[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 153 (Tuesday, August 10, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 43336-43338]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-20313]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 281
[FRL-6414-6]
North Carolina; Approval of State Underground Storage Tank
Program
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of tentative determination on application of state of
North Carolina for final approval, public hearing and public comment
period.
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SUMMARY: The State of North Carolina has applied for approval of its
underground storage tank program for petroleum and hazardous substances
under Subtitle I of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reviewed the North
Carolina application and has made the tentative decision that the North
Carolina underground storage tank program for petroleum and hazardous
substances satisfies all of the requirements necessary to qualify for
approval. North Carolina's application for approval is available for
public review and comment. A public hearing will be held to solicit
comments on the application, unless insufficient public interest is
expressed.
DATES: Written comments on the North Carolina approval application, as
well as requests to present oral testimony, must be received by the
close of business on September 9, 1999. A public hearing is scheduled
for September 13, 1999, unless insufficient public interest is
expressed in holding a hearing. EPA reserves the right to cancel the
public hearing if sufficient public interest is not communicated to EPA
in writing by September 9, 1999. EPA will determine by September 14,
1999, whether there is significant interest to hold the public hearing.
The State of North Carolina will participate in the public hearing held
by EPA on this subject.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the North Carolina approval application are
available during the hours of 9 am to 5 pm at the following addresses
for inspection and copying:
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources,
Underground Storage Tank Section, 2728 Capital Boulevard, Parker-
Lincoln Building, Raleigh, North Carolina 27604, Phone: (919) 733-8486;
U.S. EPA Docket Clerk, Office of Underground Storage Tanks, 1235
Jefferson Davis Highway--1st Floor, Arlington, Virginia 22202, Phone:
(703) 603-9231; and,
U.S. EPA Region 4, Underground Storage Tank Section, Atlanta Federal
Center, 15th Floor, 61 Forsyth Street, S.W., Atlanta, Georgia 30303,
Phone: (404) 562-9277.
Written comments should be sent to Mr. John K. Mason, Chief of
Underground Storage Tank Section, U.S. EPA Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street
S.W., Atlanta, Georgia 30303, telephone (404) 562-9277.
Unless insufficient public interest is expressed, EPA will hold a
public hearing on the State of North Carolina's application for program
approval on September 13, 1999, at 7 pm at the North Carolina
Department of Environment and Natural Resources Archadale Building,
Ground Floor Hearing Room, 512 North Salisbury Street, Raleigh, North
Carolina 27604-1148. Anyone who wishes to learn whether or not the
public hearing on the State's application has been canceled should
telephone the following contacts after September 14, 1999.
Mr. John K. Mason, Chief, Underground Storage Tank Section, U.S. EPA
Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, S.W., Atlanta, Georgia 30303, Phone: (404)
562-9277, or
Mr. Burrie Boshoff, Chief, Underground Storage Tank Section, North
Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Post Office
Box 29578, Raleigh, North Carolina 27626-0578, Phone: (919) 733-8486.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. John K. Mason, Chief, Underground
Storage Tank Section, U.S. EPA Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street S.W.,
Atlanta, Georgia 30303, phone: (404) 562-9277.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Background
Section 9004 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
authorizes EPA to approve State underground storage tank programs to
operate in the State in lieu of the Federal underground storage tank
(UST) program. Program approval may be granted by EPA pursuant to RCRA
Section 9004(b), if the Agency finds that the State program is: ``no
less stringent'' than the Federal program for the seven elements set
forth at RCRA Section 9004(a)(1) through (7); includes the notification
requirements of RCRA section 9004(a)(8); and provides for adequate
enforcement of compliance with UST standards of RCRA Section 9004(a).
[[Page 43337]]
B. North Carolina
The State of North Carolina submitted their draft state program
approval application to EPA by letter dated December 8, 1992. After
reviewing the package and coordinating with the State, EPA submitted
final comments to the state for review. North Carolina submitted their
complete state program approval application for EPA's tentative
approval on January 16, 1998.
North Carolina adopted UST program regulations that became
effective on January 1, 1991. Prior to the adoption of the regulations,
North Carolina solicited public comment and held a public hearing on
the draft UST program regulations. EPA has reviewed the North Carolina
application, and has tentatively determined that the State's UST
program for petroleum and hazardous substances meets all of the
requirements necessary to qualify for final approval.
EPA will hold a public hearing on its tentative decision on
September 13, 1999, unless insufficient public interest is expressed.
The public may also submit written comments on EPA's tentative
determination until September 9, 1999. Copies of the North Carolina
application are available for inspection and copying at the location
indicated in the ADDRESSES section of this document.
EPA will consider all public comments on its tentative
determination received at the hearing, or received in writing during
the public comment period. Issues raised by those comments may be the
basis for a decision to deny final approval to North Carolina. EPA
expects to make a final decision on whether or not to approve the North
Carolina UST program by October 12, 1999, and will give notice of it in
the Federal Register. The notice will include a summary of the reasons
for the final determination and a response to all major comments.
Compliance With Executive Order 12866
The Office of Management and Budget has exempted this rule from the
requirements of Section 6 of Executive Order 12866.
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), P.L.
104-4, establishes requirements for Federal agencies to assess the
effects of certain regulatory actions on State, local, and tribal
governments and the private sector. Under sections 202 and 205 of the
UMRA, EPA generally must prepare a written statement of economic and
regulatory alternatives analyses for proposed and final rules with
Federal mandates, as defined by the UMRA, that may result in
expenditures to State, local, and tribal governments, in the aggregate,
or to the private sector, of $100 million or more in any one year. The
section 202 and 205 requirements do not apply to today's action because
it is not a ``Federal mandate'' and because it does not impose annual
costs of $100 million or more.
Today's rule contains no Federal mandates for State, local or
tribal governments or the private sector for two reasons. First,
today's action does not impose new or additional enforceable duties on
any State, local or tribal governments or the private sector because
the requirements of the North Carolina program are already imposed by
the State and subject to State law. Second, the Act also generally
excludes from the definition of a ``Federal mandate'' duties that arise
from participation in a voluntary Federal program. North Carolina's
participation in an approved UST program is voluntary.
Even if today's rule did contain a Federal mandate, this rule will
not result in annual expenditures of $100 million or more for State,
local, and/or tribal governments in the aggregate, or the private
sector. Costs to State, local and/or tribal governments already exist
under the North Carolina program, and today's action does not impose
any additional obligations on regulated entities. In fact, EPA's
approval of state programs generally may reduce, not increase,
compliance costs for the private sector.
The requirements of section 203 of UMRA also do not apply to
today's action. Before EPA establishes any regulatory requirements that
may significantly or uniquely affect small governments, section 203 of
the UMRA requires EPA to develop a small government agency plan. This
rule contains no regulatory requirements that might significantly or
uniquely affect small governments. The Agency recognizes that although
small governments may own and/or operate USTs, they are already subject
to the regulatory requirements under existing state law which are being
approved by EPA, and, thus, are not subject to any additional
significant or unique requirements by virtue of this program approval.
Certification Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act
EPA has determined that this approval will not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. Such small
entities which own and/or operate USTs are already subject to the
regulatory requirements under existing State law which are being
approved by EPA. EPA's approval does not impose any additional burdens
on these small entities. This is because EPA's approval would simply
result in an administrative change, rather than a change in the
substantive requirements imposed on these small entities.
Therefore, EPA provides the following certification under the
Regulatory Flexibility Act, as amended by the Small Business Regulatory
Enforcement Fairness Act. Pursuant to the provision at 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. This rule
approves regulatory requirements under existing State law to which
small entities are already subject. It does not impose any new burdens
on small entities. This rule, therefore, does not require a regulatory
flexibility analysis.
Compliance With Executive Order 13045
Executive Order 13045 applies to any rule that the Office of
Management and Budget determines is ``economically significant'' as
defined under Executive Order 12866, and that EPA determines that the
environmental health or safety risk addressed by the rule has a
disproportionate effect on children. If the regulatory action meets
both criteria, the Agency must evaluate the environmental health or
safety effects of the planned rule on children and explain why the
planned regulation is preferable to other potentially effective and
reasonably feasible alternatives considered by the Agency.
Compliance With Executive Order 12875
Under Executive Order 12875, Enhancing the Intergovernmental
Partnership, EPA may not issue a regulation that is not required by
statute and that creates a mandate upon a State, local or tribal
government, unless the Federal government provides the funds necessary
to pay the direct compliance costs incurred by those governments, or
EPA consults with those governments. If EPA complies by consulting,
Executive Order 12875 requires EPA to provide to the Office of
Management and Budget a description of the extent of EPA's prior
consultation with representatives of affected State, local and tribal
governments, the nature of their concerns, any written communications
from the governments, and a statement supporting the need to issue the
regulation. In addition, Executive Order 12875 requires EPA to develop
an
[[Page 43338]]
effective process permitting elected officials and other
representatives of State, local and tribal governments ``to provide
meaningful and timely input in the development of regulatory proposals
containing significant unfunded mandates.''
Today's rule does not create a mandate on State, local or tribal
governments. The rule does not impose any enforceable duties on these
entities. The State administers its underground storage tank program
voluntarily, and any duties on other State, local or tribal
governmental entities arise from that program, not from today's action.
Accordingly, the requirements of section 1(a) of Executive Order 12875
do not apply to this rule.
Compliance With Executive Order 13084
Under Executive Order 13084, Consultation and Coordination with
Indian Tribal Governments, EPA may not issue a regulation that is not
required by statute, that significantly or uniquely affects the
communities of Indian tribal governments, and that imposes substantial
direct compliance costs on those communities, unless the Federal
government provides the funds necessary to pay the direct compliance
costs incurred by the tribal governments, or EPA consults with those
governments. If EPA complies by consulting, Executive Order 13084
requires EPA to provide to the Office of Management and Budget, in a
separately identified section of the preamble to the rule, a
description of the extent of EPA's prior consultation with
representatives of affected tribal governments, a summary of the nature
of their concerns, and a statement supporting the need to issue the
regulation. In addition, Executive Order 13084 requires EPA to develop
an effective process permitting elected officials and other
representatives of Indian tribal governments ``to provide meaningful
and timely input in the development of regulatory policies on matters
that significantly or uniquely affect their communities.''
Today's rule does not significantly or uniquely affect the
communities of Indian tribal governments. North Carolina is not
approved to implement the underground storage tank program in Indian
Country. This rule has no effect on the underground storage tank
program that EPA implements in the Indian Country within the State.
Accordingly, the requirements of section 3(b) of Executive Order 13084
do not apply to this rule.
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act
Section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement
Act of 1995 (``NTTAA''), Pub. L. No. 104-113, section 12(d) (15 U.S.C.
272 note) directs EPA to use voluntary consensus standards in its
regulatory activities unless to do so would be inconsistent with
applicable law or otherwise impractical. Voluntary consensus standards
are technical standards (e.g., materials specifications, test methods,
sampling procedures, and business practices) that are developed or
adopted by voluntary consensus standards bodies. The NTTAA directs EPA
to provide Congress, through OMB, explanations when the Agency decides
not to use available and applicable voluntary consensus standards.
This action does not involve technical standards. Therefore, EPA
did not consider the use of any voluntary consensus standards.
Paperwork Reduction Act
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., Federal
agencies must consider the paperwork burden imposed by an information
request contained in a proposed rule or a final rule. This rule will
not impose any information requirements upon the regulated community.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 281
Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure,
Hazardous materials, State program approval, Underground storage tanks.
Authority: This notice is issued under the authority of Section
9004 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act as amended 42 U.S.C. 6912(a),
6926, 6974(b).
Dated: July 29, 1999.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting, Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 99-20313 Filed 8-9-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
