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

Pursuant to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) is proposing to approve in part the Texas Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) permit program. After reviewing the state CCR permit program application, submitted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), EPA has preliminarily determined that the Texas CCR permit program meets the standard for partial approval under RCRA. If approved, the Texas CCR permit program will operate in lieu of the federal CCR program, with the exception of the specific provisions noted below. This document announces that EPA is seeking comment on this proposal during a 60-day public comment period and will be holding a virtual public hearing on EPA's preliminary approval of the Texas partial CCR permit program.

EPA has received applications to register a new use for a pesticide product containing currently registered active ingredients. Pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), EPA is hereby providing notice of receipt and opportunity to comment on these applications.

This notice announces the availability of EPA's proposed interim registration review decision for chlorpyrifos and opens a 60- day public comment period on the proposed interim decision, revised draft human health risk assessment and ecological risk assessment for chlorpyrifos.

This document notifies the public as required by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) that the EPA Administrator has forwarded to the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) a draft regulatory document concerning ``Pesticide Product Performance Data Requirements for Products Claiming Efficacy Against Certain Invertebrate Pests.'' The draft regulatory document is not available to the public until after it has been signed and made available by EPA.

This action updates many of EPA's existing gasoline, diesel, and other fuel quality programs to improve overall compliance assurance and maintain environmental performance, while reducing compliance costs for industry and EPA. EPA is streamlining existing fuel quality regulations by removing expired provisions, eliminating redundant compliance provisions (e.g., duplicative registration requirements that are required by every EPA fuels program), removing unnecessary and out- of-date requirements, and replacing them with a single set of provisions and definitions that applies to all gasoline, diesel, and other fuel quality programs. This action does not change the stringency of the existing fuel quality standards.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve through parallel processing a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of California to address Clean Air Act (CAA or ``Act'') requirements for the 2012 annual fine particulate matter (PM2.5) national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS or ``standard'') in the Plumas County Moderate PM2.5 nonattainment area (``Portola nonattainment area''). The submitted SIP revision is the State's ``Proposed Portola PM2.5 Plan Contingency Measure SIP Submittal'' (``Proposed PM2.5 Plan Revision''), which includes a revised City of Portola ordinance regulating PM2.5 emission sources and the State's demonstration that this submission meets the Moderate area contingency measure requirement for the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS in the Portola nonattainment area. The EPA is also proposing to approve the contingency measure element of the Moderate area attainment plan for the Portola nonattainment area, as revised and supplemented by the Proposed PM2.5 Plan Revision. Because the EPA is proceeding by parallel processing, the agency is proposing, in the alternative, to disapprove the contingency measure element of the Moderate area attainment plan if the State does not submit the final, adopted PM2.5 Plan Revision in substantially the same form before we take final action.

This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of Adipic acid when used as an inert ingredient in antimicrobial pesticide formulations applied to food- contact surfaces in public eating places, dairy-processing equipment, and food-processing equipment and utensils at an end-use concentration not to exceed 100 parts per million (ppm). Ecolab, 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 for adipic acid. This regulation eliminates the need to establish a maximum permissible level for residues of adipic acid when used in accordance with this exemption.

EPA (or the Agency) is finalizing its proposed decisions to not impose financial responsibility requirements under section 108(b) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) for facilities in three industry sectors: The electric power generation, transmission, and distribution industry, pursuant to EPA's proposal of July 29, 2019; the petroleum and coal products manufacturing industry, pursuant to EPA's proposal of December 23, 2019; and the chemical manufacturing industry, pursuant to EPA's proposal of February 21, 2020. Today's final rulemakings are based on the individual administrative records for each of the three proposed rulemakings, supported by additional analysis conducted in consideration of comments received in the public comment period for each proposed rule. In particular, after examining the existing environmental protections and regulations in place today and analyzing the Superfund program's experience cleaning up sites in each industry, the Agency concluded that facilities in these three industries operating under a modern regulatory framework do not present a level of risk that warrants financial responsibility requirements under CERCLA section 108(b). Today's final rulemakings are based on the record for these rulemakings, and do not affect EPA's authority to take a response or enforcement action under CERCLA with respect to any particular facility or industry, and do not affect the Agency's authorities that may apply to particular facilities under other environmental statutes. This combined final rulemaking comprises the Agency's final actions on each of the three proposed rules.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an information collection request (ICR), Air Emission Standards for Tanks, Surface Impoundment and Containers (EPA ICR Number 1593.11, OMB Control Number 2060-0318), to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through January 31, 2021. Public comments were previously requested, via the Federal Register on May 12, 2020 during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. A fuller description of the ICR is given below, including its estimated burden and cost to the public. An agency may neither conduct nor 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 has submitted an information collection request (ICR), NSPS for Onshore Natural Gas Processing Plants (EPA ICR Number 1086.12, OMB Control Number 2060- 0120), to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through January 31, 2021. Public comments were previously requested, via the Federal Register, on May 12, 2020 during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. A fuller description of the ICR is given below, including its estimated burden and cost to the public. An agency may neither conduct nor sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

In accordance with the Clean Air Act, as amended (CAA or the Act), notice is given of a proposed consent decree in Sierra Club v. Wheeler, No. 2:20-cv-00725-SMB (D. AZ). On April 14, 2020, the Sierra Club filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, alleging that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) failed to perform certain non-discretionary duties. Plaintiff alleges that EPA failed to take final action to approve, disapprove, conditionally approve, or approve in part and disapprove in part, Arizona's nonattainment plan SIP submission for the West Pinal nonattainment area for the PM10 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The proposed consent decree would establish a deadline for EPA to take action on the remaining portions of the SIP submission.