[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 97 (Tuesday, May 20, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 27501-27503]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-13205]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 271

[FRL-5826-4]


Utah: Final Authorization of State Hazardous Waste Management 
Program Revisions

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Immediate final rule.

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SUMMARY: Utah has applied for final authorization of revisions to its 
hazardous waste program under the Resource Conservation and Recovery 
Act (RCRA). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reviewed 
Utah's application and has reached a decision that Utah's hazardous 
waste program revision satisfies all of the requirements necessary to 
qualify for final authorization. Thus, EPA is granting final 
authorization to Utah to operate its expanded program, subject to the 
authority retained by EPA in accordance with the Hazardous and Solid 
Waste Amendments of 1984.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Final authorization for Utah shall be effective at 1:00 
p.m. on July 21, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Kris Shurr (8P2-SA), State 
Assistance Program, 999 18th Street, Ste 500, Denver, Colorado 80202-
2466, Phone: 303/312-6139.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

    States with final authorization under Section 3006(b) of the 
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (``RCRA''), 42 U.S.C. 6929(b), 
have a continuing obligation to maintain a hazardous waste program that 
is equivalent to, consistent with, and no less stringent than the 
Federal hazardous waste program.
    Revisions to State hazardous waste programs are necessary when 
Federal or State statutory or regulatory authority is modified or when 
certain other changes occur. Most commonly, State program revisions are 
necessitated by changes to EPA's regulations in 40 CFR parts 124, 260 
through 268, 270, and 279. These regulatory changes are grouped into 
clusters.

B. Utah

    Utah initially received final authorization in October 1984. Utah 
received authorization for revisions to its program on March 7, 1989, 
July 22, 1991, July 14, 1992, April 13, 1993, and December 13, 1994. On 
March 20, 1995, Utah submitted a final program revision application for 
additional program approvals. In addition, on April 14, 1995, Utah 
submitted a final program revision application for the provisions 
promulgated in the Federal Register at 59 FR 47982, September 19, 1994. 
Utah has been approved for all prerequisite Land Disposal Restriction 
rules through the Third Third (55 FR 22520, June 1, 1990). Today, Utah 
is seeking approval of its program revision in accordance with 40 CFR 
271.21(b)(3). Specific provisions which are included in the Utah 
program authorization revision sought today are listed in the Table 
below.
    EPA has reviewed both of Utah's applications and has made an 
immediate final decision that Utah's hazardous waste program revisions 
satisfy all of the requirements necessary to qualify for final 
authorization. Consequently, EPA intends to grant final authorization 
for the additional program modifications to Utah. The public may submit 
written comments on EPA's immediate final decision up until June 19, 
1997. Copies of Utah's application for program revision are available 
for inspection and copying at the locations indicated in the 
``Addresses'' section of this document.
    Approval of Utah's program revision shall become effective in 60 
days unless a comment opposing the authorization revision discussed in 
this document is received by the end of the comment period. If an 
adverse comment is received, EPA will publish either: (1) A withdrawal 
of the immediate final decision; or (2) a document containing a 
response to comments which either affirms that the immediate final 
decision takes effect or reverses the decision.

                                  Table                                 
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          HSWA or FR reference                 State equivalent \1\     
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Toxicity Characteristic: Hydrocarbon     R315-2-4.                      
 Recovery Operations, 55 FR 40834, 10/                                  
 05/90; 56 FR 3978, 02/01/91; and 56 FR                                 
 13406, 04/02/91.                                                       
Petroleum Refinery Primary and           R315-2-10, R315-50-9.          
 Secondary Oil/Water/Solids Separation                                  
 Sludge Listings (F037 and F038), 55 FR                                 
 46354, 11/02/90; and 55 FR 51707, 12/                                  
 17/90.                                                                 
Wood Preserving Listings, 55 FR 50450,   R315-1-1, R315-2-4, R315-2-10, 
 12/06/90.                                R315-50-8, R315-50-9, R315-50-
                                          10, R315-8-10, R315-8-19, R315-
                                          7-17, R315-7-28, R315-3-6.12. 
Toxicity Characteristic:                 R315-2-4.                      
 Chlorofluorocarbon Refrigerants, 56 FR                                 
 5910, 02/13/91.                                                        
Burning of Hazardous Waste In Boilers    R315-1-1, R315-1-2, R315-2-2,  
 and Industrial Furnaces, 56 FR 7134,     R315-2-4, R315-2-6, R315-8-7, 
 02/21/91.                                R315-8-15.1, R315-7-14, R315-7-
                                          22.1, R315-14-3, R315-14-7,   
                                          R315-3-6.11, R315-3-15, R315- 
                                          50-16, R315-3-37, R315-3-31,  
                                          R315-3-32.                    
Administrative Stay for K069 Listing,    R315-2-10.                     
 56 FR 19951, 05/01/91.                                                 
Revision to the Petroleum Refinery       R315-2-10.                     
 Primary and Secondary Oil/Water/Solids                                 
 Separation Sludge Listings (F037 and                                   
 F038), 56 FR 21955, 05/13/91.                                          
Mining Waste Exclusion III, 56 FR        R315-2-4.                      
 27300, 06/13/91.                                                       
Wood Preserving Listings, 56 FR 27332,   R315-2-10, R315-8-19, R315-7-  
 06/13/91.                                28.                           
Wood Preserving Listings; Technical      R315-2-4, R315-2-24, R315-5-10,
 Corrections, 56 FR 30192, 07/01/91.      R315-8-19, R315-7-28, R315-3- 
                                          6.12.                         

[[Page 27502]]

                                                                        
Burning of Hazardous Waste In Boilers    R315-2-3, R315-2-6, R315-7-    
 and Industrial Furnaces; Corrections     23.1, R315-14-7, R315-3-6.11, 
 and Technical Amendments I, 56 FR        R315-3-15, R315-50-16, R315-3-
 32688, 07/17/91.                         37, R315-3-32.                
Land Disposal Restrictions for Electric  R315-2-3, R315-2-4, R315-13-1. 
 Arc Furnace Dust (K061), 56 FR 41164,                                  
 08/19/91.                                                              
Burning of Hazardous Waste In Boilers    R315-2-2, R315-7-14, R315-14-7.
 and Industrial Furnaces; Technical                                     
 Amendments II, 55 FR 42504, 08/27/91.                                  
Exports of Hazardous Waste; Technical    R315-5-13.                     
 Correction, 56 FR 43704, 09/04/91.                                     
Burning of Hazardous Waste In Boilers    R315-14-7.                     
 and Industrial Furnaces;                                               
 Administrative Stay of Applicability                                   
 and Technical Amendment, 56 FR 43874,                                  
 09/05/91.                                                              
Amendments to Interim Status Standards   R315-1-1, R315-7-13.2.         
 for Downgradient Ground-Water                                          
 Monitoring Well Locations, 56 FR                                       
 66365, 12/23/91.                                                       
Liners and Leak Detection Systems for    R315-1-1, R315-8-2.6, R315-8-  
 Hazardous Waste Land Disposal Units,     2.10, R315-8-5.3, R315-8-11.2,
 57 FR 5859, 02/18/92.                    R315-8-11.9, R315-8-11.10,    
                                          R315-8-11.3, R315-8-11.5, R315-
                                          8-12.2, R315-8-12.8, R315-8-  
                                          12.9, R315-8-12.3, R315-8-    
                                          14.2, R315-8-14.12, R315-8-   
                                          14.3, R315-8-14.13, R315-8-   
                                          14.5, R315-7-9.6, R315-7-9.10,
                                          R315-7-12.4, R315-7-18.9, R315-
                                          7-18.2, R315-7-18.10, R315-7- 
                                          18.5, R315-7-18.6, R315-7-19.9
                                          thru 19.12, R315-7-21.2, R315-
                                          7-21.10 thru 21.12, R315-7-   
                                          21.4, R315-3-13, R315-3-6.3,  
                                          R315-3-6.4, R312-3,-6.7, R315-
                                          50-16.                        
Administrative Stay for the Requirement  R315-8-19, R315-7-28.          
 that Existing Drip Pads be                                             
 Impermeable, 57 FR 5859, 02/18/92.                                     
Second Correction to the Third Third     R315-8-2.4, R315-13-1.         
 Land Disposal Restrictions, 57 FR                                      
 8086, 03/06/92.                                                        
Hazardous Debris Case-by-Case Capacity   R315-13-1.                     
 Variance, 57 FR 20766, 05/15/92.                                       
Recycled Coke By-Product Exclusion, 57   R315-2-4, R315-14-7.           
 FR 27880, 06/22/92.                                                    
Lead-Bearing Hazardous Materials Case-   R315-13-1.                     
 by-Case Capacity Variance, 57 FR                                       
 28628, 06/26/92.                                                       
Universal Treatment Standards, 59 FR     R315-2-2(e)(1)(iii), R315-2-18-
 47982, 09/19/94.                         21, R315-7-8.1(c)(7), R315-8- 
                                          1(e)(7), R315-13.1, R315-14-2,
                                          R315-14-7.                    
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\1\ References are to the Utah Administrative Code revised 11/15/94.    

Indian Reservations

    The program revision does not extend to ``Indian Country'' as 
defined in 18 U.S.C. Section 1151, including lands within the exterior 
boundaries of the following Indian reservations located within or 
abutting the State of Utah:

1. Goshute Indian Reservation
2. Navajo Indian Reservation
3. Northwestern Band of Shoshone Nation of Utah (Washakie) Indian 
Reservation
4. Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah Indian Reservation
5. Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians of Utah Indian Reservation
6. Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation
7. Ute Mountain Indian Reservation

    The Agency is cognizant that the State of Utah and the United 
States Government differ as to the exact geographical extent of Indian 
Country within the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation and are 
currently litigating this question in Federal Court. Until that 
litigation is completed and this question is resolved, the Agency will 
enter into discussions with the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and 
Ouray Indian Reservation and the State of Utah to determine the best 
interim approach to managing this program in the disputed area. The 
Agency will notify the public of the outcome of these discussions.
    In excluding Indian Country from the scope of this program 
revision, EPA is not making a determination that the State either has 
adequate jurisdiction or lacks jurisdiction over sources in Indian 
Country. Should the State of Utah choose to seek program authorization 
within Indian Country, it may do so without prejudice. Before EPA would 
approve the State's program for any portion of Indian Country, EPA 
would have to be satisfied that the State has authority, either 
pursuant to explicit Congressional authorization or applicable 
principles of Federal Indian law, to enforce its laws against existing 
and potential pollution sources within any geographical area for which 
it seeks program approval and that such approval would constitute sound 
administrative practice.
    There are no EPA-issued permits in Indian Country at this time. EPA 
currently has approved closure activities at the Hercules-Tekoi 
Facility.

C. Decision

    I conclude that Utah's application for program revision meets all 
of the statutory and regulatory requirements established by RCRA. 
Accordingly, Utah is granted final authorization to operate its 
hazardous waste program as revised. Utah now has responsibility for 
permitting treatment, storage, and disposal facilities within its 
borders and carrying out other aspects of the RCRA program described in 
its revised program application, subject to the limitations of the 
HSWA. Utah also has primary enforcement responsibilities, although EPA 
retains the right to conduct inspections under Section 3007 of RCRA and 
to take enforcement actions under Sections 3008, 3013 and 7003 of RCRA.

Compliance With Executive Order 12866

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

Certification Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act

    EPA has determined that this authorization will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
Such small entities which are hazardous waste generators, transporters, 
or which own and/or operate TSDFs are already

[[Page 27503]]

subject to the regulatory requirements under existing State law which 
are being authorized by EPA. EPA's authorization does not impose any 
additional burdens on these small entities. This is because EPA's 
authorization would simply result in an administrative change, rather 
than a change in the substantive requirements imposed on these small 
entities.
    Therefore, EPA provides the following certification under the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act, as amended by the Small Business Regulatory 
Enforcement Fairness Act. Pursuant to the provision at 5 U.S.C. 605(b), 
I hereby certify that this authorization will not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. This 
authorization approves regulatory requirements under existing State law 
to which small entities are already subject. It does not impose any new 
burdens on small entities. This rule, therefore, does not require a 
regulatory flexibility analysis.

Submission to Congress and the General Accounting Office

    Under 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A) as added by the Small Business 
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, EPA submitted a report 
containing this rule and other required information to the U.S. Senate, 
the U.S. House of Representatives and the Comptroller General of the 
General Accounting Office prior to publication of the rule in today's 
Federal Register. This rule is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 
U.S.C. 804(2).

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), P.L. 
104-4, establishes requirements for Federal agencies to assess the 
effects of certain regulatory actions on State, local, and tribal 
governments and the private sector. Under sections 202 and 205 of the 
UMRA, EPA generally must prepare a written statement of economic and 
regulatory alternatives analyses for proposed and final rules with 
Federal mandates, as defined by the UMRA, that may result in 
expenditures to State, local, and tribal governments, in the aggregate, 
or to the private sector, of $100 million or more in any one year. The 
section 202 and 205 requirements do not apply to today's action because 
it is not a ``Federal mandate'' and because it does not impose annual 
costs of $100 million or more.
    Today's rule contains no Federal mandates for State, local or 
tribal governments or the private sector for two reasons. First, 
today's action does not impose new or additional enforceable duties on 
any State, local or tribal governments or the private sector because 
the requirements of the Utah program are already imposed by the State 
and subject to State law. Second, the Act also generally excludes from 
the definition of a ``Federal mandate'' duties that arise from 
participation in a voluntary Federal program. Utah's participation in 
an authorized hazardous waste program is voluntary.
    Even if today's rule did contain a Federal mandate, this rule will 
not result in annual expenditures of $100 million or more for State, 
local, and/or tribal governments in the aggregate, or the private 
sector. Costs to State, local and/or tribal governments already exist 
under the Utah program, and today's action does not impose any 
additional obligations on regulated entities. In fact, EPA's approval 
of state programs generally may reduce, not increase, compliance costs 
for the private sector.
    The requirements of section 203 of UMRA also do not apply to 
today's action. Before EPA establishes any regulatory requirements that 
may significantly or uniquely affect small governments, including 
tribal governments, section 203 of the UMRA requires EPA to develop a 
small government agency plan. This rule contains no regulatory 
requirements that might significantly or uniquely affect small 
governments. The Agency recognizes that although small governments may 
be hazardous waste generators, transporters, or own and/or operate 
TSDFs, they are already subject to the regulatory requirements under 
existing state law which are being authorized by EPA, and, thus, are 
not subject to any additional significant or unique requirements by 
virtue of this program approval.

    Authority: This document is issued under the authority of 
Sections 2002(a), 3006 and 7004(b) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act 
as amended 42 U.S.C. 6912(a), 6926, 6974(b).

    Dated: May 5, 1997.
Jack W. McGraw,
Acting Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 97-13205 Filed 5-19-97; 8:45 am]
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