Search

Low and Zero Emission Vehicle Programs.

Proposed Rule - Adopting certain provisions of California regulations for Low- Emission Vehicle and Zero- Emission Vehicle programs relating to air quality.

Significant New Use Rules on Certain Chemical Substances.

Proposed rule - EPA is proposing significant new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for chemical substances which are the subject of premanufacture notices (PMNs) . This action would require persons to notify EPA at least 90 days before commencing manufacture (defined by statute to include import) or processing of any of these chemical substances for an activity that is designated as a significant new use by this proposed rule. This action would further require that persons not commence manufacture or processing for the significant new use until they have submitted a Significant New Use Notice (SNUN), and EPA has conducted a review of the notice, made an appropriate determination on the notice under TSCA, and has taken any risk management actions as are required as a result of that determination.

National Organic Program; Strengthening Organic Enforcement.

Proposed rule - The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) proposes amending the USDA organic regulations to strengthen oversight and enforcement of the production, handling, and sale of organic agricultural products. The proposed amendments are intended to protect integrity in the organic supply chain and build consumer and industry trust in the USDA organic label by strengthening organic control systems, improving farm to market traceability, and providing robust enforcement of the USDA organic regulations. Topics addressed in this proposed rule include: Applicability of the regulations and exemptions from organic certification; National Organic Program Import Certificates; recordkeeping and product traceability; certifying agent personnel qualifications and training; standardized certificates of organic operation; unannounced on-site inspections of certified operations; oversight of certification activities; foreign conformity assessment systems; certification of grower group operations; labeling of nonretail containers; annual update requirements for certified operations; compliance and appeals processes; and calculating organic content of multi-ingredient products.

Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Clothes Washers and Clothes Dryers.

Notice of proposed rulemaking - The Energy Policy and Conservation Act, as amended ("EPCA"), prescribes energy conservation standards for various consumer products and certain commercial and industrial equipment, including residential clothes washers and consumer clothes dryers. In this notice of proposed rulemaking ("NOPR"), the Department of Energy (DOE) proposes to establish separate product classes for top-loading residential clothes washers and consumer clothes dryers that offer cycle times for a normal cycle of less than 30 minutes, and for front-loading residential clothes washers that offer cycle times for a normal cycle of less than 45 minutes. DOE would consider appropriate energy and water efficiency standards for such product classes, if adopted, in separate rulemakings.

Energy Conservation Program: Test Procedure for Showerheads.

Notice of proposed rulemaking and announcement of public meeting - The U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE") proposes to amend the existing test procedure for showerheads to revise the definition of a showerhead consistent with the most recent standard developed by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers ("ASME") in 2018. DOE's current definition considers all of the individual showerheads (which DOE has termed variously as sprays, openings, or nozzles) in a product containing multiple showerheads together for purposes of compliance with the water conservation standard established in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act ("EPCA") . DOE proposes instead to define showerhead as that term is defined in the 2018 ASME standard, such that each showerhead in a product containing multiple showerheads would be considered separately for purposes of determining standards compliance, and only one of them would need to be turned on for testing. DOE has determined that the proposed definition is consistent with EPCA and, unlike the current definition, compliant with Office of Management and Budget ("OMB") Circular A-119. In addition, the proposed definition is consistent with DOE's treatment of other products, such as body sprays. DOE also proposes to define the terms "body spray" and "safety shower showerhead" to clarify which products are not subject to the current energy conservation standard. DOE invites comment on all aspects of this proposal, and announces a public webinar to collect comments and data on its proposal.

Control of Air Pollution From Airplanes and Airplane Engines: GHG Emission Standards and Test Procedures.

Proposed rule - The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing greenhouse gas ( GHG ) emission standards applicable to certain classes of engines used by certain civil subsonic jet airplanes with a maximum takeoff mass greater than 5,700 kilograms and by certain civil larger subsonic propeller-driven airplanes with turboprop engines having a maximum takeoff mass greater than 8,618 kilograms. These proposed standards are equivalent to the airplane CO2 standards adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in 2017 and would apply to both new type design airplanes and in-production airplanes. The standards proposed in this rule are the equivalent of the ICAO standards, consistent with U.S. efforts to secure the highest practicable degree of uniformity in aviation regulations and standards. The proposed standards would, if finalized, also meet the EPA's obligation under section 231 of the Clean Air Act to adopt GHG standards for certain classes of airplanes as a result of the 2016 "Finding That Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Aircraft Cause or Contribute to Air Pollution That May Reasonably Be Anticipated To Endanger Public Health and Welfare" (hereinafter "2016 Findings")-- for six well-mixed GHGs emitted by certain classes of airplane engines. Airplane engines emit only two of the six well-mixed GHGs , CO2 and nitrous oxide (N2O) . Accordingly, EPA is proposing to use the fuel-efficiency-based metric established by ICAO, which reasonably serves as a surrogate for controlling both the GHGs emitted by airplane engines, CO2 and N2O.

Significant New Use Rules on Certain Chemical Substances (20-8.B).

Proposed rule - EPA is proposing significant new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for chemical substances which are the subject of premanufacture notices (PMNs) . This action would require persons to notify EPA at least 90 days before commencing manufacture (defined by statute to include import) or processing of any of these chemical substances for an activity that is designated as a significant new use by this proposed rule. This action would further require that persons not commence manufacture or processing for the significant new use until they have submitted a Significant New Use Notice (SNUN), and EPA has conducted a review of the notice, made an appropriate determination on the notice, and has taken any risk management actions as are required as a result of that determination.

Sulfur Hexafluoride Emissions.

Proposed rule - Amends rules to reduce sulfur hexaflouride emissions from gas insulated switchgear.

Standards of Performance for New Stationary Sources and Emission Guidelines for Existing Sources: Other Solid Waste Incineration Units Review.

Proposed rule - In accordance with requirements under the Clean Air Act (CAA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) performed a periodic review of the emissions standards and other requirements for Other Solid Waste Incineration (OSWI) units, covering certain very small municipal waste combustion (VSMWC) and institutional waste incineration (IWI) units. Although the EPA is not proposing revisions to the OSWI New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and Emission Guidelines (EG) specifically based on its statutory periodic review, the EPA is otherwise--in accordance with its authority under the CAA--proposing changes to the OSWI NSPS and EG.

Mitigation of Orbital Debris in the New Space Age.

Proposed rule - In this document, the Commission seeks comment through a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking adopted on 23 April 2020, on additional amendments to its rules related to satellite orbital debris mitigation. A related Final rule document, the Report and Order, which adopts amendments to the Commission's satellite orbital debris mitigation rules is published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.