

[Federal Register: April 6, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 66)]
[Rules and Regulations]               
[Page 17025-17027]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr06ap07-8]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 62

[EPA-R01-OAR-2007-0136; A-1-FRL-8295-6]

 
Approval and Promulgation of State Plans for Designated 
Pollutants and Facilities; Rhode Island; Negative Declaration

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is approving a Section 111(d) and 129 negative declaration 
submitted by the State of Rhode Island on November 5, 2006. This 
negative declaration adequately certifies that there are no existing 
``other solid waste incineration'' (OSWI) units located within the 
boundaries of the State of Rhode Island. This action is being taken in 
accordance with the Clean Air Act.

DATES: This direct final rule will be effective June 5, 2007, unless 
EPA receives adverse comments by May 7, 2007. 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: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R01-OAR-2007-0136 by one of the following methods:
    1. http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 

submitting comments.
    2. E-mail: cohen.ian@epa.gov
    3. Fax: (617) 918-0655.
    4. Mail: ``Docket Identification Number EPA-R01-OAR-2007-0136, Dan 
Brown, Chief, Air Permits, Toxics, and Indoor Air Unit, Office of 
Ecosystem Protection, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New 
England Regional Office, One Congress Street, Suite 1100 (mail code 
CAP), Boston, MA 02114-2023.
    5. Hand Delivery or Courier. Deliver your comments to: Dan Brown, 
Chief, Air Permits, Toxics, and Indoor Air Unit, Office of Ecosystem 
Protection, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England 
Regional Office, One Congress Street, 11th floor, (CAP), Boston, MA 
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 
legal holidays.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R01-OAR-
2007-0136. 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://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 through http://www.regulations.gov
, or e-mail, information that you consider to be CBI 

or otherwise protected. The http://www.regulations.gov website 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 e-mail comment directly to EPA without 
going through http://www.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  
http://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 http://www.regulations.gov
 or in hard copy at 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 contact listed in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section to schedule your inspection. The Regional 
Office's official hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 
4:30 excluding legal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ian D. Cohen, Air Permits, Toxics, and 
Indoor Air Programs, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New 
England Regional Office, One Congress Street (CAP), Boston, MA 02114-
2023, telephone number (617) 918-1655, fax number (617) 918-0655, e-
mail cohen.ian@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information

How Can I Get Copies of This Document and Other Related Information?

    In addition to the publicly available docket materials available 
for inspection electronically in the Federal Docket Management System 
at http://www.regulations.gov, and the hard copy available at the 

Regional Office, which are identified in the ADDRESSES section of this 
Federal Register, copies of the state submittal are also available for 
public inspection during normal business hours, by appointment at the 
State Air Agency: Office of Air Resources, Department of Environmental 
Management, 235 Promenade Street, Providence, RI 02908-5767.

II. Rulemaking Information

    Organization of this document. The following outline is provided to 
aid in locating information in this preamble.

A. Background and Purpose
B. When did the Requirements first Become Known?
C. What is the definition of an OSWI?
D. When did Rhode Island submit its negative declaration?

A. Background and Purpose

    Section 129 of the Clean Air Act requires EPA to publish rules 
regulating emissions from several classes of solid waste incinerators. 
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 specific pollutants from designated facilities. As 
federal rules covering each category of solid waste incinerator are 
promulgated, a State must either submit a plan or accept delegation of 
a federal plan. If a state does not have a designated facility within 
its boundaries, the state may submit a negative declaration in lieu of 
a control plan.

[[Page 17026]]

B. When did the requirements first become known?

    On December 9, 2004, EPA proposed emissions guidelines for other 
solid waste incinerators (OSWI) units. This action enabled EPA to list 
OSWI units as designated facilities. By proposing these guidelines, EPA 
specified particulate matter, opacity, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen 
chloride, oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, lead, cadmium, mercury, 
and dioxins/furans as designated pollutants. These guidelines were 
published as a final rule on December 16, 2005 (70 FR 74870) and 
codified at 40 CFR 60, subpart EEEE.

C. What is the definition of an OSWI?

    Forty CFR 60.2977 defines an OSWI as either a very small municipal 
waste combustion unit or an institutional waste unit. A very small 
municipal waste unit is a unit which combusts less than 35 tons per day 
of municipal solid waste or refuse derived fuel. An institutional waste 
unit is a unit which serves an organization having a governmental, 
educational, civic, or religious purpose. Units which meet certain 
criteria are not affected by this subpart. These criteria are listed in 
40 CFR 60.2887.

D. When did Rhode Island submit its negative declaration?

    On November 8, 2006, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental 
Management (RI DEM) submitted a letter certifying that there are no 
existing OSWI units subject to 40 CFR Part 60 Subpart B. Section 111(d) 
of the Clean Air Act and 40 CRF 62.06 says 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. 
Today's action amends 40 CFR Part 62 to include this negative 
declaration.

III. Final Action

    EPA is approving the negative declaration of air emissions from 
OSWI submitted by the State of Rhode Island.
    The EPA is publishing this action 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 publication, EPA is publishing a separate document 
that will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision should 
relevant adverse comments be filed. This rule will be effective June 5, 
2007 without further notice unless the Agency receives relevant adverse 
comments by May 7, 2007.
    If the EPA receives such comments, then EPA will publish a notice 
withdrawing the final rule and informing the public that the rule will 
not take effect. All public comments received will then be addressed in 
a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. The EPA will not 
institute a second comment period on the proposed rule. All parties 
interested in commenting on the proposed rule should do so at this 
time. If no such comments are received, the public is advised that this 
rule will be effective on June 5, 2007 and no further action will be 
taken on the proposed rule. Please note that if EPA receives adverse 
comment on an amendment, paragraph, or section of this rule and if that 
provision may be severed from the remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt 
as final those provisions of the rule that are not the subject of an 
adverse comment.

 IV. 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 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 approves a state 
action implementing a federal standard.
    In reviewing Section 111(d) submissions, EPA's role is to approve 
state choices, 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 action for failure to use VCS. It would 
thus be inconsistent with applicable law for EPA, when it reviews a 
state plan, to use VCS in place of a state plan 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. 
section 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 June 5, 2007. Interested 
parties should comment in response to the proposed rule rather than 
petition for judicial review, unless

[[Page 17027]]

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 practices and procedures, 
Air pollution control, Intergovernmental relations, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Solid Waste Incinerators, Waste treatment 
and disposal.

    Dated: March 27, 2007.
Robert W. Varney,
Regional Administrator, EPA New England.

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 et seq.

Subpart OO--Rhode Island

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2. Subpart OO is amended by adding a new Sec.  62.9995 and a new 
undesignated center heading to read as follows:

Air Emissions From Existing Other Solid Waste Incineration Units


Sec.  62. 9995  Identification of Plan-Negative Declaration.

    On November 5, 2006, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental 
Management submitted a letter certifying that there are no existing 
other solid waste incineration units in the state subject to the 
emission guidelines under part 60, subpart EEEE of this chapter.

[FR Doc. E7-6460 Filed 4-5-07; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
