Environmental Protection Agency – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of New York for purposes of certifying and meeting the requirements for Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) for the Serious classification of the 2008 and Moderate classification of the 2015 8-hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The EPA is also approving that this SIP revision fulfills SIP requirements pertaining to the Ozone Transport Region (OTR) for the 2015 Ozone NAAQS. The EPA is approving the demonstration portion of the comprehensive SIP revision submitted by New York that certifies that the State has satisfied the requirements for an Ozone nonattainment new source review program, certifies that the State has satisfied the requirements for a nonattainment emission inventory, and certifies that the State has satisfied the requirements for clean fuels for fleets. In addition, the EPA is approving New York's reasonable further progress plans and motor vehicle emissions budgets for both the Moderate and Serious classifications of the 2008 ozone NAAQS. These actions are being taken in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invites the public to nominate scientific experts from a diverse range of disciplines to be considered for appointment to the Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC), established pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). EPA anticipates appointing new SACC members by mid-2024 due to expiring membership terms. Sources in addition to this Federal Register Notice will be utilized to solicit nominations and identify candidates. Any interested person or organization may nominate qualified individuals to be considered prospective candidates for the committee by following the instructions provided in this document. Individuals may also self-nominate.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing its approval or conditional approval of 26 amended certification plans for certifying applicators of Restricted Use Pesticides (RUPs) from the following certifying authorities: Arkansas Department of Agriculture (ADA), Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe's Water, Energy and Environment Committee (CRST-WEEC), Clemson University Division of Regulatory and Public Service Programs, Department of Pesticide Regulation (CUDPR), Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), Guam Environmental Protection Agency (Guam- EPA), Idaho State Department of Agriculture (ISDA), Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDA), Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA), Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF), Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Board of Pesticides Control (ME BPC), Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR), Missouri Department of Agriculture (MODA), Montana Department of Agriculture (MTDA), New Mexico Department of Agriculture (NMDA), Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA), Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry (ODAFF), Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA), the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation (PBPN), the Santee Sioux Nation (SSN), Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TNDA), Texas Department of Agriculture (TXDA), the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation's Natural Resources Department (TAT/NRD), Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF), Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), the White Earth Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe (WE), and Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (WDATCP). The 26 plans listed in this batched notice represents the fifth notification announcing the approval of the federal, state, territory, and tribal certification plans that have gone through the review and approval process. The amended plans are consistent with the existing regulatory requirements, including revisions made in 2017 to enhance and improve the competency of certified applicators of RUPs and persons working under their direct supervision. The 2017 regulatory revisions are intended to further reduce potential exposure of RUPs to certified applicators and those working under their direct supervision, other workers, the public, and the environment. Federal, state, territory, and tribal certifying authorities with existing certification plans were required to revise their existing plans to conform with the updated federal standards for RUP applicator certification and receive EPA approval by the established regulatory deadline.

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a public meeting of the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee (CAAAC). The EPA renewed the CAAAC charter on October 31, 2022, to provide independent advice and counsel to EPA on economic, environmental, technical, scientific and enforcement policy issues associated with implementation of the Clean Air Act of 1990.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to revise the Agency's Privacy Act regulations to exempt a new system of records, EPA-100, OIG Data Analytics Enterprise, from certain requirements of the Privacy Act. In this rulemaking, the Agency exempts portions of this system from certain provisions of the Privacy Act because of law enforcement requirements and to avoid interference during the conduct of criminal, civil, or administrative actions or investigations. Additionally, EPA is taking direct final action to revise the Agency's Privacy Act regulations to update the names of systems of records with general and specific exemptions, change wording to reflect that the Office of Inspector General (OIG) is an independent component of EPA, incorporate the revised citation for the Inspector General Act of 1978 and to remove specific systems of record which are no longer exempt.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) is giving notice that it proposes to create a new a system of records pursuant to the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974. OIG Data Analytics Enterprise is being created to store and maintain records collected by EPA OIG that are necessary in order to fulfill the responsibilities of the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended. The EPA OIG will use this system of records to develop data models and analytical assessments that will assist with the performance of audits, evaluations, investigations, and reviews in order to identify fraud, waste, mismanagement, and abuse relating to the programs and operations of the EPA.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to approve revisions to the California state implementation plan (SIP) concerning vehicle miles traveled (VMT) offset demonstrations for the Los Angeles-South Coast Air Basin (South Coast), Riverside County (Coachella Valley), Los Angeles-San Bernadino Counties (West Mojave Desert), and San Joaquin Valley nonattainment areas (NAAs) for the 2015 ozone national ambient air quality standards (2015 ozone NAAQS). The EPA is taking action to approve these revisions because they demonstrate that California has added or implemented specific enforceable transportation control strategies and transportation control measures to offset the growth in emissions from growth in VMT and vehicle trips. We are taking final action to approve these revisions under the Clean Air Act (CAA or ``the Act''), which establishes VMT offset demonstration requirements for ozone nonattainment areas classified as ``Severe'' or ``Extreme.''

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA or Agency) Personnel Security Branch (PSB) is giving notice that it proposes to modify a system of records pursuant to the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974. The Personnel Security System (PSS) 2.0 is being modified to include a new module, which the Agency will use to administer its Insider Threat Program. The new module will collect records about individuals to assist the Agency with insider threat inquiry management and coordination. The module will retain insider threat inquiry-related data and help EPA personnel coordinate responses to those inquiries. Collecting this data ensures the effective and timely processing of records.

Notice is hereby given that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has designated one new equivalent method for measuring concentrations of Lead (pb), and one new equivalent method for measuring concentrations of Particulate Matter (PM10) in ambient air.

The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), ``Control of Evaporative Emissions from New and In-Use Portable Gasoline Containers (Renewal)'', ICR 2213.07, OMB 2060-0597 to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. Before doing so, EPA is soliciting public comment on specific aspects of the proposed information collection request as described below. This notice is a proposed extension of the Portable Fuel Container ICR, which is currently approved through January 31, 2024. An Agency may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of North Carolina through the North Carolina Division of Air Quality (NCDAQ) via a letter dated April 13, 2021. The SIP revision seeks to modify the State's emission control standards by amending several air quality rules and removing a redundant rule for electric utility boilers. EPA is approving these changes pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR) renewal, ``Clean School Bus (CSB) Rebate Program'' (EPA ICR No. 2461.05, OMB Control No. 260- 0686 (Renewal) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. Before doing so, EPA is soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described below. An Emergency ICR No. 2780.01 was approved by OMB in September 2023 that included additional data necessary to adequately review and administer the CSB Rebate Program. This ICR renewal consolidates all components of the CSB Rebate Program collection and renews the existing ICR No. 2461.04, which is currently approved through August 31, 2025. An Agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to correct sections in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), erroneously caused by administrative oversight, to reflect the current status of conditional approval provisions in the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). These corrections concern Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District's (AVAQMD's) reasonably available control technology (RACT) SIP demonstration requirements for the 1997 and 2008 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and Imperial County Air Pollution Control District's (ICAPCD's) RACT SIP demonstration requirements for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a revision to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision concerns emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from vapor recovery systems of gasoline cargo tanks. We are proposing to approve a local rule to regulate these emission sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act). We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a final action.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water is announcing a meeting of the National Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWAC or Council) as authorized under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The primary purposes of the meeting are: for EPA to consult with the NDWAC as required by the SDWA on a final National Primary Drinking Water Regulation: Lead and Copper Rule Improvements; and for the NDWAC to review the report of the Microbial and Disinfection Byproducts (MDBP) Rule Revisions Working Group to the Council and to develop advice and recommendations from the Council to the EPA Administrator on issues included in EPA's November 2021 charge to the Council on potential revisions to MDBP rules. Additional details will be provided in the meeting agenda, which will be posted on EPA's NDWAC website prior to the meeting. See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this announcement for more information.

Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), the United States Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to enter into an Administrative Settlement Agreement for Remedial Design/Remedial Action by Prospective Purchaser with Cone Mills Acquisition Group, LLC, concerning the U.S. Finishing, LLC and Cone Mills Corporation Superfund Site. The settlement agreement addresses a Remedial Design/Remedial Action to be performed at the site by Cone Mills Acquisition Group, LLC, a Prospective Purchaser.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an information collection request (ICR), ``On-Highway Motorcycle Certification and Compliance Program'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through October 31, 2023. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on July 31, 2023, during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to address the unreasonable risk of injury to human health presented by trichloroethylene (TCE) under its conditions of use as documented in EPA's November 2020 Risk Evaluation for TCE and January 2023 revised risk determination for TCE pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). TCE is widely used as a solvent in a variety of industrial, commercial and consumer applications including for hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) production, vapor and aerosol degreasing, and in lubricants, greases, adhesives, and sealants. TSCA requires that when EPA determines a chemical substance presents unreasonable risk that EPA address by rule the unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment and apply requirements to the extent necessary so the chemical no longer presents unreasonable risk. EPA determined that TCE presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health due to the significant adverse health effects associated with exposure to TCE, including non-cancer effects (liver toxicity, kidney toxicity, neurotoxicity, immunotoxicity, reproductive toxicity, and developmental toxicity) as well as cancer (liver, kidney, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma) from chronic inhalation and dermal exposures to TCE. TCE is a neurotoxicant and is carcinogenic to humans by all routes of exposure. The most sensitive adverse effects of TCE exposure are non-cancer effects (developmental toxicity and immunosuppression) for acute exposures and developmental toxicity and autoimmunity for chronic exposures. To address the identified unreasonable risk, EPA is proposing to: prohibit all manufacture (including import), processing, and distribution in commerce of TCE and industrial and commercial use of TCE for all uses, with longer compliance timeframes and workplace controls for certain processing and industrial and commercial uses (including proposed phaseouts and time-limited exemptions); prohibit the disposal of TCE to industrial pre-treatment, industrial treatment, or publicly owned treatment works, with a time-limited exemption for cleanup projects; and establish recordkeeping and downstream notification requirements.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, ``the Agency'') is proposing to amend the procedural framework rule for conducting risk evaluations under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The purpose of risk evaluations under TSCA is to determine whether a chemical substance presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment, without consideration of costs or non-risk factors, including unreasonable risk to potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulations identified as relevant to the risk evaluation by EPA, under the conditions of use. EPA has reconsidered the procedural framework rule for conducting such risk evaluations and determined that certain aspects of that framework should be revised to better align with applicable court decisions and the statutory text, to reflect the Agency's experience implementing the risk evaluation program following enactment of the 2016 TSCA amendments, and to allow for consideration of future scientific advances in the risk evaluation process without need to further amend the Agency's procedural rule.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the availability of and soliciting comment on the near-term strategies described in this document to help the Agency meet its obligations and commitments under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), which requires, among other things, that EPA screen for and protect against endocrine disrupting effects in humans. An important part of these obligations and commitments is the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP), which EPA established in 1998 as a two-tier endocrine screening and testing process for pesticides and other chemicals. After over two decades of implementing the EDSP and other aspects of the mandate in FFDCA, EPA has developed near-term strategies to begin addressing the challenges it has encountered and to rebuild the EDSP. This document covers only the initial strategies that EPA is taking over the next several years to generate momentum toward its longer-term goal of timely addressing all its endocrine screening data needs and decisions. Through this notice and to help implement its strategies, EPA is also seeking additional endocrine data on two groups of active ingredients currently undergoing registration review, or explanations of why the additional data are unnecessary for EPA to make its FIFRA and FFDCA decisions.

EPA is required under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), as amended by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, to make information publicly available and to publish information in the Federal Register pertaining to submissions under TSCA section 5, including notice of receipt of a Premanufacture notice (PMN), Significant New Use Notice (SNUN) or Microbial Commercial Activity Notice (MCAN), including an amended notice or test information; an exemption application (Biotech exemption); an application for a test marketing exemption (TME), both pending and/or concluded; a notice of commencement (NOC) of manufacture (including import) for new chemical substances; and a periodic status report on new chemical substances that are currently under EPA review or have recently concluded review. This document covers the period from 9/1/ 2023 to 9/30/2023.

EPA has received applications to register new uses for pesticide products containing currently registered active ingredients. Pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), EPA is hereby providing notice of receipt and opportunity to comment on these applications.

Pursuant to the Federal Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve the CAA section 111(d) state plan revision submitted by the State of Arkansas for existing kraft pulp mills subject to the Kraft Pulp Mills Emission Guidelines (EG). The Arkansas section 111(d) plan revision for kraft pulp mills contains administrative changes to the state regulations and also aligns compliance testing requirements to be consistent with EPA's kraft pulp mills new source performance standards. EPA is also notifying the public that we have received a CAA section 111(d) negative declaration from Arkansas for existing sulfuric acid plants subject to the Sulfuric Acid Plants EG. This negative declaration certifies that existing sulfuric acid plants subject to the Sulfuric Acid Plants EG and the requirements of sections 111(d) of the CAA do not exist within Arkansas. The EPA is proposing to approve the state plan revision for existing kraft pulp mills, accept the negative declaration for existing sulfuric acid plants and withdraw approval of the Arkansas state plan for existing sulfuric acid plants, and amend the agency regulations in accordance with the requirements of the CAA.