Environmental Protection Agency October 2021 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve revisions to the California State Implementation Plan (SIP) concerning the base year emissions inventories for 18 areas designated as nonattainment areas (NAAs) for the 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (2015 ozone NAAQS) submitted on July 24, 2020. The areas include: Amador County, Butte County, Calaveras County, Imperial County, Kern County (Eastern Kern), Los AngelesSan Bernardino Counties (West Mojave Desert), Los AngelesSouth Coast Air Basin, Mariposa County, Nevada County (Western part), Riverside County (Coachella Valley), Sacramento Metro, San Francisco Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley, San Luis Obispo (Eastern part), Sutter Buttes, Tuolumne County, Tuscan Buttes, and Ventura County. We are proposing to approve these revisions under the Clean Air Act (CAA or ``the Act''), which establishes emissions inventory requirements for all ozone nonattainment areas.

Oregon has applied to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for final authorization of changes to its hazardous waste program under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), as amended. EPA has reviewed Oregon's application, and has determined that these changes satisfy all requirements needed to qualify for authorization. Therefore, we are proposing to authorize the State's changes. EPA seeks public comment prior to taking final action.

The Environmental Protection Agency is issuing regulations to implement certain provisions of the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, as enacted on December 27, 2020. This Act mandates the phasedown of hydrofluorocarbons, which are highly potent greenhouse gases, by 85 percent over a period ending in 2036. The Act directs the Environmental Protection Agency to implement the phasedown by issuing a fixed quantity of transferrable production and consumption allowances, which producers and importers of hydrofluorocarbons must hold in quantities equal to the amount of hydrofluorocarbons they produce or import. To establish the allowance allocation program, this rulemaking determines the hydrofluorocarbon production and consumption baselines, from which allowed production and consumption will decrease consistent with the statutory phasedown schedule; provides an initial approach to allocating calendar-year allowances and allowing for the transfer of those allowances; establishes provisions for the international transfer of allowances; and establishes recordkeeping and reporting requirements. Additionally, it establishes provisions to support implementation, compliance with, and enforcement of, statutory and regulatory requirements under the Act's phasedown provisions. Over the time period from 2022-2050, this rulemaking will avoid cumulative emissions of 4,560 million metric tons of exchange value equivalent of HFCs in the United States with a present value of cumulative net benefits of $272.7 billion.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), ``NESHAP for Radionuclides (40 CFR part 61, subparts B, K, R and W) (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR No. 1100.16, OMB Control No. 2060-0191) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. Before doing so, the EPA is soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described below. In addition to being a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through May 31, 2022, the Agency seeks to consolidate this ICR with EPA ICR Number 2464.03, OMB Control Number 2060-0706, which was established to address the information collection requirements created by the revision to NESHAP subpart W in 2017. All information collection required under 40 CFR part 61, subpart W would then be included in a single ICR, together with the information collection requirements of subparts B, K, and R. 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 taking final action to approve revisions to the Maricopa County Air Quality Department's (MCAQD) Rule 510 as part of the Arizona State Implementation Plan (SIP). These rule revisions concern updates to the maximum levels of ambient air pollution for the protection of public health and welfare. We are finalizing our proposed approval of this rule to regulate ambient air emissions under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act).

This action corrects codification errors in the Ohio State Implementation Plan (SIP) regarding the infrastructure requirements of section 110 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, EPA announces an upcoming meeting of the Mobile Sources Technical Review Subcommittee (MSTRS), which is a subcommittee under the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee (CAAAC). This is a virtual meeting and open to the public. The meeting will include discussion of current topics and presentations about activities being conducted by EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality. MSTRS listserv subscribers will receive notification when the agenda is available on the Subcommittee website. To subscribe to the MSTRS listserv, send an email to MSTRS@epa.gov.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a revision to the New York State Implementation Plan (SIP) concerning process operations. The effect of this revision is to streamline and update provisions, align those provisions with permitting regulations, and provide regulatory certainty for the regulated community.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the availability of the Draft FY 2022-2026 EPA Strategic Plan for public review and comment, which is being revised as required by the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) Modernization Act of 2010 (as amended by the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018). The agency anticipates the final Strategic Plan will be submitted to Congress in February 2022. For this document, the EPA is seeking comment from individual citizens, states, tribes, local governments, industry, the academic community, non-governmental organizations, and all other interested parties.

EPA is amending the deadline for reporting pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Health and Safety Data Reporting rule, which requires manufacturers (including importers) of 50 specified chemical substances to report certain lists and copies of unpublished health and safety studies to EPA. Specifically, EPA will be amending the deadline from September 27, 2021 to December 1, 2021 for 20 of the 50 chemical substances and to January 25, 2022 for 30 of the 50 chemical substances. The Health and Safety Data Reporting Rule, promulgated pursuant to TSCA section 8(d), requires manufacturers (including importers) of certain chemical substances to submit lists and copies of certain unpublished health and safety studies to EPA.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final rule in the Federal Register on July 7, 2021, entitled ``Air Plan Approval; AL; NOX SIP Call and Removal of CAIR.'' The July 7, 2021 rule, which became effective on August 6, 2021, contained an error in the amendatory instructions for the regulatory text. This correction does not change any final action taken by EPA in the July 7, 2021, final rule but makes a correction to final regulations.