[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 86 (Thursday, May 5, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-10713]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: May 5, 1994]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-4880-9]

 

Massachusetts: Adequacy Determination of State/Tribal Municipal 
Solid Waste Permit Program

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of tentative determination to fully approve the adequacy 
of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts's municipal solid waste permitting 
program, public hearing and public comment period.

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SUMMARY: Section 4005(c)(1)(B) of the Resource Conservation and 
Recovery Act (RCRA), as amended by the Hazardous and Solid Waste 
Amendments (HSWA) of 1984, 42 U.S.C. 6945(c)(1)(B), requires states to 
develop and implement permit programs to ensure that municipal solid 
waste landfills (MSWLFs), which may receive hazardous household waste 
or small quantity generator hazardous waste will comply with the 
revised Federal MSWLF Criteria (40 CFR part 258). RCRA section 
4005(c)(1)(C), 42 U.S.C. 6945(c)(1)(C), requires the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) to determine whether states have adequate 
``permit'' programs for MSWLFs, but does not mandate issuance of a rule 
for such determinations. EPA has drafted and is in the process of 
proposing a State/Tribal Implementation Rule (STIR) that will provide 
procedures by which EPA will approve, or partially approve, State/
Tribal landfill permit programs. The Agency intends to approve adequate 
State/Tribal MSWLF permit programs as applications are submitted. Thus, 
these approvals are not dependent on final promulgation of the STIR. 
Prior to promulgation of the STIR, adequacy determinations will be made 
based on the statutory authorities and requirements. In addition, 
States/Tribes may use the draft STIR as an aid in interpreting these 
requirements. The Agency believes that early approvals have an 
important benefit. Approved State/Tribal permit programs provide for 
interaction between the State/Tribe and the owner/operator regarding 
site-specific permit conditions. Only those owners/operators located in 
States/Tribes with approved permit programs can use the site-specific 
flexibilities provided by 40 CFR part 258 to the extent the State/
Tribal permit program allows such flexibility. EPA notes that 
regardless of the approval status of a State/Tribe and the permit 
status of any facility, the Federal land fill criteria shall apply to 
all permitted and unpermitted MSWLF facilities.
    The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has applied for a determination 
of adequacy under section 4005(c)(1)(C) of RCRA, 42 U.S.C. 
6945(c)(1)(C). EPA Region I has reviewed Massachusetts's MSWLF permit 
program adequacy application and has made a tentative determination 
that all portions of Massachusetts's MSWLF permit program are adequate 
to assure compliance with the revised MSWLF Criteria. Massachusetts's 
application for program adequacy determination is available for public 
review and comment at the places listed in the ``ADDRESSES'' section 
below during regular office hours.
    Although RCRA does not require EPA to hold a public hearing on a 
determination to approve any State/Tribe's MSWLF permit program, the 
Region has tentatively scheduled a public hearing on this 
determination. If a sufficient number of persons express interest in 
participating in a hearing by writing to the EPA Region I, Solid Waste 
Section or calling the contact given below within 30 days of the date 
of publication of this notice, the Region will hold a hearing, in 
Boston, Massachusetts, on the date given below in the ``DATES'' 
section. The Region will notify all persons who submit comments on this 
notice if it appears that there is sufficient public interest to 
warrant a hearing. In addition, anyone who wishes to learn whether the 
hearing will be held may call the person listed in the ``CONTACTS'' 
section below.
DATES: All comments on Massachusetts's application for a determination 
of adequacy must be received by the close of business on June 4, 1994. 
If there is sufficient interest, a public hearing will be held on June 
20, 1994, at 1 p.m., at the Offices of the Massachusetts Department of 
Environmental Protection, 10th Floor, One Winter Street, Boston, 
Massachusetts. Massachusetts will participate in the public hearing, if 
held by EPA on this subject.

ADDRESSES: Copies of Massachusetts's application for adequacy 
determination are available during the hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the 
following addresses for inspection and copying: Massachusetts 
Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Solid Waste 
Management, One Winter Street, 4th Floor, Boston, MA 02108; USEPA 
Region I, Waste Management Division, Solid Waste Section, 90 Canal 
Street, Boston, MA 02203, Attn: Fred Friedman, telephone (617) 573-
9687. Written comments should be sent to Mr. John F. Hackler, Chief, 
Solid Waste Section, mail code HER-CAN6, EPA Region I, John F. Kennedy 
Federal Building, Boston, MA 02203-2211.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: EPA Region I, John F. Kennedy Federal 
Building, Boston, MA 02203, Attn: Ms. Connie Dewire, mail code HER-
CAN6, telephone (617) 573-5719.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

    On October 9, 1991, EPA promulgated revised Criteria for MSWLFs (40 
CFR part 258). Subtitle D of RCRA, as amended by the Hazardous and 
Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 (HSWA), requires states to develop 
permitting programs to ensure that MSWLFs comply with the Federal 
Criteria under 40 CFR part 258. Subtitle D also requires in section 
4005(c)(1)(C), 42 U.S.C. 6945(c)(1)(C) that EPA determine the adequacy 
of state municipal solid waste landfill permit programs to ensure that 
facilities comply with the revised Federal Criteria. To fulfill this 
requirement, the Agency has drafted and is in the process of proposing 
a State/Tribal Implementation Rule (STIR). The rule will specify the 
requirements which State/Tribal programs must satisfy to be determined 
adequate.
    The EPA intends to approve State/Tribal MSWLF permit programs prior 
to the promulgation of the STIR. EPA interprets the requirements for 
states or tribes to develop ``adequate'' programs for permits, or other 
forms of prior approval and conditions (for example, license to 
operate) to impose several minimum requirements. First, each State/
Tribe must have enforceable standards for new and existing MSWLFs that 
are technically comparable to EPA's revised MSWLF criteria. Second, the 
State/Tribe must have the authority to issue a permit or other notice 
of prior approval and conditions to all new and existing MSWLFs in its 
jurisdiction. The State/Tribe also must provide for public 
participation in permit issuance and enforcement as required in section 
7004(b) of RCRA, 42 U.S.C. 6974(b). Finally, the State/Tribe must show 
that it has sufficient compliance monitoring and enforcement 
authorities to take specific action against any owner or operator that 
fails to comply with an approved MSWLF program.
    EPA Regions will determine whether a State/Tribe has submitted an 
``Adequate'' program based on the interpretation outlined above. EPA 
plans to provide more specific criteria for this evaluation when it 
proposes the STIR. EPA expects States/Tribes to meet all of these 
requirements for all elements of a MSWLF program before it gives full 
approval to a MSWLF program.

B. Commonwealth of Massachusetts

    On August 13, 1993, EPA Region I received Massachusetts's final 
MSWLF Permit Program application for adequacy determination. Region I 
reviewed the final application and submitted comments to Massachusetts. 
Massachusetts addressed EPA's comments and submitted a revised final 
application for adequacy determination on August 30, 1993. Region I 
received additional clarifying information on the Massachusetts MSWLF 
Permit Program on November 2, 1993 and March 23, 1994. Region I has 
reviewed Massachusetts's revised application and has tentatively 
determined that all portions of Massachusetts's MSWLF program meet all 
the requirements necessary to qualify for full program approval and 
ensures compliance with the revised Federal Criteria.
    The public may submit written comments on EPA's tentative 
determination until June 6, 1994. Copies of Massachusetts's application 
are available for inspection and copying at the location indicated in 
the ADDRESSES section of this notice.
    In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the jurisdiction for siting 
and permitting of solid waste management facilities lies with local 
boards of health and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), 
an agency falling under the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs 
(EOEA). The Department of Public Health (DPH) is also given an advisory 
role in the siting process. Authority for respective roles of the 
boards of health, DEP and DPH is granted by Chapter 111, section 150A 
of the Massachusetts General Laws. Region I based its decision of 
tentative full approval on the current approach for approving the 
construction and operation of MSWLFs in Massachusetts. This approach 
includes: (1) A review pursuant to the Massachusetts Environmental 
Policy Act (MEPA), a public information process that generally involves 
the submission of an Environmental Impact Report, which must be 
approved by the Secretary of the Office of Environmental Affairs; (2) a 
Site Assignment Process, which focuses on determining whether a 
specific location is suitable for a specific type of solid waste 
facility (the local board of health is responsible for granting a site 
assignment in accordance with the procedures and criteria at 310 CMR 
16.00); and (3) a Solid Waste Management Facility Permit, a permit that 
must be obtained from DEP's Division of Solid Waste Management after 
completing the MEPA process and obtaining a site assignment. The 
permitting process regulates the design, operation and maintenance, 
closure, post-closure and financial assurance aspects of a facility.
    The Massachusetts regulations require, at 310 CMR 19.021, the 
repermitting of all landfills existing as of the effective date of July 
1, 1990, unless they choose to close prior to July 1, 1992. 
Furthermore, the regulations at 310 CMR 19.022(1) require the 
completion of closure of all unlined areas of landfills by July 1, 
1995. A recent amendment of MGL c. 111, s. 150A makes the 1995 closure 
date applicable only to privately owned landfills.
    The design standard for new and lateral expansions of landfills 
currently in effect in Massachusetts includes a composite liner system 
which features: a subgrade layer which must ensure a minimum of four 
foot separation between the top of bedrock or the maximum high 
groundwater table and the bottom of the lowermost low permeability 
layer; a two foot, low permeability, soil/admixture layer having a 
maximum in-place saturated hydraulic conductivity of 1x10-7 cm/sec; a 
minimum 30-mil flexible membrane liner (60-mil minimum for high density 
polyethylene) in direct contact with the underlying soil/admixture; a 
drainage/protection layer; and a leachate collection system. 
Alternative liner designs must meet the performance standard for ground 
water protection systems found at 310 CMR 19.110 and do so in a manner 
which meets or exceeds the design standard of that section.
    The current siting criteria carefully restrict new or expanding 
landfills from being located in settings that may conflict with the 
Location Criteria specified in 40 CFR 258.10, 258.11, 258.12, 258.13, 
258.14 and 258.16. By currently restricting landfills to such settings, 
Massachusetts has protected all state drinking water resources, whether 
surface water or groundwater, from the potential impact of leachate -an 
approach which EPA has determined to be an alternate to the 40 CFR part 
258 requirements, but still as protective as the Federal requirements 
at 40 CFR part 258. In addition, the Commonwealth's requirements are no 
less stringent than the requirements set forth at 40 CFR part 258.
    The Massachusetts MSWLF Permitting Program features an unique 
approach to landfill assessment which includes four parts. The first 
part is an Initial Site Assessment (ISA), which examines the general 
history of the site, the types and amounts of waste landfilled, the 
size of the site and other historical information concerning the site. 
The second part is a Comprehensive Site Assessment (CSA) to 
characterize the nature and extent of any contamination that may exist. 
The CSA, which is used to develop a suitable closure strategy, 
involves, in its final step, a two-phased risk assessment approach to 
determine whether corrective action is warranted. The first phase of 
the risk assessment is called a qualitative risk assessment. The 
following three pieces of information are analyzed in this phase: the 
existence of contamination above standards or approved levels; the 
existence of potential public health or environmental receptors; and 
the existence of pathways which would serve to link contamination to 
receptors. If all three are determined to exist in any media (air, 
surface water, ground water or soil), the second phase in the risk 
assessment process, the quantitative risk assessment, is invoked as is 
a round of sampling for all the 40 CFR part 258, appendix II 
constituents. The third part of the landfill assessment is a Corrective 
Actions Alternatives Analysis (CAAA), which is conducted to determine 
the type of cap and any additional remediation measures which will be 
needed to properly close the sanitary landfill. The fourth and final 
part of the landfill assessment process is a Corrective Action Design 
(CAD), in which the landfill cap and any additional remediation 
measures are designed.
    Massachusetts covers the landfill assessment requirements in more 
detail in its Guidance on Conducting Qualitative Risk Assessments at 
Solid Waste Landfills and Guidance for Disposal Site Risk 
Characterization and Related Phase II Activities. The revised Landfill 
Assessment and Closure Guidance Manual (LAC Manual) is applicable to 
all existing MSWLFs and to all MSWLF permit applications effective July 
1, 1993. Massachusetts will implement its MSWLF permit program through 
enforceable permit conditions. To ensure compliance with the Federal 
criteria, Massachusetts has revised its current permit requirements 
through the existing Supplement to Landfill Assessment and Closure 
Manual. These revisions occur in the following areas:

    1. The adoption of the EPA approved method 8260 to test ground 
water.
    2. Addition of the provision on minimum distance of ground water 
monitoring well from landfill boundary.
    3. Compliance with the protocols for testing and analyzing ground 
water for constituents listed in appendix II to part 258.
    4. Compliance with the procedures for notifying the DEP about 
explosive levels of landfill gas.
    5. Compliance with the protocols for conducting inspections to 
detect presence of hazardous waste and procedures for reporting results 
of such inspections.
    6. Compliance with the minimum design standard for alternative 
landfill cover.

    The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection will 
update the permits of existing municipal solid waste landfills 
scheduled to remain open after the effective date of 40 CFR part 258, 
to assure compliance with current state requirements. The Commonwealth 
of Massachusetts is not asserting jurisdiction over Tribal land 
recognized by the United States government for the purpose of this 
notice. Tribes recognized by the United States government are also 
required to comply with the terms and conditions found at 40 CFR part 
258.
    EPA will consider all public comments on its tentative 
determination received during the public comment period and during any 
public hearing held. Issues raised by those comments may be the basis 
for a determination of inadequacy for Massachusetts's program. EPA will 
make a final decision on approval of the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts's program and will give notice of the final determination 
in the Federal Register. The notice shall include a summary of the 
reasons for the final determination and a response to all significant 
comments.
    Section 4005(a) of RCRA, 42 U.S.C. 6945(a) provides that citizens 
may use the citizen suit provisions of section 7002 of RCRA, 42 U.S.C. 
6972 to enforce the Federal MSWLF criteria set forth in 40 CFR part 258 
independent of any State/Tribal enforcement program. As EPA explained 
in the preamble to the final MSWLF criteria, EPA expects that any owner 
or operator complying with provisions in a State/Tribal program 
approved by EPA should be considered to be in compliance with the 
Federal Criteria. See 56 FR 50978, 50995 (October 9, 1991).

Compliance With Executive Order 12866

    The Office of Management and Budget has exempted this notice from 
the requirements of section 6 of Executive Order 12866.

Certification Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Pursuant to the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 605(b), I hereby certify 
that this approval will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. It does not impose any new 
burdens on small entities. This notice, therefore, does not require a 
regulatory flexibility analysis.

    Authority: This notice is issued under the authority of sections 
2002, 4005 and 4010(c) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act as amended, 
42 U.S.C. 6912, 6945 and 6949a(c-c).

    Dated: April 25, 1994.
John P. DeVillars,
Acting Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 94-10713 Filed 5-4-94; 8:45 am]
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