Rule), in which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established fees to defray some of the costs of administering certain provisions of TSCA, EPA this document announces the availability of the final lists identifying the manufacturers (including importers) of the 20 chemical substances that have been designated as a High-Priority Substance for risk evaluation and for which fees will be charged. In January 2020, EPA announced the availability of and solicited public comment on the preliminary lists identifying manufacturers subject to fee obligations for EPA-initiated risk evaluations under TSCA. During the comment period, which closed on June 15, 2020, manufacturers (including importers) were also required to self-identify as a manufacturer of one of the 20 High-Priority Substances irrespective of whether they are included on the preliminary lists. Where appropriate, entities had the opportunity to avoid or reduce fee obligations by making certain certifications consistent with the Fees Rule. The public had the opportunity to correct errors or provide comments on the preliminary lists. Manufacturers (including importers) identified on the final list will be subject to applicable fees.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received three petitions for reconsideration of the final revisions to the Accidental Release Prevention Requirements: Risk Management Programs under the Clean Air Act, published in the Federal Register on December 19, 2019. The agency is providing notice that it is denying all three petitions for reconsideration. The basis for EPA's action is set out fully in separate letters addressed to each petitioner, available in the rulemaking docket.

This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of deoxyribonucleic acid sequences consisting solely of adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine, of 300 or fewer base pairs, and which do not contain start codons or regulatory sequences necessary for the initiation of transcription or translation when used as an inert ingredient (product identifier) in pesticide formulations applied to growing crops and to raw agricultural commodities after harvest at a concentration not to exceed 1.0 parts per million (ppm). InvisiDex Inc. submitted a petition to EPA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), requesting establishment of an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. This regulation eliminates the need to establish a maximum permissible level for residues of deoxyribonucleic acid that satisfy the terms of the exemption.

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (``CERCLA'' or ``the Act''), as amended, requires that the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (``NCP'') include a list of national priorities among the known releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants throughout the United States. The National Priorities List (``NPL'') constitutes this list. The NPL is intended primarily to guide the Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA'' or ``the agency'') in determining which sites warrant further investigation. These further investigations will allow the EPA to assess the nature and extent of public health and environmental risks associated with the site and to determine what CERCLA-financed remedial action(s), if any, may be appropriate. This rule proposes to add four sites to the General Superfund section of the NPL and withdraws a previous proposal for NPL addition.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve revisions to the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) and the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District (VCAPCD) portions of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the use and application of industrial adhesives. We are proposing to approve local rules 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.

Whenever a new or revised National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) is promulgated, the Clean Air Act (CAA) requires states to submit a plan for the implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of the standard, commonly referred to as infrastructure requirements. On May 26, 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a notice of proposed rulemaking to approve the Washington State Implementation Plan as meeting specific infrastructure requirements for the 2010 sulfur dioxide (SO2) and 2015 ozone NAAQS. Due to an administrative error, the technical support document was left out of the docket during the initial comment period from May 26, 2020 to June 25, 2020. Thus, the EPA is providing an additional 30 days for public comment on the proposed action. We are also supplementing the docket with additional supporting materials in response to a comment on our proposed approval.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This revision pertains to the Commonwealth's plan submitted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), for maintaining the 1997 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) (referred to as the ``1997 ozone NAAQS'') in the Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle area. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

This notice announces the availability of EPA's draft human health and/or ecological risk assessments for the registration review of strychnine.

This notice announces the availability of EPA's draft human health and/or ecological risk assessments for the registration review of 10,10'-oxybisphenoxarsine (OBPA), amicarbazone, aminopyralid, dimethenamid/dimethenamid-p, endothall, fluoxastrobin, folpet, ipconazole, iprodione, metconazole, polixetonium chloride, prothioconazole, sodium pyrithione.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), ``Public Notification Requirements for Combined Sewer Overflows in the Great Lakes Basin (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR No. 2562.02, OMB Control No. 2040-0293) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). Before doing so, EPA is soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection. This is a proposed extension of the ICR which is currently approved through April 30, 2021. 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 finalizing the determination that the Fairbanks North Star Borough nonattainment area failed to attain the 2006 24-hour fine particulate matter (PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) by the December 31, 2019 ``Serious'' area attainment date. This determination is based on complete, quality-assured and certified PM2.5 monitoring data for 2017 through 2019. The EPA is also finalizing the denial of the State's request for an extension of the Serious area attainment date for the Fairbanks North Star Borough nonattainment area. Based on this final action, the State will be subject to further statutory and regulatory requirements for this area, including a new State Implementation Plan (SIP) submission meeting additional requirements that the State must submit by December 31, 2020.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving revisions to the Jefferson County portion of the Kentucky State Implementation Plan (SIP), submitted by the Commonwealth of Kentucky (Commonwealth), through the Energy and Environment Cabinet (Cabinet) on September 5, 2019. The revisions were submitted by the Cabinet on behalf of the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District and make a singular change to two regulations for clarity purposes regarding the applicability of exempt surface coating standards for existing and new miscellaneous metal parts and products operations. EPA is approving the change to both regulations as it is consistent with the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).

This regulation amends and extends a temporary exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of the Citrus tristeza virus expressing spinach defensin proteins 2, 7, and 8 alone or in various combinations on citrus fruit (Citrus spp., Fortunella spp., Crop Group 10-10) when applied/used as a microbial pesticide in accordance with the terms of Experimental Use Permit (EUP) No. 88232- EUP-2. Southern Gardens Citrus submitted a petition to EPA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), requesting extension of the temporary tolerance exemption. This regulation eliminates the need to establish a maximum permissible level for residues of Citrus tristeza virus expressing spinach defensin proteins 2, 7, and 8 alone or in various combinations. The temporary tolerance exemption expires on August 31, 2023.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing changes to existing regulations to protect the public from lead in plumbing materials used in public water systems or residential or nonresidential facilities providing water for human consumption. The changes in this rule codify aspects of the Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act of 2011 (RLDWA) and the Community Fire Safety Act of 2013 (CFSA). The RLDWA amended section 1417 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), which prohibits the use and introduction into commerce of certain plumbing products that are not ``lead free.'' The RLDWA revised the definition of lead free to lower the allowable maximum lead content of plumbing products; and established a statutory method for calculating lead content. EPA is also establishing new requirements for manufacturers or importers that introduce into commerce products that must meet lead free requirements to certify such products as being in compliance with the lead free requirements in Section 1417 of the SDWA, as well as other changes to existing regulations to assist in implementation of Section 1417 of the SDWA, as amended. EPA expects that these requirements for lead content in plumbing materials used in new installations and repairs will result in fewer sources of lead in drinking water and, consequently, will reduce adverse health effects associated with exposure to lead in drinking water. The SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section details EPA's changes to existing regulations as authorized under the SDWA as amended.