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

The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), ``Recordkeeping Requirements for Producers, of Pesticides and Pesticide Devices under 40 CFR part 169'' (EPA ICR No. 0143.13, OMB Control No. 2070-0028) 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 below. This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through November 30, 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.

This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of thymol (5-methyl-2-isopropyl-1-phenol) in or on all food commodities when used in accordance with good agricultural practices. Sci Reg, Inc., on behalf of Eden Research PLC, 6 Priory Ct., Priory Court Business Park, Poulton, Cirencester, GL7 5JB, United Kingdom, 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 thymol when used in accordance with this exemption.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the availability of the final revision to the risk determination for the Colour Index Pigment Violet 29 (PV29) risk evaluation issued under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The revision to the PV29 risk determination 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. EPA determined that PV29, as a whole chemical substance, presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health when evaluated under its conditions of use. In addition, this revised risk determination does not reflect an assumption that workers always appropriately wear personal protective equipment (PPE). EPA understands that there could be occupational safety protections in place at workplace locations; however, not assuming use of PPE reflects EPA's recognition that unreasonable risk may exist for subpopulations of workers that may be highly exposed because they are not covered by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards, or their employers are out of compliance with OSHA standards, or because many of OSHA's chemical-specific permissible exposure limits largely adopted in the 1970's are described by OSHA as being ``outdated and inadequate for ensuring protection of worker health,'' or because OSHA has not issued a chemical-specific permissible exposure limit (PEL) (as is the case for PV29), or because EPA finds unreasonable risk for purposes of TSCA notwithstanding OSHA requirements. This revision supersedes the condition of use-specific no unreasonable risk determinations in the January 2021 PV29 Risk Evaluation and withdraws the associated TSCA order included in the January 2021 PV29 Risk Evaluation.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 10 is extending the time requirement to allow the EPA Region 10 Regional Administrator to consider all public comments received on its 2022 Proposed Determination to Prohibit and Restrict the Use of Certain Waters within Defined Areas as Disposal Sites; Pebble Deposit Area, Southwest Alaska, issued pursuant to the Clean Water Act (CWA).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action on the authorization of Florida's changes to its 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, 1987 and June 30, 2020. We have determined that these changes satisfy all requirements needed for final authorization.

EPA is finalizing an optional alternative renewable identification number (RIN) retirement schedule for small refineries under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program for the 2020 compliance year. Small refineries that elect to use the alternative RIN retirement schedule will have to fully comply with their 2020 RFS obligations including any RIN deficits from 2019 carried forward into the 2020 compliance yearby February 1, 2024. EPA is taking this action because small refineries may need more time to plan for compliance with their RFS obligations given EPA's delay in deciding small refinery exemption (SRE) petitions and setting the associated compliance deadlines.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing approval of source-specific revisions to the Missouri State Implementation Plan (SIP) received on April 21, 2022. In the submission, Missouri requests that the EPA incorporate into the SIP an additional sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions limit for the Ameren Missouri (Ameren)Sioux Energy Center (Sioux). Specifically, the EPA is proposing to approve, into the SIP, an additional SO2 emissions limit and associated operating restrictions, monitoring, recordkeeping, reporting (MRR) and testing compliance requirements established in a consent agreement as permanent and enforceable SO2 control measures.

On November 23, 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule titled ``Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; State of Arizona; Revised Format for Materials Incorporated by Reference.'' That publication inadvertently omitted an entry for a regulation approved as part of the Maricopa County portion of the Arizona State Implementation Plan (SIP) and contained certain other errors. The EPA is proposing to correct this omission and to correct the other errors. The regulations affected by this correcting amendment have all been previously submitted by the State of Arizona and approved by the EPA.