[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 128 (Wednesday, July 3, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 40015-40017]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-15874]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 62
[EPA-R03-OAR-2013-0434; FRL-9829-6]
Approval and Promulgation of State Air Quality Plans for
Designated Facilities and Pollutants; District of Columbia; Control of
Emissions From Existing Hospital/Medical/Infectious Waste Incinerator
Units
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action to approve a negative
declaration for hospital/medical/infectious waste incinerator (HMIWI)
units within the District of Columbia. This negative declaration
certifies that HMIWI units subject to the requirements of sections
111(d) and 129 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) do not exist within the
jurisdictional boundaries of the District Department of the Environment
(DDOE). EPA is accepting the negative declaration in accordance with
the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).
DATES: This rule is effective on September 3, 2013 without further
notice, unless EPA receives adverse written comment by August 2, 2013.
If EPA receives such comments, it will publish a timely withdrawal of
the direct final rule in the Federal Register and inform the public
that the rule will not take effect.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R03-OAR-2013-0434 by one of the following methods:
A. www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
B. Email: [email protected].
C. Mail: EPA-R03-OAR-2013-0434, Kathleen Cox, Associate Director,
Office of Permits and Air Toxics, Mailcode 3AP10, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania 19103.
D. Hand Delivery: At the previously-listed EPA Region III address.
Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of
boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R03-OAR-
2013-0434. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the public docket without change, and may be made available online
at www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided,
unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to
be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov or email. The
www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, which
means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you
provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an email comment
directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov, your email
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the
comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the
Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you
include your name and other contact information in the body of your
comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your
comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic
files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
[[Page 40016]]
Docket: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, i.e., 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 either electronically in www.regulations.gov or
in hard copy during normal business hours at the Air Protection
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch
Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. Copies of the submittal are
available at the District of Columbia Department of the Environment,
Air Quality Division, 1200 1st Street NE., Fifth Floor, Washington, DC
20002.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Gordon, (215) 814-2039, or by
email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Sections 111(d) and 129 of the CAA require states to submit plans
to control certain pollutants (designated pollutants) at existing solid
waste combustor facilities (designated facilities) whenever standards
of performance have been established under section 111(b) for new
sources of the same type, and EPA has established emission guidelines
(EG) for such existing sources. A designated pollutant is any pollutant
for which no air quality criteria have been issued, and which is not
included on a list published under section 108(a) or section
112(b)(1)(A) of the CAA, but emissions of which are subject to a
standard of performance for new stationary sources.
On October 6, 2009 (74 FR 51368), EPA promulgated HMIWI unit new
source performance standards, 40 CFR part 60, subpart Ec, and emission
guidelines, subpart Ce. These regulations were amended in an April 4,
2011 final rule (76 FR 18407).
The designated facilities to which the EG apply are existing HMIWI
units that: (1) Commenced construction on or before June 20, 1996, or
for which modification was commenced on or before March 16, 1998; or
(2) commenced construction after June 20, 1996 but no later than
December 1, 2008, or for which modification commenced after March 16,
1998 but no later than April 6, 2010, with limited exceptions as
provided in paragraphs 40 CFR 60.32e(b) through (h).
Subpart B of 40 CFR part 60 establishes procedures to be followed
and requirements to be met in the development and submission of state
plans for controlling designated pollutants. Also, 40 CFR part 62
provides the procedural framework for the submission of these plans.
When designated facilities are located in a state, the state must then
develop and submit a plan for the control of the designated pollutant.
However, 40 CFR 60.23(b) and 62.06 provide that if there are no
existing sources of the designated pollutant in the state, the state
may submit a letter of certification to that effect (i.e., negative
declaration) in lieu of a plan. The negative declaration exempts the
state from the requirements of subpart B that require the submittal of
a 111(d)/129 plan.
II. Final EPA Action
The DDOE has determined that there are no HMIWI units subject to
CAA 111(d)/129 requirements in their respective air pollution control
jurisdiction. Accordingly, DDOE submitted a negative declaration letter
to EPA on July 26, 2012.
In this direct final action, EPA is amending part 62 to reflect
receipt of the negative declaration letter from DDOE. EPA is publishing
this rule without prior proposal because EPA views this as a
noncontroversial amendment and anticipates no adverse comment. However,
in the ``Proposed Rules'' section of today's Federal Register, EPA is
publishing a separate document that will serve as the proposal to
approve the SIP revision if adverse comments are filed. This rule will
be effective on September 3, 2013 without further notice unless EPA
receives adverse comment by August 2, 2013. If EPA receives adverse
comment, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register
informing the public that the rule will not take effect. EPA will
address all public comments in a subsequent final rule based on the
proposed rule. EPA will not institute a second comment period on this
action. Any parties interested in commenting must do so at this time.
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
A. General Requirements
Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this
action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and therefore is not
subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget. For this
reason, this action is also not subject to Executive Order 13211,
``Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy
Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001). This action
merely notifies the public of EPA receipt of a negative declaration
from an air pollution control agency without any existing HMIWI units
in their jurisdiction. This action imposes no requirements.
Accordingly, EPA certifies that this rule will not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities under the
Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Because this action
does not impose any additional enforceable duty beyond that required by
state law, it 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). This action also does not
have tribal implications because it will not have a substantial direct
effect on one or more Indian tribes, on the relationship between the
Federal Government and Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power
and responsibilities between the Federal Government and Indian tribes,
as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
This action also does not have Federalism implications because it does
not have substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship
between the national government and the States, or on the distribution
of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government,
as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999).
This action merely approves the negative declaration for existing HMIWI
units from the DDOE and does not alter the relationship or the
distribution of power and responsibilities established in the Clean Air
Act. This action also is not subject to Executive Order 13045
``Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety
Risks'' (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), because it is not economically
significant.
With regard to negative declarations for designated facilities
received by EPA from states, EPA's role is to notify the public of the
receipt of such negative declarations and revise 40 CFR part 62
accordingly. In this context, in the absence of a prior existing
requirement for the State to use voluntary consensus standards (VCS),
EPA has no authority to approve or disapprove a CAA section 111(d)/129
plan negative declaration submission for failure to use VCS. It would
thus be inconsistent with applicable law for EPA, when it reviews a CAA
section 111(d)/129 negative declaration, to use VCS in place of a
section 111(d)/129 negative declaration that otherwise satisfies the
provisions of the Clean Air Act. Thus, the
[[Page 40017]]
requirements of section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and
Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) do not apply. This action
does not impose an information collection burden under the provisions
of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
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).
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 September 3, 2013. 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. 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 today's Federal Register, rather than file an immediate
petition for judicial review of this direct final rule, so that EPA can
withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in the proposed
rulemaking.
This action approving the DDOE's negative declaration for HMIWI
units 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, Aluminum, Fertilizers, Fluoride,
Intergovernmental relations, Paper and paper products industry,
Phosphate, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides,
Sulfur acid plants, Waste treatment and disposal.
Dated: June 13, 2013.
W.C. Early,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
40 CFR part 62 is amended 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. Section 62.2150 is amended by designating the existing paragraph as
(a) and adding paragraph (b) to read as follows:
Sec. 62.2150 Identification of plan--negative declaration.
* * * * *
(b) Letter from the District Department of the Environment,
submitted to EPA on July 26, 2012, certifying that there are no known
existing HMIWI units in the District of Columbia.
[FR Doc. 2013-15874 Filed 7-2-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P