[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 146 (Thursday, July 30, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 40683-40685]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-20412]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 281
[FRL-6130-6]
Virginia; Approval of Underground Storage Tank Program
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of tentative determination on Virginia's application for
approval of underground storage tank program, public hearing and public
comment period.
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SUMMARY: The Commonwealth of Virginia (State) has applied for approval
of its underground storage tank program under Subtitle I of the
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) has reviewed the State's application and has
made the tentative decision that the State's underground storage tank
program satisfies all of the requirements necessary to qualify for
approval. The State's application for approval is available for public
review and comment. A public hearing will be held to solicit comments
on the application unless insufficient public interest is expressed.
DATES: Unless insufficient public interest is expressed in holding a
hearing, a public hearing will be held on September 11, 1998. However,
EPA reserves the right to cancel the public hearing if sufficient
public interest in a hearing is not communicated to EPA in writing by
September 4, 1998. EPA will determine by September 9, 1998, whether
there is sufficient interest to hold the public hearing. The State will
participate in any public hearing held by EPA on this subject. All
written comments on the State's application for
[[Page 40684]]
program approval must be received by 4:30 p.m. on September 4, 1998.
ADDRESSEES: Copies of the State's application for program approval are
available between 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the following locations for
inspection and copying:
Location: Department of Environmental Quality, Commonwealth of
Virginia, Office of Spill Response and Remediation, 629 East Main
Street, Richmond, Virginia 23240-0009.
Contact: Mary Ellen Kendall, Environmental Technical Services
Administrator.
Telephone: 804-698-4499.
Location: United States Environmental Protection Agency, Docket
Clerk, Office of Underground Storage Tanks, 1235 Jefferson Davis
Highway, 1st Floor, Arlington, VA 22202.
Telephone: (703) 603-9231.
Location: United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region III
Library, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103-2029.
Telephone: (215) 814-5254.
Written comments should be sent to Rosemarie Nino, Program Manager,
State Programs Branch, Waste & Chemicals Management Division (3WC21),
U.S. EPA Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
19103-2029, (215) 814-3377.
Unless insufficient public interest is expressed, EPA will hold a
public hearing on the State's application for program approval on
September 11, 1998, at 7:00 p.m. at the Department of Environmental
Quality, Office of Spill Response and Remediation, Underground Storage
Tank Program, 4949-A Cox Road, Glen Allen, Virginia 23060.
Anyone who wishes to learn whether or not the public hearing on the
State's application has been cancelled should telephone after September
9, 1998, the EPA Program Manager listed above or Mary Ellen Kendall,
Environmental Technical Services Administrator, Department of
Environmental Quality, Office of Spill Response and Remediation,
Underground Storage Tank Program, (804) 698-4499.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rosemarie Nino, State Programs Branch
(3WC21), U.S. EPA Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania 19103-2029, (215) 814-3377. Also, a copy of the fact sheet
is available on the EPA Web Site at (www.epa.gov/reg3 wcmd/
public__notices.htm).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Background
Section 9004 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
authorizes EPA to approve the Commonwealth underground storage tank
programs to operate in lieu of the Federal underground storage tank
(UST) program. EPA may approve a State program if the Agency finds
pursuant to section 9004(b), 42 U.S.C. 6991c(b), that the State's
program is ``no less stringent'' than the Federal program in all seven
elements set forth at section 9004(a)(1) through (7), 42 U.S.C.
6991c(a)(1) through (7), and meets the notification requirements of
section 9004(a)(8), 42 U.S.C. 6991c(a)(8) and also provides for
adequate enforcement of compliance with UST standards (section 9004(a),
42 U.S.C. 6991c(a)).
B. Virginia
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VADEQ) is the
implementing agency for UST activities in the State. The Underground
Storage Tank Program, Office of Spill Response and Remediation of VADEQ
is dedicating a substantial effort to prevent, control and remediate
UST-related groundwater contamination. The Underground Storage Tank
Program, Office of Spill Response and Remediation of VADEQ maintains a
strong field presence and works closely with the regulated community to
ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
Virginia's requirements which exceed the stringency or scope of the
Federal regulations include the following subject matter:
(1) Virginia's regulations do not allow for the installation of an
UST system without corrosion protection under any circumstances,
whereas EPA allows the installation of an UST system without corrosion
protection if a corrosion expert determines that the site is not
corrosive enough to cause the system to have a release due to corrosion
during its operating life;
(2) Virginia's regulations require that owners and operators obtain
a permit, undergo a State inspection, and/or obtain a certificate of
use in accordance with the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code for
the following circumstances: tank installation, tank repairs and
release detection, and temporary closure, permanent tank closure, and
changes-in-service. EPA's technical standards do not require permits or
inspections of this nature, nor do they require conformance with State
building codes;
(3) The Federal requirements at 40 CFR 280.20(e) allow six options
for an owner/operator to demonstrate compliance with the installation
requirements of section 280.20(d). The State's regulations do not allow
two of these options: certification by the installer or inspection and
approval of the installation by the implementing agency;
(4) Virginia's regulations require that UST systems with impressed
current corrosion protection systems must be installed so that they
cannot be inadvertently shut off. EPA technical standards only require
that the cathodic protection systems continuously provide corrosion
protection;
(5) Virginia's regulations set forth the requirement that owners/
operators file an application for and obtain a Corrective Action Permit
(CAP) when corrective action is needed. The EPA's technical standards
do not include such a requirement;
(6) Virginia's requirements for assessing the site at closure or
change-in-service mirror the federal requirements with additional
requirements for the testing of samples and submittal of test results,
a description of the area sampled, and a site map;
(7) Virginia's state fund has been created to assist owners and
operators in demonstrating financial responsibility; and
(8) Virginia's definition of ``regulated substance'' is more
inclusive and therefore, broader in scope than the Federal definition.
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality submitted to EPA a
final application for approval on July 15, 1998. Prior to its
submission, the State provided an opportunity for public notice and
comment in the development of its underground storage tank program, as
required by 40 CFR 281.50(b). EPA has reviewed the State's application,
and has tentatively determined that the State's program meets all of
the requirements necessary to qualify for final approval. However, EPA
intends to review all timely public comments prior to making a final
decision on whether to grant approval to the State to operate its
program in lieu of the Federal program. Virginia's Petroleum
Underground Storage Tank Financial Responsibility Requirements will
become effective on or before August 30, 1998. EPA will not make a
final decision on Virginia's Underground Storage Tank Program until
after that date.
In accordance with section 9004 of RCRA, 42 U.S.C. 6991c, and 40
CFR 281.50(e), the Agency will hold a public hearing on its tentative
decision on September 11, 1998, at 7:00 p.m. at the
[[Page 40685]]
Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Spill Response and
Remediation, Underground Storage Tank Program, 4949-A Cox Road, Glen
Allen, Virginia 23060, unless insufficient public interest is
expressed. The public may also submit written comments on EPA's
tentative determination until September 4, 1998. Copies of the State's
application are available for inspection and copying at the locations
indicated in the Addressees section of this document.
EPA will consider all public comments on its tentative
determination received at the public hearing, if a hearing is held, and
during the public comment period. Issues raised by those comments may
be the basis for a decision to deny approval to the State. EPA will
give notice of its final decision in the Federal Register; the document
will include a summary of the reasons for the final determination and a
response to all significant comments.
C. Compliance With Executive Order 12866
The Office of Management and Budget has exempted this action from
the requirements of section 6 of Executive Order 12866.
D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), Pub.
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 Virginia 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. Virginia participation in
an approved UST 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 Virginia 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, 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 own and/or operate USTs, they are already subject
to the regulatory requirements under existing state law which are being
approved by EPA, and, thus, are not subject to any additional
significant or unique requirements by virtue of this program approval.
E. Certification Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act
EPA has determined that this approval will not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. Such small
entities which own and/or operate USTs are already subject to the
regulatory requirements under existing State law which are being
approved by EPA. EPA's approval does not impose any additional burdens
on these small entities. This is because EPA's approval 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 approval will not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. This rule
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.
F. Paperwork Reduction Act
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., Federal
agencies must consider the paperwork burden imposed by an information
request contained in a proposed rule or a final rule. This rule will
not impose any information requirements upon the regulated community.
G. Compliance With Executive Order 13045
Executive Order 13045 applies to any rule that the Office of
Management and Budget determines is ``economically significant'' as
defined under Executive Order 12866, and that EPA determines that the
environmental health or safety risk addressed by the rule has a
disproportionate effect on children. If the regulatory action meets
both criteria, the Agency must evaluate the environmental health or
safety effects of the planned rule on children and explain why the
planned regulation is preferable to other potentially effective and
reasonably feasible alternatives considered by the Agency.
The Agency has determined that the proposed rule is not a covered
regulatory action as defined in the Executive Order because it is not
economically significant and does not address environmental health and
safety risks. As such, the proposed rule is not subject to the
requirements of Executive Order 13045.
Authority: This notice is issued under the authority of Section
9004 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act as amended 42
U.S.C. 6991c.
Dated: July 17, 1998.
Thomas Voltaggio,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 3.
[FR Doc. 98-20412 Filed 7-29-98; 8:45 am]
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