[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 109 (Wednesday, June 5, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 28508-28511]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-14106]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 264, 265, 270, and 271

[FRL-5509-4]
RIN 2060-AB94


Hazardous Waste Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facilities and 
Hazardous Waste Generators; Organic Air Emission Standards for Tanks, 
Surface Impoundments, and Containers

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Amendment of final rule to postpone requirements.

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SUMMARY: This document amends the EPA standards to postpone the 
effective date of the requirements in the December 6, 1994 final rule 
entitled, ``Hazardous Waste Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facilities 
and Hazardous Waste Generators; Organic Air Emission Standards for 
Tanks, Surface Impoundments, and Containers'' until October 6, 1996.

DATES: These amendments are effective June 5, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Docket. The supporting information used for the final rule 
is available for public inspection and copying in the RCRA docket. The 
RCRA docket numbers pertaining to the final rule are F-91-CESP-FFFFF, 
F-92-CESA-FFFFF, F-94-CESF-FFFFF, F-94-CE2A-FFFFF, F-95-CE3A-FFFFF, and 
F-96-CE4A-FFFFF. The RCRA docket is located at Crystal Gateway, 1235 
Jefferson Davis Highway, First Floor, Arlington, Virginia. Review of 
docket materials is conducted at the Virginia address; an appointment 
is required to review docket materials. Appointments can be scheduled 
by calling the Docket Office at (703) 603-9230. The mailing address for 
the RCRA Docket Office is RCRA Information Center (5305W), U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 
20460.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about this 
postponement contact the RCRA Hotline at (800) 424-9346 toll-free, or 
(703) 920-9810.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Postponement of Effective Date for Rule Requirements

    The effective date of the requirements in the final rule, 
originally published December 6, 1994 (59 FR 62896) and postponed 
November 13, 1995 (60 FR 56952), are further postponed until October 6, 
1996. The requirements of these final standards were originally 
scheduled to become effective as of June 5, 1995. The EPA specified in 
the final rule a schedule that established the compliance dates by 
which different requirements of the final rule must be met. These 
compliance dates and requirements are explained further in the final 
rule (59 FR 62896, December 6, 1994) under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. 
Today's amendment changes only the effective date of the requirements 
contained in the final standards. The effective date will be October 6, 
1996 for all provisions of the standards, including the applicability 
of 40 CFR part 265 subparts AA, BB, and CC to 90-day accumulation units 
at hazardous waste generators, the applicability of 40 CFR part 265 
subparts AA, BB, and CC to RCRA permitted units, and the applicability 
of the final standards to tanks in which waste stabilization activities 
are performed. All other compliance dates for the final rule remain as 
published in the final rule (59 FR 62896.)
    The EPA initially extended the effective date of the requirements 
in the final rule for six months to allow time to clarify certain 
provisions of the final rule and develop other compliance options (see 
60 FR 26828, May 19, 1995). On August 14, 1995 the EPA published a 
Federal Register notice, ``Proposed rule; data availability'' (60 FR 
41870) and opened RCRA docket F-95-CE3A-FFFFF to accept comments on 
revisions that the EPA is considering for the final standards. The 
provisions of the final rule that these revisions would affect are the 
waste determination procedures, the standards for containers, and the 
applicability of the final standards to units that operate air emission 
controls in accordance with certain Clean Air Act standards. In 
addition, these revisions would reduce the monitoring, record keeping, 
and reporting requirements for affected tanks, surface impoundments, 
and containers.
    The EPA accepted public comments on the appropriateness of these 
revisions through October 13, 1995, and is now in the process of 
finalizing amendments to the final rule to incorporate the described 
revisions, based on the information the EPA noticed and the comments 
EPA received. As anticipated, the amendments will provide certain 
compliance options for waste determination procedures and for container 
standards that are not currently available in the published final rule. 
On November 13, 1995 (60 FR 56952) the EPA again postponed the 
effective date of the rule requirements until June 6, 1996 to allow 
time for the EPA to publish amendments to the December 6, 1994 final 
standards. The EPA expects to publish these amendments in the near 
future. Given that the EPA is in the process of amending the rule in 
ways that would increase compliance flexibility and possibly reduce 
certain regulatory requirements, the EPA considers it appropriate to 
delay the June 6, 1996 effective date of the rule requirements for four 
months. (See 5 U.S.C. 705, ``when an agency finds that justice so 
requires, it may postpone the effective date of action taken by it, 
pending judicial review.'') In particular, the EPA is not sure that it 
will have adequate time to promulgate the amendments before June 6, 
1996 to allow facilities to avoid compliance expenditures based on the 
December 6, 1994 final rule, expenditures which may prove unnecessary 
in light of the projected amendments. This postponement will thus allow 
time for the EPA to publish

[[Page 28509]]

the amendments. The EPA anticipates that by October 6, 1996 affected 
sources will have had ample time to make any necessary alterations to 
their compliance plans in response to the amendments. Affected sources 
have been on notice of the final regulations since they were published 
in December of 1994. The EPA expects that by early 1995, most 
facilities had begun preparing their implementation strategies and 
planning for any necessary equipment modifications, in anticipation of 
the originally scheduled implementation date of June 6, 1995. Thus, the 
EPA considers today's four month extension to be sufficient time for 
affected facilities to become familiar with the revised requirements 
contained in the amended standards, and to make any necessary revisions 
to their implementation strategies.
    The EPA has received a request to stay the rule from parties that 
brought judicial challenges to the December 6, 1994 published rule. In 
taking this action to postpone the effective date of the rule 
requirements, the EPA is not concurring that the criteria for a stay 
(such as likelihood of irreparable harm or likelihood that these 
parties will ultimately prevail should the rule be litigated) are met. 
Rather, as a prudential matter, the EPA believes that a four month 
delay is appropriate for the reasons explained above.

2. Retention of Final Compliance Date of December 8, 1997

    The December 6, 1994 published rule set a final compliance date of 
December 8, 1997, by which time all required air emission control 
equipment must be operating (59 FR 62897). The EPA does not believe 
that postponing the effective date of the rule requirements 
necessitates any postponement of the December 8, 1997 compliance date. 
The final compliance date was chosen to allow time for facility 
modifications that may be involved in the compliance approach of 
certain facilities. The EPA believes that, for many air emission 
control applications, the required control devices can be installed and 
in operation within several months. However, the EPA agrees that under 
some circumstances, the owner's or operator's approach to complying 
with the air emission control requirements under the subpart CC 
standards may involve a major design and construction project which 
requires a longer time to complete. In recognition of these cases, the 
EPA decided that it is reasonable to allow up to December 8, 1997 for 
affected facilities to install and begin operation of air emission 
controls required by the supbart CC standards. (Hazardous Waste TSDF 
Background Information Document for Promulgated Organic Air Emission 
Standards, EPA-453/R-94-076b, page 9-7.)
    The final rule requirements that may necessitate a major 
modification, as described above, for tanks are paragraphs (b) through 
(d) of 40 CFR parts 264.1084 and 265.1085. These paragraphs specify air 
emission control equipment that must be operated on tanks receiving 
affected hazardous waste. Similarly, the requirements that may 
necessitate such a major modification for surface impoundments are 
paragraphs (b) through (e) of 40 CFR parts 264.1085 and 265.1086. These 
paragraphs specify air emission control equipment that must be operated 
on surface impoundments receiving affected hazardous waste. To comply 
with these requirements for tanks and surface impoundments, facilities 
may choose to construct new hazardous waste management units to replace 
existing units, or may choose to modify existing hazardous waste 
management units. Examples of facility equipment modifications that 
could require an extended period of compliance would be replacing a 
large open surface impoundment with a series of covered tanks, or 
fitting an existing open tank with a fixed roof vented to a control 
device. The EPA recognizes that such major modifications or new 
construction can require several months or more, and therefore allows 
until December 8, 1997 for facilities to comply with the air emission 
control requirements of the final subpart CC standards.
    In addition, certain States may require that a facility obtain a 
permit modification prior to performing a major modification such as 
those described above. The EPA recognizes that such permit 
modifications can be a lengthy process, and therefore felt it was 
appropriate to afford an extended compliance period to allow such 
modifications to be obtained (59 FR 62919). The EPA does not expect 
that such a lengthy period of implementation would be required in 
circumstances other than those described above, although 
Sec. 264.1082(c) allows that such a period is available if necessary.
    The final rule provisions that justified a compliance date of 
December 8, 1997 are not among those that are potentially affected by 
the revisions currently under EPA's consideration. Specifically, the 
EPA is not considering changes to the requirements for covers and air 
emission controls on tanks and surface impoundments. All affected 
facilities have been on notice of the final rule air emission control 
requirements for these units since the final rule publication on 
December 6, 1994. Therefore, the EPA does not consider it appropriate 
to postpone the compliance date of December 8, 1997, by which all 
required air emission control equipment must be operating.
3. Conclusion
    The EPA is amending the final rule such that the final rule 
requirements are not effective until October 6, 1996. The final rule 
text affected by this postponement is amended as follows.

List of Subjects

40 CFR Parts 264 and 265

    Air pollution control, Container, Control device, Hazardous waste, 
Incorporation by reference, Inspection, Miscellaneous unit, Monitoring, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Standards, Surface 
impoundment, Tank, TSDF, Waste determination.

40 CFR Part 271

    Administrative practice and procedure, Air pollution control, 
Confidential business information, Hazardous waste, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: May 16, 1996.
Mary D. Nichols,
Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, title 40, chapter I, parts 
264, 265, and 271 of the Code of Federal Regulations are amended as 
follows:

PART 264--STANDARDS FOR OWNERS AND OPERATORS OF HAZARDOUS WASTE 
TREATMENT, STORAGE, AND DISPOSAL FACILITIES

    1. The authority citation for part 264 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 6905, 6912(a), 6924 and 6925.

Subpart CC--Air Emission Standards for Tanks, Surface Impoundments, 
and Containers

    2. Section 264.1080 is amended by revising paragraphs (b)(1) and 
(c) to read as follows:


Sec. 264.1080   Applicability.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (1) A waste management unit that holds hazardous waste placed in 
the unit before October 6, 1996, and in

[[Page 28510]]

which no hazardous waste is added to the unit on or after this date.
* * * * *
    (c) For the owner and operator of a facility subject to this 
subpart and who received a final permit under RCRA section 3005 prior 
to October 6, 1996, the requirements of this subpart shall be 
incorporated into the permit when the permit is reissued in accordance 
with the requirements of 40 CFR 124.15 of this chapter or reviewed in 
accordance with the requirements of 40 CFR 270.50(d) of this chapter. 
Until such date when the owner and operator receives a final permit 
incorporating the requirements of this subpart, the owner and operator 
is subject to the requirements of 40 CFR Part 265 subpart CC.

PART 265--INTERIM STATUS STANDARDS FOR OWNERS AND OPERATORS OF 
HAZARDOUS WASTE TREATMENT, STORAGE, AND DISPOSAL FACILITIES

    3. The authority citation for part 265 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 6905, 6912(a), 6924, 6925, and 6935.

Subpart CC--Air Emission Standards for Tanks, Surface Impoundments, 
and Containers

    4. Section 265.1080 is amended by revising paragraph (b)(1) and 
paragraph (c) introductory text to read as follows:


Sec. 265.1080   Applicability.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (1) A waste management unit that holds hazardous waste placed in 
the unit before October 6, 1996, and in which no hazardous waste is 
added to the unit on or after this date.
* * * * *
    (c) For the owner and operator of a facility subject to this 
subpart who has received a final permit under RCRA section 3005 prior 
to October 6, 1996, the following requirements apply:
* * * * *
    5. Section 265.1082 is amended by revising paragraphs (a) 
introductory text, paragraph (a)(1), (a)(2) introductory text, 
(a)(2)(iii), and (a)(2)(iv) to read as follows:


Sec. 265.1082   Schedule for implementation of air emission standards.

    (a) Owners or operators of facilities existing on October 6, 1996, 
and subject to subparts I, J, and K of this part shall meet the 
following requirements:
    (1) Install and begin operation of all control equipment required 
by this subpart by October 6, 1995, except as provided for in paragraph 
(a)(2) of this section.
    (2) When control equipment required by this subpart cannot be 
installed and in operation by October 6, 1996, the owner or operator 
shall:
 * * * * *
    (iii) For facilities subject to the recordkeeping requirements of 
Sec. 265.73 of this part, the owner or operator shall enter the 
implementation schedule specified in paragraph (a)(2)(ii) of this 
section in the operating record no later than October 6, 1996.
    (iv) For facilities not subject to Sec. 265.73 of this part, the 
owner or operator shall enter the implementation schedule specified in 
paragraph (a)(2)(ii) of this section in a permanent, readily available 
file located at the facility no later than October 6, 1996.
* * * * *

PART 271--REQUIREMENTS FOR AUTHORIZATION OF STATE HAZARDOUS WASTE 
PROGRAMS

    6. The authority citation for part 271 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 6905, 6912(a), and 6926.

Subpart A--Requirements for Final Authorization

    7. Section 271.1(j) is amended by revising the effective date of 
the following entry in Table 1 to read as follows:


Sec. 271.1   Purpose and Scope.

* * * * *
    (j) * * *

               Table 1.--Regulations Implementing the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984              
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                                                                    Federal Register                            
          Promulgation date              Title of regulation           reference              Effective date    
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                
        *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *        
                                                        *                                                       
December 6, 1994.....................  Air Emission Standards   59 FR 62896-62953......  October 6, 1996.       
                                        for Tanks, Surface                                                      
                                        Impoundments, and                                                       
                                        Containers.                                                             
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    8. Section 271.1(j) is amended by revising the effective date of 
the following entry in Table 2 to read as follows:


Sec. 271.1  Purpose and Scope.

* * * * *
    (j) * * *

           Table 2.--Self-Implementing Provisions of the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984           
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          Self-implementing                                  Federal Register   
            Effective date                    provision              RCRA citation              reference       
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                
        *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *        
                                                        *                                                       
October 6, 1996......................  Air Emission Standards   3004(n)................  December 6, 1994, 59 FR
                                        for Tanks, Surface                                62896-62953.          
                                        Impoundments, and                                                       
                                        Containers.                                                             
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[FR Doc. 96-14106 Filed 6-4-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P