Environmental Protection Agency December 17, 2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended ("CERCLA"), notice is hereby given by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA"), Region 5, of a proposed administrative settlement for recovery of past response costs concerning the Licking Chemical Spill Site (Site) in Licking County, Ohio with William H. Trucking, LLC, as the Settling Party and Respondent.

This notice announces issuance by all 10 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regions of the final 2026 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) pesticide general permit (PGP) the 2026 PGP. The 2026 PGP, which has an effective date of October 31, 2026, replaces the existing permit (2021 PGP) that expires on October 30, 2026, and authorizes certain point source discharges from the application of pesticides to waters of the United States in accordance with the terms and conditions described therein. The EPA is issuing this permit for five (5) years in all areas of the country where the EPA is the NPDES permitting authority.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) is finalizing a rule to address the unreasonable risk of injury to health presented by trichloroethylene (TCE) under its conditions of use. TSCA requires that EPA address by rule any unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment identified in a TSCA risk evaluation and apply requirements to the extent necessary so that the chemical no longer presents unreasonable risk. EPA's final rule will, among other things, prevent serious illness associated with uncontrolled exposures to the chemical by preventing consumer access to the chemical, restricting the industrial and commercial use of the chemical while also allowing for a reasonable transition period with interim worker protections in place where an industrial and commercial use of the chemical is being prohibited, and provide time-limited exemptions for critical or essential uses of TCE for which no technically and economically feasible safer alternatives are available.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is determining that the Allegan County, MI; Berrien County, MI; Chicago, IL-IN-WI; Cleveland, OH; Milwaukee, WI; Muskegon County, MI; Sheboygan County, WI; and Illinois portion of the St. Louis, MO-IL areas failed to attain the 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) by the applicable attainment date. The effect of failing to attain by the applicable attainment date is that the areas will be reclassified by operation of law to "Serious" nonattainment for the 2015 ozone NAAQS on January 16, 2025, the effective date of this final rule. This action fulfills EPA's obligation under the Clean Air Act (CAA) to determine whether ozone nonattainment areas attained the NAAQS by the attainment date and to publish a document in the Federal Register identifying each area that is determined as having failed to attain and identifying the reclassification.

On July 25, 2024, the State of Washington (WA) submitted a request for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to redesignate to attainment a portion of Whatcom County immediately surrounding the now permanently closed aluminum smelter, Intalco Aluminum LLC, which the EPA designated nonattainment for the 2010 1-hour primary sulfur dioxide (SO2) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). Washington also submitted a request for the EPA to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision containing a maintenance plan for the area. The EPA is taking the following final actions: we have determined that the Whatcom County (partial) SO2 nonattainment area (Whatcom County area or area) is attaining the 2010 1-hour primary SO2 NAAQS; we are approving Washington's plan for maintaining attainment of the 2010 1- hour primary SO2 NAAQS in the area; and we are redesignating the Whatcom County area to attainment for the 2010 1-hour primary SO2 NAAQS.

The Environmental Protection Agency (the EPA or the Agency) is amending a Federal Clean Water Act (CWA) rule, the California Toxics Rule, to promulgate a final, revised statewide chronic freshwater selenium water quality criterion applicable to certain California waters to protect aquatic life and aquatic-dependent wildlife from exposure to toxic levels of selenium. This revised criterion builds upon the science underlying the EPA's current national CWA section 304(a) recommended aquatic life freshwater criterion for selenium.

In accordance with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), EPA is issuing a notice of receipt of requests by the registrants to voluntarily cancel their registrations of certain product registrations and/or to amend their product registrations to terminate one or more uses. EPA intends to grant these requests at the close of the comment period for this announcement unless the Agency receives substantive comments within the comment period that would merit its further review of the requests, or unless the registrants withdraw its requests. If these requests are granted, any sale, distribution, or use of products listed in this notice will be permitted after the registrations have been cancelled and/or uses have been terminated only if such sale, distribution, or use is consistent with the terms as described in the final order.