[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 211 (Wednesday, October 31, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65875-65877]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-26792]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-R09-RCRA-2011-0103; [FRL-9743-7]


Adequacy of Arizona Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Permit Program

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of public hearing and continued opportunity to comment.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency Region IX will hold a 
public hearing concerning the agency's tentative determination to 
approve a modification to Arizona's municipal solid waste landfill 
(MSWLF) permit program to allow the State to issue research, 
development, and demonstration (RD&D) permits for new and existing 
MSWLF units and lateral expansions. EPA published its tentative 
determination on February 22, 2011 and offered an opportunity for a 
public hearing. Initially, EPA closed its comment period on April 25, 
2011 and announced it would not hold a public hearing. Since that time, 
in response to public interest and updates to Arizona's RD&D permit 
program, EPA decided to hold a public hearing, extend the comment 
period through the date of the public hearing, and make available for 
public review the updated information submitted by Arizona in support 
of its RD&D program.

[[Page 65876]]


DATES: EPA will hold a public hearing on December 18, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. 
in Room 145 on the first floor of the office of the Arizona Department 
of Environmental Quality at 1110 West Washington Street, Phoenix, 
Arizona. Comments must be received on or before December 18, 2012. EPA 
will accept all comments received between February 22, 2011 and 
December 18, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
RCRA-2011-0103 by one of the following methods:
     www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected].
     Fax: (415) 947-3530.
     Mail: Karen Ueno (WST-7), Environmental Protection Agency 
Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-3901.
     Hand Delivery: Environmental Protection Agency Region IX, 
75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-3901. Such deliveries are 
only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation, and 
special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed 
information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R09-RCRA-
2011-0103. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, 
unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to 
be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov or email. The 
www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, which 
means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you 
provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an email comment 
directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov your email 
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the 
comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the 
Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you 
include your name and other contact information in the body of your 
comment with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your 
comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for 
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic 
files should avoid the use of special characters, or any form of 
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
disclosure of which is restricted by statute. Certain other materials, 
such as the State's prior applications for MSWLF permit program 
approval, are available only in hard copy. Publicly available docket 
materials are available either electronically in www.regulations.gov or 
in hard copy at the Environmental Protection Agency Region IX, 75 
Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-3901. This Docket facility is 
open from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding 
legal holidays. It is located in a secured building. To review docket 
materials at the Docket facility, it is recommended that an appointment 
be made in advance by calling the Docket facility at (415) 947- 4406 
during normal business hours.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Ueno, Waste Management Division, 
WST-7, Environmental Protection Agency Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, 
San Francisco, CA 94105-3901; telephone number: (415) 972-3317; fax 
number: (415) 947-3530; email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Background

    On March 22, 2004, EPA issued a final rule amending the municipal 
solid waste landfill criteria at 40 CFR 258.4 to allow for Research, 
Development, and Demonstration (RD&D) permits (69 FR 13242). This rule 
allows for variances from specified criteria for a limited period of 
time. Specifically, the rule allows the Director of an EPA-approved 
State permit program to issue a time-limited RD&D permit for a new 
MSWLF unit, existing MSWLF unit, or lateral expansion, for which the 
owner or operator proposes to use innovative and new methods which vary 
from either or both of the following: (1) The run-on control systems at 
40 CFR 258.26, and/or (2) the liquids restrictions at 40 CFR 258.28(a), 
provided that the MSWLF unit has a leachate collection system designed 
and constructed to maintain less than a 30 cm depth of leachate on the 
liner. The rule also allows the Director of an EPA-approved State 
permit program to issue a time-limited RD&D permit for which the owner 
or operator proposes to use innovative and new methods that vary from 
the final cover criteria at 40 CFR 258.60(a) (1) and (2), and (b) (1), 
provided that the owner or operator demonstrates that the alternative 
cover system will not contaminate groundwater or surface water, or 
cause leachate depth on the liner to exceed 30 cm. An RD&D permit 
cannot exceed three years and a renewal of an RD&D permit cannot exceed 
three years. Although multiple renewals of an RD&D permit can be 
issued, the total term for an RD&D permit including renewals cannot 
exceed twelve years.
    RD&D permits are only available in states with EPA-approved MSWLF 
permit programs that have been modified to incorporate the RD&D permit 
authority. Although a state is not required to seek approval for the 
RD&D permit provision, a state must obtain EPA approval before it may 
issue such a permit. Requirements for EPA's determination of a state 
program's adequacy and the approval procedures are contained in 40 CFR 
Part 239.
    In 1994, EPA Region IX approved the State of Arizona's municipal 
solid waste landfill (MSWLF) permit program pursuant to Subtitle D of 
the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). By 
application dated June 28, 2010, updated on January 26, 2011 and 
September 27, 2012, the State of Arizona is seeking EPA approval for a 
modification to the State's existing MSWLF permit program to include 
RD&D permits. On February 22, 2011, EPA published a tentative approval 
of Arizona's RD&D permit program modification. (76 FR 9772).
    Following the close of the public hearing and the public comment 
period, and after consideration of comments received, EPA will issue a 
final determination. If EPA grants approval, Arizona will be able to 
issue variances for run-on control systems, liquid restrictions, and 
final cover criteria to allow for innovative and new methods, such as 
bioreactor landfills. The approval of the program modification will 
allow the Director of Arizona's program to provide a variance from 
certain MSWLF criteria, provided that the MSWLF owner/operator 
demonstrates that compliance with the RD&D permit will not increase 
risk to human health and the environment. The Director may provide a 
variance from existing requirements of MSWLF criteria for run-on 
control systems, liquids restrictions, and final cover. EPA is seeking 
public comment on its tentative determination of the adequacy of 
Arizona's RD&D modification to its MSWLF permit program.

[[Page 65877]]

B. Submitting Comments on EPA's Tentative Determination

    Tips for Preparing Your Comments. When submitting comments, 
remember to:
     Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other 
identifying information (subject heading, Federal Register date and 
page number).
     Follow directions--The agency may ask you to respond to 
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
     Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives 
and substitute language for your requested changes.
     Describe any assumptions and provide any technical 
information and/or data that you used.
     If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how 
you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced.
     Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and 
suggest alternatives.
     Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the 
use of profanity or personal threats.
     Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period 
deadline identified.
    Submitting Confidential Business Information (CBI). Do not submit 
this information to EPA through www.regulations.gov or email. Clearly 
mark the part or all of the information that you claim to be CBI. For 
CBI information in a disk or CD ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the 
outside of the disk or CD ROM as CBI and then identify electronically 
within the disk or CD ROM the specific information that is claimed as 
CBI. In addition to one complete version of the comment that includes 
information claimed as CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain 
the information claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the 
public docket. Information so marked will not be disclosed except in 
accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR Part 2.
    Docket Copying Costs. Copying arrangements will be made through the 
Docket facility and billed directly to the recipient. Copying costs may 
be waived depending on the total number of pages copied.

    Authority: Sections 2002, 4005, and 4010(c) of the Solid Waste 
Disposal Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 6912, 6945, and 6949(a). 
Delegation 8-46. State/Tribal Permit Programs for Municipal Solid 
Waste Landfills.

    Dated: October 22, 2012.
Jared Blumenfeld,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2012-26792 Filed 10-30-12; 8:45 am]
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