[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 227 (Tuesday, November 24, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 74888-74890]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-24690]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 62

[EPA-R03-OAR-2019-0678; FRL-10016-45-Region 3]


Approval and Promulgation of State Plans for Designated 
Facilities and Pollutants; City of Philadelphia and District of 
Columbia

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving the 
negative declarations submitted to satisfy the requirements of the 
Emission Guidelines and Compliance times for Municipal Solid Waste 
Landfills (MSW) for the City of Philadelphia, located in the 
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia. The 
negative declaration certifies that there are no existing facilities in 
the City of Philadelphia or the District of Columbia that must comply 
with this rule.

DATES: This final rule is effective on December 24, 2020.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID 
Number EPA-R03-OAR-2019-0678. All documents in the docket are listed on 
the https://www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in the index, 
some information is not publicly available, e.g., confidential business 
information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted 
by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, is 
not placed on the internet and will be publicly available only in hard 
copy form. Publicly available docket materials are available through 
https://www.regulations.gov, or please contact the person identified in 
the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section for additional availability 
information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Willson, Permits Branch 
(3AD10), Air & Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. 
The telephone number is (215) 814-5795. Mr. Willson can also be reached 
via electronic mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On July 27, 2020 (85 FR 45154), EPA published a notice of proposed 
rulemaking (NPRM) for the City of Philadelphia, located in the 
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and

[[Page 74889]]

the District of Columbia. In the NPRM, EPA proposed approval of 
negative declarations certifying that there are no existing municipal 
solid waste landfills in the City of Philadelphia or the District of 
Columbia that are subject to the requirements of 40 CFR part 60, 
subpart Cf. The negative declarations were submitted by The City of 
Philadelphia Air Management Services (AMS) and the District of Columbia 
Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) on March 15, 2018 and 
November 15, 2019, respectively.
    Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) establishes standards of 
performance for certain existing sources. Air pollutants included under 
this section are those which have not already been established as air 
quality criteria pollutants via 42 U.S.C. 7408(a) or hazardous air 
pollutants via 42 U.S.C. 7412. Section 111(d)(1) requires states to 
submit to EPA for approval a plan that establishes standards of 
performance. The plan must provide that the state will implement and 
enforce the standards of performance. A Federal plan is prescribed if a 
state does not submit a state-specific plan or the submitted plan is 
disapproved. If a state has no designated facilities for a standards of 
performance source category, it may submit a negative declaration in 
lieu of a state plan for that source category according to 40 CFR 
60.23a(b) and 62.06.

II. Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Regulations

    A MSW landfill is defined in 40 CFR 60.41f as, ``an entire disposal 
facility in a contiguous geographical space where household waste is 
placed in or on land.'' Other substances may be placed in the landfill 
which are regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act 
(RCRA) subtitle D, 40 CFR 257.2. MSW landfills emit gases generated by 
the decomposition of organic compounds or evolution of new organic 
compounds from the deposited waste. EPA regulations specifically 
delineate measures to control methane and nonmethane organic compound 
(NMOC) emissions, which can adversely impact public health.
    The Emission Guidelines and Compliance Times for Municipal Solid 
Waste Landfills, as codified at 40 CFR part 60, subpart Cf (subpart Cf, 
or Emission Guidelines), apply to states with MSW landfills that 
accepted waste after November 8, 1987 and commenced construction, 
reconstruction, or modification before July 17, 2014. Such landfills 
are considered to be ``existing'' landfills. In states with facilities 
meeting the applicability criteria of an existing MSW landfill, the 
Administrator of an air quality program must submit a state plan to EPA 
that implements the Emission Guidelines.

III. Summary of State Submittal and EPA Analysis

    AMS and DOEE have determined that there are no MSW landfills in 
their respective jurisdictions subject to Federal CAA landfill 
regulations pursuant to 40 CFR part 60, subpart Cf. The aforementioned 
negative declarations were made pursuant to the requirements at 40 CFR 
60.23a(b) and 62.06, certifying that there are no existing source MSW 
landfills in their respective jurisdictions subject to the requirements 
of 40 CFR part 60, subpart Cf. A typographical error in the letter from 
AMS was noted and clarified by Philadelphia AMS in an email on May 1, 
2020. A notice of proposed rulemaking was published in the Federal 
Register on July 27, 2020 (85 FR 45154). Due to a clerical error, the 
email clarification sent by AMS was not included in the docket for this 
action at the time of NPRM publication; however, this email has now 
been included in the docket. This error was not substantive, did not 
affect the public's ability to provide comments and has no impact on 
the final disposition. One comment was received in support of this 
action.

IV. Final Action

    In this final action, EPA is approving the City of Philadelphia and 
the District of Columbia's negative declarations submitted to EPA on 
March 15, 2018 and November 15, 2019 respectively. The negative 
declarations satisfy the requirements of 40 CFR 60.23a(b) and 62.06, 
serving in lieu of a CAA 111(d) state plan for existing MSW landfills.

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. General Requirements

    EPA's role with regard to negative declarations for designated 
facilities received by EPA from states is to notify the public of the 
receipt of such negative declarations and revise 40 CFR part 62 
accordingly. This action merely proposes to approve the state's 
negative declaration as meeting Federal requirements and does not 
impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law. For 
that reason, this action:
     Is not a significant regulatory action 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);
     Is not an Executive Order 13771 regulatory action because 
this action is not significant under Executive Order 12866;
     Does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
     Is 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.);
     Does 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);
     Does not have federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
     Is not an economically significant regulatory action based 
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997);
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
     Is not subject to 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 the Clean Air Act; and
     Does not provide 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).

B. 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. EPA will submit a report containing this action 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 the Federal Register. A major rule cannot 
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal 
Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 
804(2).

[[Page 74890]]

C. Petitions for Judicial Review

    Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by January 25, 2021. Filing a petition for 
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect 
the finality of this action for the purposes of judicial review nor 
does it extend the time within which a petition for judicial review may 
be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such rule or 
action.
    This action, approving the negative declarations submitted by the 
City of Philadelphia and the District of Columbia, certifying that 
there are no existing municipal solid waste landfills in the City of 
Philadelphia or the District of Columbia that are subject to the 
requirements of 40 CFR part 60 subpart Cf, may not be challenged later 
in proceedings to enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 62

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Intergovernmental 
relations, Reporting andrecordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: November 2, 2020.
Cosmo Servidio,
Regional Administrator, Region III.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the EPA amends 40 CFR part 
62 as follows:

PART 62--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF STATE PLANS FOR DESIGNATED 
FACILITIES AND POLLUTANTS

0
1. The authority citation for part 62 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

Subpart J--District of Columbia

0
2. Revise Sec.  62.2140 to read as follows:


Sec.  62.2140   Identification of plan--negative declaration.

    Letter from the District of Columbia, Department of Energy and 
Environment, submitted November 15, 2019, certifying that there are no 
existing municipal solid waste landfills in the District of Columbia 
that are subject to 40 CFR part 60, subpart Cf.

Subpart NN--Pennsylvania

0
3. Revise Sec.  62.9633 to read as follows:


Sec.  62.9633   Identification of plan--negative declaration.

    Letter from the City of Philadelphia, Department of Public Health, 
submitted March 15, 2018 and amended by email on May 1, 2020, 
certifying that there are no existing municipal solid waste landfills 
in the City of Philadelphia that are subject to 40 CFR part 60, subpart 
Cf.

[FR Doc. 2020-24690 Filed 11-23-20; 8:45 am]
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