Comment & Consultation

EPA has released a draft risk assessment, or scientific evaluation of the potential human health risks associated with the presence of toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances chemicals in biosolids, also known as sewage sludge. The findings show that there may be human health risks associated with exposure to PFOA or PFOS with all three methods of using or disposing of sewage sludge – land application of biosolids, surface disposal in landfills, or incineration.  

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EPA is initiating consultation with federally recognized Indian Tribes to obtain input on the agency’s proposed amendments to the 2009 National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants that apply to chemical manufacturing area sources. In this rulemaking, the EPA is proposing amendments that would reduce the emissions of hazardous air pollutants, including ethylene oxide, emitted by facilities subject to the standards.

• Learn more on TCOTS

TCOTS Link

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is initiating consultation with federally recognized Indian Tribes to obtain input on the agency’s proposed amendments to the 2009 National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants that apply to chemical manufacturing area sources, also known as the CMAS NESHAP.

In this rulemaking, the EPA is proposing amendments that would reduce the emissions of hazardous air pollutants (HAP), including ethylene oxide (EtO), emitted by facilities subject to the CMAS NESHAP. After undertaking a review of the rule as required by section 112(d)(6) of the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. § 7412(d)(6), the EPA is proposing to lower the emissions of HAP produced by these facilities by updating leak detection practices, setting new standards for emissions from pressure relief devices, and requiring performance testing to ensure continued compliance. In addition, the EPA is proposing EtO-specific standards and practices to reduce the amount of EtO emitted by these facilities. The EPA estimates that these proposed amendments to the CMAS NESHAP would reduce EtO emissions by approximately 4.6 tons per year (tpy), emissions of other HAPs by approximately 158 tpy, and emissions of smog-forming volatile organic compounds by 1,557 tpy.

The proposed rule will publish in the Federal Register in the coming weeks, and the EPA will be accepting public comments for 60 days after the publication date in the Federal Register.

If your Tribe has questions about the proposed action or would like to request government-to-government consultation with the EPA on this rulemaking, please have your staff contact Regina Chappell, Tribal Consultation Advisor, at chappell.regina@epa.gov or (919) 541-3650, by February 28, 2025. We also encourage you to submit written comments to the docket to identify any information that you believe may be relevant to the development of the final rule. Tribes may submit written comments at https://www.regulations.gov/, Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2024-0419, any time during the open comment period following publication in the Federal Register.

Based on public feedback, EPA has updated two chapters in its Water Quality Standards (WQS) Handbook and developed a third:

• Chapter 2: Designation of Uses. This revised chapter discusses ways to express designated uses; how to designate, revise, and remove uses; how to protect downstream uses; and when to reassess designated uses.
• Chapter 4: Antidegradation. This revised chapter discusses how to use the various tiers of antidegradation protection, how to develop an antidegradation policy, and recommendations and considerations when developing and implementing an antidegradation implementation method.
• New Chapter: WQS Variances. This chapter reflects EPA’s policy and guidance on the development and implementation of WQS variances consistent with the regulatory requirements in 40 CFR 131.14.

EPA seeks your comments on these revisions.  

• Submit comments 

EPA will host informational webinars during the public comment period to provide an overview of the chapters and an opportunity for participants to ask clarifying questions: 

• Webinar for the general public: Feb. 4
• Webinar for Tribes: Feb. 6
   

Register by Jan. 31

EPA has announced draft national recommendations for health-based levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in waterbodies. Once final, these recommended criteria can be used by states and authorized Tribes to set water quality standards that help protect people from exposure through consuming water, fish and shellfish from inland and nearshore waterbodies that may be polluted by PFAS. Human health criteria are not regulatory requirements and do not, on their own, compel any action. Rather they are information for entities, including state and Tribal regulators, to consider when making policy decisions that protect water quality.

• Read the press release
• Submit comments 

EPA initiating consultation with federally recognized Indian Tribes to obtain input on the agency’s proposed amendments to the Standards of Performance for new, modified, and reconstructed stationary combustion turbines and stationary gas turbines, also known as the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for stationary gas and combustion turbines. In this rulemaking, EPA is proposing that combustion controls combined with selective catalytic reduction post-combustion control technology is the best system of emission reduction to reduce nitrogen oxides (NOx), with limited exceptions. 

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EPA is initiating consultation with federally recognized Tribes on a proposed update to the Office of Civil Enforcement’s 2007 Questions and Answers on the Tribal Enforcement Process. The Questions and Answers document implements the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance’s Guidance on the Enforcement Principles Outlined in the 1984 Indian Policy to ensure compliance at federally regulated facilities in Indian country.

• Learn more on TCOTS

EPA will host four informational webinars:

• January 23, 12:00 Pacific
• January 29, 12:00 Pacific
• February 3, 12:00 Pacific
• February 11, 12:00 Pacific
  
  • Visit the TCOTS website to register. 

EPA is initiating consultation and coordination with Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) regional and village corporations on the Proposed National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for Perchlorate. EPA is developing the proposed regulation to improve public health protection by reducing perchlorate exposure from drinking water.

• Learn more on TCOTS.

EPA will host a webinar to discuss this consultation opportunity:

• Jan. 16, 10:00 Pacific. Register

EPA is initiating consultation and coordination with federally recognized Tribes and Indian Nations on EPA’s draft Interim Framework for Advancing Consideration of Cumulative Impacts. The Framework is intended to provide EPA programs with a foundation for developing approaches to incorporate analysis and consideration of cumulative impacts into their work. 

• Learn more on TCOTS.

Two informational webinars will be held for Tribes:
 

• Jan. 15, 10:00 Pacific. Join the Zoom meeting.
• Jan. 30, 11:00 Pacific. Join the Zoom meeting.
  
  • Learn more on TCOTS

EPA will host two webinars to discuss this consultation opportunity: 

• Jan. 14, 10:30 Pacific. Register.
• Jan. 15, 10:30 Pacific. Register.

TCOTS Link

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is initiating consultation with federally recognized Indian Tribes (Tribes) on a proposed update to the Office of Civil Enforcement’s 2007 Questions and Answers on the Tribal Enforcement Process (“Questions and Answers”) that implements the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance’s Guidance on the Enforcement Principles Outlined in the 1984 Indian Policy to ensure compliance at federally-regulated facilities in Indian country.

The timeline for the consultation period is from January 2, 2025, to March 3, 2025. This consultation process will be conducted consistent with the EPA Policy on Consultation with Indian Tribes and the Guidance for Discussing Tribal Treaty or Similar Rights. The EPA invites you and/or your designated consultation representative(s) to participate in this process to discuss information related to the draft updated Questions & Answers document, including potential effects for Tribes, treaty or similar rights, Indigenous knowledge, and sacred sites.

If you would like to request government-to-government consultation with the EPA on the draft updated Questions & Answers document, please have your staff contact Matt Castelli at castelli.matthew@epa.gov by February 14, 2025. Please also identify a Tribal representative to serve as a point of contact for planning purposes. The EPA will work with your staff to schedule the consultation meeting with your Tribal government as requests are received.

TCOTS Link

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is initiating consultation and coordination with federally recognized Indian Tribes on the agency’s forthcoming proposed rulemaking, the National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for Perchlorate, as required by recent court orders. The EPA is developing the proposed regulation to improve public health protection by reducing perchlorate exposure from drinking water. The proposed rule would impact owners and operators of public water systems subject to the rule requirements as defined by the Safe Drinking Water Act, along with primacy agencies that enforce drinking water regulations in their jurisdiction. There are approximately 1,000 Tribal public water systems and the Navajo Nation has primacy for over 170 public water systems.

The EPA’s anticipated timeline for the consultation period is expected to extend from December 30, 2024 to February 28, 2025.

If you would like to request government-to-government consultation with the EPA on the forthcoming proposed National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for Perchlorate, please have your staff contact Erin Partlan, U.S. EPA, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, at partlan.erin@epa.gov by February 7, 2025. Please also identify a Tribal representative to serve as a point of contact for planning purposes. The EPA will work with your staff to schedule the consultation meeting with your Tribal government as requests are received. For this action, the EPA would like to conclude consultation meetings no later than February 28, 2025 so that input from Tribal governments can be received and considered in advance of publication of the proposed rule.

The Clean Water Act requires EPA to promulgate test methods that analyze pollutants in wastewater. On December 6, EPA released a proposed rule to add or revise analytical methods, or test procedures for measuring pollutants in wastewater. Specifically, EPA is proposing to add new agency test methods for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) chemicals and add methods previously published by voluntary consensus standard bodies such as ASTM International, or other vendors. When finalized, industries, states, and municipalities would use these methods for reporting under the EPA’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program. The agency will accept public comments on the proposed rule for 30 days upon its publication in the Federal Register.

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TCOTS Link

EPA is initiating consultation with federally recognized Tribes for input on the proposed amendments to the Standards of Performance for new, modified, and reconstructed stationary combustion turbines and stationary gas turbines. The proposal is seeking to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions for most turbines. The consultation is expected to run through February 15, 2025

If your Tribe has questions about the proposed action or would like to request government-to-government consultation with the EPA on this rulemaking, please have your staff contact Regina Chappell, Tribal Consultation Advisor, at chappell.regina@epa.gov or (919) 541-3650, by February 1, 2025

On Nov. 22, EPA proposed to strengthen limits on emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from most new, modified, and reconstructed fossil fuel-fired stationary combustion turbines, reducing exposure to dangerous air pollution for nearby communities. The proposal would ensure that new turbines built at power plants or industrial facilities — especially large ones that could operate for decades — would be among the most efficient and lowest-emitting turbines ever built. NOx contributes to harmful health effects, such as asthma and respiratory infections, and reacts with other volatile organic compounds to form ozone (i.e., smog) and fine particulate matter.   

• Read the press release.

EPA will accept comments for 90 days after the proposal is published in the Federal Register. 

• Submit comments on Regulations.gov. Search for Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2024-0419.

Cumulative Impacts are defined as the totality of exposures to combinations of chemical and nonchemical stressors and their effects on health, well-being, and quality of life outcomes. EPA has released its draft Interim Framework for Advancing Consideration of Cumulative Impacts.  The Framework is intended to provide EPA programs with a foundation for developing approaches to incorporate analysis and consideration of cumulative impacts into their work, with the goal of improving health and quality of life in America’s communities.

• Read the press release.
• Learn more on TCOTS.

EPA anticipated timeline for the consultation and coordination period on the EPA’s Interim
Framework for Advancing Consideration of Cumulative Impacts is expected to extend from
Thursday, November 21 to Friday, February 21, 2025. During this period, three identical,
90-minute informational sessions will be conducted. To participate, EPA invites you and/or your
designee to join us during one or more of the following sessions:

• Monday, December 9, 2024, 3:00pm-4:30pm ET.
  Join the first informational session at this zoom link:
  https://usepa.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_03uUBByPTSC2bIRtAKiedA
• Wednesday, January 15, 2025, 1:00pm-2:30pm ET.
  Join the second informational session at this zoom link:
  https://usepa.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_eR21zX0aTlqP_bfjahQxlQ
• Thursday, January 30, 2025, 2:00pm-3:30pm ET.
  Join the third information session at this zoom link:
  https://usepa.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_EccClx90TsSEKJ7-rF54PA