The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is modifying proposed amendments to the New Source Performance Standards and Emission Guidelines for Existing Sources for the Crude Oil and Natural Gas Source Category in response to petitions for reconsideration. This action corrects information collection estimates in the January 15, 2025 notice of proposed rulemaking.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing amendments to the New Source Performance Standards and Emission Guidelines for Existing Sources for the Crude Oil and Natural Gas Source Category in response to petitions for reconsideration. Specifically, this action proposes discrete technical changes to two different aspects of the rules. First, this action proposes discrete technical changes to the temporary flaring provisions for associated gas in certain situations. Second, this action proposes discrete technical changes to the vent gas net heating value (NHV) continuous monitoring requirements and alternative performance test (sampling demonstration) option for flares and enclosed combustion devices. In a letter dated May 6, 2024, the EPA notified petitioners and the public that the Agency granted reconsideration on these two aspects of the March 8, 2024 (89 FR 16820) final rule. These amendments neither propose changes to any other aspect of the final rule, nor propose to alter the substance of any emission standards within the final rule. Also, in this action, the EPA proposes to make formatting changes to the regulatory text to meet the required formatting standards of the Office of the Federal Register.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) is proposing to address the unreasonable risk of injury to human health presented by C.I. Pigment Violet 29 (CASRN 81-33-4, also known as PV29), under its conditions of use as documented in EPA's January 2021 Risk Evaluation for PV29 and the September 2022 Revised Risk Determination for PV29 prepared under TSCA. 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 the chemical no longer presents unreasonable risk. To address the identified unreasonable risk, EPA is proposing requirements to protect workers from the unreasonable risk of PV29 during manufacturing and processing, certain industrial and commercial uses of the chemical, and disposal, while also allowing for a reasonable transition period prior to enforcement of said requirements.
Based on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) review of the air quality criteria for ecological effects and secondary national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for oxides of nitrogen (N oxides), oxides of sulfur (SOX), and particulate matter (PM), the EPA is revising the existing secondary sulfur dioxide (SO2) standard to an annual average, averaged over three consecutive years, with a level of 10 parts per billion (ppb). Additionally, the Agency is retaining the existing secondary standards for N oxides and PM, without revision. The EPA is also finalizing revisions to the data handling requirements for the secondary SO2 NAAQS.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing amendments to the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) under the Clean Air Act (CAA) that apply to the Polyether Polyols (PEPO) Production industry (referred to as the PEPO NESHAP in this document). The EPA is proposing decisions resulting from the Agency's technology review of the PEPO NESHAP and decisions based on its reconsideration of certain issues raised in an administrative petition for reconsideration. Furthermore, the EPA is proposing to strengthen the emission standards for ethylene oxide (EtO) emissions after considering the results of a risk assessment for the PEPO NESHAP. The EPA is also proposing to require performance testing once every 5 years, to add work practice standards for certain activities where alternatives are appropriate, and to add provisions for electronic reporting. We estimate that the proposed amendments to the PEPO NESHAP, excluding the EtO emission standards, would reduce hazardous air pollutant (HAP) emissions from PEPO sources by approximately 157 tons per year (tpy). Additionally, the proposed EtO emission standards are expected to reduce EtO emissions by approximately 14 tpy. We also estimate that these proposed amendments to the NESHAP will reduce excess emissions of HAP from flares in the PEPO Production source category by an additional 75 tpy.
In this action, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgates revisions to the Guideline on Air Quality Models (“ Guideline ”). The Guideline has been incorporated into the EPA's regulations, satisfying a requirement under the Clean Air Act (CAA), for the EPA to specify, with reasonable particularity, models to be used in the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program. The Guideline provides EPA-preferred models and other recommended techniques, as well as guidance for their use in predicting ambient concentrations of air pollutants. The EPA is revising the Guideline, including enhancements to the formulation and application of the EPA's near-field dispersion modeling system, AERMOD, and updates to the recommendations for the development of appropriate background concentration for cumulative impact analyses.
The Regional Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Region 1 (“EPA”) is providing notice of two proposed actions today. The first action is the Preliminary Designation of certain stormwater discharges from commercial, industrial, and institutional properties with one acre or more of impervious surface in the Charles, Neponset, and Mystic River watersheds in Massachusetts for regulation under the Clean Water Act's (“CWA”) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) permitting program. Second, the Regional Administrator of the EPA Region 1 is concurrently providing notice of availability of a draft NPDES General Permit (“GP”) for Private Commercial Industrial, and Institutional (“CII”) Stormwater Discharges in the Charles, Mystic, and Neponset River Watersheds in Massachusetts (“Draft CII GP”). The Draft CII GP would regulate the identified stormwater discharges, as it is authorized to do under section 402 of the CWA, by requiring the implementation of Best Management Practices (“BMPs”) and meeting other limitations to meet water quality standards.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) is finalizing the Agency's first comprehensive revisions to the regulations governing Clean Water Act (CWA) section 404 Tribal and State programs since 1988. The primary purpose of the revisions is to respond to longstanding requests from Tribes and States to clarify the requirements and processes for the assumption and administration of a CWA section 404 permitting program for discharges of dredged and fill material. The revisions facilitate Tribal and State assumption and administration of CWA section 404, consistent with the policy of the CWA as described in section 101(b), by making the procedures and substantive requirements for assumption transparent and straightforward. It clarifies the minimum requirements for Tribal and State programs while ensuring flexibility to accommodate individual Tribal and State needs. In addition, the final rule clarifies the criminal negligence standard in the CWA section 404 program, as well as making a corresponding change in the section 402 program. Finally, the final rule makes technical revisions, including removing outdated references associated with the section 404 Tribal and State program regulations.
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.
This determination of acceptability expands the list of acceptable substitutes pursuant to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Significant New Alternatives Policy program. This action lists four substitutes as acceptable additional substitutes for use in the refrigeration and air conditioning and foam blowing sectors.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is correcting an error found in the Vessel Incidental Discharge National Standards of Performance final rule. The final rule appeared in the Federal Register on October 9, 2024. This correction removes a footnote superscript number “1” that was included in error, as there is no accompanying footnote text.
In December 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requested comment on the proposed the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI), which informed the revisions to the National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for lead and copper. After consideration of public comment on the LCRI, and consistent with the provisions set forth under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), the EPA is finalizing revisions to the NPDWR for lead and copper. In this rule, the agency is finalizing requirements for drinking water systems to replace lead and certain galvanized service lines. The final rule also removes the lead trigger level, reduces the lead action level to 0.010 mg/L, and strengthens tap sampling procedures to improve public health protection and simplify implementation relative to the 2021 Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR). Further, this final rule strengthens corrosion control treatment, public education and consumer awareness, requirements for small systems, and sampling in schools and child care facilities. The final rule will significantly reduce the adverse human health impacts of exposure to toxic lead in drinking water.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is promulgating a regulation under the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act that establishes Federal standards of performance for marine pollution control devices for discharges incidental to the normal operation of primarily non-Armed Forces and non-recreational vessels 79 feet in length and above into the waters of the United States or the waters of the contiguous zone. The Federal standards of performance were developed in coordination with the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and in consultation with interested Governors. The final standards, once made final, effective, and enforceable through corresponding USCG regulations addressing implementation, compliance, and enforcement, will control the discharge of pollutants from vessels described above and repeal certain existing Federal, State, and local vessel discharge requirements, thus streamlining regulation of such vessel incidental discharges. EPA is also promulgating procedures states must follow if they choose to petition EPA to require the use of an emergency best management practice to address aquatic nuisance species (ANS) or water quality concerns (“emergency order”), to review any standard of performance, regulation, or policy, to request additional requirements with respect to discharges in the Great Lakes, or to apply to EPA to prohibit one or more types of vessel discharges regulated by this rule into specified waters to provide greater environmental protection.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to add 16 individually listed per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and 15 PFAS categories to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) list of toxic chemicals subject to reporting under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) to comply with the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (NDAA). EPA also addresses how PFAS categories should be treated. Separately, EPA discusses what events may trigger the automatic addition of a PFAS to the TRI pursuant to the NDAA. This discussion does not propose to list chemicals to TRI pursuant to the NDAA, but rather describes what EPA documents and activities involving PFAS would trigger an automatic addition under the NDAA.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) is amending the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) regulations to extend the submission deadline for 2024 reports to November 22, 2024. This extension is for the 2024 submission period only. The TSCA CDR regulations require manufacturers (including importers) of certain chemical substances included on the TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory (TSCA Inventory) to report data on the manufacturing, processing, and use of the chemical substances.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is undertaking this rulemaking to assess the eligibility of six applications to receive priority access to allowances allocated pursuant to the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020. This rulemaking proposes the framework for how EPA will assess whether to renew the eligibility of applications to receive application-specific allowances; decisions to renew or not renew each of the six applications that currently receive application-specific allowances; revisions to the Technology Transitions regulations as relevant to the specific applications under review; a procedural process for submitting a petition to designate a new application as eligible for priority access to allowances; narrow revisions to the methodology used to allocate allowances to application-specific allowance holders for calendar years 2026 and beyond; and limited revisions to existing regulations. EPA is also proposing to authorize an entity to produce regulated substances for export. Lastly, EPA is proposing certain confidentiality determinations for newly reported information if this rulemaking is finalized as proposed.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is taking final action to remove regulations from the Code of Federal Regulations that have been vacated by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit related to the prohibition of disposable cylinders and tracking of cylinders of hydrofluorocarbons.
The EPA is finalizing requirements for sources that reclassify from major source status to area source status under the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) program. The requirements of this final rule apply to all sources that choose to reclassify after September 10, 2024. The final amendments include a requirement that sources subject to certain major source NESHAP used to meet the Agency's obligations under the Clean Air Act (CAA) for seven specific persistent and bioaccumulative pollutants must remain subject to those NESHAP even if the sources reclassify to area source status. This requirement is based on the EPA's analysis of the statute and of comments received on the EPA's 2023 proposal to amend requirements for NESHAP-regulated sources that choose to reclassify from major to area source status. These final amendments will assure that sources accounting for not less than 90 per centum of the aggregate emissions of each persistent and bioaccumulative hazardous air pollutant (HAP) listed in CAA remain subject to standards promulgated under the CAA, as the Act requires, and will thereby ensure continued health protections from NESHAP that regulate those HAP. Additionally, we are finalizing clarifications to notification requirements and updating language regarding submittal of confidential business information.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) is taking direct final action to amend the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) regulation with reporting and recordkeeping requirements for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). As promulgated in October 2023, the regulation requires manufacturers (including importers) of PFAS in any year between 2011-2022 to report certain data to EPA related to exposure and environmental and health effects. EPA is making a one-time modification to change the beginning of the data submission period from November 12, 2024, to July 11, 2025, with a corresponding change to the end of the submission period. EPA is also making a technical correction to address an error in the regulatory text. There are no other changes to the reporting and recordkeeping requirements in the existing rule under TSCA.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) is proposing to address the unreasonable risk of injury to human health presented by 1-bromopropane (1-BP) (CASRN 106-94-5), also known as n-propyl bromide, under its conditions of use as documented in EPA's August 2020 Risk Evaluation for 1-BP and the December 2022 Revised Risk Determination for 1-BP prepared under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 1-BP is a widely used solvent in a variety of occupational and consumer applications, including vapor degreasing, aerosol degreasing, adhesives and sealants, and in insulation. EPA determined that 1-BP presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health due to the significant adverse health effects associated with exposure to 1-BP, including neurotoxicity, developmental toxicity from acute and chronic inhalation exposures and dermal exposures, and cancer from chronic inhalation exposures. 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 the chemical no longer presents unreasonable risk. To address the identified unreasonable risk, EPA is proposing requirements to, among other things, prevent consumer access to the chemical, restrict the industrial and commercial use of the chemical while also allowing for a reasonable transition period where an industrial and commercial use of the chemical is being prohibited, and protect workers from the unreasonable risk of 1-BP while on the job.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is correcting final rules that appeared in the Federal Register on May 8, 2024, and May 16, 2024. This action corrects instructions allowing Office of Federal Register editors to codify the amendments from the rules. This action also includes express instructions to lift the stay of provisions granted on June 2, 2008 (73 FR 31372). The corrections to instructions in this document do not alter or change the content or text of any regulatory provision.
This action finalizes the residual risk and technology review conducted for the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for the Coke Ovens: Pushing, Quenching, and Battery Stacks (PQBS) source category and the periodic technology review for the Coke Oven Batteries (COB) source category NESHAP. The EPA is finalizing a determination that risks due to emissions of hazardous air pollutants (HAP) from the PQBS source category are acceptable and that the current NESHAP provides an ample margin of safety to protect public health.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is extending the comment period for the proposed rule entitled “Revisions to Standards for the Open Burning/Open Detonation of Waste Explosives.” EPA published the proposed rule in the Federal Register on March 20, 2024 (89 FR 19952) and the public comment period was scheduled to end on May 20, 2024. However, EPA has received requests for additional time to develop and submit comments on the proposal. In response to the requests for additional time, EPA is extending the comment period for an additional 31 days, through June 20, 2024.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is amending requirements that apply to the petroleum and natural gas systems source category of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule to ensure that reporting is based on empirical data, accurately reflects total methane emissions and waste emissions from applicable facilities, and allows owners and operators of applicable facilities to submit empirical emissions data that appropriately demonstrate the extent to which a charge is owed under the Waste Emissions Charge. The EPA is also amending certain requirements that apply to the general provisions, general stationary fuel combustion, and petroleum and natural gas systems source categories of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule to improve calculation, monitoring, and reporting of greenhouse gas data for petroleum and natural gas systems facilities. This action also establishes and amends confidentiality determinations for the reporting of certain data elements to be added or substantially revised in these amendments.