[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 160 (Friday, August 19, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 48654-48656]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-16484]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 62
[R01-OAR-2005-ME-0005; FRL-7956-4]
Approval and Promulgation of State Plans for Designated
Facilities and Pollutants: Maine; Negative Declaration
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is approving the Sections 111(d)/129 negative declaration
submitted by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (MEDEP)
on May 2, 2005. This negative declaration adequately certifies that
there are no existing hospital/medical/infectious waste incinerators
(HMIWIs) located within the boundaries of the state of Maine. EPA
publishes regulations under Sections 111(d) and 129 of the Clean Air
Act requiring states to submit control plans to EPA. These state
control plans show how states intend to control the emissions of
designated pollutants from designated facilities (e.g., HMIWIs). The
state of Maine submitted this negative declaration in lieu of a state
control plan.
DATES: This direct final rule is effective on October 18, 2005 without
further notice unless EPA receives significant adverse comment by
September 19, 2005. If EPA receives adverse comment, we 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 Regional Material in
EDocket (RME) ID Number R01-OAR-2005-ME-0005 by one of the following
methods:
A. Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow
the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
B. Agency Web site: http://docket.epa.gov/rmepub/ Regional Material
in EDocket (RME), EPA's electronic public docket and comment system, is
EPA's preferred method for
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receiving comments. Once in the system, select ``quick search,'' then
key in the appropriate RME Docket identification number. Follow the on-
line instructions for submitting comments.
C. E-mail: [email protected].
D. Fax: (617) 918-0048.
E. Mail: ``RME ID Number R01-OAR-2005-ME-0005'', Daniel Brown,
Chief, Air Permits, Toxics & Indoor Programs Unit, Office of Ecosystem
Protection, U.S. EPA, One Congress Street, Suite 1100 (CAP), Boston,
Massachusetts 02114-2023.
F. Hand Delivery or Courier. Deliver your comments to: Daniel
Brown, Chief, Air Permits, Toxics & Indoor Programs Unit, Office of
Ecosystem Protection, U.S. EPA, One Congress Street, Suite 1100 (CAP),
Boston, Massachusetts 02114-2023. Such deliveries are only accepted
during the Regional Office's normal hours of operation. The Regional
Office's official hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 to
4:30 excluding federal holidays.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Regional Material in EDocket
(RME) ID Number R01-OAR-2005-ME-0005. EPA's policy is that all comments
received will be included in the public docket without change and may
be made available online at http://docket.epa.gov/rmepub/, 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 Regional Material in EDocket (RME), regulations.gov, or e-mail.
The EPA RME Web site and the federal regulations.gov website are
``anonymous access'' systems, 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 e-mail comment directly to EPA without
going through RME or regulations.gov, your e-mail 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.
Docket: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the
Regional Material in EDocket (RME) index at http://docket.epa.gov/rmepub/. 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 RME or in hard copy at the Office of
Ecosystem Protection, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New
England Regional Office, One Congress Street, Suite 1100, Boston, MA.
EPA requests that if at all possible, you contact the person listed in
the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section below to schedule your
review. The Regional Office's official hours of business are Monday
through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30 excluding federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John J. Courcier, Office of Ecosystem
Protection (CAP), EPA-New England, Region 1, Boston, Massachusetts
02203, telephone number (617) 918-1659, fax number (617) 918-0659,
email [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. What Action Is EPA Taking Today?
II. What Is the Origin of the Requirements?
III. When Did the Requirements First Become Known?
IV. When Did Maine Submit Its Negative Declaration?
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. What Action Is EPA Taking Today?
EPA is approving the negative declaration of air emissions from
HMIWI units submitted by the state of Maine.
EPA is publishing this negative declaration 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, EPA is publishing a separate document that
will serve as the proposal to approve this negative declaration should
relevant adverse comments be filed. If EPA receives no significant
adverse comment by September 19, 2005, this action will be effective
October 18, 2005.
If EPA receives significant adverse comments by the above date, we
will withdraw this action before the effective date by publishing a
subsequent document in the Federal Register that will withdraw this
final action. EPA will address all public comments received in a
subsequent final rule based on the parallel proposed rule published in
today's Federal Register. EPA will not institute a second comment
period on this action. Any parties interested in commenting on this
action should do so at this time. If EPA receives no comments, this
action will be effective October 18, 2005.
II. What Is the Origin of the Requirements?
Under section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act, EPA published
regulations at 40 CFR part 60, Subpart B which require states to submit
plans to control emissions of designated pollutants from designated
facilities. In the event that a state does not have a particular
designated facility located within its boundaries, EPA requires that a
negative declaration be submitted in lieu of a control plan.
III. When Did the Requirements First Become Known?
On June 20, 1996 (61 FR 31736), EPA proposed emission guidelines
for HMIWI units. This action enabled EPA to list HMIWI units as
designated facilities. EPA specified particulate matter, opacity,
sulfur dioxide, hydrogen chloride, oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide,
lead, cadmium, mercury, and dioxins/furans as designated pollutants by
proposing emission guidelines for existing HMIWI units. These
guidelines were published in final form on September 15, 1997 (62 FR
48348).
IV. When Did Maine Submit Its Negative Declaration?
On May 2, 2005, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP) submitted a letter certifying that there are no existing HMIWI
units subject to 40 CFR part 60, subpart B. Section 111(d) and 40 CFR
62.06 provide that when no such designated facilities exist within a
state's boundaries, the affected state may submit a letter of
``negative declaration'' instead of a control plan. EPA is publishing
this negative declaration at 40 CFR 62.4985.
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
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
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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 approves state law as meeting
Federal requirements and imposes no additional requirements beyond
those imposed by state law. 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 pre-existing
requirements under state law and 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 rule 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), because it merely approves a state rule
implementing a federal standard, and does not alter the relationship or
the distribution of power and responsibilities established in the Clean
Air Act. This rule 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.
In reviewing section 111(d) submissions, EPA's role is to approve
state plans, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act.
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 disapprove a state plan submission for failure to use VCS. It would
thus be inconsistent with applicable law for EPA, when it reviews a
state plan submission, to use VCS in place of a state plan submission
that otherwise satisfies the provisions of the Clean Air Act. 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. 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. section 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
rule 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 October 18, 2005. Interested
parties should comment in response to the proposed rule rather than
petition for judicial review, unless the objection arises after the
comment period allowed for in the proposal. 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, Administrative practice and procedure,
Air pollution control, Intergovernmental relations, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides, Waste treatment and
disposal.
Dated: August 11, 2005.
Ira W. Leighton,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA New England.
Identification of Action: Approval and Promulgation of Maine State Plan
for Hospital/Medical/Infectious Waste Incinerators; Negative
Declaration
0
40 CFR Part 62 is amended as follows:
PART 62--[AMENDED]
0
1. The authority citation for Part 62 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7642
Subpart U--Maine
0
2. Subpart U is amended by adding a new Sec. 62.4985 and a new
undesignated center heading to read as follows:
Air Emissions From Existing Hospital/Medical/Infectious Waste
Incinerators
Sec. 62.4985 Identification of Plan-negative declaration.
On May 2, 2005, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection
submitted a letter certifying that there are no existing hospital/
medical/infectious waste incinerators in the state subject to the
emission guidelines under part 60, subpart Ce of this chapter.
[FR Doc. 05-16484 Filed 8-18-05; 8:45 am]
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