Environmental Protection Agency January 2022 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA), as amended, authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to grant approval to States to operate their underground storage tank (UST) programs in lieu of the Federal program. The Commonwealth of Kentucky (Commonwealth or State) applied to the EPA for final approval of its UST Program on October 7, 2019, and on September 16, 2020, the EPA published a final determination and approval of the Commonwealth's UST Program. This action codifies the EPA's prior approval of the Commonwealth's UST Program, and incorporates by reference approved provisions of the State's statutes and regulations.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to submit an information collection request (ICR), ``Establishing No-Discharge Zones (NDZs) Under Clean Water Act Section 312 (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR No. 1791.09, OMB Control No. 2040-0187) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). Before doing so, the EPA solicits public comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described below. This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through August 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 approving multiple state implementation plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. These revisions were submitted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) to establish and require reasonably available control technology (RACT) for 14 major volatile organic compound (VOC) and/or nitrogen oxide (NOX) emitting facilities pursuant to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's conditionally approved RACT regulations. In this rule action, EPA is approving source-specific (also referred to as ``case- by-case'' or CbC) RACT determinations or alternative NOX emissions limits for sources at 14 major NOX and VOC emitting facilities within the Commonwealth submitted by PADEP. These RACT evaluations were submitted to meet RACT requirements for the 1997 and 2008 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). EPA is approving these revisions to the Pennsylvania SIP in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and EPA's implementing regulations.

This regulation establishes a tolerance for residues of nitrapyrin in or on cottonseed, crop subgroup 20C; cotton, gin byproducts; cotton, meal; rice, grain; and rice, straw. Corteva Agrosciences requested this tolerance under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving revisions to the Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency (YRCAA) regulations designed to control particulate matter from residential wood heaters, such as woodstoves and fireplaces. The updated YRCAA regulations set fine particulate matter trigger levels for impaired air quality burn bans, consistent with statutory changes enacted by the Washington State Legislature. The submission also contains updates to improve the clarity of the language and align with the statewide solid fuel burning device regulations already applicable in YRCAA's jurisdiction. We are approving these changes because they meet the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and strengthen the Washington State Implementation Plan (SIP).

This notice announces the withdrawal of broadly applicable alternative test method approval decisions for Alternatives 125 and 127 (or ALT-125 and ALT-127) that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made in 2018 under Standards of Performance for New Residential Wood Heaters.

There will be a 3-day public peer review virtual meeting of the Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC) to consider and review the draft EPA TSCA Screening Level Approach for Assessing Ambient Air and Water Exposures to Fenceline Communities Version 1.0. In addition, EPA is announcing the availability of and soliciting public comments on the draft approach, which will be presented as a screening level methodology for assessing potential air and water chemical exposures to fenceline communities.

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) Executive Committee (EC) Committee to finalize the BOSC's Air Climate and Energy (ACE), Sustainable and Healthy Communities (SHC), Safe and Sustainable Water Resources (SSWR), and Chemical Safety for Sustainability and Health & Environmental Risk Assessment (CSS and HERA) subcommittee reports.

This determination of acceptability expands the list of acceptable substitutes pursuant to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Significant New Alternatives Policy program. This action lists as acceptable additional substitutes for use in the refrigeration and air conditioning; foam blowing; aerosols; cleaning solvents; and adhesives, coatings, and inks sectors.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator signed an Order dated December 16, 2021, granting in part and denying in part a Petition dated August 29, 2017 from the Environmental Integrity Project, Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services, Sierra Club, Environment Texas, Air Alliance Houston, and Patricia Gonzales (the Petitioners). The Petition requested that the EPA object to a Clean Air Act (CAA) title V operating permit issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to Kinder Morgan Crude & Condensate LLC (Kinder Morgan) for its Galena Park Terminal located in Harris County, Texas.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving, as a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision, Wisconsin's certification that its SIP satisfies the nonattainment new source review (NNSR) requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) for the 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a virtual public hearing to be held on February 17, 2022, on its proposed rulemaking for particulate matter (PM) emission standards for aircraft engines, which was signed on December 17, 2021. This hearing is being rescheduled from the previous date of January 20, 2022.

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of ethaboxam in or on Brassica, leafy greens, subgroup 4-16B and Vegetable, Brassica, head and stem, group 5-16. The Interregional Research Project Number 4 (IR-4) requested these tolerance actions under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to disapprove a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Wyoming on May 14, 2020, and supplemented in September and October 2020, addressing regional haze (``Wyoming's 2020 SIP revision''). Wyoming's 2020 SIP revision reverses the State's 2011 decision that emission limits consistent with the installation of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) for the Jim Bridger power plant, Units 1 and 2, are necessary to make reasonable progress under the State's long-term strategy for the first regional haze planning period. The SIP revision contains a source-specific nitrogen oxide (NOX) reasonable progress analysis and determination that currently installed controls (low-NOX burners with separated overfire air (LNB/SOFA)) are sufficient for reasonable progress during the first planning period for Jim Bridger Units 1 and 2, and that the emission limits associated with the installation of SCR are no longer necessary. The SIP revision also contains plant-wide monthly and annual NOX and sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission limits for the Jim Bridger power plant, Units 1-4. EPA is proposing to disapprove this SIP revision in full. The agency is proposing this action pursuant to sections 110 and 169A of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is partially approving and partially disapproving a revision to the Ohio State Implementation Plan (SIP) intended to provide for attainment of the 2010 primary, health-based 1-hour sulfur dioxide (SO2) national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS or ``standard'') for the Muskingum River SO2 nonattainment area. This SIP revision (hereinafter referred to as the Muskingum River SO2 plan or plan) includes Ohio's attainment demonstration and other attainment planning elements required under the Clean Air Act (CAA). By this action, EPA is approving the base year emissions inventory and affirming that the nonattainment new source review requirements for the area have been met. EPA is disapproving the attainment plan, since the plan relies on, among other things, acquisition of a parcel of land by a facility located within the nonattainment area, Globe Metallurgical (Globe), that has not occurred. Additionally, EPA is disapproving the plan for failing to meet the requirements for meeting reasonable further progress (RFP) toward attainment of the NAAQS, reasonably available control measures/ reasonably available control technology (RACM/RACT), emission limitations and control measures as necessary to attain the NAAQS, and contingency measures.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Maryland. This revision consists of the base year inventory for the Maryland portion of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, PA-NJ-MD-DE marginal nonattainment area (Philadelphia Area) for the 2015 ozone national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS). This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to determine that the Sullivan County, Tennessee sulfur dioxide (SO2) nonattainment area failed to attain the 2010 1-hour SO2 primary National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS or standard) by the applicable attainment date of October 4, 2018, based upon a weight of evidence analysis of available quality-assured and certified SO2 ambient air monitoring data and SO2 emissions data from January 2015 through December 2017. If EPA finalizes this determination as proposed, the State of Tennessee will be required to submit revisions to the Tennessee State Implementation Plan (SIP) that, among other elements, provide for expeditious attainment of the 2010 SO2 standard.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Research and Development (ORD) is giving notice that it proposes to modify a system of records pursuant to the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974. This system will use SORN EPA-38. EPA-38 will be modified to change the name from Invention Reports to Federal Technology Transfer Act (FTTA) and Inventory for Patent Inventions (IfPI). Additionally, EPA is modifying the location, ownership, and categories of records in the FTTA and IfPI system. The purpose of the system is to provide the opportunity for the knowledge and expertise within the Agency to be shared with outside entities through collaborative agreements and licensing. Records are maintained for the purpose of documenting inventions made under EPA sponsorship, including filing patent applications, determining rights to inventions, licensing inventions, and ascertaining inventorship and priority of invention. Unless noted in this modification, all exemptions and provisions included in the previously published system of record notice for Invention Reports will transfer to the modified system of record notice for Federal Technology Transfer Act (FTTA) and Inventory for Patent Inventions (IfPI).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is redesignating the Rhinelander nonattainment area, which consists of a portion of Oneida County (Crescent Township, Newbold Township, Pine Lake Township, Pelican Township, and the City of Rhinelander), to attainment for the 2010 primary, health-based 1-hour sulfur dioxide (SO2) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). EPA is also approving Wisconsin's SO2 maintenance plan for the Rhinelander area. Wisconsin submitted the request for approval of the Rhinelander area's redesignation and maintenance plan on July 28, 2021. EPA approved Wisconsin's attainment plan for the Rhinelander area on October 22, 2021, with an effective date of December 31, 2021. EPA proposed to approve this action on November 17, 2021, and received no adverse comments.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing a limited approval and limited disapproval of a revision to the Amador Air District's (AAD or ``District'') portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision governs the District's issuance of permits for stationary sources, and focuses on the preconstruction review and permitting of major sources and major modifications under part D of title I of the Clean Air Act (CAA or ``Act''). Under the authority of the CAA, this action simultaneously approves a local rule that regulates these emission sources and directs the District to correct rule deficiencies.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving 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 finalizing approval of these changes pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).

This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of Acetic acid ethenyl ester, polymer with ethene, N-(hydroxymethyl)-2-propenamide, and 2-propenamide; (AM-E-NMA- VA) when used as an inert ingredient in a pesticide chemical formulation. Celanese Corporation Ltd., submitted a petition to EPA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), requesting an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. This regulation eliminates the need to establish a maximum permissible level for residues of Acetic acid ethenyl ester, polymer with ethene, N- (hydroxymethyl)-2-propenamide, and 2-propenamide (AM-E-NMA-VA) on food or feed commodities.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing revisions to its pesticide tolerance crop grouping regulations, which allow the establishment of tolerances for multiple related crops based on data from a representative set of crops. EPA is proposing amendments to Crop Group 6: Legume Vegetables; Crop Group 7: Foliage of Legume Vegetables; Crop Group 15: Cereal Grains; and Crop Group 16: Forage, Fodder and Straw of Cereal Grains. EPA is also proposing amendments to the associated commodity definitions. This is the sixth in a series of planned crop group updates expected to be prepared over the next several years.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA), Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM) is giving notice that it proposes to modify a system of records pursuant to the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974. Environmental Assessments of Residential Properties (EARP) is being modified to further clarify the nature of the information, and the ways in which that information may be used and shared with parties who are part of the evaluation and coordination process. This system of records contains information of individuals that is collected in the course of response and environmental assessment actions, including actions taken under a variety of EPA authorities. The information maintained under this System of Records Notice (SORN) is needed to support EPA's decision-making process on what actions may be necessary to address potential environmental impacts at residential properties, including necessary investigation and cleanup activities. This information is collected to ensure an appropriate and cohesive response to situations that may require EPA response activities, and to protect the health and welfare of residents who may be affected by conditions that present a potential environmental or public health threat. The information is maintained as needed for consideration and coordination of environmental response activities. This information may include individuals' contact information, information related to their address or place of residence, correspondence, and related environmental and public health information collected in the course of investigation, sampling, and cleanup work, as described in further detail below. All exemptions and provisions included in the previously published SORN for EARP will transfer to the modified SORN for EARP.