[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 239 (Wednesday, December 12, 2001)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 64151-64152]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-30738]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 62
[IA 0144-1144a; FRL-7117-5]
Approval and Promulgation of State Plans for Designated
Facilities and Pollutants; Control of Emissions From Hospital/Medical/
Infectious Waste Incinerators; State of Iowa
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is approving a revision to the state of Iowa's section
111(d) plan for controlling emissions from existing hospital/medical/
infectious waste incinerators (HMIWI). The state revised its existing
plan to specify certain applicability and compliance dates. Approval of
the revised state plan will ensure that it is consistent with the
Federal regulations and is Federally enforceable.
DATES: This direct final rule will be effective February 11, 2002
unless EPA receives adverse comments by January 11, 2002. If adverse
comments are received, EPA 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: Comments may be mailed to Wayne Kaiser, Environmental
Protection Agency, Air Planning and Development Branch, 901 North 5th
Street, Kansas City, Kansas 66101.
Copies of documents relative to this action are available for
public inspection during normal business hours at the above-listed
Region 7 location. The interested persons wanting to examine these
documents should make an appointment with the office at least 24 hours
in advance.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wayne Kaiser at (913) 551-7603.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
Information regarding this action is presented in the following
order:
What is a 111(d) Plan?
What are the Regulatory Requirements for HMIWIs?
Why is This Action Necessary?
What Changes did the State Make to its 111(d) Plan?
What Action are we Taking in This Action?
What Is a 111(d) Plan?
Section 111(d) of the CAA requires states to submit plans to
control certain pollutants (designated pollutants) at existing
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.
What Are the Regulatory Requirements for HMIWIs?
Standards and guidelines for new and existing HMIWIs were
promulgated under the authority of sections 111 and 129 of the Clean
Air Act on September 15, 1997 (62 FR 48374). These standards are 40 CFR
part 60, subpart Ec for new sources, and 40 CFR part 60, subpart Ce for
existing sources.
The subpart Ce EG is not a direct Federal regulation but is a
``guideline'' for states to use in regulating existing HMIWIs. The EG
requires states to submit for EPA approval a section 111(d) state plan
containing air emission regulations and compliance schedules for
existing HMIWIs.
Why Is This Action Necessary?
This action will ensure consistency between the state plan and the
approved Federal plan, and ensure Federal enforceability of the current
state plan.
What Changes Did the State Make to its 111(d) Plan?
We originally approved the state's HMIWI 111(d) plan on June 17,
1999 (64 FR 32425), and it became effective on August 16, 1999.
The state's 111(d) plan requirements for HMIWIs are contained in
state rule 23.1(5)``b''. The state rule, which incorporates the
requirements of the EG, makes reference in several places to dates
which are tied to EPA's approval of the state's 111(d) plan. Since EPA
has subsequently approved the state's 111(d) plan, there is now a fixed
date for these rule requirements. Consequently, the state has revised
its rules to cite a fixed date for these requirements.
In a rule making action which was effective on March 14, 2001, the
state revised rule 23.1(5)``b,'' subparagraphs (4), (5), (6), (12), and
(13) by deleting the reference to EPA's approval date and inserting the
appropriate fixed date. The fixed dates refer to requirements for
operator training and qualification requirements, waste management
requirements, inspection requirements, and compliance times for
facilities planning to retrofit or shut down.
In a second state rule making action for HMIWIs which was effective
on July 21, 1999, the state corrected a typographical error in rule
23.1(5)``b'', subparagraph (1), in the definition of the
[[Page 64152]]
term ``Hospital/medical/infectious waste incinerator.''
These revisions to the state's HMIWIs 111(d) plan were adopted by
the Iowa Environmental Protection Commission and became effective on
July 21, 1999 and March 14, 2001, respectively.
What Action Are We Taking in This Action?
We are approving these revisions to the state's HMIWI 111(d) plan.
We are processing this action as a final action because the revisions
make routine changes to the existing rules which are noncontroversial.
Therefore, we do not anticipate any adverse comments. Please note that
if EPA receives adverse comment on part of this rule and if that part
can be severed from the remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt as final
those parts of the rule that are not the subject of an adverse comment.
Administrative 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 merely
approves a state action as meeting Federal requirements and imposes no
additional requirements. Accordingly, the Administrator 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 rule approves a state action and does not
impose any additional enforceable duty, it does not contain any
unfunded mandate or significantly or uniquely affect small governments,
as described in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Public Law
104-4). For the same reason, this rule also does not significantly or
uniquely affect the communities of tribal governments, as specified by
Executive Order 13084 (63 FR 27655, May 10, 1998). This rule will 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),
because it merely approves a state action relating to a Federal
standard, and does not alter the relationship or the distribution of
power and responsibilities established in the CAA. This rule also is
not subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997),
because it is not economically significant.
In reviewing state plan submissions, our role is to approve state
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. In this
context, in the absence of a prior existing requirement for the state
to use voluntary consensus standards (VCS), we have no authority to
disapprove state submissions for failure to use VCS. It would thus be
inconsistent with applicable law for EPA, when it reviews state
submissions, to use VCS in place of state submissions that otherwise
satisfy the provisions of the CAA. Thus, the requirements of section
12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995
(15 U.S.C. 272 note) do not apply. As required by section 3 of
Executive Order 12988 (61 FR 4729, February 7, 1996), in issuing this
rule, we have taken the necessary steps to eliminate drafting errors
and ambiguity, minimize potential litigation, and provide a clear legal
standard for affected conduct. EPA has complied with Executive Order
12630 (53 FR 8859, March 15, 1988) by examining the takings
implications of the rule in accordance with the ``Attorney General's
Supplemental Guidelines for the Evaluation of Risk and Avoidance of
Unanticipated Takings'' issued under the Executive Order. This rule
does not impose an information collection burden under the provisions
of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
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. We will submit a report containing this rule and other
required information to the United States Senate, the United States
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 February 11, 2002. Filing a petition for
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect
the finality of this rule 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, Air pollution control, Intergovernmental
relations, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: December 2, 2001.
William Rice,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 7.
Chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended
as follows:
PART 62--[AMENDED]
1. The authority citation for part 62 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart Q--Iowa
2. Section 62.3914 is amended by adding paragraph (d) to read as
follows:
Sec. 62.3914 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(d) Amended plan for the control of air emissions from hospital/
medical/infectious waste incinerators submitted by the Iowa Department
of Natural Resources on September 19, 2001. The effective date of the
amended plan is February 11, 2002.
[FR Doc. 01-30738 Filed 12-11-01; 8:45 am]
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