[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 12, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 17759-17762]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-04942]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 62

[EPA-R04-OAR-2022-0741; FRL-10507-02-R4]


South Carolina; Approval and Promulgation of State Plans for 
Designated Facilities and Pollutants; Control of Emissions From 
Existing Municipal Solid Waste Landfills

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a Clean 
Air Act (CAA) plan submitted by the South Carolina Department of Health 
and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) on January 19, 2022. This State plan 
was submitted to fulfill the requirements of

[[Page 17760]]

the CAA and is responsive to EPA's promulgation of Emissions Guidelines 
(EG) and Compliance Times for municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills. 
The South Carolina State plan establishes performance standards and 
other operating requirements for existing MSW landfills and provides 
for the implementation and enforcement of those standards and 
requirements.

DATES: This rule is effective on April 11, 2024. The incorporation by 
reference of certain material listed in the rule is approved by the 
Director of the Federal Register as of April 11, 2024.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID 
Number EPA-R04-OAR-2022-0741. All documents in the docket are listed on 
the https://www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in the index, 
some information may not be 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: Tracy Watson, Regulatory and Community 
Air Toxics Section, Air Analysis and Support Branch, Air and Radiation 
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth 
St. SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303. The telephone number is (404) 562-8998. 
Mr. Watson can also be reached via electronic mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The EPA published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for the 
State of South Carolina on February 14, 2023 (88 FR 9409). In the NPRM, 
the EPA proposed the approval of a CAA section 111(d) State plan 
submitted by the SCDHEC on January 19, 2022. The EPA's analysis of the 
South Carolina State plan may be found in the aforementioned NPRM and 
the technical support document (TSD) associated with this docket. 
Comments on the EPA's proposed approval of the South Carolina State 
plan for existing MSW landfills were due on or before March 16, 2023. 
The EPA received no comments during the public comment period.

II. Final Action

    The EPA is finalizing approval of South Carolina's section 111(d) 
State plan for MSW landfills. The State plan was submitted in full 
compliance with the requirements of 40 CFR part 60, subparts B and Cf. 
Therefore, EPA is amending 40 CFR part 62, subpart PP to reflect this 
approval action. This approval is based on the rationale provided in 
the NPRM and discussed in further detail in the TSD associated with 
this rulemaking. The EPA's approval is in accordance with the general 
provisions of plan approval found in 40 CFR part 60, subpart B and 40 
CFR part 62, subpart A, and is pursuant to the Agency's role under 42 
U.S.C. 7411(d). The EPA's approval of the South Carolina plan is 
limited to those landfills that meet the criteria established in 40 CFR 
part 60, subpart Cf, and grants the State authority to implement and 
enforce the performance standards and source requirements of the EG, 
except in those cases where authorities are specifically reserved for 
the EPA Administrator or his designee. Authorities retained by the EPA 
Administrator are those listed in 40 CFR 60.30f(c).

III. Incorporation by Reference

    In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, the EPA is 
finalizing regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference of 
South Carolina Code Annotated Regulations (S.C. Code Ann. Regs.) 61-
62.60, Subpart Cf, which became effective in the State of South 
Carolina on November 26, 2021. This incorporation establishes emission 
standards and compliance times for the control of air pollutants from 
certain MSW landfills that commenced construction, modification, or 
reconstruction on or before July 17, 2014. S.C. Code Ann. Regs. 61-
62.20, Subpart Cf provides details regarding South Carolina's adoption 
of the applicability provisions, compliance times, emission guidelines, 
operational standards, test methods, compliance provisions, monitoring 
requirements, reporting guidelines, recordkeeping guidelines, 
specifications for active landfill gas collection systems, and 
definitions contained in EPA's emission guidelines for existing 
municipal solid waste landfills (40 CFR part 60, subpart Cf). The 
emissions standards and compliance times established within the South 
Carolina State plan are at least as stringent as those required by the 
EG for existing MSW landfills subject to Subpart Cf. The EPA has made, 
and will continue to make, these materials generally available through 
the docket for this action, EPA-R04-OAR-2022-0741, at https://www.regulations.gov and at the EPA Region 4 Office (please contact the 
person identified in the For Further Information Contact section of 
this preamble for more information). This incorporation by reference 
has been approved by the Office of the Federal Register as of April 11, 
2024, and the plan is federally enforceable under the CAA as of the 
effective date of this final rulemaking.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    In reviewing State plan submissions, EPA's role is to approve State 
choices, provided 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);
     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 CAA; and
    Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994) 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

[[Page 17761]]

and adverse human health or environmental effects of their programs, 
policies, and activities on minority populations (people of color and/
or Indigenous peoples) and low-income populations.
    The EPA believes that the human health and environmental conditions 
that exist prior to this action do not result in disproportionate and 
adverse effects on people of color, low-income populations, and/or 
Indigenous peoples. EPA performed a screening-level analysis using 
EPA's EJSCREEN to identify environmental burdens and susceptible 
populations in communities surrounding MSW landfill facilities in the 
State. The EJSCREEN did not identify any such communities surrounding 
the MSW landfill facilities in the State. The results of the 
demographic analysis are presented in the EJ Screening Report for 
Municipal Solid Waste Landfills, a copy of which is available in the 
docket for this action, Docket ID No. EPA-R04-EPA-2022-0741.
    The EPA believes that this action is not likely to result in new 
disproportionate and adverse effects on people of color, low-income 
populations, and/or Indigenous peoples because the State plan would 
reduce emissions of landfill gas, which contains both nonmethane 
organic compounds and methane. Nonmethane organic compounds can contain 
various organic hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) and volatile organic 
compounds (VOCs). Nearly 30 organic HAPs have been identified in 
uncontrolled landfill gas, with at least one identified as a known 
human carcinogen. VOC emissions are precursors to particulate matter 
and ozone formation, both of which are associated with health effects 
such as premature mortality for adults and infants, cardiovascular 
morbidity such as heart attacks, and respiratory morbidity such as 
asthma attacks, acute bronchitis, and other respiratory symptoms. 
Additionally, the State plan is expected to result in a reduction of 
carbon dioxide due to reduced demand by landfills for electricity from 
the grid, as landfills will generate electricity from landfill gas. 
These abated emissions will improve air quality and reduce the effects 
associated with exposure to landfill gas emissions, protecting public 
health and welfare. The EPA has determined that this action increases 
the level of environmental protection for all affected populations 
without having any disproportionately high and adverse human health or 
income or environmental effects on any population, including any 
minority, low-income, or indigenous populations. To the extent that any 
minority, low-income, or indigenous subpopulation is disproportionately 
impacted by landfill gas emissions due to the proximity of their homes 
to sources of these emissions, that subpopulation also stands to see 
increased environmental and health benefit from the emission reductions 
called for by this action.
    In addition, this proposed approval of South Carolina's State plan 
for existing MSW landfills does not have Tribal implications as 
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), 
because the State plan is not approved to apply in Indian country 
located in the State, and the EPA notes that it will not impose 
substantial direct costs on Tribal governments or preempt Tribal law.
    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).
    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 May 13, 2024. 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).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 62

    Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure, 
Air pollution control, Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental 
relations, Landfills, Methane, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

    Date: March 1, 2024.
Jeaneanne Gettle,
Acting Regional Administrator Region 4.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Environmental 
Protection Agency 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.


0
2. Revise Sec.  62.10160 and the undesignated center heading above it 
to read as follows:

Emissions From Existing Municipal Solid Waste Landfills--Section 111(d) 
Plan


Sec.  62.10160   Identification of sources.

    (a) Identification of plan. South Carolina's State Plan for 
Existing Municipal Solid Waste Landfills, as submitted on January 19, 
2022. The plan includes the regulatory provisions cited in paragraph 
(d) of this section, which EPA incorporates by reference.
    (b) Identification of sources. The plan applies to each existing 
municipal solid waste landfill in the State of South Carolina that 
commenced construction on or before July 17, 2014, as such landfills 
are defined in 40 CFR 60.41f and 40 CFR part 60.
    (c) Effective date. The effective date of the plan is April 11, 
2024.
    (d) Incorporation by reference. Material listed in this paragraph 
(d) is incorporated by reference into this section with the approval of 
the Director of the Federal Register under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR 
part 51. All approved material is available for inspection at the EPA 
and at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Contact 
EPA at: EPA Region 4 office, 61 Forsyth St. SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303, 
404-562-9900. For information on the availability of this material at 
NARA, visit www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibr-locations or 
email [email protected]. The material may be obtained from the 
State of South Carolina--The Legislative Council of the General 
Assembly, Office of the State Register, Fourth Floor, Rembert C. Dennis 
Building, 1000 Assembly Street, Columbia, SC 29201; phone: (803) 212-
4500; email: [email protected]; website: https://www.scstatehouse.gov.
    (1) S.C. Code Ann. Regs. 61-62.60, Subpart Cf. South Carolina Code 
Annotated Regulations, Chapter 61--Department of Health and

[[Page 17762]]

Environmental Control, 61-62--Air Pollution Control Regulations and 
Standards, 61-62.60--South Carolina Designated Facility Plan and New 
Source Performance Standards, subpart Cf--Performance Standards and 
Compliance Times for Existing Solid Waste Landfills, effective November 
26, 2021.
    (2) [Reserved]

[FR Doc. 2024-04942 Filed 3-11-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P