[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 127 (Wednesday, July 1, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 39517-39518]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-13763]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 281

[EPA-R04-UST-2020-0248; FRL-10009-90-Region 4]


Commonwealth of Kentucky: Tentative Approval of State Underground 
Storage Tank Program

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of tentative determination on application 
of the Commonwealth of Kentucky for final approval, public hearing 
opportunity, and public comment period.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Commonwealth of Kentucky (Commonwealth or State) has 
applied for final approval of its Underground Storage Tank (UST) 
Program under Subtitle I of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act 
(RCRA or Act). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reviewed 
the Commonwealth's application and made the tentative decision that the 
State's UST Program application satisfies all the requirements 
necessary to qualify for final approval. The State's UST Program 
application is available for public review and comment. A public 
hearing will be held to solicit comments on the application if 
sufficient public interest is expressed. This Federal Register notice 
solicits requests for a public hearing and comments on the State's 
application.

DATES: Comments and/or request for a public hearing on this tentative 
determination must be received on or before July 31, 2020. A public 
hearing will be held no earlier than August 31, 2020 if sufficient 
public interest is expressed. The EPA will determine by August 17, 
2020, whether there is sufficient interest to warrant a public hearing. 
The Commonwealth will be invited to participate in any public hearing 
held by the EPA on this action. Please see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, 
Item C, for details.

ADDRESSES: For detailed instructions and additional information on the 
rulemaking process, please see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, Item C.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ben Singh, RCRA Programs and Cleanup 
Branch, Land, Chemicals and Redevelopment Division, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 4, Atlanta Federal Center, 61 Forsyth Street 
SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960; Phone number: (404) 562-8922; email 
address: [email protected]. Please contact Ben Singh by phone or email 
for further information.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

    Section 9004 of RCRA, 42 U.S.C. 6991c, authorizes the EPA to 
approve state UST programs to operate in lieu of the Federal UST 
program. Pursuant to RCRA section 9004(b), approval may be granted if 
the state program: Provides for adequate enforcement of compliance with 
the UST standards of RCRA section 9004(a); is ``no less stringent'' 
than the Federal program for the seven elements set forth at RCRA 
section 9004(a)(1) through (7); and includes the notification 
requirements of RCRA section 9004(a)(8).

B. Commonwealth of Kentucky

    The Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection (KYDEP) within 
the Energy and Environment Cabinet is the lead implementing agency for 
the UST Program in the State. On October 7, 2019, in accordance with 40 
CFR 281.50, the State submitted an application seeking Federal approval 
of the State UST Program. The application was determined complete by 
the EPA on March 13, 2020. Per the application, the most recent 
amendments to the KYDEP UST regulations became effective April 5, 2019 
and include revisions which correspond to the EPA final rule published 
on July 15, 2015 (80 FR 41566), which revised the 1988 UST regulations 
and the 1988 state program approval (SPA) regulations. The KYDEP has 
broad statutory and regulatory authority to regulate the installation, 
operation, maintenance, and closure of USTs, as well as UST releases, 
pursuant to Title XVIII of the Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS), Chapter 
224, Subchapter 60, and Title 401 of the Kentucky Administrative 
Regulations (KAR), Chapter 42 (2019). In accordance with the 
requirements of 40 CFR 281.50(b), the State provided an opportunity for 
public notice and comment during the development of its UST 
regulations.

C. Public Participation

    Submit comments and requests for public hearings, identified by 
Docket ID No. EPA-R04-UST-2020-0248, at https://www.regulations.gov 
(our preferred method). Follow the online instructions for submission. 
Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from the docket. 
The EPA may publish any comment received to its public docket without 
change. Do not submit electronically any information you consider to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is

[[Page 39518]]

restricted by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must 
be accompanied by a written comment. The written comment is considered 
the official comment and should include discussion of all points you 
wish to make. The EPA will generally not consider comments or comment 
contents located outside of the primary submission (i.e., on the web, 
cloud, or other file sharing system). For additional submission 
methods, the full EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or 
multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective 
comments, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets. The EPA encourages electronic submittals, but if you are 
unable to submit electronically or need other assistance, please 
contact Ben Singh, the contact listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT provision above. Please also contact Ben Singh if you need 
assistance in a language other than English or if you are a person with 
disabilities who needs a reasonable accommodation at no cost to you.
    Out of an abundance of caution for members of the public and our 
staff, the EPA Region 4 Offices are closed to public visitors to reduce 
the risk of transmitting COVID-19. We encourage the public to submit 
comments via https://www.regulations.gov. For further information on 
the EPA Docket Center services and the current status, please visit us 
online at https://www.epa.gov/dockets. All documents in the docket are 
available on the https://www.regulations.gov website.
    The EPA continues to carefully and continuously monitor information 
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), local area 
health departments, and our Federal partners so that we can respond 
rapidly as conditions change regarding COVID-19.

D. Statutory and Executive Order (E.O.) Reviews

    This action merely notifies the public of the EPA's tentative 
determination to approve the Commonwealth's UST Program pursuant to 
RCRA section 9004, 42 U.S.C. 6991c, and does not impose additional 
requirements beyond those already imposed by State law. For that 
reason, these actions:
     Are not significant regulatory actions subject to review 
by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Orders 12866 (58 
FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);
     Are not Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2, 
2017) regulatory actions because UST program approvals are exempted 
under Executive Order 12866;
     Do not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
     Are certified as not having a significant economic impact 
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
     Do not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or 
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
     Do not have Federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
     Are not economically significant regulatory actions based 
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997);
     Are not significant regulatory actions subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
     Are not subject to the requirements of Section 12(d) of 
the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 
272 note) because application of those requirements would be 
inconsistent with RCRA; and
     Do not provide the EPA with the discretionary authority to 
address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental 
effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under 
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
     Do not apply on any Indian reservation land or in any 
other area where the EPA or an Indian tribe has demonstrated that a 
tribe has jurisdiction. The rule does not have tribal implications as 
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), nor 
will it impose substantial direct costs on tribal governments or 
preempt tribal law.
    As required by section 3 of Executive Order 12988 (61 FR 4729, 
February 7, 1996), in issuing this rule, the EPA has taken the 
necessary steps to eliminate drafting errors and ambiguity, minimize 
potential litigation, and provide a clear legal standard for affected 
conduct.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 281

    Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure, 
Hazardous substances, Petroleum, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, State program approval, Underground storage tanks.

    Authority: This action is issued under the authority of Sections 
2002(a), 7004(b), 9004, 9005 and 9006 of the Solid Waste Disposal 
Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 6912(a), 6974(b), 6991(c), 6991(d), and 
6991(e).

Mary Walker,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2020-13763 Filed 6-30-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P