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Approval and Promulgation of State Plans for Designated Facilities and Pollutants; Control of Emissions From Hospital/Medical/ Infectious Waste Incinerators; State of Iowa

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[Federal Register: December 12, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 239)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 64151-64152]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12de01-29]

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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]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P

 
 

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