Environmental Protection Agency January 22, 2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving changes to the Florida State Implementation Plan (SIP), submitted by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) on April 1, 2022. The final rule revision corrects definitions, updates and removes outdated references, clarifies rule applicability in several rules within the Florida SIP, and removes methods to determine visible emissions. EPA is approving the changes because they are consistent with the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).

In accordance with section 113(g) of the Clean Air Act, as amended (``CAA'' or ``the Act''), the Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA'' or ``the Agency'') is providing notice of a proposed consent decree in Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice v. United States Environmental Protection Agency, No. 4:23-cv-03571-YGR (N.D. Cal.). On July 19, 2023 and August 29, 2023, Plaintiff Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice and Plaintiffs East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, People's Collective for Environmental Justice, Sierra Club, and Communities for a Better Environment (collectively, ``Plaintiffs''), respectively, filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California alleging that EPA failed to perform its non-discretionary duty to take final action to approve or disapprove, or conditionally approve, in whole or in part, the California state implementation plan (SIP) submittal entitled South Coast Air Quality Management District Rule 2305, Warehouse Indirect Source RuleWarehouse Actions and Investments to Reduce Emissions Program (SCAQMD Rule 2305), submitted to EPA by the California Air Resources Board on or about August 13, 2021. The two cases are now consolidated. The proposed consent decree would establish a deadline for the EPA Administrator (``Administrator'') to sign a notice of final rulemaking for this action.

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 submissions 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 November 1, 2023, to November 30, 2023.