[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 35 (Tuesday, February 22, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9772-9774]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-3866]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-R09-RCRA-2011-0103; FRL-9269-3]
Adequacy of Arizona Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Permit Program
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of Tentative Determination of Adequacy and Opportunity
to Comment.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency Region IX is proposing to
approve a modification to Arizona's municipal solid waste landfill
(MSWLF) permit program to allow the State to issue research,
development, and demonstration (RD&D) permits for new and existing
MSWLF units and lateral expansions. The modification will allow the
Director of the approved State program to provide a variance from
certain MSWLF criteria, provided that the MSWLF owner/operator
demonstrates that compliance with the RD&D permit will not increase
risk to human health and the environment. The Director may provide a
variance from existing requirements of MSWLF criteria for run-on
control systems, liquids restrictions, and final cover. EPA is seeking
public comment on its tentative determination of adequacy of Arizona's
RD&D modification to its MSWLF permit program.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 25, 2011. If
sufficient public interest is expressed, EPA will hold a public hearing
on April 25, 2011 at 4 p.m. in Room 145, Arizona Department of
Environmental Quality, 1110 West Washington Street, Phoenix, Arizona.
If by April 11, 2011, EPA does not receive sufficient public interest
for a public hearing, EPA may cancel the public hearing with no further
notice. If
[[Page 9773]]
you are interested in attending the public hearing, contact Karen Ueno
at (415) 972-3317 to verify that a hearing will be held.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
RCRA-2011-0103 by one of the following methods:
http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line
instructions for submitting comments.
E-mail: [email protected].
Fax: (415) 947-3530.
Mail: Karen Ueno (WST-7), Environmental Protection Agency
Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-3901.
Hand Delivery: Environmental Protection Agency Region IX,
75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-3901. Such deliveries are
only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation, and
special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed
information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R09-RCRA-
2011-0103. 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 information that you
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site
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 docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other materials,
such as the State's prior applications for MSWLF permit program
approval, are available only in hard copy. Publicly available docket
materials are available either electronically in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Environmental Protection
Agency Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-3901.
This Docket facility is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through
Friday, excluding legal holidays. It is located in a secured building.
To review docket materials at the Docket facility, it is recommended
that the public make an appointment by calling the Docket facility at
(415) 947-4406 during normal business hours.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Ueno, Waste Management Division,
WST-7, Environmental Protection Agency Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street,
San Francisco, CA 94105-3901; telephone number: (415) 972-3317; fax
number: (415) 947-3530; e-mail address: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Background
On March 22, 2004, EPA issued a final rule amending the municipal
solid waste landfill criteria at 40 CFR 258.4 to allow for RD&D
permits. (69 FR 13242). This rule allows for variances from specified
criteria for a limited period of time. Specifically, the rule allows
the Director of an approved State to issue a time-limited RD&D permit
for a new MSWLF unit, existing MSWLF unit, or lateral expansion, for
which the owner or operator proposes to use innovative and new methods
which vary from either or both of the following: (1) The run-on control
systems at 40 CFR 258.26, and/or (2) the liquids restrictions at 40 CFR
258.28(a), provided that the MSWLF unit has a leachate collection
system designed and constructed to maintain less than a 30-cm depth of
leachate on the liner. The rule also allows the Director of an approved
State to issue a time-limited RD&D permit for which the owner or
operator proposes to use innovative and new methods that vary from the
final cover criteria at 40 CFR 258.60(a)(1) and (2), and (b)(1),
provided that the owner or operator demonstrates that the alternative
cover system will not contaminate groundwater or surface water, or
cause leachate depth on the liner to exceed 30 cm. An RD&D permit
cannot exceed three years and a renewal of an RD&D permit cannot exceed
three years. Although multiple renewals of an RD&D permit can be
issued, the total term for an RD&D permit including renewals cannot
exceed twelve years.
RD&D permits are only available in States with approved MSWLF
permit programs that have been modified to incorporate the RD&D permit
authority. Although a State is not required to seek approval for the
RD&D permit provision, a State must obtain EPA approval before it may
issue such a permit. Requirements for State program determination of
adequacy and approval procedures are contained in 40 CFR Part 239.
In 1994, EPA Region IX approved the State of Arizona's municipal
solid waste landfill (MSWLF) permit program pursuant to Subtitle D of
the Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). With its
application, dated June 28, 2010, as updated on January 26, 2011, the
State of Arizona is seeking EPA approval for a modification to the
State's existing MSWLF permit program to include RD&D permits.
II. EPA's Action
A. Tentative Determination
After completing a thorough review, EPA is proposing to tentatively
approve Arizona's RD&D permit program modification. Arizona has
lawfully promulgated and fully enacted regulations for the RD&D permit
program, and these regulations are adequate to ensure compliance with
the Federal criteria at 40 CFR 258.4. In conformance with the Federal
regulations, and in addition to Arizona-specific requirements, an owner
or operator is required to maintain less than a 30-cm depth of leachate
on liner and demonstrate that compliance with the RD&D permit will not
increase risk to human heath and the environment over compliance with a
standard MSWLF permit.
Following the close of the public comment period and in
consideration of comments received, EPA will issue a final
determination. If approved, Arizona will be able to issue variances for
run-on control systems, liquid restrictions, and final cover criteria
to allow for innovative and new methods, such as bioreactor landfills.
B. Submitting Comments on EPA's Tentative Determination
Tips for Preparing Your Comments. When submitting comments,
remember to:
Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other
identifying
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information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
Follow directions--The agency may ask you to respond to
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives
and substitute language for your requested changes.
Describe any assumptions and provide any technical
information and/or data that you used.
If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how
you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be
reproduced.
Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and
suggest alternatives.
Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the
use of profanity or personal threats.
Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period
deadline identified.
Submitting Confidential Business Information (CBI). Do not submit
this information to EPA through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail.
Clearly mark the part or all of the information that you claim to be
CBI. For CBI information in a disk or CD-ROM that you mail to EPA, mark
the outside of the disk or CD-ROM as CBI and then identify
electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the specific information that
is claimed as CBI. In addition to one complete version of the comment
that includes information claimed as CBI, a copy of the comment that
does not contain the information claimed as CBI must be submitted for
inclusion in the public docket. Information so marked will not be
disclosed except in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR Part
2.
Docket Copying Costs. Copying arrangements will be made through the
Docket facility and billed directly to the recipient. Copying costs may
be waived depending on the total number of pages copied.
Authority: Sections 2002, 4005, and 4010(c) of the Solid Waste
Disposal Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 6912, 6945, and 6949(a).
Delegation 8-46. State/Tribal Permit Programs for Municipal Solid
Waste Landfills.
Dated: February 11, 2011.
Jared Blumenfeld,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2011-3866 Filed 2-18-11; 8:45 am]
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