[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 27 (Thursday, February 11, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 9021-9023]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-02543]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 62

[EPA-R01-OAR-2020-0593; FRL-10017-79-Region 1]


Approval and Promulgation of State Plans (Negative Declarations) 
for Designated Facilities and Pollutants: Maine and Rhode Island

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking a direct 
final action to approve negative declarations submitted in lieu of 
State plans to satisfy the requirements of the Emission Guidelines and 
Compliance Times for Municipal Solid Waste Landfills for the State of 
Maine and the State of Rhode Island. The negative declarations certify 
that there are no existing facilities in the States that must comply 
with this rule.

DATES: This direct final rule will be effective April 12, 2021 without 
further notice, unless the EPA receives adverse comments by March 15, 
2021. If the EPA receives adverse comments, we will publish a timely 
withdrawal of the direct final rule in the Federal Register informing 
the public that the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R01-
OAR-2020-0593 at https://www.regulations.gov, or via email to 
[email protected]. For comments submitted at Regulations.gov, 
follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, 
comments cannot be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. For either 
manner of submission, the EPA may publish any comments received to its 
public docket. Do not submit electronically any information you 
consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other 
information whose disclosure is 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, please contact the person 
identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. For the full 
EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia 
submissions, and general guidance on

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making effective comments, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets. Publicly available docket materials are 
available at https://www.regulations.gov or at the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, EPA Region 1 Regional Office, Air and Radiation 
Division, 5 Post Office Square--Suite 100, Boston, MA. EPA requests 
that if at all possible, you contact the contact listed in the FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to schedule your inspection. The 
Regional Office's official hours of business are Monday through Friday, 
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding legal holidays and facility closures 
due to COVID-19.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jessica Kilpatrick, Air Permits, 
Toxics, & Indoor Programs Branch, Air and Radiation Division, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 1, 5 Post Office Square, Mail 
Code: 05-2, Boston, MA 02109-0287. Telephone: 617-918-1652. Fax: 617-
918-0652 Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents

I. Background
II. Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Regulations
III. Final Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background

    Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) establishes standards of 
performance for existing sources, specifically pertaining to the 
remaining useful life of a source. 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 the 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 municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill is defined in 40 CFR 
60.41(f) 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 Subtitle D of 
the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), 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. The EPA regulations specifically delineate measures to control 
methane and nonmethane organic compound (NMOC) emissions, which can 
adversely impact public health.
    Standards of Performance for new MSW landfills, as codified at 40 
CFR part 60, subpart XXX (subpart XXX), set standards for air 
emissions, operating standards for collection and control systems, test 
methods and procedures, compliance provisions, monitoring of 
operations, reporting requirements, recordkeeping requirements, and 
specifications for active collection systems. Subpart XXX applies to 
facilities that commenced construction, reconstruction, or modification 
after July 17, 2014. 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 the EPA that implements the Emission Guidelines. 
According to 40 CFR 60.33f(d)(1), if the design capacity increase of a 
facility subject to subpart Cf is the result of a modification, as 
defined in subpart Cf, that was commenced after July 17, 2014, then the 
landfill becomes subject to subpart XXX instead of subpart Cf.
    The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (ME DEP) submitted 
a negative declaration to the EPA on March 11, 2020 pursuant to the 
requirements at 40 CFR 60.23a(b) and 62.06, certifying that there are 
no existing source MSW landfills in the state subject to the 
requirements of 40 CFR part 60, subpart Cf. ME DEP stated that its 
three landfills potentially subject to subpart Cf have made operational 
or physical changes such that the state is no longer required to 
develop a state plan to regulate these landfills as existing sources. 
One landfill closed in late 2009 and pre-control emissions of NMOC are 
less than 34 megagrams per year, meeting removal criteria via 40 CFR 
60.33f(f). The other two landfills have recently expanded their 
capacity and satisfy the definition of modification by commencing 
construction after July 17, 2014 and are therefore subject to Federal 
CAA landfill regulations pursuant to subpart XXX.
    The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RI DEM) 
submitted a negative declaration to the EPA on July 28, 2020 pursuant 
to the requirements at 40 CFR 60.23a(b) and 62.06, certifying that 
there are no existing source MSW landfills in the state subject to the 
requirements of 40 CFR part 60, subpart Cf. RI DEM stated it only has 
one operating landfill, which expanded its capacity and commenced 
construction on the new phase in September 2014. The landfill satisfies 
the definition of modification by commencing construction after July 
17, 2014 and is therefore subject to Federal CAA landfill regulations 
pursuant to subpart XXX.

III. Final Action

    The EPA is approving the Maine and Rhode Island negative 
declarations. These 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 source MSW landfills.
    The EPA is publishing this action without prior proposal because 
the Agency views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates 
no adverse comments. However, in the Proposed Rules section of this 
Federal Register publication, the EPA is publishing a separate document 
that will serve as the proposal to approve the negative declarations 
should relevant adverse comments be filed. This rule will be effective 
April 12, 2021 without further notice unless the Agency receives 
relevant adverse comments by March 15, 2021.
    If the EPA receives such comments, we will publish a document 
withdrawing the final rule and informing the public that the rule will 
not take effect. All public comments received will then be addressed in 
a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. The EPA will not 
institute a second comment period on the proposed rule. All parties 
interested in commenting on the proposed rule should do so at this 
time. If no such comments are received, the public is advised that this 
rule will be effective on April 12, 2021 and no further action will be 
taken on the proposed rule. Please note that if the EPA receives 
adverse comments on an amendment, paragraph, or section of this rule 
and if that provision may be severed from the remainder of the rule, 
the EPA may adopt as final those provisions of the

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rule that are not the subject of adverse comments.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a 111(d) 
plan submission that complies with the provisions of the CAA and 
applicable Federal regulations (40 CFR 62.04). Thus, in reviewing 
111(d) plan submissions, the EPA's role is to approve state choices, 
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. Accordingly, this 
action merely approves state law 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 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).
    In addition, this rule is not approved to 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. In those areas of 
Indian country, the rule does not have tribal implications and will not 
impose substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal 
law as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 
2000).
    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 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).
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for 
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court 
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by April 12, 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 may not be challenged later in 
proceedings to enforce its requirements (See section 307(b)(2)).
    Parties with objections to this direct final rule are encouraged to 
file a comment in response to the parallel notice of proposed 
rulemaking for this action published in the Proposed Rules section of 
this Federal Register, rather than file an immediate petition for 
judicial review of this direct final rule, so that the EPA can withdraw 
this direct final rule and address comment(s) in the final rulemaking.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 62

    Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure, 
Air pollution control, Intergovernmental relations, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.


    Dated: February 3, 2021.
Deborah Szaro,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region 1.
    Part 62 of chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
is amended as follows:

PART 62--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF STATE PLAN 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 U--Maine

0
2. Add an undesignated center heading and Sec.  62.4995 to read as 
follows:

Emissions From Existing Solid Waste Landfills


Sec.  62.4995  Identification of plan--negative declaration.

    On March 11, 2020, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection 
submitted a letter certifying no existing source Municipal Solid Waste 
Landfills subject to 40 CFR part 60, subpart Cf, operate within the 
State's jurisdiction.

Subpart OO--Rhode Island

0
3. Revise Sec.  62.9985 to read as follows:


Sec.  62.9985  Identification of plan--negative declaration.

    On July 28, 2020, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental 
Management submitted a letter certifying no existing source Municipal 
Solid Waste Landfills subject to 40 CFR part 60, subpart Cf, operate 
within the State's jurisdiction.

[FR Doc. 2021-02543 Filed 2-10-21; 8:45 am]
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