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

In accordance with the Presidential directive of January 20, 2021, ``Revocation of Certain Executive Orders Concerning Federal Regulation,'' and in order to ensure appropriate flexibilities to site- specific inspection work, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is rescinding its March 2, 2020 final rule describing certain Agency procedures for conducting on-site civil inspections. This rule applies to on-site civil inspections conducted by federally credentialed EPA civil inspectors, federally credentialed contractors and Senior Environmental Employment employees conducting inspections on behalf of EPA.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or ``Agency'') proposes to approve portions of two state implementation plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the State of California to meet Clean Air Act (CAA or ``Act'') requirements for the 2012 annual fine particulate matter (PM2.5) national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS or ``standards'') in the San Joaquin Valley (SJV) Serious nonattainment area. Specifically, the EPA proposes to approve the State's Serious area plan for the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS, submitted May 10, 2019, for all Serious PM2.5 area requirements (except contingency measures), including emissions inventories, best available control measures, demonstrations of attainment and reasonable further progress, quantitative milestones, and motor vehicle emission budgets. We may, however, reconsider this proposal if, based on new information or public comments, we find that the State has not satisfied the statutory criteria for a Serious area PM2.5 attainment plan. The EPA also proposes to disapprove the portions of the State's Serious area plan, and the contingency provisions of a third SIP submission regarding residential wood burning, that pertain to the Serious area contingency measurement requirements for the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the availability of and requesting public comment on a draft revision to the risk determination for the Cyclic Aliphatic Bromide Cluster (HBCD) risk evaluation issued under TSCA. The draft revision to the HBCD risk determination was developed following a review of the first ten risk evaluations issued under TSCA that was done in accordance with Executive Orders and other Administration priorities, including those on environmental justice, scientific integrity, and regulatory review, and this draft revision reflects the announced policy changes to ensure the public is protected from unreasonable risks from chemicals in a way that is supported by science and the law. Specifically, in this draft revision to the risk determination EPA finds that HBCD, as a whole chemical substance, presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health and the environment when evaluated under its conditions of use. This draft revision supersedes the condition of use-specific no unreasonable risk determinations in the September 2020 HBCD risk evaluation (and withdraw the associated order) and makes a revised determination of unreasonable risk for HBCD as a whole chemical substance. In addition, this draft revised risk determination does not reflect an assumption that workers always appropriately wear personal protective equipment (PPE).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Research and Development (ORD), gives notice of a virtual meeting of the Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC) Safe and Sustainable Water Resources (SSWR) Subcommittee to deliberate on their report of nutrients and harmful algal blooms research.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR) for EPA Program Information on Source Water Protection (OMB Control No. 2040-0197) 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 as described in this document. This is a proposed extension of the existing ICR, which is approved through July 31, 2022. 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.

EPA is required under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to make information publicly available and to publish information in the Federal Register pertaining to submissions under TSCA Section 5, including notice of receipt of a Premanufacture notice (PMN), Significant New Use Notice (SNUN) or Microbial Commercial Activity Notice (MCAN), including an amended notice or test information; an exemption application (Biotech exemption); an application for a test marketing exemption (TME), both pending and/or concluded; a notice of commencement (NOC) of manufacture (including import) for new chemical substances; and a periodic status report on new chemical substances that are currently under EPA review or have recently concluded review. This document covers the period from 11/01/2021 to 11/30/2021.

The Environmental Protection Agency announces an upcoming workshop on biofuel greenhouse gas (GHG) modeling. This is a virtual meeting and open to the public. The purpose of this workshop is to solicit information on the current scientific understanding of greenhouse gas modeling of land-based biofuels used in the transportation sector. The information gathered as part of this workshop will be used to inform a range of current and future actions, including EPA's methodology for quantifying the greenhouse gas emissions under the Renewable Fuels Standard. Through this workshop, we will initiate a public process for getting input on (i) how to incorporate the best available science into an update of our lifecycle analysis (LCA) of biofuels, and (ii) what steps EPA should take next in this work area. The meeting is being conducted by EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality in consultation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Energy.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), this document announces that EPA is planning to submit a request to renew and consolidate two existing approved Information Collection Requests (ICRs) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Before submitting the consolidated ICR to OMB for review and approval, EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection that is summarized in this document. The consolidated ICR is entitled: ``TSCA Section 5 Reporting and Recordkeeping for Premanufacture Review of New Chemical Substances and Significant New Use Rules for New and Existing Chemical Substances'' and identified by EPA ICR No. 2702.01 and OMB Control No. 2070-NEW. EPA is consolidating these two existing approved ICRs because the information required to be collected and maintained is similar for both collection activities. The ICR and accompanying material are available in the docket for public review and comment.

The Environmental Protection Agency has submitted an information collection request (ICR), ``NESHAP for Chemical Recovery Combustion Sources at Kraft, Soda, Sulfite, and Stand-Alone Semichemical Pulp Mills (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR Number 1805.11, OMB Control Number 2060-0377), 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 December 31, 2021. Public comments were previously requested, via the Federal Register, on February 8, 2021 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 (EPA) is approving a state implementation plan (SIP) revision from the State of Hawaii addressing requirements in the Clean Air Act (CAA or ``Act'') regarding interstate transport for the 2015 ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). Hawaii submitted a SIP revision on November 12, 2019, addressing the CAA provision prohibiting any source or other type of emissions activity in one state from emitting any air pollutant in amounts that will contribute significantly to nonattainment or interfere with maintenance of the NAAQS in any other state (the ``good neighbor'' provision). The EPA is finalizing approval of Hawaii's good neighbor SIP revision for the 2015 ozone NAAQS.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing a Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) rule that requires certain public water systems (PWSs) to collect national occurrence data for 29 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and lithium. Subject to the availability of appropriations, EPA will include all systems serving 3,300 or more people and a representative sample of 800 systems serving 25 to 3,299 people. If EPA does not receive the appropriations needed for monitoring all of these systems in a given year, EPA will reduce the number of systems serving 25 to 10,000 people that will be asked to perform monitoring. This final rule is a key action to ensure science- based decision-making and prioritize protection of disadvantaged communities in accordance with EPA's PFAS Strategic Roadmap. EPA is also announcing plans for public webinars to discuss implementation of the fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5).

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of bicyclopyrone in or on the fresh and dried forms of lemongrass, rosemary, and wormwood. Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC., requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

EPA has received applications to register new uses for pesticide products 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 document announces the Agency's receipt of initial filings of pesticide petitions requesting the establishment or modification of regulations for residues of pesticide chemicals in or on various commodities.

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of spinetoram in or on multiple commodities which are identified and discussed later in this document. Clarke Mosquito Control Products, Inc., requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is extending the expiration deadline of existing Federal, state, territory, and tribal certification plans. This deadline was established in 2017 when the EPA promulgated a final rule revising the Certification of Pesticide Applicators (CPA) regulations to improve the competency of certified applicators of restricted use pesticides (RUPs), increase protection for noncertified applicators using RUPs under the direct supervision of a certified applicator through enhanced pesticide safety training and standards for supervision of noncertified applicators, and establish a minimum age requirement for certified and noncertified applicators using RUPs under the direct supervision of a certified applicator. Federal, state, territory, and tribal certifying authorities with existing certification plans were required to revise their existing certification plans to conform with the updated Federal standards for the certification of applicators of RUPs and submit their revisions for EPA review in March 2020. The existing plans are set to expire on March 4, 2022, unless the revised plans are approved by the Agency. EPA is extending the existing plans' expiration deadline to November 4, 2022. This will allow additional time for proposed certification plan modifications to continue being reviewed and approved by EPA without interruption to federal, state, territory, and tribal certification programs or to those who are certified to use RUPs under those programs. The extension also provides EPA with additional time to issue a proposed rule and seek public comment on the need for extending the expiration date beyond November 4, 2022.

There will be a 3-day peer review virtual public meeting of the Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC) to consider and review the draft TSCA Systematic Review Protocol. In addition, EPA is announcing the availability of and soliciting public comments on the draft protocol. The draft protocol is based on a revised, generic approach to systematic review accounting for comments from prior SACC reviews of chemical risk evaluations and more recent recommendations from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM).

Notice is hereby given of the membership of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Performance Review Board for 2021.

On June 16, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the agency's decision to delay the effective and compliance dates of the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations: Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR), published on January 15, 2021, to allow time for EPA to review the rule in accordance with Presidential directives issued on January 20, 2021, to the heads of Federal agencies to review certain regulations, and conduct important consultations with affected parties. EPA has completed its review. The agency's review included a series of virtual public engagements to hear directly from a diverse set of stakeholders. This document describes the comments conveyed by stakeholders, EPA's decision to proceed with a proposed rule that would revise certain key sections of the LCRR while allowing the rule to take effect, and other non-regulatory actions that EPA and other Federal agencies can take to reduce exposure to lead in drinking water.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to find that the states of New York and Pennsylvania failed to submit State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions required by the Clean Air Act (CAA) in a timely manner to address reasonably available control technology (RACT) requirements associated with the 2016 Oil and Natural Gas Industry Control Techniques Guidelines (CTG) for reducing volatile organic compounds (VOC). The RACT requirements associated with the CTG apply in certain nonattainment areas for the 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and in states in the Ozone Transport Region (OTR). Both New York and Pennsylvania are in the OTR. This action triggers certain CAA deadlines for the EPA to impose sanctions if a state does not submit a complete SIP addressing the outstanding requirements and for the EPA to promulgate a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) if the EPA does not approve the state's SIP revision.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Mission Support, Office of Enterprise Information Programs is giving notice that it proposes to modify a system of records pursuant to the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974. eDiscovery Enterprise Tool Suite, EPA-63 is being modified to update the system manager, add locations where the data may be stored, modify Routine Use L, and add Routine Use M. The purpose of the system is to assist with the preservation, search, processing, review, and production of electronically stored information (ESI) in support of legal discovery or to respond to other formal information requests, such as FOIA requests and congressional inquiries. Unless noted in this modification, all exemptions and provisions included in the previously published system of record notice for eDiscovery Enterprise Tool Suite, EPA-63 will transfer to the modified system of record notice for eDiscovery Enterprise Tool Suite, EPA-63.

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 reduction of the maximum allowable sulfur content limit for Number 2 (No. 2) and lighter commercial fuel oil, generally sold and used for residential and commercial furnaces and oil heat burners for home or space heating, water heating or both, from the current limit of 500 parts per million (ppm) to 15 ppm. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).