[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 6, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 15967-15968]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-04712]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 260, 261, and 270

[EPA-HQ-OLEM-2023-0085; FRL 9247-03-OLEM]
RIN 2050-AH27


Definition of Hazardous Waste Applicable to Corrective Action for 
Releases From Solid Waste Management Units

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is extending, until 
March 26, 2024, the comment period for the proposed rule published in 
the Federal Register on February 8, 2024. The proposed rule would amend 
the definition of hazardous waste applicable to corrective action to 
address releases from solid waste management units at RCRA-permitted 
treatment, storage, and disposal facilities and make related conforming 
amendments, thereby

[[Page 15968]]

providing clear regulatory authority to fully implement the Resource 
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) statutory requirement that 
permitted facilities conduct corrective action to address releases not 
only of substances listed or identified as hazardous waste in the 
regulations but of any substance that meets the statutory definition of 
hazardous waste. The proposed rule would also provide notice of EPA's 
interpretation that the statutory definition of hazardous waste applies 
to corrective action for releases from solid waste management units at 
permitted and interim status facilities.

DATES: The public comment period for the proposed rule published in the 
Federal Register (FR) on February 8, 2024 (89 FR 8598), originally 
ending March 11, 2024, is being extended by 15 days. Written comments 
must be received on or before March 26, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OLEM-2023-0085, by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov/ 
(our preferred method). Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket 
Center, RCRA Docket, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20460.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: EPA Docket Center, WJC West 
Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004. 
The Docket Center's hours of operations are 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., 
Monday-Friday (except Federal Holidays).
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID 
No. for this rulemaking. Comments received may be posted without change 
to https://www.regulations.gov/, including any personal information 
provided. For detailed instructions on sending comments and additional 
information on the rulemaking process, see the ``Public Participation'' 
heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-2023-
0085, at https://www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), or the 
other methods identified in the ADDRESSES section of this document. 
Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from the docket. 
EPA may publish any comment 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. 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barbara Foster, Program Information 
and Implementation Division, Office of Resource Conservation and 
Recovery (5303T)) Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460, 202-566-0382, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On February 8, 2024, the Agency published in 
the Federal Register (89 FR 8598) a proposed rule that would amend the 
regulations applicable to RCRA treatment, storage, and disposal 
facilities in two related respects. First, it would amend the 
definition of hazardous waste applicable to corrective action. 
Specifically, it would amend the definition in Sec.  260.10 to 
expressly apply the RCRA section 1004(5) statutory definition of 
hazardous waste to corrective action requirements under Sec.  264.101 
and 40 CFR part 264 Subpart S. Similarly, it would amend the identical 
definition in the hazardous waste facility permitting regulations, 
Sec.  270.2, to expressly apply the statutory definition of hazardous 
waste to the requirements relating to corrective action in Sec.  
270.14(d). These proposed revisions would more clearly provide EPA 
authority to address, through corrective action for solid waste 
management units, releases of the full universe of substances that the 
statute intended--not only hazardous waste and hazardous constituents 
listed or identified in the regulations, but all substances that meet 
the definition of hazardous waste in RCRA section 1004(5) at a 
facility. These proposed amendments are consistent with EPA's 
longstanding interpretation of the RCRA statute.
    Second, this proposed rule would add RCRA sections 3004(u) and (v) 
and 3008(h) to the statutory authorities identified in Sec.  
261.1(b)(2). That section provides that the statutory definitions of 
solid and hazardous waste govern the scope of EPA's authority under 
certain sections of RCRA, not the more limited 40 CFR part 261 
regulatory definitions. These revisions provide notice of and codify 
the Agency's interpretation of the statute--that it provides authority 
to address releases from solid waste management units of all substances 
that meet the definition of hazardous waste under the statute.
    Following publication of the proposed rule, several members of the 
public requested that the Agency extend the comment period.
    In response to these requests, the Agency is extending the comment 
period for 15 days, until March 26, 2024. EPA does not want to 
unnecessarily delay this rulemaking and believes that this 15-day 
extension provides more than adequate time for reviewers to review the 
proposed rule and to submit comments given the very narrow scope of the 
rulemaking, and the limited amount of material reviewers need to 
review.

    Dated: February 28, 2024.
Carolyn Hoskinson,
Director, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery.
[FR Doc. 2024-04712 Filed 3-5-24; 8:45 am]
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