Environmental Protection Agency July 26, 2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or (the Agency) is finalizing certain amendments to the hazardous waste manifest regulations, and the hazardous waste electronic manifest (e-Manifest) regulations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to increase utility of the e-Manifest system in delivering benefits to reduce administrative burden and improve tracking of hazardous waste shipments, and to various related regulations. Among other things, EPA is finalizing changes to manifest regulations for shipments of hazardous waste that are exported for treatment, storage, and disposal. EPA is also finalizing regulatory changes to the hazardous waste export and import shipment international movement document-related requirements to more closely link the manifest data with the international movement document (hereafter referred to as "movement document") data. In addition, EPA is finalizing regulatory amendments to three manifest-related reports (i.e., Discrepancy, Exception, and Unmanifested Waste Reports). EPA is also finalizing conforming regulatory changes to the manifest regulations under the Toxic Substances and Control Act (TSCA) for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) wastes to better align these requirements with the RCRA manifest regulations and the e-Manifest program. Lastly, this action makes technical corrections to fix typographical errors in the e-Manifest and movement document regulations.

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 State of New York v. Regan, No. 1:23-cv-2767 (D.D.C.). On September 21, 2023, Plaintiffs New York, Alaska, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency (collectively, "Plaintiffs"), filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia alleging that EPA failed to perform certain non-discretionary duties pursuant to the CAA to, at least every 8 years, review and, if appropriate, revise New Source Performance Standards ("NSPS") or to promulgate a determination that such review "is not appropriate in light of readily available information on the efficacy of such standard[s]" for New Residential Wood Heaters ("NSPS subpart AAA") and New Residential Hydronic Heaters and Forced-Air Furnaces ("NSPS subpart QQQQ"). The proposed consent decree would establish deadlines for the EPA Administrator ("Administrator") to either sign proposed and final rulemakings as to these two NSPS subparts, or sign a final determination not to review, in accordance with the Act.