[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 181 (Friday, September 18, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 49852-49855]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-24735]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 271
[FRL-6161-5]
Georgia: Final Authorization of State Hazardous Waste Management
Program Revisions
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Immediate final rule.
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SUMMARY: Georgia has applied for final authorization of revisions to
its hazardous waste program under the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA). Georgia's revisions consist of the provisions
contained in the rules promulgated between July 1, 1995 and June 30,
1996, RCRA Cluster VI and requirements promulgated August 26, 1996 and
February 19, 1997. These requirements are listed in section B of this
document. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reviewed
Georgia's application and has made a decision, subject to public review
and comment, that Georgia's hazardous waste program revisions satisfy
all of the requirements necessary to qualify for final authorization.
Thus, EPA intends to approve Georgia's hazardous waste program
revisions. Georgia's application for program revisions is available for
public review and comment.
DATES: Final authorization for Georgia shall be effective without
further notice, November 17, 1998 if EPA receives no adverse comment on
this document by October 19, 1998. Should EPA receive such comments EPA
will withdraw this rule before its effective date by publishing a
notice of withdrawal in the Federal Register. Any comments on Georgia's
program revision application must be filed by October 19, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to: Patricia Herbert, Chief, RCRA Programs
Branch, Waste Management Division, EPA, 61 Forsyth Street, Atlanta,
Georgia 30303. Copies of Georgia's program revision application and the
materials which EPA used in evaluating the revision are available for
inspection and copying during regular office hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, at the following addresses:
Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection
Division, Floyd Towers East, Room 1154, 205 Butler Street, SE, Atlanta,
Georgia 30334
U.S. EPA Region 4, Library, 61 Forsyth Street, Atlanta, Georgia 30303
[[Page 49853]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patricia Herbert, Chief, RCRA Service
Section, RCRA Programs Branch, Waste Management Division, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, 61 Forsyth Street, Atlanta, Georgia
30303; (404) 562-8449.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Background
States with final authorization under section 3006(b) of the
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (``RCRA or ``the Act''), 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. As the Federal
hazardous waste program changes, the States must revise their programs
and apply for authorization of the revisions. Revisions to State
hazardous waste programs may be necessary when Federal or State
statutory or regulatory authority is modified or when certain other
changes occur. Most commonly, States must revise their programs because
of changes to EPA's regulations in 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
parts 124, 260 through 266, 268, 270, 273 and 279.
B. Georgia
Georgia initially received final authorization for its base RCRA
program effective on August 21, 1984. Georgia was de-authorized for
section 3004(t) of the RCRA on July 30, 1992. Between 1984 and 1998
Georgia received authorization for revisions to its program for non-
HSWA Clusters I through VII; HSWA Clusters I and II, including
corrective action; Radioactive Mixed Wastes; the Toxicity
Characteristics Rule and RCRA Clusters I through V.
On April 28, 1998, Georgia submitted a final, complete program
revision application for RCRA Cluster VI, seeking authorization of its
program revision in accordance with 40 CFR 271.21. The EPA reviewed
Georgia's application, and now makes an immediate final decision,
subject to receipt of adverse written comment, that Georgia's hazardous
waste program revision satisfies all of the requirements necessary to
qualify for final authorization. Consequently, EPA intends to grant
Final Authorization for the program modifications contained in
Georgia's program revision application.
The public may submit written comments on EPA's final decision
until October 19, 1998. Copies of Georgia's application for program
revisions are available for inspection and copying at the locations
indicated in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.
If EPA does not receive adverse written comment pertaining to
Georgia's program revision by the end of the comment period, the
authorization of Georgia's revision will become effective in 60 days
from the date this document is published. If the Agency does receive
adverse written comment, it will publish a document withdrawing this
immediate final rule before its effective date. EPA will then address
the comments in a later final rule based on the companion document
appearing in the Proposed Rules section of today's Federal Register.
EPA may not provide additional opportunity for comment. Any parties
interested in commenting should do so at this time.
Today's rule will allow state statutes and regulations to: (1)
provide that ECD 301B (Modified Sturm Test) may also be used to
demonstrate that a sorbent is non-biodegradable (Checklist 145), (2)
provide opportunities or earlier public involvement in the permitting
process and expand public access to information throughout the
permitting process and the operational lives of facilities (Checklist
148), (3) correct the text of a regulatory exclusion from the
regulatory definition of solid waste for recovered oil which is
inserted into the petroleum refining process (Checklist 150), (4)
contain treatment standards for hazardous wastes from the production of
carbamate pesticides and from primary aluminum production, contain the
treatment standards for hazardous wastes that exhibit the
characteristic of reactivity, put back into place the LDR ``Third
Third'' provisions for the treatment of certain wastewaters, codify the
Federal policy that combustion of inorganic waste is an impermissible
form of treatment (Checklist 151), (5) identify the wastes, under the
RCRA, that are subject to a graduated system of procedural and
substantive controls when they move across national borders within the
OECD for recovery (Checklist 152).
Georgia's program revisions are summarized in the table below:
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Checklist Description Federal Register date and page State authority
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145 *........... Hazardous Waste 60 FR 35705, 07-11-95............................... 391-3-11-.10
Management Liquids in
Landfills.
148............. RCRA Expanded Public 60 FR 63431, 12-11-95............................... 391-3-11-.11
Participation.
150 *........... Identification and 61 FR 13106, 03-26-96............................... 391-3-11-.07
Listing of Hazardous
Waste; Amendments to
Definition of Solid
Waste.
151............. Land Disposal 61 FR 15597, 04-08-96............................... 391-3-11-.16
Restrictions Phase 61 FR 15662, 04-08-96
III--Decharacterized 61 FR 19117, 04-30-96
Wastewaters, 61 FR 33682, 06-28-96
Carbamate Waste, and 61 FR 36419, 07-10-96
Spent Potliners. 61 FR 43927, 08-26-96
62 FR 7504, 02-19-97
152............. Imports and Exports of 61 FR 16309, 04-12-96............................... 391-3-11-.07
Hazardous Waste: 391-3-11-.08
Implementation of 391-3-11-.09
OECD Council Decision. 391-3-11-.10
391-3-11-.18
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* Denotes optional rule.
EPA shall administer any RCRA hazardous waste permits, or portions
of permits that contain conditions based upon the Federal program
provisions for which the State is applying for authorization and which
were issued by EPA prior to the effective date of this authorization.
EPA will suspend issuance of any further permits under the provisions
for which the State is being authorized on the effective date of this
authorization.
The State of Georgia's Hazardous Waste Management Program is not
being authorized to operate in Indian Country.
C. Decision
I conclude that Georgia's application for program revision
authorization
[[Page 49854]]
meets all of the statutory and regulatory requirements established by
RCRA. Accordingly, EPA grants Georgia Final Authorization to operate
its hazardous waste program as revised. Georgia now has responsibility
for permitting treatment, storage, and disposal facilities within its
borders and for carrying out the aspects of the RCRA program described
in its program application, and its previously approved authorities.
Georgia 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.
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. EPA
has determined that section 202 and 205 requirements do not apply to
today's action because this rule does not contain a Federal mandate
that may 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 Georgia's 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. Further, as it applies to the State, this
action does not impose a Federal intergovernmental mandate because UMRA
does not include duties arising from participation in a voluntary
federal program. 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. Although small governments may be
hazardous waste generators, transporters, or own and/or operate TSDFs,
they are already subject to the regulatory requirements under the
existing State laws that are being authorized by EPA, and, thus, are
not subject to any additional significant or unique requirements by
virtue of this program approval.
Certification Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act
Pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.,
as amended by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of
1996), whenever an agency is required to publish a notice of rulemaking
for any proposed or final rule, it must prepare and make available for
public comment a regulatory flexibility analysis that describes the
effect of the rule on small entities (i.e., small businesses, small
organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions). This analysis is
unnecessary, however, if the agency's Administrator certifies that the
rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities. The 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 subject to the regulatory requirements under the
existing State laws that are now being authorized by EPA. The EPA's
authorization does not impose any significant 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. Pursuant to
the provision at 5 U.S.C. 605(b), the Agency hereby certifies 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 Comptroller General
The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule,
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the
United States. The 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 United States 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).
Compliance With Executive Order 12866
The Office of Management and Budget has exempted this rule from the
requirements of Executive Order 12866.
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 final 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 final rule is not subject to the
requirements of Executive Order 13045.
Paperwork Reduction Act
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., Federal
agencies must consider the paperwork burden imposed by any information
request contained in a proposed rule or a final rule. This rule will
not impose any information requirements upon the regulated community.
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act
Section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement
Act of 1995 (``NTTAA''), Pub L. No. 104-113, section 12(d) (15 U.S.C.
272 note) directs EPA to use voluntary consensus standards in its
regulatory activities unless to do so would be inconsistent with
applicable law or otherwise impractical. Voluntary consensus standards
are technical standards (e.g., materials specifications, test methods,
sampling procedures, and business practices) that are developed or
adopted by voluntary consensus
[[Page 49855]]
standards bodies. The NTTAA directs EPA to provide Congress, through
OMB, explanations when the Agency decides not to use available and
applicable voluntary consensus standards.
This action does not involve technical standards. Therefore, EPA
did not consider the use of any voluntary consensus standards.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 271
Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure,
Confidential business information, Excessive paperwork, Hazardous
waste, Hazardous waste transportation, Indian Country,
Intergovernmental relations, Penalties, Reporting and record keeping
requirements, Water pollution control, Water supply.
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: August 10, 1998.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 98-24735 Filed 9-17-98; 8:45 am]
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