[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 73 (Monday, April 15, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 16606-16608]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-9096]




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_______________________________________________________________________

Part V





Environmental Protection Agency





_______________________________________________________________________



40 CFR Part 68



List of Regulated Substances and Thresholds for Accidental Release 
Prevention; Proposed Stay of Effectiveness; Proposed Rule

  Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 73 / Monday, April 15, 1996 / 
Proposed Rules  

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 68

[FRL-5657-8]


List of Regulated Substances and Thresholds for Accidental 
Release Prevention; Proposed Stay of Effectiveness

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule; proposed stay of effectiveness.

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SUMMARY: In Part IV of today's Federal Register, the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing several modifications to 
provisions of the rule listing regulated substances and establishing 
threshold quantities under section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act as 
amended (List Rule Amendments). The proposed List Rule Amendments, if 
promulgated in a final rule, would clarify or establish that part 68 
does not apply to several types of processes and sources.
    This action proposes, pursuant to Clean Air Act section 301(a)(1), 
42 U.S.C. 7601(a)(1), to stay the effectiveness of provisions that are 
affected by the proposed List Rule Amendments in Part IV of today's 
Federal Register, for so long as necessary to take final action on the 
proposed List Rule Amendments. Pursuant to the rulemaking provisions of 
Clean Air Act section 307(d), 42 U.S.C. 7607(d), EPA hereby requests 
public comment on this proposed short-term stay of provisions affected 
by the proposed List Rule Amendments. Under the proposed stay, owners 
and operators of processes and sources that EPA has proposed not be 
subject to part 68 would not become subject to part 68 until EPA has 
determined whether to proceed with the List Rule Amendments proposed in 
today's Federal Register.

DATES: Comments. Comments must be submitted on or before May 15, 1996 
unless a hearing is requested by April 25, 1996. If a hearing is 
requested, written comments must be received by May 30, 1996.
    Public Hearing. Anyone requesting a public hearing must contact EPA 
no later than April 25, 1996. If a hearing is held, it will take place 
on April 30, 1996 at 9:30 a.m.

ADDRESSES: Comments. Comments should be submitted to: U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Air Docket (6102), Attn: Docket A-96-
08: IV-I (Proposed Stay of Effectiveness), Waterside Mall, 401 M St. 
SW., Washington, DC 20460. Comments must be submitted in duplicate. If 
a public hearing is held, written testimony must be submitted in 
duplicate at the time of the hearing.
    Public Hearing. If a public hearing is held, it will be held at 
Waterside Mall, 401 M St. SW., Washington DC, in the EPA Conference 
Center. Persons interested in attending the hearing or wishing to 
present oral testimony should notify by telephone Vanessa Rodriguez 
(see For Further Information Contact).
    Docket. All information used in the development of this proposal is 
contained in the preamble below. However, Docket A-91-74, containing 
background information for the original List Rule, and Docket A-96-08, 
containing background information on the proposed List Rule amendments, 
are available for public inspection between 8:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., 
Monday through Friday at EPA's Air Docket, Room 1500, 401 M St. SW., 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone (202) 260-7548. A reasonable fee may be 
charged for copying.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Vanessa Rodriguez, Chemical Engineer, 
Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Office, Environmental 
Protection Agency (5101), 401 M St. SW., Washington, DC 20460, (202) 
260-7913.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background and Discussion

    Elsewhere in the proposed rule section of today's Federal Register, 
EPA is proposing amendments to regulations in 40 CFR part 68 that, 
inter alia, list regulated substances and establish threshold 
quantities for the accident prevention provisions under Clean Air Act 
section 112(r). Readers should refer to that document for a complete 
discussion of the background of the rule affected. The amendments 
proposed in that document (``List Rule Amendments'') would, if 
promulgated, delete explosives from the list of regulated substances, 
modify threshold provisions to exclude flammable substances in gasoline 
and in naturally occurring hydrocarbon mixtures prior to entry into 
processing unit or plant, modify the threshold provisions for other 
flammable mixtures, and clarify the definition of stationary source 
with respect to transportation, storage incident to transportation, and 
naturally occurring hydrocarbon reservoirs.
    It is unlikely that EPA will be able to take final action on some 
or all of the proposed List Rule Amendments prior to May 24, 1996, the 
date on which EPA anticipates it will take final action on additional 
``Risk Management Program'' regulations under Clean Air Act section 
112(r). This action proposes to stay provisions of part 68 that are 
affected by the proposed List Rule Amendments until such time as EPA 
takes final action on the proposed List Rule Amendments. If, following 
consideration of public comment, EPA takes final action to stay the 
effectiveness of these provisions, these provisions will be stayed 
until after EPA takes final action on the proposed List Rule 
Amendments.
    EPA is proposing this stay because, at this time, EPA is seeking 
comment on whether the various processes and sources affected by the 
proposed List Rule Amendments should be subject to part 68. EPA will 
need to evaluate comments on the proposed List Rule Amendments before 
taking final action on that proposal. During the period prior to final 
action on the List Rule Amendments proposal, owners and operators of 
sources affected by the proposed List Rule Amendments would not know if 
they ultimately will be subject to part 68. Such owners and operators 
should have the same certainty about whether they are subject to part 
68 as other owners and operators have when they begin their regulatory 
compliance planning. The effect of the proposed stay would be to allow 
owners and operators of processes and sources affected by the proposed 
List Rule Amendments three years to come into compliance with the Risk 
Management Program rule in the event EPA fails to adopt the proposed 
List Rule Amendments. That is, if EPA does not promulgate a provision 
of the proposed List Rule Amendments, either by taking negative final 
action or by allowing the stay to expire without final action, owners 
and operators of processes and sources affected by that provision would 
need to achieve compliance with the Risk Management Program rule within 
three years from the date of the negative final action or the 
expiration of the stay.

II. Required Analyses

A. E.O. 12866

    Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), the 
Agency must judge whether the regulatory action is ``significant,'' and 
therefore subject to OMB review and the requirements of the Executive 
Order. The Order defines ``significant regulatory action'' as one that 
is likely to result in a rule that may:
    (1) Have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or 
adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of the 
economy,

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productivity, jobs, the environment, public health or safety, or state, 
local, or tribal government or communities;
    (2) Create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an 
action taken or planned by another agency;
    (3) Materially alter the budgetary impact of entitlements, grants, 
user fees, or loan programs or the rights and obligations of recipients 
thereof; or
    (4) Raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal 
mandates, the President's priorities, or the principles set forth in 
the Executive Order.
    It has been determined this proposed rule is not a ``significant 
regulatory action'' under the terms of Executive Order 12866 and 
therefore is not subject to OMB review.

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, Federal 
agencies must evaluate the effects of the rule on small entities and 
examine alternatives that may reduce these effects.
    EPA has examined the proposed rule's potential effects on small 
entities as required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act. It has 
determined that this rule will have no adverse effect on small entities 
because it defers the need for stationary sources to comply with 
current rule provisions that EPA has proposed to amend; the amendments, 
if adopted, likely would reduce the number of stationary sources 
subject to the accidental release prevention requirements. Therefore, I 
certify that today's proposed rule will not have a significant economic 
effect on a substantial number of small entities.

C. Paperwork Reduction Act

    This proposed rule does not include any information collection 
requirements for OMB to review under the provisions of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1980, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.

D. Unfunded Mandates

    Under section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, 
signed into law on March 22, 1995, EPA must prepare a statement to 
accompany any rule where the estimated costs to State, local, or tribal 
governments in the aggregate, or to the private sector, will be $100 
million or more in any one year. Under section 205, EPA must select the 
most cost-effective and least burdensome alternative that achieves the 
objective of the rule and is consistent with statutory requirements. 
Section 203 requires EPA to establish a plan for informing and advising 
any small governments that may be significantly impacted by the rule.
    EPA has estimated that this rule does not include a Federal mandate 
that may result in estimated costs of $100 million or more to either 
State, local, or tribal governments in the aggregate, or to the private 
sector.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 68

    Environmental protection, Chemicals, Chemical accident prevention, 
Clean Air Act, Extremely hazardous substances, Intergovernmental 
relations, Hazardous substances, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    Dated: April 5, 1996.
Carol M. Browner,
Administrator.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, Title 40, Chapter I, 
Subchapter C, Part 68 of the Code of Federal Regulations is proposed to 
be amended to read as follows:

PART 68--CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS

    1. The authority citation for Part 68 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7412(r), 7601.

    2. In Subpart A, Sec. 68.2 is proposed to be added to read as 
follows:


Sec. 68.2  Stayed Provisions.

    (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, the 
effectiveness of the following provisions is stayed from March 2, 1994 
to (insert date 18 months after publication of final rule in the 
Federal Register):
    (1) In Sec. 68.3, definition of ``stationary source,'' to the 
extent that such definition includes naturally occurring hydrocarbon 
reservoirs or transportation subject to oversight or regulation under a 
state natural gas or hazardous liquid program for which the state has 
in effect a certification to DOT under 49 U.S.C. 60105;
    (2) Section 68.115(b)(2) of this part, to the extent that such 
provision requires an owner or operator to treat as a regulated 
flammable substance:
    (i) Gasoline, when in distribution or related storage for use as 
fuel for internal combustion engines.
    (ii) Naturally occurring hydrocarbon mixtures prior to entry into a 
petroleum refining process unit or a natural gas processing plant. 
Naturally occurring hydrocarbon mixtures include any of the following: 
condensate, crude oil, field gas, and produced water, each as defined 
in paragraph (b) of this section.
    (iii) Other mixtures containing a regulated flammable substance 
that does not have a National Fire Protection Association flammability 
hazard rating of 4, the definition of which is in the NFPA 704, 
Standard System for the Identification of the Fire Hazards of 
Materials, National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA, 1990. 
Available from the National Fire Protection Association, 1 Batterymarch 
Park, Quincy, MA 02269-9101. This incorporation by reference was 
approved by the Director of the Federal Register in accordance with 5 
U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. Copies may be inspected at the 
Environmental Protection Agency Air Docket (6102), Attn: Docket No. A-
96-08, Waterside Mall, 401 M. St. SW., Washington D.C.; or at the 
Office of Federal Register at 800 North Capitol St., NW, Suite 700, 
Washington, D.C. (Note: this document will only be available for 
inspection at the Federal Register after this action becomes a final 
rule); and
    (3) Section 68.130(a).
    (b) From March 2, 1994 to (insert date 18 months after publication 
of final rule in the Federal Register) the following definitions shall 
apply to the stayed provisions described in paragraph (a) of this 
section.
    Condensate means hydrocarbon liquid separated from natural gas that 
condenses because of changes in temperature, pressure, or both, and 
remains liquid at standard conditions.
    Crude oil means any naturally occurring, unrefined petroleum 
liquid.
    Field gas means gas extracted from a production well before the gas 
enters a natural gas processing plant.
    Natural gas processing plant means any processing site engaged in 
the extraction of natural gas liquids from field gas, fractionation of 
natural gas liquids to natural gas products, or both. A separator, 
dehydration unit, heater treater, sweetening unit, compressor, or 
similar equipment shall not be considered a ``processing site'' unless 
such equipment is physically located within a natural gas processing 
plant (gas plant) site.
    Petroleum refining process unit means a process unit used in an 
establishment primarily engaged in petroleum refining as defined in the 
Standard Industrial Classification code for petroleum refining (2911) 
and used for the following: (1) Producing transportation fuels (such as 
gasoline, diesel fuels, and jet fuels), heating fuels (such as 
kerosene, fuel gas distillate, and fuel oils), or lubricants; (2) 
Separating petroleum; or (3) Separating, cracking, reacting, or 
reforming intermediate petroleum streams.
    Examples of such units include, but are not limited to, petroleum 
based solvent units, alkylation units, catalytic hydrotreating, 
catalytic hydrorefining, catalytic hydrocracking, catalytic

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reforming, catalytic cracking, crude distillation, lube oil processing, 
hydrogen production, isomerization, polymerization, thermal processes, 
and blending, sweetening, and treating processes. Petroleum refining 
process units include sulfur plants.
    Produced water means water extracted from the earth from an oil or 
natural gas production well, or that is separated from oil or natural 
gas after extraction.

[FR Doc. 96-9096 Filed 4-12-96; 8:45 am]
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