Environmental Protection Agency January 2023 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving, under the Clean Air Act (CAA), a request submitted by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) on December 18, 2020, to revise the Michigan State Implementation Plan (SIP). EGLE's submittal addresses the emissions inventory and statement requirements for the Allegan County, Berrien County, Detroit (Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw, and Wayne Counties) and Muskegon County nonattainment areas under the 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS or standard). The CAA requires states to develop and submit, as SIP revisions, emission inventories for all ozone nonattainment areas. In this action, EPA is approving EGLE's emissions inventories for the Allegan County, Berrien County, and Muskegon County nonattainment areas under the 2015 ozone NAAQS and the removal of the repealed Act 348, Section 14a. EPA approved the portions of EGLE's December 18, 2020, submittal pertaining to the certification of EGLE's stationary annual emissions statement regulation and emissions inventories for the Detroit nonattainment area under the 2015 ozone NAAQS in a separate action on July 6, 2022.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of the Army (``the agencies'') are finalizing a rule defining the scope of waters protected under the Clean Water Act. In developing this rule, the agencies considered the text of the relevant provisions of the Clean Water Act and the statute as a whole, the scientific record, relevant Supreme Court case law, and the agencies' experience and technical expertise after more than 45 years of implementing the longstanding pre-2015 regulations defining ``waters of the United States.'' This final rule advances the objective of the Clean Water Act and ensures critical protections for the nation's vital water resources, which support public health, environmental protection, agricultural activity, and economic growth across the United States.

With this direct final rule, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing notice and codifying approval of a request submitted by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) on June 27, 2022 for delegation of authority to implement and enforce the Federal Plan Requirements for Hospital/Medical/ Infectious Waste Incinerators (HMIWI) Constructed On or Before December 1, 2008 (the Federal Plan), within the state of Colorado. The Federal Plan establishes emission limits and monitoring, operating, and recordkeeping requirements for HMIWI units constructed on or before December 1, 2008, or modified on or before April 6, 2010. A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was signed on July 21, 2022 by the CDPHE Air Pollution Control Division Director, Michael Ogletree. This MOA constitutes the mechanism for the transfer of authority from the EPA to CDPHE. The MOA became effective upon signature by Regional Administrator, KC Becker, on August 8, 2022. The MOA delineates policies, responsibilities, and procedures by which the Federal Plan will be administered and enforced by the CDPHE, as well as the authorities retained by EPA.

On December 1, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a rule titled ``New Source Performance Standards Review for Secondary Lead Smelters.'' The EPA is extending the comment period on this proposed rule that currently closes on January 17, 2023, by 15 days. The comment period will now remain open until February 1, 2023, to allow additional time for stakeholders and Tribal Nations to review and comment on the proposal.

The EPA is taking final action finding that the state of California has failed to submit state implementation plan (SIP) revisions for the Sacramento Metro nonattainment area to satisfy certain requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) for the 2008 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Specifically, these requirements pertain to the assessment and collection of fees under CAA section 185. This action triggers certain CAA deadlines for the imposition of sanctions if California does not submit the required SIP revisions within the specified timeframes. This finding also establishes a CAA deadline for the EPA to promulgate federal implementation plans (FIPs) to address the CAA section 185 requirements if the State does not submit or the EPA does not approve the State's section 185 SIP revisions.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a revision to Michigan's State Implementation Plan (SIP). On August 17, 2022, The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) submitted changes to Michigan's Air Pollution Control Rules, Emissions Limitations and ProhibitionsSulfur Bearing Compounds. The revision includes administrative changes to existing rules, updates material adopted by reference, and removes a definition.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing the approval of a revision to the North Carolina State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ), 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 nitrogen oxides (NOX) rule. EPA is approving these changes pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Commonwealth of Virginia. This revision pertains to the Commonwealth's plan, submitted by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VADEQ), for maintaining the 1997 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) (referred to as the ``1997 ozone NAAQS'') in the Richmond, Virginia Area (Richmond-Petersburg Area). This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responding to a rulemaking petition from the Center for Biological Diversity requesting that discarded polyvinyl chloride be listed as a hazardous waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. After careful consideration, the Agency is tentatively denying the petition for the reasons discussed in this document. The Agency is also soliciting public comment on this tentative denial.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to conditionally approve a source-specific State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Tennessee, through the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), through a letter dated August 11, 2021, which establishes alternative monitoring and reporting requirements under the Nitrogen Oxides (NOX) SIP Call.

Under the Clean Air Act (CAA or ``Act''), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a request from the State of California to reclassify the Coachella Valley ozone nonattainment area from ``Severe-15'' to ``Extreme'' for the 2008 ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). This action does not reclassify any areas of Indian country within the boundaries of the Coachella Valley 2008 ozone nonattainment area. Upon final reclassification of the Coachella Valley ozone nonattainment area as an Extreme nonattainment area for the 2008 ozone NAAQS, the applicable attainment dates would be as expeditiously as practicable but no later than July 20, 2032. The EPA is proposing to establish a deadline of no later than 18 months from the effective date of reclassification for submittal of revisions to the Coachella Valley portion of the California SIP to meet additional requirements for Extreme ozone nonattainment areas. Lastly, the EPA is proposing to extend our previous limited approval of the motor vehicle emissions budgets to new budgets to be developed as part of a SIP submission meeting the Extreme area requirements for the Coachella Valley.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve in part and disapprove in part the state implementation plan (SIP) revisions, 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). Alaska made these submissions on December 13, 2019, and December 15, 2020.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the availability of the final revision to the risk determination for the trichloroethylene (TCE) risk evaluation issued under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The revision to the TCE 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 TCE, 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 adequate occupational safety protections in place at certain 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 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 November 2020 TCE Risk Evaluation and withdraws the associated TSCA order included in the November 2020 TCE Risk Evaluation.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), ``National Estuary Program (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR No. 1500.11, OMB Control No. 2040-0138) 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 below. This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through September 30, 2023. An Agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information without a currently valid OMB control number.