Environmental Protection Agency 2021 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

EPA issued a final rule in the Federal Register of April 19, 2021, establishing tolerances for residues of the insecticide metaflumizone in or on multiple commodities requested by BASF Corporation under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). That document inadvertently requested removal of tolerances for the crop group fruit, stone, group 12-12. This document corrects the final regulation.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to authorize changes to Arizona's hazardous waste program under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). These changes were outlined in an application to the EPA and correspond to certain Federal rules promulgated between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2020. The EPA reviewed Arizona's application and has determined that these changes satisfy all requirements needed to qualify for final authorization. Therefore, in the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of this Federal Register, we are authorizing Arizona for these changes as a direct final authorization without a prior proposed action. If we receive no adverse comment, we will not take further action on this proposed authorization.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Research and Development (ORD), gives notice of a series of virtual meetings of the Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC) Sustainable and Healthy Communities (SHC) Subcommittee to review the SHC research program. EPA's Sustainable and Healthy Communities (SHC) Research program provides technical solutions, tools, information, and other resources in three topic areas critical to fulfilling the Agency's mission to protect the environment and safeguard public health: Contaminated Sites; Waste and Materials Management; and Healthy and Resilient Communities.

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of metalaxyl in or on black pepper. American Spice Trade Association requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a revision to the North Carolina State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the State of North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Air Quality, via a letter dated April 13, 2021, and received by EPA on April 14, 2021. This revision contains minor clarifying and typographical edits to North Carolina's cotton ginning operations rule. EPA is proposing to approve these changes pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).

This notice announces the competition for the 2022 Clean Air Excellence Awards Program. EPA established the Clean Air Excellence Awards Program in February 2000 to recognize outstanding and innovative efforts that support progress in achieving clean air.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve in part and disapprove in part portions of a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of California to meet Clean Air Act (CAA or ``Act'') requirements for the 1997 24- hour fine particulate matter (PM2.5) national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) in the San Joaquin Valley nonattainment area. Specifically, the EPA is proposing to approve all but the contingency measure element of the submitted SIP revision as meeting all applicable Serious area and CAA section 189(d) requirements for the 1997 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS and is proposing disapproval of the contingency measure element. The EPA is also proposing to determine that the San Joaquin Valley air quality planning area has attained the 1997 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. This determination is based on sufficient, quality-assured, and certified data for 2018-2020. Based on our proposed finding that the San Joaquin Valley nonattainment area has attained the 1997 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS, we are proposing to determine that the requirement for contingency measures will no longer apply to the San Joaquin Valley nonattainment area for these NAAQS. Thus, the EPA is proposing to issue a protective finding for transportation conformity determinations for this proposed disapproval.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving parts of state implementation plan (SIP) submissions, submitted by the State of Alaska (Alaska or the State) to address Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) requirements for the 2006 24-hour fine particulate matter (PM2.5) national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) in the Fairbanks North Star Borough PM2.5 nonattainment area (Fairbanks PM2.5 Nonattainment Area). The EPA is also approving rule revisions and an associated air quality control plan chapter submitted by Alaska into the federally-approved SIP. Alaska made these submissions on October 25, 2018, November 28, 2018, December 13, 2019, (Fairbanks Serious Plan) and December 15, 2020.

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, 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 08/01/2021 to 08/31/2021.

The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), Notification of Episodic Releases of Oil and Hazardous Substances (Renewal) (EPA ICR Number 1049.15, OMB Control Number 2050-0046) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. Before doing so, EPA is soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described in SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through May 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.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Tennessee, through the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), Air Pollution Control Division, on June 23, 2020. The SIP revision includes the 1997 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) Limited Maintenance Plan (LMP) for the Montgomery County, Tennessee portion of the Clarksville-Hopkinsville Area (hereinafter referred to as the ``Montgomery County Area'' or ``Area''). The Clarksville-Hopkinsville Area is comprised of Montgomery County, Tennessee, and Christian County, Kentucky. EPA is proposing to approve Tennessee's LMP for the Montgomery County Area because it provides for the maintenance of the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS within the Montgomery County Area through the end of the second 10-year portion of the maintenance period. The effect of this action would be to make certain commitments related to maintenance of the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS in the Montgomery County Area federally enforceable as part of the Tennessee SIP.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water is announcing a virtual meeting of the National Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWAC or Council) as authorized under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The purpose of the meeting is to allow members of the NDWAC's Consumer Confidence Report Rule Revision (CCR3) Working Group to present their preliminary recommendations to the Council on targeted issues relating to CCR rule revisions as required under the America's Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) of 2018. Information about the CCR3 Working Group along with EPA's charge to the NDWAC, to provide advice and recommendations to the agency related to revisions of the CCR rule in the areas of accessibility challenges; advancing environmental justice to better support underserved communities; improving readability, understandability, clarity, and accuracy of information and risk communication of CCRs; and CCR delivery methods may be found on EPA's website at https://www.epa.gov/ndwac. The NDWAC will meet again at a later date to review the Working Group's final report to the Council and to develop advice and recommendations from the Council to EPA.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing notice of the availability of data on the administration of the assurance provisions of the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) trading programs for the control periods in 2020. Total emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOX) reported by Mississippi and Missouri units participating in the CSAPR NOX Ozone Season Group 2 Trading Program during the 2020 control period exceeded the respective states' assurance levels under the program. Data demonstrating the exceedances and EPA's final calculations of the amounts of additional allowances that the owners and operators of certain Mississippi and Missouri units must surrender have been posted in a spreadsheet on EPA's website.

Notice is hereby given that the State of Rhode Island and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are revising their respective approved Public Water System Supervision (PWSS) programs to meet the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).

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.

The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requires EPA to publish in the Federal Register a statement of its findings after its review of certain TSCA notices when EPA makes a finding that a new chemical substance or significant new use is not likely to present an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment. Such statements apply to premanufacture notices (PMNs), microbial commercial activity notices (MCANs), and significant new use notices (SNUNs) submitted to EPA under TSCA. This document presents statements of findings made by EPA on such submissions during the period from July 1, 2021 to July 31, 2021.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving revisions to the Iowa State Implementation Plan (SIP) to include changes to the Polk County Board of Health Rules and Regulations in addition to revisions from past submittals. The revisions update definitions and references to the effective dates of Federal rules approved into the State's SIP, prohibit burning of demolished buildings, update references to methods and procedures for performance test/stack test and continuous monitoring systems, and revise permitting exemptions. These revisions will not adversely impact air quality and will ensure consistency between the State and Federally approved rules.

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of pyraclostrobin in or on pomegranate. Interregional Research Project Number 4 (IR-4) requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to amend the National Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Emission Standards for Aerosol Coatings, which establishes reactivity-based emission standards for the aerosol coatings category (aerosol spray paints) under the Clean Air Act (CAA). In this action, the EPA is proposing to update coating category product-weighted reactivity limits for aerosol coatings categories; add new compounds and reactivity factors (RFs); update existing reactivity values; revise the default RF; amend the thresholds for compounds regulated by this document; and add electronic reporting provisions.

EPA is issuing significant new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for chemical substances which were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMNs). This action requires persons to notify EPA at least 90 days before commencing manufacture (defined by statute to include import) or processing of any of these chemical substances for an activity that is designated as a significant new use by this rule. This action further requires that persons not commence manufacture or processing for the significant new use until they have submitted a Significant New Use Notice (SNUN), EPA has conducted a review of the notice, made an appropriate determination on the notice, and has taken any risk management actions as are required as a result of that determination.

This notice announces issuance by all 10 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regions of the final 2021 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) pesticide general permit (PGP) the 2021 PGP. The 2021 PGP, which has an effective date of October 31, 2021, replaces the existing permit (2016 PGP) that expires at midnight on October 31, 2021, and authorizes certain point source discharges from the application of pesticides to waters of the United States in accordance with the terms and conditions described therein. EPA is issuing this permit for five (5) years in all areas of the country where EPA is the NPDES permitting authority.

The Clean Air Act (CAA) requires each State Implementation Plan (SIP) to contain adequate provisions prohibiting emissions that will have certain adverse air quality effects in other states. The State of Rhode Island made a submission to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address these requirements for the 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). EPA is proposing to approve the submission for Rhode Island as meeting the requirement that each SIP contain adequate provisions to prohibit emissions that will significantly contribute to nonattainment or interfere with maintenance of the 2015 ozone NAAQS in any other state.

As a result of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals' decision, dated August 27, 2020, in Sierra Club v. U.S. EPA, No. 19-2562 (3rd Cir. 2020), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to partially disapprove a specific part of a state implementation plan (SIP) revision that had been previously approved by EPA. On May 19, 2019, EPA fully approved certain parts of a SIP revision submitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to address reasonably available control technology (RACT) for the 1997 and 2008 ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS), and conditionally approved other parts of that submission. The court vacated EPA's approval of a portion of the SIP revision, as discussed below, and ordered that EPA either approve a new SIP revision addressing the court's decision or promulgate a federal implementation plan (FIP) within two years. EPA is therefore proposing to disapprove the portion of the SIP submission addressed by the court's decision. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).