[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 41 (Wednesday, March 2, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-4759]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: March 2, 1994]
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ENVIRONMENTLAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-4843-6]
State of Florida; Adequacy Determination of State/Tribal
Municipal Solid Waste Permit Program
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of tentative determination on Florida application for
full program adequacy determination, public hearing and public comment
period.
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SUMMARY: Section 4005(c)(1)(B) of the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA), as amended by the Hazardous and Solid Waste
Amendments (HSWA) of 1984, requires States to develop and implement
permit programs to ensure that municipal solid waste landfills (MSWLFs)
which may receive hazardous household waste or small quantity generator
waste will comply with the revised Federal MSWLF Criteria (40 CFR part
258). RCRA section 4005(c)(1)(C) requires the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) to determine whether States have adequate ``permit''
programs for MSWLFs, but does not mandate issuance of a rule for such
determinations. EPA has drafted and is in the process of proposing a
State/Tribal Implementation Rule (STIR) that will provide procedures by
which EPA will approve, or partially approve, State/Tribal landfill
permit programs. The Agency intends to approve adequate State/Tribal
MSWLF permit programs as applications are submitted. Thus, these
approvals are not dependent on final promulgation of the STIR. Prior to
promulgation of the STIR, adequacy determinations will be made based on
the statutory authorities and requirements. In addition, States/Tribes
may use the draft STIR as an aid in interpreting these requirements.
The Agency believes that early approvals have an important benefit.
Approved State/Tribal permit programs provide for interaction between
the State/Tribe and the owner/operator regarding site-specific permit
conditions. Only those owners/operators located in States/Tribes with
approved permit programs can use the site-specific flexibility provided
by part 258 to the extent the State/Tribal permit program allows such
flexibility. EPA notes that regardless of the approval status of a
State/Tribe and the permit status of any facility, the federal landfill
criteria will apply to all permitted and unpermitted MSWLF facilities.
Florida has applied for a determination of adequacy under section
4005 of RCRA. EPA Region IV has reviewed Florida's MSWLF application
and has made a tentative determination that Florida's MSWLF permit
program meets the requirements for full program approval and ensures
compliance with the revised MSWLF Criteria (40 CFR part 258).
Florida's application for program adequacy determination is
available from EPA Region IV and the State for public review and
comment. Although, RCRA does not require EPA to hold a public hearing
on a determination to approve a State's/Tribe's MSWLF program, Region
IV has scheduled a public hearing on this determination. The date,
location and time of the hearing is discussed below in the DATES
section. Anyone requiring additional information regarding the hearing,
may call the person listed in the CONTACTS section below.
DATES: All comments on Florida's application for a determination of
adequacy must be received at the EPA Region IV Office of Solid Waste by
close of business, Monday, April 25, 1994. Comments may also be
submitted at the public hearing which will be held on Monday, April 25,
1994, at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection--Margarie
Stoneman Douglas Building, 3900 Commonwealth Blvd., Tallahassee,
Florida 30399-3000, beginning at 6:30 p.m. The State will participate
in the hearing which is being held by EPA. Please contact one of the
individuals listed as a contact below at least 72 hours before the
hearing if special accommodations are required.
ADDRESSES: Copies of Florida's application for adequacy determination
are available between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday, at the following addresses for inspection and copying: Florida
Department of Environmental Protection, Solid Waste Section, Twin
Towers Office Building, 2600 Blair Stone Road, Tallahassee, Florida
32399-2400, Attn: Ms. Mary Jean Yon, telephone (904) 488-0300; and U.S
EPA Region IV Library, 345 Courtland Street, NE., Atlanta, Georgia
30365, Attn: Ms. Priscilla Pride, telephone (404) 347-4216. Written
comments should be submitted to Ms. Patricia S. Zweig, mail code 4WD-
OSW, EPA Region IV, Office of Solid Waste, 345 Courtland Street, NE.,
Atlanta, Georgia 30365.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: EPA Region IV, 345 Courtland Street,
NE., Atlanta, Georgia 30365, Attn: Ms. Patricia S. Zweig, mail code
4WD-OSW, telephone (404) 347-2091.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Background
On October 9, 1991, EPA promulgated revised Criteria for MSWLFs (40
CFR part 258). Subtitle D of RCRA, as amended by the Hazardous and
Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 (HSWA), requires States to develop
permitting programs to ensure that MSWLFs comply with the Federal
Criteria under part 258. Subtitle D also requires in section 4005 that
EPA determine the adequacy of State municipal solid waste landfill
permit programs to ensure that facilities comply with the revised
Federal Criteria. To fulfill this requirement, the Agency has drafted
and is in the process of proposing a State/Tribal Implementation Rule
(STIR). The rule will specify the requirements which State/Tribal
programs must satisfy to be determined adequate.
As provided in the October 9, 1991 municipal solid waste landfill
rule, EPA's national Subtitle D standards took effect on October 9,
1993. Consequently, any remaining portions of the Federal criteria that
are not included in an approved State/Tribal program apply directly to
the owner/operator without any approved State/Tribal flexibility. On
October 1, 1993, EPA published the Final Rule to extend the effective
date of the landfill criteria for certain classifications of landfills
(58 FR 51536). On October 14, 1993, EPA published corrections to the
Final Rule to extend the effective date (58 FR 53137).
EPA intends to approve State/Tribal MSWLF permit programs prior to
the promulgation of STIR. EPA interprets the requirements for States or
Tribes to develop ``adequate'' programs for permits or other forms of
prior approval to impose several minimum requirements. First, each
State/Tribe must have enforceable standards for new and existing MSWLFs
that are technically comparable to EPA's revised MSWLF criteria. Next,
the State/Tribe must have the authority to issue a permit or other
notice of prior approval to all new and existing MSWLFs in its
jurisdiction. The State/Tribe also must provide for public
participation in permit issuance and enforcement as required in section
7004(b) of RCRA. Finally, EPA believes that the State/Tribe must show
that it has sufficient compliance monitoring and enforcement
authorities to take specific action against any owner or operator that
fails to comply with an approved MSWLF program.
EPA Regions will determine whether a State/Tribe has submitted an
``adequate'' program based on the interpretation outlined above. EPA
plans to provide more specific criteria for this evaluation when it
proposes the State/Tribal Implementation Rule. EPA expects States/
Tribes to meet all of these requirements for all elements of an MSWLF
program before it gives full approval to an MSWLF program.
B. State of Florida
On July 20, 1993, Florida submitted a final application to EPA
Region IV for adequacy determination. Region IV reviewed the final
application and submitted substantive comments to Florida. Florida
addressed EPA's comments and submitted an extensively revised final
application in September 1993. Region IV has completed technical review
of Florida's revisions and has tentatively determined that, as revised,
all portions of Florida's Subtitle D MSW landfill permit program meet
the requirements necessary to qualify for full program approval and
ensure compliance with the revised Federal Criteria.
The public may submit written comments on EPA's tentative
determination until close of the public hearing to the person listed in
the ``Contacts'' section of this notice. Copies of Florida's
application are available for inspection and copying at the location(s)
indicated in the ``Addresses'' section of this notice. Comments may
also be submitted during the scheduled public hearing, as transcribed
from the discussion of the hearing or in writing at the time of the
hearing.
Florida's revised application includes new regulations which the
State developed to be technically comparable to the requirements of the
federal criteria. Florida's revised regulations became effective on
January 2, 1994, and have been deemed technically comparable to the
federal criteria.
Although regulatory language and structure in certain of Florida's
regulations may not reflect the exact language and structure in the
corresponding EPA requirements, EPA has determined that Florida will
ensure compliance with 40 CFR part 258. The following paragraphs detail
the major issues for which Florida was required to demonstrate
technical comparability.
1. Daily Cover--40 CFR 258.21 requires that six (6) inches of
earthen material be placed over the working face of MSWLFs at the end
of each working day to control blowing litter, scavenging, etc.
Directors of EPA-approved states have the flexibility to allow daily
covers made of alternative materials and thicknesses. Florida's
regulations previously provided MSWLFs owner/operators an exemption
from daily cover if the period between cessation of operation on one
day and start of operation the next was 18 hours or less. Florida
revised their regulatory language to eliminate this exemption and
require daily cover. Florida also added language to allow a reusable
tarpaulin (to be rolled out over the working face at the end of one day
and taken up at the beginning of the next) as an acceptable alternative
to a soil daily cover.
2. Liner Design--40 CFR 258.40 requires that new landfills and
lateral expansions to existing landfills be constructed with a specific
composite liner and leachate collection system or an alternative which
ensures that drinking-water-based maximum concentration limits (MCLs)
are not exceeded in the uppermost groundwater aquifer at a
predetermined point of compliance (POC). The POC must be on the
landfill owner/operator's property and within 150 meters (approximately
500 feet) of the landfill unit boundary.
EPA Headquarters has interpreted the federal criteria to also
afford states the opportunity to present alternative liner designs to
regional offices for review. If a state demonstrates, via mathematical
modelling, that the proposed alternative(s) meet the minimum federal
performance standard based on ``worst-case'' conditions (considering
hydrology, geology, climate, groundwater flow, etc.), then the EPA
regional office can approve the alternative(s) to be used as state
standard(s) in lieu of the federal standard composite liner system.
Florida's regulations allow several alternative composite liner
designs and a double synthetic liner design with primary and secondary
leachate collection systems. Florida has presented information,
including analysis data from the MultiMed mathematical modeling
program, to adequately demonstrate that each of their liners meets the
federal performance standards. Additionally, Florida determines the
need for corrective action due to contaminant releases from the
landfill into the subsurface based on analysis of groundwater sampled
at distances within 100 feet of the landfill unit boundary (as compared
to the federal range of 0 to 150 meters (or approximately 500 feet)
from the unit boundary). Further, in addition to sampling and analyzing
groundwater, Florida performs annual analysis of leachate collected
from the landfill, to determine which constituents might be expected to
be found in groundwater in the event that a release does occur.
3. Groundwater Monitoring and Corrective Action--40 CFR 258.54
requires detection monitoring for sixty-two (62) constituents.
Florida's original detection monitoring program required analysis of
fewer and several different constituents than the federal. Florida has
revised their regulatory language to include analysis of all
constituents listed in 40 CFR part 258.54 in addition to their original
parameters.
4. Final Closure Cover--40 CFR 258.60 requires that a MSWLF final
closure cover include a composite cap which consists of a minimum 6
inch earthen erosion/vegetative layer and an infiltration layer of at
least 18 inches of soil compacted to a permeability of 1 x 10-5
cm/sec or the permeability of the bottom liner system, whichever is
less. EPA Headquarters has interpreted this description to imply that
MSW landfills with a synthetic in their liner system must be closed
with a cap that includes a synthetic in the infiltration layer.
Directors of EPA-approved states have the flexibility to allow
infiltration layers of alternative materials and/or thicknesses.
Florida's original regulations did not require a synthetic in the
final closure cover of a synthetically lined MSW landfill. Florida has
revised their regulatory language to require that final closure covers
on MSW landfills include ``a barrier layer which is substantially
equivalent to, or less than, the permeability of the bottom liner
system.'' Florida also specifically requires that, ``If the landfill
uses a geomembrane in the bottom liner system, the barrier layer shall
also incorporate a geomembrane.''
5. Financial Assurance for Corrective Action--40 CFR 258.73
requires that landfill owner/operators required to undertake corrective
action procedures, have financial assurance based on a written
estimate, in current dollars, of the cost of hiring a third party to
perform the corrective action. Florida's original program did not
address this issue. Florida has revised their regulatory language to
require an acceptable mechanism by which owner/operators must provide
financial assurance in the event that corrective action activities are
necessary at their facility.
EPA Region IV will consider all public comments on its tentative
determination which are received by close of the scheduled public
hearing. Issues raised by those comments may be the basis for a
determination of inadequacy for Florida's program. EPA Region IV will
make a final decision on whether or not to approve Florida's program
after all comments are received and reviewed, and will give notice of
that decision in the Federal Register. The notice will include a
summary of the reasons for the final determination and a response to
all major comments received by the end of the scheduled public hearing.
Section 4005(a) of RCRA provides that citizens may use the citizen
suit provisions of section 7002 of RCRA to enforce the Federal MSWLF
criteria in 40 CFR part 258 independent of any State/Tribal enforcement
program. As EPA explained in the preamble to the final MSWLF criteria,
EPA expects that any owner or operator complying with provisions in a
State/Tribal program approved by EPA should be considered to be in
compliance with the Federal Criteria. See 56 FR 50978, 50995 (October
9, 1991).
Compliance With Executive Order 12866
The Office of Management and Budget has exempted this action from
the requirements of section 6 of Executive Order 12866.
Certification Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act
Pursuant to the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 605(b), I hereby certify
that this approval will not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities. It does not impose any new
burdens on small entities. This rule, therefore, does not require a
regulatory flexibility analysis.
Authority: This notice is issued under the authority of section
4005 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act as amended; 42 U.S.C. 6946.
Dated: February 18, 1994.
John H. Hankinson, Jr.,
Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 94-4759 Filed 3-1-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
