[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 105 (Tuesday, June 2, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 31338-31342]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-12932]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 271

[EPA-R10-RCRA-2015-0307; FRL-9928-38-Region 10]


Idaho: Authorization of State Hazardous Waste Management Program 
Revision

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

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ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: Idaho has applied to the EPA for final authorization of 
certain changes to its hazardous waste program under the Resource 
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), as amended. RCRA allows the EPA 
to authorize State hazardous waste management programs if the EPA finds 
that such programs are equivalent to and consistent with the Federal 
program and provide adequate enforcement of compliance. The EPA has 
reviewed Idaho's application, has preliminarily determined these 
changes satisfy all requirements needed to qualify for final 
authorization, and is proposing to authorize the State's changes.

DATES: Comments on this proposed rule must be received on or before 
July 2, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R10-
RCRA-2015-0307 by one of the following methods:
     www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected].
     Mail: Barbara McCullough, U.S. EPA, Region 10, 1200 Sixth 
Avenue, Suite 900, Mail Stop AWT-150, Seattle, Washington 98101.
     Hand Delivery: Barbara McCullough, U.S. EPA, Region 10, 
1200 Sixth Avenue, Suite 900, Mail Stop AWT-150, Seattle, Washington 
98101. Such deliveries are only accepted during the normal business 
hours of operation; special arrangements should be made for deliveries 
of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R10-RCRA-
2015-0307. The 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 the 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 the 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 
through www.regulations.gov, the EPA recommends that you include your 
name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with 
any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If the EPA cannot read your comment due 
to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, the 
EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should 
avoid the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be 
free of any defects or viruses. For additional information about the 
EPA's public docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
    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 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the EPA Region 10 Library, 
1200 Sixth Avenue, First Floor Lobby, Seattle, Washington 98101. The 
EPA Region 10 Library is open from 9:00 a.m. to noon, and 1:00 to 4:00 
p.m. PST Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The EPA 
Region 10 Library telephone number is (206) 553-1289.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barbara McCullough, U.S. EPA, Region 
10, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Suite 900, Mail Stop AWT-150, Seattle, 
Washington 98101, email: [email protected] or phone number 
(206) 553-2416.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Proposed Authorization Revision

A. Why are revisions to State programs necessary?

    States which have received final authorization from the EPA under 
RCRA section 3006(b), 42 U.S.C. 6926(b), must maintain a hazardous 
waste program that is equivalent to, consistent with, and no less 
stringent than the Federal program. As the Federal program changes, 
States must change their programs and ask the EPA to authorize their 
changes. Changes to State programs may be necessary when Federal or 
State statutory or regulatory authority is modified or when certain 
other changes occur. Most commonly, States must change their programs 
because of changes to the EPA's regulations codified in Title 40 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Parts 124, 260 through 268, 270, 273, 
and 279.

B. What decisions have we made in this proposed rule concerning 
authorization?

    The EPA has preliminarily determined that Idaho's application to 
revise its authorized program meets all of the statutory and regulatory 
requirements established by RCRA. Therefore, we are proposing to grant 
Idaho final authorization to operate its hazardous waste management 
program with the changes described in the authorization application. 
Idaho will have responsibility for permitting Treatment, Storage, and 
Disposal Facilities (TSDFs) within its borders (except in Indian 
country) and for carrying out the aspects of the RCRA program described 
in its revised program application, subject to the limitations of the 
Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 (HSWA). New Federal 
requirements and prohibitions imposed by Federal regulations that the 
EPA promulgates under the authority of HSWA, and which are not less 
stringent than existing requirements, take effect in authorized States 
before the States are authorized for the requirements. Thus, the EPA 
will implement those requirements and prohibitions in Idaho, including 
issuing permits, until the State is granted authorization to do so.

C. What will be the effect if Idaho is authorized for these changes?

    If Idaho is authorized for these changes, a facility in Idaho 
subject to RCRA will have to comply with the authorized State 
requirements in lieu of the corresponding Federal requirements to 
comply with RCRA. Additionally, such facilities will have to comply 
with any applicable Federal requirements, such as, for example, HSWA 
regulations issued by the EPA for which the State has not received 
authorization, and RCRA requirements that are not supplanted by 
authorized State requirements. Idaho continues to have enforcement 
authorities and responsibilities under its State hazardous waste 
management program for violations of the requirements of this program. 
However, the EPA retains authority under RCRA sections 3007, 3008, 
3013, and 7003, which includes, among others, the authority to:
     Conduct inspections; which may include but are not limited 
to requiring monitoring, tests, analyses, and/or reports;

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     Enforce RCRA requirements which may include but are not 
limited to suspending, terminating, modifying and/or revoking permits; 
and
     Take enforcement actions regardless of whether the State 
has taken its own actions.
    The action to approve these revisions will not impose additional 
requirements on the regulated community because the regulations for 
which Idaho is requesting authorization are already effective under 
State law and are not changed by the act of authorization.

D. What happens if the EPA receives comments on this action?

    If the EPA receives comments on this action, we will address those 
comments in a later final rule. You may not have another opportunity to 
comment. If you want to comment on this authorization, you should do so 
at this time.

E. What has Idaho previously been authorized for?

    Idaho initially received final authorization for its hazardous 
waste management program effective April 9, 1990 (55 FR 11015, March 
26, 1990). Subsequently, the EPA authorized revisions to the State's 
program effective June 5, 1992 (57 FR 11580, April 6, 1992), August 10, 
1992 (57 FR 24757, June 11, 1992), June 11, 1995 (60 FR 18549, April 
12, 1995), January 19, 1999 (63 FR 56086, October 21, 1998), July 1, 
2002 (67 FR 44069, July 1, 2002), March 10, 2004 (69 FR 11322, March 
10, 2004), July 22, 2005 (70 FR 42273, July 22, 2005), February 26, 
2007 (72 FR 8283, February 26, 2007), December 23, 2008 (73 FR 78647, 
December 23, 2008) and July 11, 2012 (77 FR 34229, June 11, 2012).

F. What changes are we proposing?

    On February 11, 2015, Idaho submitted a program revision 
application to the EPA requesting authorization for all delegable 
Federal hazardous waste regulations codified as of July 1, 2012, 
incorporated by reference in IDAPA 58.01.05.000 et seq., which were 
adopted and effective in the State of Idaho on April 4, 2013. This 
authorization revision request includes the following federal rules for 
which Idaho is being authorized for the first time: Removal of 
Saccharin and its Salts from the Lists of Hazardous Constituents, 
Hazardous Wastes, and Hazardous Substances, 75 FR 78918, December 17, 
2010; Technical Corrections to the Academics Lab Rule, 75 FR 79304, 
December 20, 2010; Revisions to the Treatment Standards for Carbamate 
Wastes, 76 FR 34147, June, 13, 2011; Hazardous Waste Manifest Printing 
Specifications Corrections, 76 FR 36363, June 22, 2011; and Hazardous 
Waste Technical Corrections and Clarifications Rule, 77 FR 22229, April 
13, 2012. The EPA proposes to revise the state's authorized hazardous 
waste program in its entirety through July 1, 2013. There were no final 
federal RCRA hazardous waste regulations promulgated by the EPA from 
July 1, 2012 to July 1, 2013. Notice and an opportunity for the public 
to comment on this proposed authorization revision is being provided at 
this time.

G. Where are the revised State rules different from the Federal rules?

    Under RCRA section 3009, the EPA may not authorize State law that 
is less stringent than the Federal program. Any State law that is less 
stringent does not supplant the Federal regulations. State law that is 
broader in scope than the Federal program requirements is not 
authorized. State law that is equivalent to, and State law that is more 
stringent than, the Federal program may be authorized, in which case 
those provisions are enforceable by the EPA. This section discusses 
certain rules where the EPA has made the finding that Idaho's program 
is more stringent and will be authorized, and discusses certain 
portions of the Federal program that are not delegable to the State 
because of the Federal government's special role in foreign policy 
matters and because of national concerns that arise with certain 
decisions.
    The EPA does not authorize States to administer Federal import and 
export functions in any section of the RCRA hazardous waste 
regulations. Even though States do not receive authorization to 
administer the Federal government's import and export functions, found 
in 40 CFR part 262, subparts E, F and H, State programs are required to 
adopt the Federal import and export provisions to maintain their 
equivalency with the Federal program. Idaho amended its import and 
export laws to include the Federal rule on Organization for Economic 
Cooperation and Development (OECD) Requirements; Export Shipments of 
Spend Lead-Acid Batteries (75 FR 1236, January 8, 2010). The State's 
rule is found at IDAPA 58.01.05.006. The EPA will continue to implement 
those requirements directly through the RCRA regulations.
    The EPA has found that Idaho's Emergency Notification Requirements, 
(IDAPA 58.01.05.006.02), are more stringent than the Federal program. 
This is because the State's regulations require that the State 
Communications Center be contacted along with the Federal Center. The 
EPA has found the State's statutory requirement requiring hazardous 
waste generators and commercial hazardous waste disposal facilities to 
file annual hazardous waste generation reports, Idaho Code Section 39-
4411(4) and 39-4411(5), to be more stringent than the Federal program. 
As the EPA can authorize rules that are determined to be more stringent 
than the Federal program, this requirement is authorized.

H. Who handles permits after the authorization takes effect?

    Idaho will continue to issue permits for all the provisions for 
which it is authorized and will administer the permits it issues. If 
the EPA issued permits prior to authorizing Idaho for these revisions, 
these permits would continue in force until the effective date of the 
State's issuance or denial of a State hazardous waste permit, at which 
time the EPA would modify the existing EPA permit to expire at an 
earlier date, terminate the existing EPA permit for cause, or allow the 
existing EPA permit to otherwise expire by its terms, except for those 
facilities located in Indian Country. The EPA will not issue new 
permits or new portions of permits for provisions for which Idaho is 
authorized after the effective date of this authorization. The EPA will 
continue to implement and issue permits for HSWA requirements for which 
Idaho is not authorized.

I. How would authorizing Idaho for these revisions affect Indian 
country (18 U.S.C. 1151) in Idaho?

    Idaho is not authorized to carry out its hazardous waste program in 
Indian country, as defined in 18 U.S.C. 1151. Indian country includes:
    1. All lands within the exterior boundaries of Indian reservations 
within or abutting the State of Idaho;
    2. Any land held in trust by the U.S. for an Indian tribe; and
    3. Any other land, whether on or off an Indian reservation, that 
qualifies as Indian country. Therefore, this action has no effect on 
Indian country. The EPA will continue to implement and administer the 
RCRA program on these lands.

II. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    This proposed rule seeks to revise the State of Idaho's authorized 
hazardous waste program pursuant to section 3006 of RCRA and imposes no 
requirements other than those currently imposed by State law. This 
proposed rule complies

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with applicable executive orders and statutory provisions as follows:

A. Executive Order 12866 and 13563

    This action will authorize revisions to the federally approved 
hazardous waste program in Idaho. This type of action is exempt from 
review under Executive Order (E.O.) 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 
1993), and Executive Order 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011).

B. Paperwork Reduction Act

    This action does not impose an information collection burden under 
the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. 
Burden is defined at 5 CFR 1320.3(b). This proposed rule does not 
establish or modify any information or recordkeeping requirements for 
the regulated community.

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), as amended by the Small 
Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA), 5 U.S.C. 601 et 
seq., generally requires Federal agencies to prepare a regulatory 
flexibility analysis of any rule subject to notice and comment 
rulemaking requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act or any 
other statute unless the agency certifies that the rule will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
Small entities include small businesses, small organizations, and small 
governmental jurisdictions. For purposes of assessing the impacts of 
this proposed rule on small entities, small entity is defined as: (1) A 
small business, as codified in the Small Business Size Regulations at 
13 CFR part 121; (2) a small governmental jurisdiction that is a 
government of a city, county, town, school district or special district 
with a population of less than 50,000; and (3) a small organization 
that is any not-for-profit enterprise which is independently owned and 
operated and is not dominant in its field. The EPA has determined that 
this proposed action will not have a significant impact on small 
entities because the proposed rule will only have the effect of 
authorizing pre-existing requirements under State law and imposes no 
additional requirements beyond those imposed by State law. After 
considering the economic impacts of this action, I certify that this 
action will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities.

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    This action contains no Federal mandates under the provisions of 
Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), 2 U.S.C. 
1531-1538 for State, local, or tribal governments or the private 
sector. This action imposes no new enforceable duty on any State, local 
or tribal governments or the private sector. Therefore this action is 
not subject to the requirements of sections 202 or 205 of the UMRA. 
This action is also not subject to the requirements of section 203 of 
the UMRA because it contains no regulatory requirements that might 
significantly or uniquely affect small government entities.

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism

    This action does not have federalism implications. It will not have 
substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship between 
the national government and the States, or on the distribution of power 
and responsibilities among the various levels of government, as 
specified in Executive Order 13132. This rule proposes to authorize 
pre-existing State rules. Thus, Executive Order 13132 does not apply to 
this action. Although section 6 of Executive Order 13132 does not apply 
to this action, the EPA did consult with officials of the State of 
Idaho Department of Environmental Quality in developing this action. In 
the spirit of E.O. 13132 and consistent with the EPA policy to promote 
communications between the EPA and state and local governments, the EPA 
specifically solicits comment on this proposed action from state and 
local officials.

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With Indian 
Tribal Governments

    This action does not have tribal implications, as specified in 
Executive Order 13175. This action proposes to authorize pre-existing 
State rules. Thus, the EPA has determined that Executive Order 13175 
does not apply to this rule. The EPA specifically solicits comment on 
this proposed action from tribal officials.

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental 
Health and Safety Risks

    The EPA interprets Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 
1997) as applying only to those regulatory actions that concern health 
or safety risks, such that the analysis required under section 5-501 of 
the E.O. has the potential to influence the regulation. This action is 
not subject to E.O. 13045 because it proposes to authorize pre-existing 
State rules.

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That Significantly Affect Energy 
Supply, Distribution, or Use

    This action is not subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, 
May 22, 2001), because it is not a ``significant regulatory action'' as 
defined under Executive Order 12866.

I. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act

    Section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement 
Act of 1995 (``NTTAA''), Public Law 104-113, section 12(d) (15 U.S.C. 
272 note) directs the 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 bodies. The NTTAA directs the EPA to 
provide Congress, through the OMB, explanations when the Agency decides 
not to use available and applicable voluntary consensus standards. This 
proposed action does not involve technical standards. Therefore the EPA 
is not considering the use of any voluntary consensus standards.

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions To Address Environmental 
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations

    Executive Order (E.O.) 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994) 
establishes federal executive policy on environmental justice. Its main 
provision directs federal agencies, to the greatest extent practicable 
and permitted by law, to make environmental justice part of their 
mission by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, 
disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental 
effects of their programs, policies, and activities on minority 
populations and low-income populations in the United States.
    The EPA has determined that this proposed action will not have 
disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental 
effects on minority or low-income populations because it does not 
affect the level of protection provided to human health or the 
environment. This action proposes to authorize pre-existing State rules 
which are equivalent to, and no less stringent than, existing federal 
requirements.

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List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 271

    Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure, 
Confidential business information, Hazardous materials transportation, 
Hazardous waste, Indians-lands, Intergovernmental relations, Penalties, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

Authority

    This proposed action 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 18, 2015.
Dennis J. McLerran,
Regional Administrator, EPA Region 10.
[FR Doc. 2015-12932 Filed 6-1-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P