Environmental Protection Agency October 5, 2022 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is making a determination that the St. Bernard Parish sulfur dioxide (SO2) nonattainment area (``St. Bernard area'' or ``area'') failed to attain the primary 2010 one-hour SO2 national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act) by the applicable attainment date of October 4, 2018. This determination is based upon consideration of and review of all relevant and available information for the St. Bernard area leading up to the area's attainment date of October 4, 2018, including emissions and monitoring data, compliance records for the area's primary SO2 source, the Rain CII Carbon, LLC (Rain) facility, and air quality dispersion modeling based on the allowable limits.

On December 29, 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or ``Agency'') published a proposed rule to approve the State of California's Serious area plan for the San Joaquin Valley (SJV) for the 2012 annual fine particulate matter (PM2.5) national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for all Serious PM2.5 area planning requirements, except for contingency measures, which the EPA proposed to disapprove. Based on adverse comments submitted on that proposed rule and as a result of a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision on a related SJV PM2.5 rulemaking for the 2006 24- hour PM2.5 NAAQS, the EPA has reconsidered its prior proposal and now proposes to disapprove the State's plan for certain Serious area planning requirements for the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. The nonattainment plan elements that the EPA proposes to disapprove include the plan's best available control measures (BACM) demonstration for ammonia and building heating, demonstrations of attainment and reasonable further progress, quantitative milestones, and motor vehicle emission budgets. The EPA is also proposing to disapprove the State's optional precursor demonstration for ammonia. We are not re-proposing any action on the Serious area requirements for emissions inventories nor contingency measures; our prior proposal to approve the emissions inventory element and to disapprove the contingency measure element of the nonattainment plan requirements for the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS remains unchanged. The EPA will accept comments on this new proposed rule during a 45-day public comment period and public hearing, as described in this notice.

Through this Request for Information (RFI), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeks to promote and advance the widespread adoption of actions that lead to improvements in indoor air quality (IAQ) in the nation's building stock to help mitigate disease transmission (e.g., COVID-19). The agency is announcing a 60-day public comment period to solicit information and recommendations from a broad array of individuals and organizations with knowledge and expertise relating to the built environment and health, indoor air quality, epidemiology, disease transmission, social sciences and other disciplines. EPA will analyze information received from this RFI to consider and support the potential development, improvement, and implementation of technical assistance efforts (e.g., information, tools, training, guidance) and other strategies (e.g., incentives, recognition efforts) to support IAQ related improvements in the nation's building stock, with a particular emphasis on schools and commercial buildings.

The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public meeting of the Chartered Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) and CASAC Ozone Review Panel to discuss a draft CASAC report on EPA's 2020 Ozone Integrated Science Assessment (ISA).

This notice announces the availability of EPA's proposed revisions to the proposed interim registration review decision and opens a 60-day public comment period on the proposed revisions to the proposed interim decision for methomyl.